Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

shrimpcocktailsauceheader

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Well, it may not be a happy one for many of you if like me, your team did not make it to the big game. Yet Super Bowl Sunday is still a big day for many football fans, fans of sport, and people who love to throw big parties. Super Bowl parties are some of the biggest parties based around a single event I’ve seen. The spread at a party can be really important, and shrimp cocktail sauce is just one of the many options for your party’s spread. If you want to try something new and make a cocktail sauce from scratch, we have Marguerite’s recipe for you.

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Now you might be saying ‘why would i want to make cocktail sauce from scratch?’ And there may not be many reasons now-a-days. The likely hood that you have the other three ingredients already lying around at home and then accidentally grab the Chili Sauce from the store instead of a bottle of pre-made Cocktail Sauce is slim, but that would be one reason. However, the reasoning behind this recipe is fascinating.

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Since I couldn’t figure out the reasoning behind this recipe, I asked my mom about it. She thought she could remember a time early in her life where chili sauce was abundantly available, but couldn’t remember bottled cocktail sauce real well. I did some research and found that shrimp cocktail sauce was first mass produced and began to be made commercially available around 1950. (Okay, Shannon did the research because she is an internet genius.) Now while Marguerite could have mostly likely been getting premixed cocktail sauce the entire time my mom could remember, she may not have. And at the very least she would have needed a way to make cocktail sauce by hand before it was readily available.

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Now I’m not an avid consumer of cocktail sauce, but I did like our home made shrimp cocktail sauce. I did prefer the look of our sauce. In my opinion, it looked better than a pre-made cocktail sauce and who doesn’t love something homemade over store bought? If you have a party this weekend or in the future and want to try something new, why not give Marguerite’s shrimp cocktail sauce a try!

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
3/4 cup 5 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3/4 cup 5 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
3/4 cup 5 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3/4 cup 5 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: cup
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
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Lemon Parfait Pie

Lemon Parfait Pie header

Okay pie fans, we’re in the home stretch! If you were a fan of our summer pie, the cherry parfait pie, then this lemon parfait pie will be a nice variation of that. In this crazy month of pies, a simple pie that we have basically done before was a nice breather. The lemon parfait pie did not turn out just like the cherry parfait pie, but it was still tasty!

 

Here’s what Marguerite said about it:

lemon-parfait-pie

This recipe is also from Marguerite’s aunts Stella and Florence. It wasn’t quite the same directions as before, and it turned out looking a bit differently. Looking back at the cherry parfait pie recipe, some of the differences are in the times written for thickening the mixture before it gets poured into the shell. It could have been that, or the fact that there was less total liquid, or just the fact that lemons are different from cherries. Whatever the reason, you can see that the lemon parfait pie did not turn out as smooth as the cherry one.

Lemon Parfait Pie

Another difference between these two pies became obvious when we cut into it. The lemon parfait pie did not hold together as nicely when we cut slices out. I am pretty sure its because we let it set longer before pouring it into the shell and we allowed it to get too set. Even though it didn’t hold together, it still tasted amazing! I liked this pie, which is different for me, but this pie was mostly jello and ice cream. Aaron (and his co-workers!) also enjoyed this pie.

Lemon Parfait Pie

As we come closer to the end of pie month, I am surprised and excited that all these pies have been so different from each other. It’s been a fun adventure.

Lemon Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Lemon Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Ingredients
Servings: pie
Instructions
  1. Dissolve jello in hot water.
  2. Add peel and juice, then add ice cream by the spoon full, stirring until melted.
  3. Chill 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. Turn into shell.
  5. Chill 20 to 25 minutes.
  6. Garnish with whipped cream and additional lemon peel, if desired.
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Apple Compote

AppleCranberryCompoteheader

Time for another great fall recipe. And this time, surprise surprise, its a dessert! This apple compote had its ups and downs, but turned out okay in the end.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

AppleCranberryCompoteRecipe

Not Marguerite’s typical handwriting, huh? Well, as you will see as we go along, Marguerite also added magazine clippings of recipes that she must have liked into her cookbook as well. Aaron was excited to try this, because his mom would frequently make an apple dish during the holidays that he really liked. This recipe, however, did not quite turn out like that one.

AppleCranberryCompote

First of all, as anyone who has done apple dishes can attest, peeling apples is not an enjoyable task. That step took up over 90% of the prep time. Once that part of prep was completed, the rest of the recipe came together easily. When putting the ingredients together, we made a layer of apples, put the other ingredients on top, and then mixed them all together.

