Sunday 24 December 2023

Madam Arcati Cooks the Books #3; Mrs. K. F Broughton

Madam Arcati Cooks the Books #3

Here we are again back in the Kitchen with Book number 107 of 297.
Pressure Cooking Day by Day by Mrs. K. F Broughton, first published in 1970 my edition is 1975.



I love my pressure cooker and I love this book. I use and refer to it regularly.
Kathleen Frances Broughton was a hero and a pioneer. She was working with pressure cooking from 1948. Her job was to educate the public on it's use and to create safe wholesome recipes.

During the war she volunteered as a Catering Officer with the Quaker 'Friends Relief Service' click for more info.  working with displaced persons and concentration camp survivors.
In 1948 she joined Prestige just at the time they were working towards the first pressure cookers being introduced into the UK.


This is a very English and a very 1970s Bœuf Bourgignon. It is also easy, quick, reliable and delicious.


We all know you can not add flour into a pressure cooker! but she does and it doesn't burn ! (make sure you completely brown every bit of the meat in a separate pan and Deglaze).


 Sorry about the pink plate, I wish I picked a different colour but that is the plate I always use when dusting meat in flour and yes that is a big table spoon.

I should have finished it in the oven to make it a bit more casserole like but hey, I didn't. This was actually the leftovers I had for my lunch. I didn't take a photo of the finished dish at the time.

Well there it is But there is more ! Mrs Broughton's early work was so important both the booklets for Prestige and Tower pressure cookers used her recipes. Jon remembers a recipe for Chili con carne with afection and bought me this


 And yes It is by Mrs Broughton and is fab but modern taste might need to reduce the sugar and then balance the vinegar.


 The recipes might be, as I have read in reviews terribly out of date and old fashioned compared to modern writers but she did the ground work and all other pressure cooker book writers stand on her shoulders

Ttfn

PS. When I bought this book a few years ago I Googled  Mrs Broughton and found a lot of information about her. Now I can find nothing, not even her maiden name let alone any thing about her early years. If anyone has any information please let me know and I will post it. She should not be forgotten.



 

12 comments:

  1. Being around all the ladies in my family they were all Cooks from the likes of the Julia Child type, I never really got around or into pressure cooking. But after seeing your post it gives me some thought.

    Hey happy Yuletide to you madam!

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    1. Whoops, I missed this one it went straight to moderation. Please see reply below
      Happy Christmas !

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  2. Hoorah for Mrs Broughton! I'm no cook, but even I, using that Tower recipe book, could make delicious food. It is amazing that she never got the recognition she deserved, but I suppose in her day it was more important to do a good job, not to bask in fame. Jx

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    1. Hoorah ! Indeed. I think she deserved some kind of medal. As a Quaker I am sure she was a modest woman. I know she was a keen gardener

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  3. I have never used and been a pressure cooker person, being raise by my mother, aunt and grandmother who were all Julia Child fans and recipe followers. But I'd try...your feast looks very good!!!

    And I just might have gotten a bit hot over that very interesting, mildly hot penis salt shaker??? Or is that a very fancy dildo dear???

    A Happy Christmas Eve to you! Now let's drink. Cheers!

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    1. Hello Mistress, lovely to have you in the kitchen.
      I am the opposite to you. I came to Julia Child very late after watching 'Julie & Julia' (2009). I now adore her.
      We bought the Salt Cellar in Amsterdam as a gift for a friend but they were to prudish to use it, Jon and I are not.
      Talking of Amsterdam I have just watched Nigella's Amsterdam Christmas on TV. Knowing that you do like a Cocktail I am sending her festive offering
      'Amsterdamage':
      ice, equal parts dry white vermouth, Cointreau, and Jenever (Dutch Gin) – plus orange bitters
      Cheers

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  4. Mum used to have a pressure cooker, and I'm sure it was used when we were kids, but I haven't seen nor heard of it since the 80s. It must have been one of the few things that got put in the garage during a clear out, and then actually chucked away rather than left to languish there.

    P.S. Just like with Maddie, my eye was drawn to your impressive salt cellar!

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    1. Hello Mr De. Chances are if your Mum used a pressure cooker when you were young she probaly used the manual so you have had some of Mrs Broughton's food without knowing it.
      Our salt cellar seems to have caused a bit of a stir. I find it aesthetically pleasing, It's very ergonomic and fits in the hand very nicely.
      Ttfn

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  5. Sadly I do not own a ceramic Kitchen Wiener. Neither do I own a pressure cooker because of severe childhood pressure cookery-trauma incidents. You are the only person who has ever made me feel a sliver of envy in that regard, though. I mean how can you beat that result - and in TEN MINUTES?!! Another enjoyable read, and another happy afternoon of cookbook hunting online for me! XOO!

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    1. Hello dear, always a joy to see you in the kitchen.
      Thank you for your encouraging words and happy book hunting.
      I have done quite well recently, adding several books to the collection. One of them made me think of you. 'Buffalo Cake and Indian Pudding' by Dr. A. W. Chase in 1863, my reprint 2011.
      "a treasure trove of culinary wisdom from the homesteads of a still rural, pioneering United States."
      Ttfn

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  6. Das Rezept für Beef Bourguignon von Frau Broughton ist so einfach und sieht köstlich aus. Ein Schuss Cognac wäre der letzte französische Touch.
    Mrs. Broughton's recipe is both simple and delicious, a shot of cognac would give it a french touch. :)
    (vvs)

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    1. Schön dich in meiner Küche zu sehen
      Es geht schnell und einfach und ich muss zugeben, dass ich beim Kochen (und das tue ich oft) einen guten Schuss Brandy hinzufüge. Ein Hoch auf Frau Broughton.

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