Clan McRae Cook Book

This Cookbook Dedicated to Vera Jane Pitkin McRae (July 29, 1911 to October 20, 1983)

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This cookbook was inspired by the gourmet cooking of Vera Jane Pitkin McRae, born July 29, 1911, in Chicago, Illinois. She passed away October 20, 1983, in Coalinga, California, leaving 4 children and a dozen grandchildren (two who were born after she died) reminiscing about “Grandma’s” cooking. It has been, we regretfully admit, 16 years in the making. We hope you and generations of your children will enjoy Grandma Vera’s special way of preparing recipes.

Not only could she cook, but she had a way of presenting food that was appetizing. She used lots of greens like parsley and lettuce to make the meal appetizing on the plate. Lots of times, she fixed plates in the kitchen and presented each person their own plate at the table. She took great care in following recipes she found the first time, then changing the ingredients to suit her taste and meticulously writing down her changes. She worked for years on her Tomato Soup Salad Dressing and there are several different ones, but we tried to pick her last variation. She was well known for her appetizers, and we know you’ll find many of your favorites here. Another specialty was cookies, especially at Christmas. She had the patience to bake for hours on end, carefully wrapping and freezing until the holidays arrived, when she would parcel out her goodies to family and friends alike. There was one trip from California to Washington for a Christmas visit, when she placed boxes of the specially wrapped offerings in the cartop carrier, only to find one missing on arrival! That mystery has never been solved, but it was either the other passengers or an enterprising “cookie thief” at one of the rest stops along the way! Another of her specialties was soups. So, try some of them for yourself, and you be the judge.

Several copies of Vera’s recipes in her own handwriting are included. One, her Rum Torte recipe on Page 136 is written on music paper. She was a music graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago and played the piano for the pleasure of others for many years. She also taught music lessons. Later in life, she bought an organ, taking lessons herself.

You will find other contributors to this cookbook as well. Her love of cooking inspired several generations as can be seen by the number of recipes provided by her daughter, Judy Ann McRae Brock, and her granddaughters, Laura Jane Brock Castro and Jo Anne Brock Robbins. Her sons Michael and John are both great cooks as well. Her eldest daughter, Patricia Marie Rossi, who passed away August 4, 1996, kept encouraging us to complete this book for her grandchildren. May God Bless each one of your in your cooking adventures throughout the years.

John and Pennie McRae

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