AppleCompote

When the apple compote first came out of the oven, we were concerned and unimpressed. It was still somewhat watery, while the apples seemed overcooked and dried out. There were a few thoughts we had as to why this happened. First we weren’t sure if we had put enough apples in. Then, since today’s cranberry sauce cans usually hold 2 less ounces than before, we thought that might add to it. Finally, this is our first recipe in our new oven, which always has its own complications. But, unlike our old apartment, this oven is at least a full sized one. Yay tiny apartment living!

AppleCranberryCompote

As you can see from the pictures, once we put this apple compote into individual serving dishes, they look pretty good! The cranberry sauce melded with the apples to give them a nice rich color, and the whole cranberries and raisins added to the visual interest of this dessert. I did not like the look of those cooked raisins though! I also felt that the apple compote was much too tart. I would have preferred it to be much sweeter.  Aaron did like this apple compote, although it wasn’t his favorite apple dessert.

AppleCranberryCompote

We hope you enjoy this warm apple compote as September gets cooler!

Apple Compote
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 25 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 25 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Apple Compote
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 25 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 25 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Core, peel, and slice apples into eighths.
  3. Combine all ingredients in 3 quart casserole dish.
  4. Cook for 40 minutes or until apples are tender but still intact.
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Crab Meat Ramekins

crabmeatramekins

When we chose this recipe, we thought it would be fun to try something pretty different than the rest of the cookbook. When we actually made it, we found out something even cooler. This was one of Aaron’s mom’s favorite recipes. Marguerite made it a lot for her because she liked it. It was also another semi-diet recipe Marguerite had in her cookbook.

crabmeatramekins

When we chose it, neither of us knew what a ramekin was. We picked up a few from Sur la Table to make this recipe. I love the simplicity of the white ramekins. They are going to make great cookware for other recipes in the future I’m sure! But for now, back to the crab meat ramekins.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

crabmeatramekinsrecipe

As you can see, there were NO instructions with this “recipe!” Upon consulting some other sources we figured out how we wanted to prepare the crab meat ramekins. We started by putting the ingredients in a saucepan to heat everything up. When doing that, Aaron thought that one 6 oz can of crab meat might not be enough. It turned out that the single can of crab meat was plenty.crabmeatramekins

 

We did have to change the amounts some in the recipe, specifically the bread and cheese for the top. In discussing the recipe with Aaron’s mom, she told him that she remembered the little brown ramekins that Marguerite used to make them in. She also commented that the tops of those were tapered and smaller than the rest of the ramekin. That made needing more bread and cheese to cover our ramekins make total sense!

crabmeatramekins

I prefer lobster, especially since I spent a summer in Maine, but thought these crab meat ramekins were delicious! (It may have been the cheese and bread.) All jokes aside, I did really enjoy this recipe, and so did Aaron. He did think that if we tried it again he may want to use lump crab instead. If you’re somewhere you can use fresh crab this summer, we hope you give that a try!

Crab Meat Ramekins
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 ramekins 15 minutes
Cook Time
8-10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 ramekins 15 minutes
Cook Time
8-10 minutes
Crab Meat Ramekins
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 ramekins 15 minutes
Cook Time
8-10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 ramekins 15 minutes
Cook Time
8-10 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: ramekins
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Put the cream of celery soup and mushrooms in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.
  3. After a few minutes, whisk in the skim milk.
  4. Add the crab meat and lemon juice and mix ingredients together.
  5. Pour mixture into 7 oz. ramekins.
  6. Top with cubed bread and cheese.
  7. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes or until bread has browned and cheese has melted.
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Grilled Flounder

Grilled Flounder

This is a great flounder recipe that can be either baked or grilled. We choose to do a baked version of this recipe, but it can be made on a Foreman or a regular grill.

Grilled Flounder

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Grilled Flounder

One of the best parts of this grilled flounder recipe is how few ingredients it takes to make the sauce. Simplicity is always a plus for us. Aaron was surprised that cocktail sauce plus mustard equaled barbecue flavor, however he hates flounder. He wants to try it again on another white fish. I want to try it again on a grill.

Grilled Flounder

This grilled flounder has a nice, tangy consistency to it. It’s the perfect flavor for a summer meal and definitely one we’ll try again as the weather warms up.

