Next, an invitation to a holiday party from Christmas past.

Join us for an open house at the Ballantine Mansion.

- And people would be - very delighted to be there at that...at this open house.

What might have tickled your taste buds had you been one of the lucky few celebrating the season with John and Jeannette Ballantine?

Libby O'Connell imagines a menu of 19th century finger foods that were favorite Yuletide treats.

- And I'm guessing, knowing you, that you've also picked recipes - that are things that we'll enjoy today.

- Yes.

Then from the dining room to the kitchen.

Chef Melissa recreates the cuisine with its preparation every bit as merry as it is bright.

- And then I'll be over here on the side, - just nibbling on that bacon.

That's okay, right?

- Absolutely not.

[LAUGHTER] Discover what might have been served.

Indulgences that would have family and friends loading up their plates, squealing with delight.

That's next on Drive by History - This is so good.

- Yeah.

...Eats.

[MUSIC] Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.

Every day, thousands of motorists pass by countless history markers and say to themselves, 'One of these days, I'm going to stop and read that.'

If you watch Drive By History, you know, that's how every episode begins.

I start with a history marker, then go on an investigation to find out what happened and why it mattered.

What you don't know is that the food or the 'eats' often plays into that part of the history, but there's just not enough time to chew on that part of the past.

And that got me thinking why not revisit that history but with a focus on the food?

This is Drive By History: Eats.

The investigation we're revisiting today begins in Newark, New Jersey, at the famed Ballantine House, the home of brewery titan John Ballantine, now operated by the Newark Museum of Art.

Though the museum is open year round, the Ballantine House is a particular favorite in December due to its festive 19th century holiday decor.

Ulysses Dietz, the museum's curator at the time of my visit, explained to me, as well as Monmouth University Professor Rich Veit, that the emphasis on Christmas at the Ballantine House isn't just ornamental.

It's an area of serious scholarship.

And it's because cities such as Newark played an important role in the development of the American celebration.

- Newark really in the 19th century is this sort of crossroads of a huge - German population, where the Christmas tree comes from, - and a huge English population - where the stockings by the chimney come from, - and then a Dutch population - that has the whole Saint Nicholas thing.

- And they're all living together - at the moment when industrialization - turns Americans into consumers and therefore shoppers, - and therefore the rise of the Christmas present, - and the whole secularization of Christmas from a church - based holiday to a consumer based family holiday.

- And that's when the houses - become the center of Christmas celebrations.

With the House becoming the center of celebration, it's not surprising that in the 19th century, people opened up their homes at holiday time.

I can only imagine how excited guests might have been had they received an invitation to an open house from the Ballantines.

The experience would have been a feast for the senses.

- Well-to-do families not only decked the halls, - they prepared a smorgasbord.

That's why I wanted to revisit this history.

What would have tempted the tastebuds as revelers rang in the season, rubbing elbows with the well-heeled?

To find out, I'm off to Lloyd Harbor, New York, to talk with Food and Culture Historian Dr. Libby O'Connell, author of The American Plate .

- I'm really curious what you can tell me about - this tradition of open houses.

- Well, oddly, it was a new tradition, if that makes any sense.

- Remember, this is a time of a lot of change.

- The economy is changing, - how people lived changed, - and how they celebrated Christmas changed.

- This was a time when you had lots - of different people from all over Europe - gathering in cities like Newark, bringing their Christmas - traditions to the fore and sharing those.

- So we're going to see some pretty interesting food being offered, too.

- Yeah, Ulysees talked about that, that there were different traditions - that came from other European immigrants - that kind of melded into Newark at the time.

- That's right.

- So it sounds like it's a very American holiday.

- I'm curious, then, when did Christmas - become a national holiday?

- Well, that was 1870, which makes it pretty new.

- That is really new, yeah, and pretty modern.

- Pretty modern.

- And one of the things they want to do is create - cultural reinforcers that make people feel like - they're all part of the same place.

- We have people coming from all over the world.

- And how are you going to reinforce a shared culture?

- One way is to create national holidays.

- So I'm curious then, is part of the experience - of going to an open house at the Ballantines - getting to eat like a Ballantine?

- Of course it is.

- They would have a cook who could really create - some wonderful dishes that would be available.

- Sometimes they might represent food that the Ballantines loved.

- And they might represent food that the Ballantines - would think you might love.

Libby tells me that although there would have been an abundance of food of all kinds on the table at the Ballantines open house, for the sake of our investigation, she's imagined the choices would have included some of the most delicious dishes regularly enjoyed by immigrants during their holiday celebrations.

