Grace Hartley was the food editor of the Atlanta Journal and she published two cookbooks: Grace Hartley's Cookbook: Over 40 Years of Recipes from the Atlanta Journal published in 1796, and Grace Hartley's Southern Cookbook published in 1995.

I have the later one, and naturally am curious about any overlap there might be between the two, and which one is better. The one I have is made up of recipes sent in by readers (name and hometown provided) and favorites passed down in Grace Hartley's family. A cookbook reader like me appreciates the distinction.

Here is a Hartley recipe. The idea of pouring a milk gravy (that has lemon juice in it) over steamed iceberg lettuce is something I am working at getting my mind wrapped around. I have lots of romaine right now, so maybe I will give it a try, although iceberg might work better.


Head Lettuce with Bacon Sauce

1 large head lettuce
3 slices bacon
2 tablespoons bacon fat
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cut lettuce into six wedges. Place on a rack in a large saucepan. Pour in only enough boiling water to cover bottom of pan. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until lettuce is tender but still crisp. (It will darken slightly.)

In the meantime, cook bacon until crisp. Drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and mix with flour in the pan until smooth. Gradually add milk and onion. Cook until medium thickness, stirring constantly. Crumble the bacon and add along with the salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mix well. Serve over steamed lettuce wedges. Makes 6 servings.


Here is another unusual recipe, a chicken pie, the assembly of which resembles lasagna. The sour dough aspect of it caught my eye, but reading through the directions, my jaw dropped. There are some points in it that I was asking myself: would that work, or would it be a soggy mess? And all that butter reminded me of Paula Deen's cooking. Well, Mrs. Mansell (Maude) was also from Georgia.

It is supposed to make 15 servings, but the recipe says: "But it is so good eight people can devour it."

Mrs. Mansell's Sour Dough Chicken Pie

2 recipes (2 cups flour each) plain biscuit dough
2 chickens (about 3 pounds each) cooked and boned
1/2 pound butter (1 cup)
Black pepper
10 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
2 1/2 to 3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk

Cover biscuit dough and leave in the refrigerator for two days, to become sour. Line sides of a very large baking pan with one third of the sour dough, rolled thin. Place about one third of the chicken in pan and dot with butter. Roll sour dough very thin, cut into dumplings, and place over the chicken. Sprinkle generously with black pepper. To this add a layer of sliced eggs and dot with butter. Repeat layers of chicken, butter, and dumplings. Add remainder of eggs and chicken. Dot with butter and cover with chicken stock seasoned to taste. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour over all and add 2 cups milk.

Roll out remainder of sour dough and cut into four equal pieces. Place on top of pie, trim off excess, and press edges together to seal. Dot with butter. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Here is another doozy, from Griffin, Georgia. It brings to mind those fried chicken Sunday dinners after church when fancy Jello salads were an important part of the meal.



Raisin Salad

1/2 cup water
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup boiling water
1 (3 oz) package lime Jello
1/2 cup ginger ale
5 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt
1/2 cup finely cut celery
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped sweet pickle
Crisp salad greens
Mayonnaise

Boil raisins in 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes. Let cool. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the Jello and stir until dissolved. Add ginger ale, lemon juice, and few grains of salt and stir until blended. Chill until thick but not firm. Add celery, carrots, pickle, and raisins. Pour into a 4 cup mold and chill until firm. Serve unmolded on salad greens and topped with mayonnaise. Makes 4 servings.