Vintage Recipes- A casserole of ham (and potatoes) 1942
Vintage Recipes
Homemakers of the past had plenty of helpful routines and tricks that modern homemakers can benefit from. And, they had recipes. Hmmm.
Are they still delicious today, with taste buds accustomed to fast food and convenience foods? I have a passion for collecting retro magazines and cookbooks, and am excited to share these treasures with you!
With the economy on our minds, vintage homemaking books offer a plethora of information. With the Great Depression causing staggering poverty, World War II followed close behind. Our great-grandmothers deeply understood stretching a dollar to make ends meet.
We have the opportunity to learn at their feet through the stories and recipes in old books. (Vintage Recipes and Cookery has a good collection of ideas here.)
This is the 1st installment of Vintage Menus, and we’ll travel back to March 1942, with American Cookery magazine.
Ahh, nothing sounds quite as cozy as a “casserole of ham”…plus, I had leftovers to use up.
For every recipe I try, I’ll give you the lowdown and include a free printable card.
A vintage recipe for casserole of ham
I was happy to find a simple recipe that used pantry ingredients, plus an aging set of potatoes and leftover ham. It seemed quick and easy, but slicing the potatoes thinly turned out to be more time-consuming than expected!
Here is what I found confusing
What the heck is condiment sauce? Digging around, there were no definitive answers I could find. Some suggestions were Worcestershire, mustard, and Kitchen Bouquet. A common theory is that if it were NOT a mixture, it would just be a condiment. Ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.
Should it cook with the lid on or off? I left mine on, thinking the steam would help cook the potatoes.
Things I would do differently
For the mixture of “sauce”, I chose Worcestershire sauce. Mixing in sauce with flour was gross…the flour was SO clumpy. I had to just use my hands to try and lump it into equal pieces. It did NOT melt and mix in the oven. If I made this again, I’d use the milk, flour, and butter, and DEFINITELY make a roux first. Pouring some over each layer
Less than a teaspoon of salt for all those potatoes probably wouldn’t fly in today’s food tastes of sodium in every convenience food we eat. Those weren’t part of the norm in 1942. Consider seasoning with rosemary, garlic salt, or your favorite herbs
Cheese and potatoes, yum. Maybe not as accessible then, but it was in my fridge, so I added about 1 cup total between three layers
Final thoughts on this vintage recipe 1940’s
Flavor-wise, it was pretty tasty (with extra S & P). Once we navigated the lumps from the sauce/flour mixture, we decided it would make the future rotation.
A casserole of ham is just scalloped potatoes, souped up. Use whatever you have, including veggies. It would be easy to change out the sauce for several condiments in the fridge.
A fun aside, this pan is from my wedding gift shower…30 years ago!
Can you imagine serving this recipe? What would you change? See you next month, for a new vintage menu experiment!
Click here for a free recipe card printable for A Casserole of Ham (American Cookery, March 1942).
1943 WARTIME The Victory Binding of The American Woman’s Cook Book
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