Grandma's Recipe Box

   By Bruce Shawkey I believe it was sister-in law Karen who rescued Grandma Quam's recipe box when we moved Grandma into a nursing home in the '70s. Many recipes are written in her own handwriting, sometimes using a fountain pen (to give you an idea of how old some of these recipes are). Many give credit to the person she got the recipe from. Many other recipes are clipped from newspapers.  Many times, quantity of ingredients are not not given, just a "pinch" of this or a "dash" of that. Very few spices, mostly cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Fairly typical of Norwegian cooking. Recipes for Norwegian foods such as Rommegrot, Lefse,  Krumkake, etc. are not included as these were in Grandma's head and didn't require a written recipe. Curiously, there are many recipes for hot dishes and casseroles that I don't recall Grandma ever making. Many of her dishes were vegetables from the garden, a chicken, or chuck roast. Just solid food, nothing fanc...

Here is the next recipe from Grandma Quam's recipe file that I'm going to attempt to make. (Sister) Dawn has been after me for quite some time to make "Black Bottom Pie," famously served at the U.W. Memorial Union cafeteria.   The pie was originally created by Carson Gulley (June 9, 1897 – November 2, 1962) who was head chef at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1926 to 1954 (left). The building where he once worked is now known as Carson Gulley Commons, located at 1515 Tripp Circle. It was the first university building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be named after an African American. In his day, he baked many pie flavors, but his Black Bottom Pie was his most famous. His recipe made it into the Wisconsin State Journal in the 1960s, and Grandma Quam copied the recipe in her own handwriting. Here is the recipe: Ingredients: Crust:  1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1/3 cup melted butter Filling:  2 cups milk 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons...