You can’t talk about Louisville’s food history without talking about Jennie C. Benedict.
Her name may not sound familiar, but you probably know her most famous dish: Benedictine Spread, a pickle and cream spread that’s still often served as finger sandwiches, particularly for the Kentucky Derby.
Once the most famous caterer in Louisville, Benedict helped define and shape Southern cuisine in Kentucky around the turn of the century. She ran a tea room and soda fountain, was educated at the Boston Cooking School, and offered the first school lunches in Louisville: chicken salad sandwiches sold from a hand cart.
The recipe for the famous chicken salad sandwich can be found in her The Blue Ribbon Cook Book, alongside other filling, regional classics like corn pudding, blackberry jam pie and Waldorf salad. The book has more than 400 savory recipes within its pages.
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But her famous Benedictine spread after her name wasn’t one of them until the paperback edition of The Blue Ribbon Cook Book was released in March this year.
In the new issue, food writer and bourbon lover Susan Reigler shares the story of Benedict’s life and cuisine, and welcomes a new generation of readers and chefs eager to learn more about one of the founders of their city’s food traditions.
“I think people will find this book fascinating,” Reigler said. “There’s a lot here that’s going to be quite traditional and recognized as very Louisville, like [the recipe for] corn pudding. And other things, people will be like, ‘Wow, has anyone eaten this before?'”
In “The Blue Ribbon Cookbook,” readers can find Benedict’s recipes for classic dishes like Parker House Rolls, lamb chops, cheese and nut sandwiches, rice pudding, and grilled cakes, as well as tips like “Crush the parsley in your fingers to remove the smell of onions.”
Readers will also find historical oddities, like an entire chapter titled “Cooking in the Sick Room,” filled with recipes like toastwater, a raw meat diet consisting of “the shaved flesh of a good steak spread on slices of bread,” eggs, and cream, of course Chicken broth.
Brooke Raby, director of sales and marketing at the University Press of Kentucky, said the cookbook is “an iconic book in Kentucky culinary history,” filled with beautiful dishes and recipes of the era.
“Susan Reigler’s thorough and delightful introduction brings Jennie’s legacy to the fore and reminds us that The Blue Ribbon Cook Book is more than a collection of recipes,” she said. “It’s the history of Kentucky, and a new format makes this treasure more accessible to all.”
In her introduction, Reigler said that Benedict – referred to as “Miss Jennie” in the introduction – has a voice that is eerily similar to Julia Child from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Miss Jennie was known for helping ordinary cooks prepare for elaborate events, and the cookbook includes menus for formal dinners, informal dinners and simple lunches, “all listing far more dishes and courses than are served in most households today “.
This is one of the cookbooks that are in high demand. It often disappears from library shelves or is loaned to a friend who never returns it.
“When I was at The Courier Journal, I got requests, and so did the editor and the stylist,” Reigler said. “So the University Press of Kentucky responded to people’s demand, and I think it did pretty well. That’s why it’s being reissued. It came out in hardcover in 2008 and is now available in paperback, so there must still be demand. ”
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Benedict’s recipes and techniques have permeated the menus of many Louisville restaurants. Kathy Cary, who Reigler describes as “a modern-day Jennie Benedict,” owns a very popular and stained copy of The Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Uptown Cafe chef Matt Weber whipped up Benedictine spread on smoked salmon morsels, and Holly Hill Inn chef/owner Ouita Michel used a Benedictine recipe when she cooked at the James Beard House in New York City.
Though Cary closed her longtime restaurant Lily’s Bistro to retire in 2020, Reigler said she still sees Benedict’s legacy in town.
“Just look at all the women in the hospitality industry here,” she said. “The ones with smaller cafes, places like Blue Dog Bakery and The Cheddar Box. To me, that speaks volumes to her legacy.”
Reporter Dahlia Ghabour covers food, dining trends and restaurants in the Louisville area. Send tips for new places or story ideas to dghabour@courier-journal.com or follow @dghabour on Twitter.
The Blue Ribbon Cookbook
WHAT: A fifth reprint of Jennie C. Benedict’s most celebrated cookbook from the University Press of Kentucky, with a foreword by food writer and bourbon lover Susan Reigler. Once the most famous caterer in Louisville, Benedict had a significant impact on the city’s food culture.
PRICE: $16.95 paperback, $19.95 hardcover
WHERE: Available in local bookstores or by ordering online.
Kentucky Benedictine Spread recipe
ingredients:
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons cucumber juice
- 1 tablespoon onion juice
- 1 teaspoon salt a few grains of cayenne pepper
- 2 drops of green food coloring
directions:
To get the juice, peel and grate a cucumber, then wrap it in a clean tea towel and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Discard pulp.
Do the same for the onion. Mix all the ingredients with a fork until well blended. With a mixer, the spread becomes too runny.