Recipes from Segundo Recetario de Cocina (1944) y Enciclopedia del Hogar (1947)

Segundo recetario de cocina. [Mexico, D. F.] : Excelsior, [1944]. [TX716.M4 S448 1944]

Enciclopedia del hogar : tercer tomo del recetario de cocina de Excelsior. [Mexico, D. F.] : Excelsior, [1947]. [TX716.M4 E53 1947]

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The Mexico City Newspaper Excelsior began publication in 1917 and, over the course of its long history, became one of the most important and influential 20^th century Mexican newspapers. In the 1940s, Excelsior issued a series of recipe books, including two that we hold in our collection: Segundo Recetario de Cocina (1944) and Enciclopedia del Hogar (1947).

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Segundo Recetario de Cocina opens with a discussion of table settings, family nutrition, and meal suggestions for dieters before moving on to the second, much longer section devoted to recipes, which is divided into the following categories:

• Cocktails
• hors d’oeuvre
• entremes calientes (hot appetizers)
• panecitas propias para servirse en las comidas (dinner rolls)
• presentacion de los platillos (presentation of dishes)
• consomes (clear broth soups)
• sopas (soups)
• sopas secas (pasta and rice dishes)
• pescados (fish)
• aves (poultry)
• carnes (meat)
• ensaladas (salads)
• especialidades Mexicanas (Mexican specialties)
• postres (desserts)
• helados (ices and ice creams)
• pasteles (cakes)
• diferentes clases de panes propios para desayuno y meriendas (breakfast and snack breads)
• refrescos (sodas)

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In contrast, Enciclopedia del Hogar’s recipes are organized quite differently – not by course or type of food, but by meal and by state of origin. Two short sections at the beginning of this book address ways to create an attractive and stylish home (flower arranging, furniture selection, etc) and the art of the table (table settings, linen selection, etiquette, etc). Part 3 – the largest section – is entitled Fiestas Sociales. It offers menus and recipes for the following:

• Comida sencilla (simple meal)
• Comida formal (formal meal)
• Cena (dinner)
• Lunch
• Té (tea)
• Manera de server Cocktail Party
• Manera de server Garden Party
• Diferentes servicios de buffet
• Merienda para un juego de Bridge (snacks for bridge games)
• Merienda para una Fiesta de Niños (snacks for children’s parties)
• Desayuno de Primera Comunión (first communion breakfast)
• Tamalada (Tamale Party)
• Cena de Navidad (Christmas Eve dinner)
• Día de campo (picnic)

For Comida Sencilla or a “Simple Meal” (though clearly still one worthy of significant preparation) Excelsior suggests cocktail firpi (prepared with rum and gin), sopa de espinacas (spinach soup), paella; pichones en salsa de piñon (pigeons in pine nut sauce), hamburguesas regias (royal hamburgers), and pastel de piña y almendra (pineapple almond cake), all to be accompanied by white wine and cream for coffee.

Part 4 provides recipes for Especialidades Mexicanas (Mexican specialties) by state, including (to name a few) pozole from Jalisco, Mole Michocano from Michoacan, Sopa de Tortuga from Tamaulipas, and Barbacoa from Tlaxcala.

The final section of Enciclopedia del Hogar is entitled Diversas (various) and provides recipes for cocktails, refrescos (sodas), helados (ice creams), platillos de Vigilia (meals for lent), Platillos Mexicanos y bebidas para acompañarlos (Mexican dishes and drinks to accompany them), and a final concluding paragraph on Cómo cocinar rápidamente en casos de emergencia (how to cook quickly in emergencies).

Perhaps you might wan to try one of Excelsior’s recipes for your next social event!

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Refresco de Ciruela Pasa y Naranja de Segundo Recetario de Cocina (1944). P. 125.

• 150 gramos ciruela pasa
• 1 vara. Vainilla
• 850 gramos azúcar
• 8 naranjas jugosas
• 4 sifones
• 1 ½ kilos hielo

MANERA DE HACERSE: Las ciruelas se lavan y se ponen a remojar durante 6 horas en medio litro de agua, se muelen junto con la vainilla, se les agrega el jugo en que se remojaron, 1 litro de agua, el azúcar, y el jugo de las naranjas colado, se ponen al fuego y se déjà hervir hasta que forma como una miel, luego que se enfría, se van llenando las copas hasta la mitad de esta miel, se llenan con el agua de sifón, se les agrega unos trocitos de hielo y se sirven inmediatamente.

Prune and Orange Soda from Segundo Recetario de Cocina (1944). P. 125.

• 150 grams prunes
• 1 vanilla bean
• 850 grams sugar
• 8 juicy oranges
• 4 soda waters
• 1 ½ kilos ice

TO PREPARE: Wash the prunes and soak for 6 hours in a pint of water. Blend with vanillahe plums are washed and put to soak for 6 hours in a pint of water, blend with the vanilla bean and add the water in which the prunes soaked, 1 liter of water, sugar, and the juice of the oranges. Heat to a boil and cook until it forms a syrup, then cool. Fill cups half-full with the syrup and then the rest of the way with soda water. Add a few bits of ice and serve immediately.

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Pichones en Salsa de Piñon de Enciclopedia del Hogar (1947) P. 38.

• 6 pichones
• 60 gramos Manteca
• 100 gramos jamón
• 1 cebolla
• 2 litros caldo
• 400 gramos jitomate
• 100 gramos piñon
• ¼ de litro de crema del dia
• 200 gramos chícharos
• 4 cucharadas jerez dulce

MANERA DE HACERSE: En la Manteca se fríen los pichones ya limpios; cuando empiezan a dorar se agrega la cebolla picada y el jamón en cuadritos, cuando ésto está bien frito, se agrega el jitomate asado, molido con una cebolla y colado; una vez reseco se agrega el litro de caldo, sal y pimiento; cuando consume, se pone el piñon molido y disuelto en ¾ de litro de caldo;se déjà hervir, al volver a espesar se agrega la crema, el vino y los chícharos, solo se déjà en el fuego a que tome punto de salsa espesa; se sirve muy caliente.

Pigeons in pine-nut sauce from Enciclopedia del Hogar (1947) P. 38.

• 6 pigeons (other types of small poultry could be substituted)
• 60 g butter
• 100 grams ham1 onion
• 2 liters broth
• 400 grams tomatoes
• 100 grams pine nuts
• ¼ liter of fresh cream
• 200 grams peas
• 4 tablespoons sweet sherry

TO PREPARE: In the lard, fry the already-cleaned pigeons. When they begin to brown, add the chopped onion and diced ham. When this is well fried, add the roasted tomatoes, ground-up with an onion. Once this mixture cooks sufficiently to start getting dry, add the broth, salt, and pepper. When ready to eat, dissolve the ground pine nuts into ¾ liter of broth; bring to a boil, add the cream, wine and peas, and cook only just long enough to form a thick sauce. Serve hot.