Since Newark had a large number of German, British and Dutch families at the time, that's where she'll focus today.

We continue our conversation by the tree.

- But the recipes that we're talking about today - are going to be things that were easy - to find the ingredients for here, - but very traditional recipes from the old country.

- And I'm guessing, knowing you, that you've also picked recipes - that are things that we'll enjoy today.

- Yes, they suit modern taste buds, - as well as the taste buds of the Gilded Age.

- Well, that's exciting.

I can't wait to see what you've chosen.

- Well, let me show you.

- All right.

- We'll start with actually one of my favorites - and the easiest recipe here.

- Yeah?

- It's for popovers.

- Popovers are based on Yorkshire Pudding, - a fine old traditional English dish.

- That goes way back, yeah.

- Goes way, way back, hundreds and hundreds of years.

- That recipe comes over to the United States.

- Okay.

- And this is a classic example of how America - would take a traditional recipe, use the ingredients - and make it easier, right.

- Mm hmm.

- Popularize it.

- So you start seeing recipes commonly... - you start seeing recipes commonly for popovers - around the 1870s, right.

- Okay.

- So popovers are Yorkshire Pudding made in muffin tins.

- But that also then fits perfectly with the timeframe - that we were talking about earlier.

- It does.

[MUSIC] - So I'm curious, what else have you got?

- I've got something from the German immigrants.

- And remember, they were such a large segment - of the population in Newark at the time.

- And I picked something called krautstrudel.

- Krautstrudel?

- Now I'm used to apple strudel.

- Yes, but this is using strudel pastry, - Okay.

- but with cabbage inside.

- I know it sounds funny, but it's delicious.

- I think that it's strudel that really makes it a special dish.

- Okay, that's what makes it German.

- That's what makes it German.

- Strudel is used in Austria and German recipes - and it is very, very fine pastry.

- It's supposed to be so thin you can read through it, - Right, I've heard that.

- You stack it with butter in between the sheets - and in this recipe, you roll it over - folding in the edges until you get something - that's like a savory jelly roll, really.

- Only with beautiful strudel pastry.

- That's one of my favorites.

- I have to be honest, though, - A jelly roll sounds delicious to me.

- I don't know about the cabbage.

- Oh, get over it.

[LAUGHTER] Yuletides of yesteryear always appear so idyllic in paintings and postcards, some of which you've just seen here.

Will Libby's popovers and krautstrudel be nearly as delicious as those memories of Holiday's past?

To find out, I turn to chef Melissa Fairchild Clark.

- So I'm excited about these recipes that Libby came up with.

- I mean, what better way to celebrate the holiday season - Yes, absolutely.

- than with popovers?

- Something I've always wanted to learn how to make.

- I love popovers.

- They're extremely underrated as far as like a bread basket item in the States.

- But they...I can't understand why, - because they're so easy to make.

- The hardest part to remember is what we're already doing - which is preheating the tins in the oven.

- Perfect.

All right, let's get going.

- Yeah, comes together super quick.

- So first thing, I just want to finish off - my mise en place by cracking and whisking the egg.

- Okay.

- We just want the eggs to not - have any white streaks in them so that we don't have any, - you know, cooked egg white streaks in our... - Gotcha.

- final product.

- Make sure that the yolk and the white are - completely homogenous.

- Homogenous.

- Okay.

- So I'm curious, popovers and Yorkshire Pudding - share a similar background here.

- Yes, they do.

- So in England, they're typically going to be using beef fat - to kind of grease the bottom of that muffin tin.

- Whereas, we are going to be using butter.

- And we think of popovers here as being more of a sweet dish.

- Yes, so yeah, so often you'll see people using jam - because that lovely air pocket - is produced and it's a really great vehicle for things.

- So yeah, you'll see people using jam.

- Today, we're going to be using some salted honey butter.

- Oh, nice.

- Yeah.

- Okay, so you're putting... you're getting your flour - all whisked in there.

- Yes.

- I don't want any - No lumps.

- chunks.

Exactly.

- We really want this batter to be super smooth.

- So I'm adding the flour and the salt.

Next, Melissa adds milk, then water, blending both into the batter.

- It's a very loose batter.

- Very loose.

- And you're going to put more liquid in it.

- We're going to put...yes.

[MUSIC] Then she adds in the eggs that she just whisked a few moments ago.

- So this looks exactly the consistency that we want.

- It's so wet.

