“You Should Only Be Happy” … with good friends and nostalgia

Several weeks ago, my very dear friend Marilyn found an old, neglected, and priceless book hiding on the back of a shelf in the library where she volunteers: an autographed copy of The Molly Goldberg Cookbook written by Gertrude Berg, the famous (to my parents’ and grandparents’ generations, anyway, though I had also heard of her) radio and television star of the 1930s to 50s. A documentary -- “Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg” -- was recently shown at the Michigan Theater, and tells about the writer/actress “and the massive appeal and influence of (her) Jewish American … character.” While Gertrude was well-educated and a winner of both Emmy and Tony Awards, Molly was quite the yenta -- “lovingly meddlesome” -- in an increasingly assimilated family trying to retain its identity. And the cookbook written in her name displays that generosity of spirit in abundance.

Marilyn showed me the book and -- knowing my fondness for cooking, for Jewish culture and for old family recipes -- said that I should take it home to try it out, and then write about my experiences. I was about to fill out the library card, responsible person that I am, but then saw something which told me the card and the book should not be separated: the first time the book was taken out was 2 months before I was even born -- in October, 1962 -- by a woman who signed her name quaintly as Mrs. (her husband’s name). So I emailed the librarian, Nika (another very good friend), to let her know about Marilyn’s recovered treasure and to let her know that I was taking exceptional care of it. She wrote back with tremendous excitement, but said that she’d never had any luck with recipes from her own copy of the book; she was hoping I might have more success.

I’ve been so busy in recent weeks that I hadn’t had an opportunity to cook anything from the book before now, though I’ve spent many evenings perusing the recipes. But as I type, my home is filled with the fabulous aroma of Apple Auflauf (Souffle Cake), a brown sugar-glazed upside down dessert. Many of Molly’s recipes are “Old World” -- Jellied Carp with Grapes, Chopped Brains, Baked Tongue Rolls -- and not particularly suited to modern tastes, although they are fascinating to read. But many others sound wonderful, and I found it difficult to choose whether to make Armenian-Style Lamp Chops (with garlic, lemon juice and paprika), Fresh Mushroom Soup (with onion and caraway), Muttle’s Pancake Noodles (thin crepes rolled up and then sliced into long, slender noodles), or Polish Chocolate Squares (a sheet cake).

My favorite aspect of the cookbook, though, is not so much the food as it is the commentary at the beginning of each section or accompanying some of the recipes:

“I find that sometimes my daughter is walking around the house without her head. I don’t have to ask the trouble, I know already there’s a boy someplace.”

“She says she got the recipe from her aunt that lives in Oslo and I got my recipe from my grandmother that lived in Nishnii Novgorod and that’s not in Norway. So what’s the distance between the two towns? I’ll tell you exactly. Three doors down the hallway. I live in 5C and Mrs. Wiersma lives in 5F, that’s the distance ….”

“Some nights I have a previous with the P.T.A. [sic] And on those days Jake stays late at the factory, so I prepare this recipe for him to cook when he gets home …. There’s supper all good and hot and tasty - at least I haven’t had a complaint yet, but maybe that’s because Jake is so glad to see me home at long last.”

Truly, in reading these recipes it’s as though you’re carrying on a conversation with Molly over a cup of coffee and a nosh … :)

I finally settled on baking the apple cake because of the involvement of yet another friend in this scenario. There are several women I know who call themselves “The Golden Girls,” but whom I refer to lovingly as my “bubbes” -- Yiddish for “grandmother;” they are trying to teach me to play Mah Jongg. Esther, Rose, Betty, Fran and Jayne -- all of whom I have tremendous affection for -- have adopted me into their regular Saturday afternoon game, which Jayne hosted this past weekend. Before I left, she very generously shared gifts of food, including apples … well, that’s all I needed to make the decision final. From Marilyn’s sharing the book with me, to Nika’s hopes that I could find a recipe that would work properly, to Jayne’s providing the key ingredient, the very light, caramelized, fragrant and delicious Apple Auflauf was the perfect choice. I will enjoy it for breakfast with strong coffee, and think of everyone who contributed to the cake’s -- and to my -- success.

Apple Auflauf (Souffle Cake) -- recipe slightly adapted for ease of preparation

3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 4 small apples, peeled, cored, quartered, sliced thin 3 eggs, separated 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cold water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 cup ground almonds

Preheat oven to 350Â° F. Spread the butter on the bottom and sides of a 9”-square baking pan. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar over the butter, then lay the apple slices over the sugar; sprinkle the remaining sugar over the apples and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the apples rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the cake batter. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until they are light in color. Stir in the water and the vanilla, then stir in the flour, the baking powder and the almonds. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold them into the batter. Spread the batter carefully over the apples, then bake the cake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures as she tries to win prizes, feeds hungry teenagers and other loved ones, and generally just has fun in the kitchen. The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured next to the blog's title) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15, and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here!

You can contact Mary at yentamary@gmail.com.