A friend of mine brought her 90-something mother by not long ago to let me know she is enjoying my book "Dainty Dining," which her daughter is reading to her chapter by chapter. Talk about a heartwarming moment! I asked my friend's mother the name of a few department stores where she remembers dining, and she mentioned Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh, Pa. Naturally, that sent me on a quest to see if I could find some Kaufmann's recipes.
As luck would have it, I came across a copy of the book "See What's Cooking at Kaufmann's." Among the recipes in the book was one for "Our Famous Nut Bread," so naturally I had to try this "famous" food for myself.
The recipe was easy to make, and after I refrigerated it overnight it sliced just beautifully!
The cookbook also said Kaufmann's recommends using this bread to make tea sandwiches, so I did that as well and greatly enjoyed the nutty bread served with an olive and cream cheese filling. In case you'd like to try this yourself, here's the recipe as I made it.Kaufmann's Famous Nut Bread
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and coat a 9 x 5 x 4-inch glass loaf pan with cooking spray. (The Kaufmann's cookbook says to preheat to 350 if using a metal pan.) Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Using electric mixer, blend butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat for about 2 minutes. Add pecans and mix well, then add milk and mix again. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed of mixer, just until combined. Bake for 1 hour, then let stand in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Wrap unused bread tightly in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate.
Note: "See What's Cooking with Kaufmann's" said this bread is "delicious served as finger sandwiches with a cream cheese and olive filling." I made such a filling by combining 4 ounces cream cheese and 20 olives in the food processor and pulsing until blended well.
Oh what a wonderful story to hear about one of the fans of your book!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe seems to be very good!
ReplyDeleteI WILL HAVE to try this -- I adore this type of tea sandwich!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post today, Angela! Your department store quest shows no signs of slowing down, and that's a very good thing! Love the history and memories department stores evoke, and the memorabilia [cookbooks, dishware, etc.] keep them "alive" even though most are long gone.
ReplyDeleteAnother great story! Another great find! Another great recipe! Another great tea sandwich!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to try this -- and the olive/cream cheese spread sounds delicious, too! :)
ReplyDeletethis bread looks divine!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful story.
ReplyDeleteThe bread looks awesome.
Love nut bread for tea sandwiches. How nice to get to chat with this 90 year old that loves your book.
ReplyDeleteHello Angela, love the recipe! Thanks for including the postcard, it's beautiful. Your research makes these treasured stores 'seem alive!'
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and for all your hard work - have a great day,
Joanie
How fun to hear about some of those department store tearooms from your friends mom.
ReplyDeleteThe Kaufmann's nut bread sounds delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
I used to go to Kauffman's when I was a little girl, when living in PA. I need to try this recipe as it sounds and looks delicious. I'm your newest follower!!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this!** Thank you very much
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I loved the nut bread and olive spread sandwiches! THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this recipe from my Tic Toc Room memories!!
ReplyDeleteThis was always, ALWAYS my favorite lunch at Kaufmann's. Nothing quite like it!
ReplyDeleteWould love to find this book!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Pittsburgh in the 1970s and this was my favorite treat from the Tic Toc Shop! Thank you so much for bringing it back into my life
ReplyDelete