- Really, really runny.

- Yeah.

- So what we have to do now is get our preheated muffin - tins out of the oven.

- Okay, I'm on it.

- And then once we have those in front of us, - we'll get a little bit of the melted butter - into it and that will prep it for the batter to go in - and create that lovely pocket of steamy air inside.

- All right.

- Gorgeous.

- Yeah.

- So, Ken, I'm going to have you take a tablespoon - and get about a tablespoon of melted butter... - In each one?

OKay.

- Yes.

- So this is where it diverges then from the Yorkshire Pudding - because we're using butter instead of the beef.

- Yes, same animal, different bit.

- True.

- But here we are.

- Absolutely.

All right.

- So then grab that ladle you have stuck in there, - and we're just going to try and get it about halfway up each tin.

- So the batter is taking a bath in the butter.

- Yes, and that'll create a really nice golden brown crust on top - because those milk solids will kind of caramelize up there.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- So I'm going to use up the rest of the batter to get - the most out of this effort.

- So now we've just got to get these into our 400 degree oven.

- All right.

- Yeah.

- Let's go.

- Looking for our favorite color, golden brown.

- Okay, so our popovers cooked for about 40 minutes.

- Yes.

- They've been cooling for about ten.

- Exactly, so they've released a little bit of their steam - so I can safely handle them now.

- So now we're just going to get them into - a bread basket for the holiday.

- Imagine that on your holiday table.

[MUSIC] - So now on to our second dish, the krautstrudel, - or as it's translated, cabbage whirlpool.

- Yes, can refer to it as that - We sure can.

- from now on?

- Yeah, with that eddy design as you roll it up, absolutely.

- So we're going to start with our chopped up bacon.

- Okay.

- We're going to start this in a cold pan, - reason being that we want to utilize that bacon fat - as the fat throughout the entire cooking process.

- And you get more fat if you start cold?

- Yes, it gives it time to heat up and render.

- So that is the effect that we're hoping to have now.

- Okay, good, I'll have to remember that.

- Yeah, this is looking really toasty and crisp.

- I'm just going to shove it to the back of the pan - to get the bacon fat falling out of there.

- Yeah, keep as much in the pan as you can.

- Exactly, for the rest of our ingredients.

- Okay.

- And then I'm going to come in with the tongs - and just - get this to the side for a little bit.

- And then I'll be over here on the side, just nibbling on that bacon.

- That's okay, right?

- Absolutely not.

[LAUGHTER] - If you insist.

- All right, what goes in next?

- So next we are going to hit it with the onion and carrot [SOUND OF SIZZLING PAN] - and that's just going to cook very little.

- We're just trying to sweat the onion so it doesn't take on any color.

- We just want it looking fairly translucent.

- Wow.

- This is looking beautifully sweated.

- So now we're going to get the caraway seed in - and this is a very quick process.

- We're just hoping to get those essential oils in the seed - that are the whole flavor profile of it.

- That smells amazing.

- Yes.

- So the scent hits you nearly immediately.

- Sure does.

- And we don't want this to burn.

- It is a very finicky, quick process.

- Okay.

- So now I'm going to add the cabbage.

- Can I help you?

Here.

- Sure.

Yeah.

- Let's put the rest in there.

- Now, of course, this looks like a lot of cabbage, - but I know it's going to cook down.

- It will cook down, it will sweat down and become really... - Do you need this again?

- I won't, no.

- Okay.

- It'll become really loose and glossy.

- I just want to toss this around so that some of the cabbage - is hitting the surface area of that heat source and not - And also picking up some of the rendered fat.

- Yeah, get everything kind of nicely mixed in there.

Melissa adds a liberal amount of salt, then tosses the cabbage, adding apple cider vinegar.

Next, she cooks the filling for 15 minutes, first with the lid on, then to remove as much moisture as possible, she removed the lid and cooked the filling for an additional 10 minutes.

- That's really cooked down.

- Yes, this is perfectly dehydrated.

- So now we just have to add the bacon and the paprika in, - mix all of that together, - and then we'll be all set.

- Okay.

- So we'll get the bacon back in there, and... - Oh, I love the smell of paprika when it blooms.

- Yeah, this is beautiful.

- All right, so mix that in and then we'll be all set here.

- Then it's my turn.

- Yes.

- So now we're ready to prepare our phyllo dough.

- Yes, exactly.

- All right.

- So the first step of this is we are... - we have a parchment linked baking sheet.

- We're going to brush that with just a light bit of olive oil.

