Recipes from foreign cultures have long
been a source of excitement for culinary adventurers. The Virginia Housewife,
written by Mary Randolph in 1824, had recipes for macaroni, curry, and
several Spanish dishes. Such recipes were still relatively few in the 1920s,
and they were often modified -- sometimes beyond recognition -- to suit
mainstream American tastes and available ingredients. Still, it was possible
to find, in a standard cookbook, a chop suey recipe to serve to your friends
who were coming over to play mah jongg, or even "Spanish Spaghetti" to
have before going off to see that new Italian movie star, Rudolph Valentino,
play a Spanish matador.*
Recipes:
American
Chop Suey
Arabian
Stew
Curried
Lamb with Macaroni
Italian
Salad
Italian
Spaghetti
Spanish
Spaghetti
Swiss
Spaghetti
Tamale
Meat Loaf
Turkish
Stew
From "exotic" regions of the U. S.:
California
Dish of Crabs, Shrimps, and Mushrooms
Opossum
with Sweet Potatoes
*O.k., I'll admit to poetic license here;
Blood and Sand was released in 1922, and that recipe is from a 1926 book.
Back to A Taste
of the 20s
