Every year at the beginning of September, the Art Deco Society of California hosts the Gatsby Summer Afternoon, a 1920s and 1930s themed garden party and picnic. I went for the second time this year with my mother, and once again planned out an entire spread for us using recipes from 1920s cookbooks.

This time I learned from last year‘s mistakes to: 1. Not bring quite so much food for only two people; 2. Use stale bread for sandwiches or dry it out in the oven first (soft bread = soggy sandwiches); 3. Bring an extra bottle of water! Sugary punch is delicious but isn’t enough to keep you hydrated on a hot summer day. Plus, this year we were able to use a c. 1930s/1940s wagon from my grandfather to carry all of our supplies from the car to the picnic area; the wheels squeaked incredibly loudly the entire time and I was worried they might fall off, but they did not! It was much easier than carrying everything by hand, and we got to use the wagon as an extra table.

Picnic Club Sandwiches from The Motorist’s Luncheon Book, 1923:

Picnic Club Sandwiches:

• 6 slices bread, at least a few days old
• about 1 cup cooked chicken, minced
• 2-4 lettuce leaves
• about 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• small bundle of chives, minced
• just enough mayonnaise to moisten

1. Use 3 slices of bread for each sandwich. If the bread is very soft, toast it in the oven at low heat for a bit first to firm it up.
2. Cover the first slice of bread with chicken, then top with a second slice of bread.
3. Cover the second slice of bread with lettuce leaves, then cover the leaves with a mixture of celery, bell pepper, chives, and mayonnaise.
4. Put on the third slice and press together. Trim off the edges of the sandwich and cut across diagonally to make triangles.

Prohibition Punch from Rare Recipes Old and New, 1923:

Prohibition Punch:

• juice of 3 lemons
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 bottles ginger ale
• 1 bunch of mint
• ice

I modified the original directions slightly to make transporting my punch to the picnic easier, since my pitcher doesn’t have a lid and I didn’t want it to spill in the car. I combined the lemon juice and sugar in a pitcher, then added the mint and ice. I packed the pitcher and the three unopened bottles of ginger ale in a bag with several ice packs for transport, then added all the ginger ale to the pitcher once I arrived at the picnic.

Crumb Cake from Bettina’s Cakes and Cookies, 1924

Crumb Cake:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Add the flour and nuts and continue mixing until the mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. Reserve one third of this mixture in a small bowl.
3. To the remaining two-thirds of the mixture, add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well incorporated, about two minutes.
4. Pour into an 8×8 square cake pan greased and lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the reserved one third nut mixture on top.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.
6. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. I transported my cake to the picnic in a cookie tin lined with parchment paper.

Tasting notes:

The Crumb Cake was definitely my favorite recipe of this picnic. The mixing method seemed kind of unusual and I wasn’t sure how it would work, but it turned out to be delicious. It’s sort of like a coffee cake with a streusel topping, but the topping is a bit lighter while the cake is denser (in an excellent, chocolatey, nutty way). The Prohibition Punch was excellent too; it’s fairly similar to the punch I made last year, but with a higher proportion of ginger ale. It was also much easier to make since all you have to do is dump all the ingredients in together.

The Club Sandwiches turned out much better than the sandwiches I made last year, although I had difficulty cutting them neatly so they looked a little messy. The minced filling also had a tendency to fall out the sides while eating, but it did taste good. Two small sandwiches (cut into four very small triangles) was a good portion size for two people.

I also brought a fruit salad, but did not follow a recipe for this. The 1920s fruit salad recipe I made last year had a sugar syrup dressing and was much too sweet, so I decided keeping it simple with assorted fresh fruit was the way to go.

References:

Southworth, M.E. (1923). The motorist’s luncheon book. New York: Harper & Brothers. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=NCNBAAAAYAAJ

Veltin School Cook Book Committee. (1923). Rare recipes old and new. Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rare_Recipes_Old_and_New/8CIxAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Weaver, L.B., & Le Cron, H.C. (1924). Bettina’s cakes and cookies. New York: A.L. Burt Company. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=mZJBAQAAIAAJ