- And you can be really just sloppy and loose with this.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

Melissa has me brush a total of four sheets of phyllo dough with olive oil, layering one sheet on top of another in what will become the strudel shell.

Next, she adds the filling, carefully leaving a one and a half inch rim so she can fold the sides in.

- All right, so let's see how you put this together.

- So we are going to, I am going to try and get... - on these sides - we're going to fold in the sides.

- Okay.

- And then - roll upwards from there.

- Without getting the parchment.

- And try not to be too crumbly, but... - it is what it is.

- It's hard with phyllo.

- Yeah.

[MUSIC] - Okay, keep rolling - and then you want to end with the same side down - so that as it bakes, it kind of seals itself.

- We've got a good amount of olive oil.

- I would just hit this part with it - Then we will put this in the oven for about 15 minutes.

- Excellent.

- We still have one dish left as we imagine an open house with - Newark's famed Ballantine Family at Yuletide in the 1890s.

- Now we've been preparing a range of holiday favorites - inspired by the different culture groups - that were living in the city at the time.

- We made something English.

We made something German.

- What's left?

A Dutch treat.

- The Dutch have some of the great Christmas traditions that they bring over.

- They have had really - centuries of Christmas observances and - they bring them to this country - and they include something called appelflappen.

- This, these are, these are slices of apple dipped - in a little sugar cinnamon and then dipped in batter.

- At that point, they are deep fried.

- They are, I'd say, a cousin of the donut.

- Okay.

- But they are thinner - and they have a slice of apple inside.

- So what do these recipes then teach us about history?

- Well, every food tells a story and these foods - give us a wonderful insight into history, how people lived - and how they brought their culinary traditions to America.

- And that those traditions become part - of the American tradition.

- Wow.

- Christmas time is a great amalgamation - of different cultures coming together - and putting their traditions on display in the home.

- And the food makes a big part of it.

- Okay, let's get going on this.

- It's basically an apple donut.

- Pretty simple.

- Yeah?

- With a little surprise center.

- Yes.

Yeah, a slice of apple, which is like a cored round, - which is why it's going to be the shape of a donut.

- Okay.

- And I'm just sifting the flour - so that we have less lumps in the dough - Got it.

Okay.

- which I should really call a batter, - because you are looking for it to be a fairly runny.

- Gotcha, okay, so that's our flour going in.

- So that's that.

- And then we'll put our yeast in here - to begin with, as well as some sugar - which is going to help the yeast to activate.

- So it's going to be a risen dough.

- Yes.

- And then, in here we're going to make a well - to put the egg.

- Perfect.

Once the egg is combined into the batter, Melissa has me add lukewarm milk a little at a time.

The milk has been heated to help the yeast activate.

- All right, time for the rest of the milk?

- Yeah, let's get the rest of the milk in there - so that this is looking a lot like a pancake batter.

- Yeah, it is.

- And then we're going to hit it with the butter.

- All right.

You want it all in at once?

- Yeah, just dump that.

- Gorgeous.

- And then the salt, and then one teaspoon of oil, - and I'll just count you a one count of.

- Okay.

- And then - go, go, go...keep going... - Stop.

- Okay.

- All right, this is the perfect consistency we were looking for.

- So now we'll just cover it with a moist towel - to create a humid environment.

- Put it kind of near heat.

- Okay.

- And leave it for an hour.

- Perfect.

All right.

- Beautiful.

- So it's been an hour.

- Yes, and our batter is appropriately proofed.

- You can see on the surface - Yeah, what are you looking for here?

- Those little...little tiny bubbles.

- You can barely see them, but they are proof - that that yeast has activated - and is burping up the gases that are going to create - some lightness to the batter.

- Okay.

- So now we can get into the apple prep - which is peeling, slicing and then coring.

- I'm using this little cookie cutter.

- And we took advantage of the time we had - to get one of the apples ready here.

- Yeah, yeah, get, get ahead - so you're ready for this quick process.

- Okay.

Next, Melissa asks me to dry the apple slices by patting them with a paper towel.

Reducing the natural moisture in the apples will help the batter and cinnamon sugar adhere more easily.

- So now we're just going to get this into the cinnamon sugar to add a little bit of sweetness, some - of those wintery baking spices.

- Yes.

Melissa dusts the other apple slices with cinnamon sugar, too.

Then she's ready for the next step.

- Almost done.

- Yeah, they look great.

- Let me move this out of the way.

- That's out of the way.