Grilled Flounder

Grilled Flounder
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Grilled Flounder
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: 4 oz
Instructions
  1. Lay fish in baking dish.
  2. Mix other ingredients and spread on fish.
  3. Bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees.
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Cranberry Cherry Pie

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This Cranberry Cherry Pie is the perfect pairing to any Thanksgiving dinner. We made this recipe twice: the first time for Aaron’s family on Thanksgiving and the second time just for the two of us to enjoy.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This will also be the first of many dessert recipes here on Marguerite’s Cookbook.  Dessert recipes were the most popular in Marguerite’s collection and the cookbook is about 50% desserts. Her pies were one of the best desserts to have, because she was so good at hand making pie crust.  For as long as Aaron can remember, his mother and other members of their family always talked about how no one could make pie crust like Marguerite.  When Marguerite tried to teach Aaron’s mom how to perfect the pie crust, the main advice she gave was “touch the dough as little as possible.”

Here is what the original recipe said:

Cranberry Cherry Pie Original

First to tackle was the crust itself, the previously mentioned hardest part.  Marguerite used a standard Crisco pie crust recipe, which we have included below.  When we made it the first time for Thankgiving, the family commented that the cranberry and cherry filling, along with the topping, tasted delicious.  Aaron’s mom, who was the best one to judge the crust, said that while it was good, it was not as soft and flakey as Marguerite’s.

Darn.

We attributed this to over handling the crust, as well as not putting enough water in it.  We also over baked the pie because there were no baking instructions on Marguerite’s recipe.  We were determined to get it right, so we tried it again.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

Despite being advised to, we didn’t chill the Crisco the second time. This seemed to make it much easier to play with the crust less. More water was also added.

In both attempts we omitted the Tapioca pudding from her recipe because neither of us care for it and we decided that it wouldn’t negatively affect the recipe to skip it.

Slice of Cranberry Cherry Pie

The other challenge with this recipe: Marguerite left no instructions on how long to bake the pie and at what temperature! For the first attempt we baked it for too long.  The second time turned out much better!

Cranberry Cherry pie and slice

I’m not a huge fan of pie, so I only sampled a small amount. Not the worst pie I’ve ever tried though.

Aaron loved it, despite not being a huge fan of cranberries.

Slice of PieWe hope you attempt this recipe for your next holiday to share with your family!

 

Cranberry Cherry Pie
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
Pie Filling
Topping
Servings: Pie
Instructions
Crust
  1. Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
  2. TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
  3. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
  5. Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
Filling and Topping
  1. Mix the cherry pie filling, cranberry sauce, sugar, and lemon juice.
  2. Pour the filling mixture into the crust.
  3. Dot with margarine
  4. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and margarine for the topping with a blender.
  5. Sprinkle the topping on top of the pie.
  6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes
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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This recipe was a great place for us to start in the cookbook. It was easy, fast, and great for these chilly nights. It’s basically a left-overs casserole, which is going to be a great thing to try again when we don’t feel like eating the same thing two nights in a row.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say about it:

Grandmas Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Isn’t her handwriting beautiful?

We were kind of confused for about two seconds until we realized the chicken needed to be pre-cooked. Thank goodness Aaron’s mom is just a quick phone call away to clarify. She explained Marguerite used this as mostly a left-overs thing. So we had to go through the extra step of cooking and slicing some chicken.

We chose to do a very basic chicken in olive oil in the oven, since we figured the casserole would provide tons of flavor.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

 

Modifications we made from the original: We choose to layer the cheese on top of the broccoli instead of adding it to the casserole mixture.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

The soup mixture left me (Shannon) feeling a little nauseous, as it did not look appealing when being mixed. Once cooked over chicken, however, it was amazing.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Overall, we really liked this one. It was comfort food and delicious. It would have tasted better if the entire bag of broccoli we used wasn’t almost all broccoli stems. Aaron especially love the extra kick from the curry powder.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. If you're not using leftover chicken, cook two breasts to your liking and slice into strips
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (farenheight)
  3. Mix together soup, mayo, lemon juice, and curry powder
  4. Microwave the broccoli, arrange in a casserole dish
  5. Layer as much grated cheese on top as you want. In my opinion, the cheesier the better!
  6. Lay the chicken strips over the cheese and broccoli
  7. Pour in the mixture and spread into an even layer over the chicken
  8. Top with bread crumbs and bake for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and hot
Recipe Notes

Marguerite recommends serving over rice. We had it by itself and it was delicious.

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