Kitchenware, the family connection

[maytagbear]

I am baking Butter Drop cookies for a meeting at church this evening, and I was thinking about some of the people who used the equipment before.

Using one grandmother's measuring cups. An uncle's cookie scoop (spring loaded disher, #90- 90 scoops to a quart-makes a nice sized cookie.)

The baking sheets were originally Ma's. She had them made at a metal fabrication shop out of scrap stainless steel.

The food processor, measuring spoons, and rubber spatuala (really silicone) are my own.

However, it's nice to feel connected.

I have many of my Ma's kitchen things. My sister wasn't all that interested then.

I also treasure a 7 inch Farberware saute pan, which is a very early one, because it does not have a hanging ring.

So, tell (or show--I would if I knew how) us about a piece or four of your legacy kitchenware, if you are so blessed.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[58limited]

I have my mom's cast iron griddle, formerly my grandma's. It is a Griswald and based on the style and lettering (found a few web pages of collector info), it was made in the teens to early twenties, so it might have been my great grandma's.

 

I have my Grandma's cook book (1941 American Woman's Cook Book). It was recovered by my aunt about 20 years ago. It would not be worth anything on the market because of the replaced cover, but it is priceless sentimentally speaking.

 

I have several of my mom's kitchen items, most of which I grew up with including the Sears crockpot from the early 70s.

 

[appnut]

When my parents closed up their retirement apartment to go to assisted living/, I got my mom's most recent purchased set of ironstone dishes she got from Service Merchandise that were her favorite everyday dishes; I have a hodge podge of various mixing bowls that were apparently my grandmothers and possibly one or two which originally were my mom's Sunbeam SS mixing bowls that she bought to replace the glass ones on her late 1940s MixMaster; and all her Reverwar from the 1970s, thus doubling and tripling some sizes I already had.  I also got all her blue cornflower corningware.  About 4 major pieces and 6 or 8 of the Petite pans.  Those were the major things from that occassion.  When they sold the house in 2002 I got her "breakfast dishes" from the lake house as well as a set of Mikasa that were their last every day (the Service Merchandise set mentioned above) were her nicer set for every day when she didn't wanna use her good china, which my goddaughter received.  The Mikasa is pretty banged up on some pieces, but I liked the over-sized plates that looked like pie pans.  Between those two downsizing events in my parents' life, these were the things I said I wanted or I was the only one of the 3 of us that had any interest.  Pretty much everything else in my kitchen is from the 1970s and 1980s.  I think the Service Merchandise dish set is the newest thing in my kitchen lol. 

[this post was last edited: 5/17/2011-21:40]

 

[polkanut]

We have and use my mother-in-laws Rena-Ware from the late 1950's as well as some assorted Revere Ware, a Pyrex 2 cup measure from my Grandma Baumann, and a Wear Ever 10x15x1 baking pan that my Grandma Wilde used all the time and I do now also.  We also use the MIL's Sunbeam T-20 toaster daily.  Our everyday dinnerware was a gift to the in-laws from my wife for Christmas 1968, it is Mount Clemens dinnerware pattern STT9.  The rest of our kitchenware comes primarily from estate and garage sales.

 

[turquoisedude]

My mother passed away when I fairly young, so I inherited the 'family hierloom" kitchenware pretty early on... To this day, I am still using items that my mother brought with her to Canada like a rolling pin, cake pans, pastry cutters, and 'gripstand' mixing bowls. I also still have the 1975 Sunbeam Mixmaster (white) and I do use it once in a while!
And tradition now dictates that my holiday ritual of baking coconut tarts (my grandmother's recipe) that I use just about all of the above!

 

[mrb627]

Butter Cookie

Who doesn't love a good butter cookie.

Recipe Share?

Malcolm

 

[circlew]

I have the following kitchenware that was my mom's:

Revere Ware (40's-60's)
Corning Ware Cornflower Blue (60's)
Guardian Service (40's)
Pyrex casseroles & baking dishes (50's)
Mirro Aluminum cake pans (round & rect.), muffin tins, cookie sheets (40'-60's)
Toastmaster toaster (early 50's)
Sears mixer by Hamilton Beach (70's)
Hamilton Beach Mixette mixer (50's)
Corelle Frost White placesettings (70's-80's)
Franciscan Ware Desert Rose (40's-80's)
Anchor Hocking Avocado drinking glasses

Most of these items are currently in storage, and I'm looking forward to the day my house is finished, and can enjoy them once again.

