Ingredients
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup walnuts, broken
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp flour, opt, see note
2 eggs, separated
1 whipped cream
Directions
This very sweet dessert was a favorite of former Canadian Prime
Minister and Noble Prize winner, Lester "Mike" Pearson. "Perhaps for
sound political reasons, no member of the household staff (of the
Prime Minister's residence) can remember any specific occasion on
which it was served."
Anne' s note: I chopped the dates in a food processor with the 1 Tbsp
of flour (to prevent stickiness) and then added 1 tsp of flour to the
mixture.
Blend the ingredients (except the eggs) lightly with a fork. Add
unbeaten egg yolks and stir lightly. Fold in stiffly beaten egg
whites. Pour in buttered baking dish and set in a larger pan
partially filled with hot water. Bake at 325F until it becomes light
brown (20-25 minutes). Serve cold with whipped cream. SERVES: 6
SOURCE:_The Prime Minister's Cookbook_ by Susan Cartwright and Alan
Edmonds posted by Anne MacLellan
Servings: 6 servings
Pearson's Food For The Gods Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit; Pear
The History of Recipes
It is actually possible to trace the history of recipes way back into ancient history, in truth as far back into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further. Having said that, mostly, these old recipes were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history are some tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel exhilarated. As we move into Roman times 25BC a man called Apicius compiled some documents which described recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into starters, main course and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. Additionally, he tells us how the ancient Romans were skilled in the use of many aromatic flavors, including a few you will know such as basil, fennel and asafoetida. As we move on, we have two interesting recipe books published in the 1300s ; a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, they are not about the indian food that is popular today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals cooked for the nobility of the period. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from middle-east cuisine, including spices such as basil and coriander. The introduction of these new foods and spices was responsible for a torrent in recipe manuscripts, many of which still exist in academic collections. During the next few centuries, the wealthy families of Europe tried to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and because of this chefs and their recipe collections increased in prestige. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cookery and recipe collections really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the USA, spent years to collating, trying out, and writing down popular recipes of the day. By the advent of the 20th century, recipe books were increasing in popularity as a result of higher levels of literacy, more spare time and a general increase in wealth. The revolution that is television brought us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everyone to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Pearson's Food For The Gods recipe.
