Lougheed House‘s new exhibit, Collecting Culinaria, offers a glimpse of food history through cookbooks and domestic manuals. From an 80-year-old piece of preserved fruitcake to a 1930s-era Palliser Hotel dinner menu, the collection is a rare opportunity to explore the cooking of the past. Here are a few of the exhibit’s most interesting recipes to look for.
Beatle Bakes
It isn’t hard to figure out that this recipe comes from the height of Beatlemania. The sugary ode to Paul, John, Ringo and George calls for chocolate dough decoration in the shapes of the Fab Four’s faces.
Fancy Ices
For the most dedicated cooks only, these desserts involve an elaborate process of freezing a pureed blend of fruits and berries, then sculpting it into an architectural arrangement – some towering above the serving platter. Figuring out how to eat it might take just as much effort as making it.
Nellie McClung’s Dumpling Stew
This recipe, “courtesy of Mrs. Nellie McClung,” promises to make stew fit to serve your company during wartime rationing. Regular beef or chicken stew moves to “the right side of the tracks” with the addition of some simple dumplings.
Drinks from the Savoy Cocktail Book
The Savoy Cocktail Book might just be one of the collection’s most useful pieces. Published in 1930, it’s a compilation of classic cocktail recipes that are still relevant today, like the Ink Street Cocktail, a variation on today’s whiskey sour, with equal parts whiskey, orange juice and lemon juice.
Pigeon Pie
If you prefer to stick to chicken, it might be best to leave this dish in the past. The meat pie’s finishing touch calls for whole pigeon’s feet, topping the meat pie as a decorative flourish.
Collecting Culinaria is on display at the Lougheed House until October 5. (707 13 Ave. S.W., 403-244-6354, lougheedhouse.com)