Fancy Food... Frugal... and Not so Frugal

Ultimate Chocolate Pie - Not Frugal!

We had a very slushy nor'easter come through last night, and the sleety tail end definitely makes today an indoor day. A good day for making soup, for instance. I have some black beans and ham that are cooked and ready to use in soup... I'll just saute some onions, celery, and bell pepper, then add the black beans and their broth, trim and add some minced ham, and later some brown rice, chopped kale, and seasonings. Mmmm good, especially with a square of corn bread.

Now, I'm not a Facebook fan, but... sigh... many of my family members are on it, and so checking for family photos and news is a morning ritual. This morning's cruise through Facebook yielded a tip for a very fancy chocolate pie. I'm sure it is delicious, but a quick scan through the loooooong ingredient list told me that this would be a very expensive recipe to make. Several different kinds of chocolate and chocolate candy, and purchased chocolate wafers for the crust (something not available in many smaller markets, at least in my area.)

And that got me thinking about frugality in cooking "special" things for company or a festive Sunday dinner. I see so many recipes like this chocolate pie. They look delicious, but the ingredients include things that are unusual, and/or expensive, rather than the basic things we buy on a regular basis and have on hand. We're used to seeing this in upscale magazines, but nowadays even lower-brow publications seem to feel that you need to have a few "gourmet" ingredients in a recipe or it's just not sufficiently unique to publish. Add in the trend for using a lot of prepared food ingredients in recipes, such as bottled sauces, crackers or candies, and there seem to be very few frugal recipes around.

Now, my goal is not just to cook cheaply, but to do it with some flair. I like to make delicious, even impressive meals, especially for company, but I don't like to spend a whole week's grocery budget on one meal! The solution I've found is to specialize in classic, even historical, American cookery. The best in American cooking is very good indeed, and worthy of perpetuation, I think. Most people find it interesting and nostalgic. especially when you can provide some history for your recipes.

For example, I read in a novel about something called "vinegar pie." Apparently the pioneers, not having fresh lemons available, made pies with vinegar in place of lemon, to give that tangy sweet-sour flavor. I found a recipe for a vinegar pie in a Martha Stewart cookbook, and prepared it for a pot-luck supper. Not only did everyone love it, but they were enchanted with its backstory. And it was quite inexpensive to prepare, too.

For me, James Beard's American Cookery is the best in my collection of classic American cookbooks, in part because he gave so much interesting historical information along with the recipes. And I don't think there is a bad recipe in the book! But I keep my eye out for older cookbooks at library sales, yard sales, and used book stores, too, where I've gotten some gems for a dollar or two. Specializing in this type of cookery, I can often do all my shopping at my local discount grocery, which sells most of the basic ingredients used in these types of recipes, and don't have to search around town for more exotic and usually expensive ingredients.

Google.com is also a good source of historical recpies and their backstories. (By the way, I consider a recipe to be "of historic interest" if it originated in the 1950's or earlier.) Another good source is Allrecipes.com, which has the advantage of a lot of user reviews and comments. If I hear or read about an old recipe that sounds interesting, I Google it and usually get lots of hits. Last year, I found an old recipe I'd lost for Cranberry Cumberland Sauce (not really frugal, as you have to buy currant jelly and port wine, but delicious for Thanksgiving) this way.

Vinegar Pie - Frugal

Speaking of vinegar pie, I just Googled it and found (a) lots and lots of recipes, and (b) a very interesting blog post with nice pictures. It looks just like the vinegar pie I made years ago. No Google back then! It's definitely a frugal and delicious dessert recipe. I also learned that vinegar pie is mentioned by Laura Ingals Wilder in her books.