Josie’s Cook Book

Said to have been compiled from 1891 collection of Josie Earp’s recipes by Tom Thomas, Wyatt and Josie Earp’s Cookbook is available on Amazon and includes the kind of sketchy, untested recipes that housewives jot down to remind themselves of ingredients.

Mary can’t vouch for their authenticity and hasn’t tried them personally, but here is a sampling of recipes mentioned in Epitaph.

Marble Cake.

Whites of 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 3 even cups flour, 1 of milk, 1 teaspoon cream tartar, 1/2 of soda, flavor with vanilla. Beat butter and sugar to a cream; beat whites to a thick froth and add. Sift cream tartar with flour and dissolve soda in milk. Stir in a little flour before adding milk.

Crullers.

4 eggs, 5 large spoons melted butter, 4 ooz milk, 8 oz sugar, 1 small teaspoon soda in milk.

Stewed Carrots (French style).

Take 2 bunches of carrots, clean and trim; put in a saucepan with salt, pepper, 1 teacup of water, 1 tablespoon of butter, 8 lumps of sugar, cover and boil for half an hour. Then remove the lid and place where they will simmer slowly till all the water has cooked away, leaving nothing but butter.

Doc’s Pea Soup.

Soak a quart of dried peas overnight. In the morning put them on the boil with fragments of fresh meat; also cloves, allspice, pepper and salt. Let boil until soft, then strain through a colander. Have some pieces of bread or crackers inch square, and put them in the oven to dry; a pint of bread to a quart of peas. Take 2/3 of a cup of melted butter and put the bread in it; stir until the bread and butter are well mixed, then put into the peas and it is done. If peas do not boil easily add a little saleratus.

Chocolate Caramel Cake.

2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup milk, 3 eggs beaten separately, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons yeast powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Bake in layers.

WHITE FILLING. — 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup milk. Boil eight minutes, then add 1 tablespoon flour stirred in 2 tablespoons cold water and then boil five minutes longer. When cool beat to a cream.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL FILLING. — The same as above, only 1/4 stick of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate. 1 teaspoon vanilla.