Author: Abby Murphy

I'm a writer and a history teacher, and I blog about (no surprise here) history, books, and writing.
18th century, confusing recipes, dessert, disaster, fruit, hannah glasse, lessons learned

Apple pie

Abby Murphy

Sometimes you get old recipes right the first time: you decipher the flowery language, you make the right substitutions, you determine the correct proportions. And sometimes, well, you don't.This is a story of when I got it wrong.We begin in apple season. I've been buying apples nonstop at the farmers' market every Saturday, and sometimes… Continue reading Apple pie

19th century, 20th century, adventure, afternoon adventure, family, ohio

Afternoon Adventure: The Tavern Club

Abby Murphy

Happy December! I've just returned from a whirlwind trip home to Cleveland for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful to see family and take long walks and eat lots of delicious (modern) food. Around the holidays we often reflect on the past--not only our recent past and childhoods, but the "family past," stories about my grandfather's… Continue reading Afternoon Adventure: The Tavern Club

18th century, 19th century, books, britain, hannah glasse, history lesson

Colonial Cookbook: The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy

Abby Murphy

Meet Mrs. Hannah Glasse. By day, she is a plain English housewife, struggling to scrape by in the mid-1700s. By night, however, she works on her revolutionary new idea: a cookbook designed for the masses of untrained servants working in fine English homes.source: WikipediaBy 1746, when Glasse began to write The Art of Cookery Made Plain… Continue reading Colonial Cookbook: The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy

20th century, beverages, britain, dining at downton, edwardians, savoy cocktail book

Dining at Downton: Champagne julep

Abby Murphy

There's something I've been keeping under my hat for a while, and it's time you knew: Josh and I are engaged!We're thrilled, and despite all the chaos of starting a new school year, we couldn't be happier. We're also trying to get used to calling each other "fiance," which feels pretty weird. (Did anyone else… Continue reading Dining at Downton: Champagne julep

afternoon adventure, honesty, research, travel, writing

Research comes from the unlikeliest of places

Abby Murphy

As evidenced by my various afternoon adventures, I love visiting historic sites. I will drag Josh to living history museums just to pretend I'm living in colonial New England (more on that soon). When my parents called to say they were planning a weekend in upstate New York, and that they hoped to visit some… Continue reading Research comes from the unlikeliest of places

19th century, afternoon adventure, dining at downton, history lesson, vacation, victorians

Afternoon Adventure: Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park

Abby Murphy

About a month ago I met up with my parents in Hyde Park, New York, for a weekend of sight-seeing and poking around historic places (this is the order of the day with my family). After touring two painters' homes on the first day, we headed to the Vanderbilt Mansion bright and early on Saturday.… Continue reading Afternoon Adventure: Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park

20th century, boston cooking-school, canada, confusing recipes, dessert, history lesson, summer

Shortbread fans (and a bit about ovens)

Abby Murphy

It's the last gasp of summer, friends. The air is getting cool at night (sometimes). Stores offer apple cider in big displays. And this week I go back to school.To mark the occasion, let's look at one more recipe from this summer's Canadian vacation. It's a pretty basic shortbread recipe, one that calls for three… Continue reading Shortbread fans (and a bit about ovens)