 

[westingman123]

Oh, I have too much to list! Mama comes from a big family, and most of my cousins didn't give a hoot about kitchen ware. My favorite? Grandma's cast-iron potato masher. I use it about once a week, and it always makes me think of her.

 

[tomturbomatic]

If you take a tour of Hillwood, the Marjorie Merriwether Post estate in Washington, DC, you will be told when you enter the kitchen that after their mother's death, the three daughters could choose items from the estate and they all chose kitchenware. That kitchen was where I first saw the large Revere bail-handle percolator sitting on one of the large commercial ranges. It was an odd thing to have there since electric coffeemakers of every size were popular when she lived there, but who knows.

One of her daughters is Dina Merrill. She was in the Spencer Tracy - Katharine Hepburn film Desk Set which features an absolutely beautiful 1950s Christmas Tree in the office.

 

[xraytech]

I currently only have a small selection of inherited kitchenware, and all the pieces I have is from my great-aunt Thresa which was my grams oldest sister who would be 95 if still alive. Of her items I have is her KitchenAid coffee mill, an aluminum WestBend covered cake plate, her white enamel 10 qt soup pot, her Corning Wildflower lasagna pan, her MixMaster Junior, and most importantly some of her recipes. In time after the grandparents pass I'll have quite a huge amount of vintage kitchenware, flatware, and china service of which I'm in no hurry to have as I much prefer their presence here

 

[polkanut]

P.S.

I forgot to add that I also have, and we use quite often, my Grandma Wilde's Wagner Ware 5 quart round dutch oven that she received as a gift from her cousin in the early 1950's.  This piece of cookware more that any other has tons of great memories associated with it because grandma used it all the time for just about everything. 

 

[maytagbear]

As requested, the recipe.

Butter Drop Cookies. Sometimes known as Boston Cookies.

375F oven, preheated.

7 cup or larger food processor, Steel knife ("S")blade.

UNgreased baking sheets.

Measuring cups and spoons, rubber scraper, #90 disher or eating teaspoon, metal spatula ("pancake turner.") One sheet of waxed paper, foil, or parchment paper, precut to about 11x14 inches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 1/4 cups unsifted unbleached all purpose flour. Stir in container. Spoon into measuring cup. Sweep off excess with a straight edge. (Measure should be level.) Unbleached for preference, bleached will work. King Arthur in the red and white bag, but other brands will do. I have not, and will not make these with whole wheat flour. These are a "once in a while" treat, not something to be eaten daily.

1 teaspoon baking SODA, level

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt. Use less if using salted butter.

Combine flour, baking SODA, and salt in processor fitted with the Steel Knife. Pulse 6-7 times until well combined. Dump onto parchment, or foil, or wax paper, set aside.

No need to wash processor.

Add 1 cup butter (two sticks), room temperature (at least not directly from fridge)to processor.

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar.

3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar.

1 tablespoon (yes, correct!) pure vanilla extract, McCormick's/Schilling or Nielsen-Massey for preference.

2 large eggs, just crack them into workbowl of processor.

Cover workbowl, start machine, mix thoroughly, up to one minute. Stop, remove lid, scrape workbowl with rubber (silicone) spatula.

Add dry ingredients on top of wet mixture. Re-cover processor. Pulse 4-5 times, until dry ingredients are fully combined.

Drop by teaspoons (or a #90 disher) onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving some space to spread. I like to just put 9 on a sheet.

Bake, in preheated 375F oven for 9-11 minutes. In this new oven, they were wonderfully done at 9 minutes, 10 seconds.

Remove immediately to a cooling rack, or paper towels on several sheets of newspaper. Store airtight when cooled to room temperature. They freeze well, if you can catch them that quickly. I have kept some almost three days.

Makes about 60.

This is a variation on a famous American cookie recipe. I like these far better than the famous variation. In her final edit of her Complete Poems, Marianne Moore said "Omissions are not accidents." That is exactly how I feel about these cookies!

Variations: add 1 cup shredded coconut. Add to the wet mixture after adding the eggs, run a few seconds, to chop the coconut.

Add 1/2 to one teaspoon pure almond extract, subtracting the same amount of vanilla extract.

If you must (I don't care for this version 1 cup chopped nuts.

This processor method of mixing may be used for many other cookies. If your processor is 12 cups or larger, a double batch may be made very easily.

Lawrence/Maytagbear