Egg Custard
 
A note from Anna Jean Mayhew:
The only recipe I could authenticate from the old S&W Cafeteria where Loraylee worked is for the egg custard; it is not mentioned in the novel, but I remember my mother making it and claiming it was the genuine recipe from the S&W. I found the recipe in an article from The Charlotte Observer in the 1950s, which Mama may well have seen. She made individual tarts using this recipe for her bridge club.
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 unbaked tart shells or ceramic custard cups
  • Ground nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Mix sugar, butter, and salt together until lumps disappear. Add eggs; mix well. Beat in milk and vanilla until smooth. Turn mixture into tart shells or custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
  2. Bake at 425ºF for 20 to 25 minutes until tarts set around edges. Middle may still be jiggly.
  3. Keep an eye on the tarts, and if they brown too quickly, cover with a tent of foil and continue to bake until set.
  4. Remove and cool.

Loraylee’s Hot Dogs


Loraylee's Slaw (based on a recipe I learned at Mama's elbow)
 
A note from Anna Jean Mayhew:
Like Loraylee, I grew up having hot dogs at least once a week, and unlike those made in other parts of the country, Southern hot dogs (at least in my part of North Carolina) include slaw, chili, and onions—also mustard, ketchup, and mayo, per individual preference.
Ingredients
  • Dressing:
  • ¾ cup Duke's mayo
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Salt and lots of black pepper
  • Slaw:
  • 1 medium cabbage, grated
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • ½ green pepper, chopped fine
Instructions
  1. Mix the ingredients for the dressing, and pour over the cabbage, carrots, and green pepper. It's best if you let it sit a while before serving. Put a bowl of potato chips on the table too.

Sugar Cookies
 
Soon after Loraylee meets Mr. Griffin, he takes her on a tour of the S&W: “A whiff of something in the air makes me think of sugar cookies.” – from Tomorrow’s Bread
A note from Anna Jean Mayhew:
These cookies are easy and delicious. I made them in less than half an hour (including baking time), and then got my husband to make the photo.
Ingredients
  • 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 ºF. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.
  3. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
  4. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden.
  6. Let stand on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before cooling on wire racks.

 

 

Book Title: Tomorrow’s Bread
Author: Anna Jean Mayhew
Recipes: Egg Custard, Loraylee’s Hot Dogs, and Sugar Cookies
Music Playlist for Tomorrow’s Bread