Flashback to 1949: Creamed eggs on ham biscuits

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

In celebration of Idea Alley’s 75th anniversary, I’m taking a look back at what Arkansas cooks were making in 1949.

I came across this random gem while scanning through the April 10, 1949, Arkansas Gazette. It was the last paragraph in a roundup of odds and ends around Little Rock, which included news about Dunbar High School students winning four first-place awards at an annual band festival, social studies teachers opting to use alternatives to textbooks, shopping for Easter dresses, hats and shoes, sixth-graders at East End presenting a program about Africa, and a piano recital at a home on Kenyon Street.

“Creamed eggs are delicious served on split ham biscuits for a Sunday night supper dish. To make the biscuits use the standard baking powder recipe calling for two cups flour and add about half a cup of finely chopped cooked ham to the dry ingredients before the liquid is added.”

To find detailed recipes, I turned to my 1962 edition of “Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.”

Creamed Eggs

6 hard-cooked eggs

1 ½ cups Medium White Sauce (recipe follows)

Toast (or ham biscuits; recipe follows), for serving Paprika or chopped parsley

Cut eggs in fourths and add to white sauce; stir carefully. Serve on toast (or ham biscuits). Sprinkle with paprika or chopped parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Medium White Sauce

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Scant ½ teaspoon salt Ground black or white pepper

1 ½ cups milk

Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and a dash pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook quickly, stirring constantly, till mixture thickens and bubbles — a wooden spoon is handy.

Remove sauce from heat when it bubbles. If sauce cooks too long, it becomes too thick and the butter separates out. To repair: Add more milk and cook quickly, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles.

Ham Biscuits

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup shortening

½ cup finely chopped cooked ham

2/3 to ¾ cup milk Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the ham. Mix lightly. Make a well; add the milk all at once. Stir quickly with a fork only until dough follows fork around bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (Dough should be soft.) Knead gently with heel of hand for 10 or 12 strokes. Roll or pat dough ½ inch thick. Dip biscuit cutter in flour, then cut dough straight down — no twisting.

Bake on ungreased baking sheet in very hot (450 degrees) oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Even as we take this look back to the recipes in Arkansas newspapers 75 years ago, Idea Alley is still accepting your recipes submissions, requests and culinary questions.