Random Cherished Recipes From History's Most Famous Figures (15 items)

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  (#11) George Orwell

  • Dec. at 47 (1903-1950)

  In 1945, the same year he published Animal Farm, visionary satirist George Orwell wrote an essay on the state of British cuisine called "British Cookery." Orwell laments the design of food preparation in England saying, "Cheap restaurants in Britain are almost invariably bad, while in expensive restaurants the cookery is almost always French, or imitation French."

  After his survey of the state of British cuisine, Orwell included a few of his own recipes, including this take on the classic British Christmas pudding.

  George Orwell's Christmas Pudding

  1 lb. each of currants, sultanas, and raisins
  2 ounces sweet almonds
  1 ounces sweet almonds
  1 ounces bitter almonds
  4 ounces mixed peel
  ½ lb. brown sugar
  ½ lb. flour
  ¼ lb. breadcrumbs
  ½ teaspoonful salt
  ½ teaspoonful grated nutmeg
  ¼ teaspoonful powdered cinnamon
  6 ounces suet
  The rind and juice of 1 lemon
  5 eggs
  A little milk
  ⅛ of a pint of brandy, or a little beer

  Wash the fruit. Chop the suet, then shred and chop the peel. Stone and chop the raisins, and blanch and chop the almonds. Prepare the breadcrumbs. Sift the spices and salt into the flour. Mix all the dry ingredients into a basin. Heat the eggs, mix them with the lemon juice and the other liquids.

  Add to the dry ingredients and stir well. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little more milk. Allow the mixture to stand for a few hours in a covered basin. Then mix well again and place in well-greased basins of about eight inches diameter.

  Cover with rounds of greased paper. Then tie the tops of the basins over the floured cloths if the puddings are to be boiled, or with thick greased paper if they are to be steamed. Boil or steam for five or six hours.

  On the day when the pudding is to be eaten, reheat it by steaming it for three hours. When serving, pour a large spoonful of warm brandy over it and set fire to it.
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  (#12) George Washington

  • Dec. at 67 (1732-1799)

  A small beer has lower alcohol content than most other beers. It was a colonial favorite partly because of its low cost. George Washington, ever a practical man, developed a recipe for small beer that could have been quite a hit at the very first Fourth of July celebration.

  George Washington's Small Beer

  1 large sifter of bran hops
  3 gallons of molasses
  1 quart of yeast

  Take a large sifter full of bran hops to your taste. Boil these three hours. Then strain out 30 gallons into a cooler, put in three gallons molasses while the beer is scalding hot, or rather drain the molasses into the cooler and strain the beer on it while boiling hot.

  Let this stand until it is little more than blood warm. Then put in a quart of yeast. If the weather is very cold, cover it over with a blanket and let it work in the cooler 24 hours. Then put it into the cask [and] leave the bung [hole] open [until] it is almost done working. Bottle it that day [or] week it was brewed.
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  (#13) Ezekiel

  • Dec. at 52 (621 BC-569 BC)

  There are few recipes as ancient as the Ezekiel Bread found in the Bible. This bread has been found to be such a reliable recipe throughout history that there is even a successful brand of bread that calls its baked good Ezekiel.

  Ezekiel's Bread (Taken from Ezekiel 4:9)

  Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;
  Put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself.
  You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.
  Weigh out [20] shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times.
  Also measure out a sixth of a hint of water and drink it at set times.
  Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread;
  Bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.
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  (#5) Agatha Christie

  • Dec. at 86 (1890-1976)

  It's hard to imagine a more English dish than mystery author Agatha Christie's scone and cream mix. Christie loved her clotted cream made the old-fashioned way, "scalded and taken off the milk in layers." While later in life, she would have her butler cook for her, there is little doubt that she made these scones and cream herself, the passionate foodie that she was.

  Agatha Christie's Fig And Orange Scones With Devonshire Cream

  1 large egg
  ½ cup buttermilk
  1 tablespoon grated orange zest
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  ¼ cup sugar
  1½ teaspoons baking powder
  ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  ½ teaspoon salt
  ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
  1 cup fresh figs, chopped into half-inch pieces

  Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, and orange zest.

  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or rub together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add chopped figs and toss lightly until spread throughout. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until the mixture clumps together, being careful not to overmix.

  On a floured countertop, gather mixture into a ball and knead once or twice to combine. Pat into a half-inch-thick circle. Cut into eight slices, like a pie, or into circles using a biscuit cutter. Place on lined baking sheet.

  Bake 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to cooling rack, and eat warm with an “enormous amount” of cream.
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  (#6) Jimmy Carter

  • 94

  Whatever your opinion of his politics, Jimmy Carter is not a flashy individual. The former US president's career after his time serving as the head of state is marked with the same kind of down-to-earth simplicity that he's displayed his entire life, especially when it comes to his cooking. 

  Jimmy Carter's Plains special cheese ring - named for the town of Plains, GA, Carter's birthplace - is a tasty treat that couldn't be easier to throw together for a casual gathering.

  Jimmy Carter's Plains Special Cheese Ring

  1 lb. grated sharp cheese
  1 cup finely chopped nuts
  1 cup mayonnaise
  1 small finely grated onion
  Black pepper
  Dash of cayenne

  Mix all of the ingredients, then mold with your hands into the desired shape. Place in the refrigerator until chilled.
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  (#1) Rosa Parks

  • Dec. at 92 (1913-2005)

  Rosa Parks spent her entire life fighting for justice. She was the recipient of dozens of honorary doctorates and humanitarian awards, remaining a powerful speaker and advocate for civil rights until she passed in 2005. In the midst of all her work, Parks apparently took time to cook - even jotting down a recipe for "Featherlite" peanut butter pancakes on the back of a shipping envelope. 

  Rosa Parks's Featherlite Pancakes

  1 cup all-purpose flour
  2 tablespoon baking powder
  ½ teaspoon salt
  2 tablespoon sugar
  1 egg
  1¼ cups whole milk
  ⅓ cup peanut butter
  1 tablespoon shortening, melted, or any neutral oil, like canola

  As for the recipe itself, Parks only writes, "Combine with dry ingredients; cook at 275° on griddle."

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