- And then can you bring the batter back over because now - we can go straight into the batter.

- Wow, okay, I see where you're going with this.

- So we're going to use a fork in this process.

- Just keep your hands ready.

- And actually, if you want to take the lid off now - Okay.

- that would probably be helpful.

- So... - you kind of want to submerge - the apple in here and really make sure that it's well coated.

- Sometimes this batter does want to pull back on itself.

- Do you want me to move this a little bit so it's closer to you?

- Yes, that would be really helpful actually.

- I'm just thinking so you don't have as far to go.

- Let me twist this around to give us extra space.

- There you go.

- Okay, gorgeous.

- Perfect, there we go.

- So... - Be very careful with this hot oil.

- Yes, be very careful always with hot oil.

- I'm going to step back just because we're putting .

- into hot oil here.

- Yeah.

[SOUND OF SIZZLING] - You see, there's a gorgeous golden brown on the one side.

- Yeah, it looks like a donut.

- Yeah, exactly.

- It's a slightly healthier donut.

- So these are actually looking pretty good.

- So I'm going to grab our sheet tray with a wire rack.

- You could also use one with just paper towels - if you don't have a wire rack.

- I just prefer that it can drip off.

- That makes it drain better, I'm sure.

- Yes, exactly.

- Plus, it gets some air underneath.

- Exactly.

- So it'll cool off faster.

- Yes.

- Which means we can eat them sooner.

- I just said...I'm looking ahead.

[LAUGHTER] - So we are going to just... - Ooh, I like that sound.

- slice it in half.

- And you can see the apple inside.

- Oh, it's gotten soft.

- It's really beautiful.

- I'm just going to stack that a little bit and then add - a bit of powdered sugar to my sifter and make it rain.

- Looks like a little snow scene here.

- Yes, very seasonally appropriate.

- Mmhmm.

[MUSIC] - Well, I feel like I'm at a holiday party.

- Yes.

- All this delicious food.

- Yeah, best part of the party.

- Okay.

- As far as I'm concerned.

- Do we get to try it?

- Yes.

- Okay.

- Dive into the popovers first.

- All right.

- So breaking these open is kind of the best part.

- You can see that little well that's created in there, - which is a perfect vehicle for a little bit of the salted honey butter.

- And you were talking about how it puffed up.

- Yes.

- So it really did.

It creates this nice open space.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

[MUSIC] - They're so light.

- Yeah.

- It is like eating a cloud.

- And I love the texture.

It's a little bit chewy, - but it's still crunchy on the outside.

- Oh.

- That's amazing.

- A little bit sweet, but it's not really like a dessert sweet.

- No, this is a really great brunch option, - Yeah.

- dessert, wherever you are.

- And even an easy finger food.

- Yep, exactly.

- Well, these are a keeper.

- I'm keeping them over is what I mean.

[LAUGHTER] - So next we have our krautstrudel.

- Mmm, okay.

- Pre-sliced up so we can just dive right in.

- Look at that, it's just beautiful.

- So many layers - Yeah.

- on the outside.

- Yeah.

- I can taste the caraway.

- Mm hmm.

- I can speak...caraway with the bacon.

- Yeah.

- The cabbage is sweet.

- Yes, I was going to say the cabbage did kind of caramelize - a little bit, and getting those sucs up off the bottom - of the pan with the apple cider vinegar - really added a nice depth of flavor.

- Well, and the caramelized onion as well after it's been sitting there.

- Yes.

- That is fantastic.

- All right.

Well, this one I'm keeping as well.

[LAUGHTER] - Last but not least, the appelflappen.

- Okay.

- Very well dusted.

- I'm not waiting.

- Oh... - Yeah.

- The dough is soft.

- Pillowy.

- Yeah.

[MUSIC] - This is so good.

- Yeah.

- I can taste the apple cooked just a little bit.

- It's like an apple pie inside of a donut.

- Yeah.

It still has that toothiness.

- I really like that there's this cinnamon sugar dusting.

- It adds sweetness where I would say, - you can get away with not using powdered sugar here - and still have a very delicious dessert like treat.

-You could.

Absolutely.

- But it's also not greasy.

- No.

- It's the way that you fried it.

- It is so delicious.

But you don't have to be a Ballantine to treat your company like royalty.

Thanks to Libby's recipes, you too, can impress your guests with those very same delights from Yuletides of yesteryear.

We'll see you next time.

[MUSIC] All of today's recipes are available on our website, DriveByHistoryEats.org.

Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.