Colonial Christmas Cooking

Christmas holiday dining and celebration during the Colonial period. Originally published 1990, revised in 1991. 33 recipes, 61 research notes, 10,605 words.. Colonial Christmas Cooking by Patricia B. Mitchell will assist those wishing to plan a Yule theme dinner, as well as anyone interested in learning about historic foodways. Descriptions of different styles of celebrating the birth of Jesus are presented - from the Moravians' devout joyousness to the Anglican's bubbly merriment. (And then there was the Puritan non-participation in the celebration ... .) Recipes for "Wassail," "Joy Tea Cakes," "Jamestown Sweet Potato Pudding," etc., contribute to the holiday mood. Numerous colonial-era anecdotes and bits of legend and lore add to the appeal of Colonial Christmas Cooking.. This and other books by Patricia B. Mitchell were first written for museums and their patrons, and are now available as Kindle editions. Each of her books summarizes a food history topic, using quotations and anecdotes from early sources to both entertain and inform. She includes original, adapted, and commemorative recipes. She carefully lists her references to make it easy for others to launch their own research. . Since the 1980's Patricia Mitchell's work is a proven staple of American museum culture. Her readers love to share her ever-present sense of discovery. Her sales are approaching a million copies, and she is widely known by her web identity FoodHistory.com.