My idea of a good party. Forget the men…hang out with the chocolate. Neither one are that great for you but the chocolate won’t lie to you.

This is an OLD (over 100 years) recipe, but there is nothing old-fashioned about it. Can you imagine, after making it letting it age for several weeks, the “aroma” that will hit you when you open the tin? Children and the elderly need to stand back!

BLACK CAKE

“If you have lips, prepare to smack them now.”

—Shakspeare, slightly altered.

Take one and a half pounds of the best butter, and the same weight of pulverized sugar; beat them together to a cream; stir into this two dozen eggs, beaten to a froth; add one gill of old Jamaica rum; then add one and a half pounds of sifted flour. Stir and beat all well together, and add two pounds of finest bloom raisins, stoned; two pounds of Zante currants, washed, cleaned, and dried; one pound of preserved citron, sliced thinly and cut into small pieces; one pound of preserved French cherries, in halves; one pound of green gages, and one pound of preserved apricots, stoned and cut into small pieces; half a pound of preserved orange and lemon peel, mixed, and cut into small pieces; three grated nutmegs, half an ounce of ground mace, half an ounce of powdered cinnamon, and a quarter ounce of ground cloves. Mix all the ingredients well together, and bake in a well-buttered mould or pan, in a slow oven, for five and a half hours.

This cake is vastly improved by age. Those intended for the Christmas festivities should be made at or about the first of October; then put the cake into a round tin box, half an inch larger in diameter than the cake; then pour over it a bottle of the best brandy mixed with half a pint of pure lemon, raspberry, strawberry, or simple sirup, and one or more bottles of champagne. Now put on the lid of the box, and have it carefully soldered on, so as to make all perfectly air-tight. Put it away in your store-room, and let stand till Christmas, only reversing the box occasionally, in order that the liquors may permeate the cake thoroughly.

This heroic treatment causes the ingredients to amalgamate, and the flavors to harmonize and blend more freely; and when, on Christmas day, you bring out this hermit, after doing a three months’ penance in a dark cell, it will come out rich, succulent, and unctuous; you will not only have a luxury, “fit to set before a king,” or before the Empress of India, but fit to crown a feast of the very gods themselves, on high Olympus’ top.

I found this list in an old cookbook. It’s a great guide for matching herbs to various foods.

Flavor match-ups: What goes with what?

Try these ideas for herbs and spice, then experiment!

Allspice: Add 2 whole allspice to the pot when stewing chicken. Dash ground allspice over fruit salad. Season cranberry juice with allspice, cinnamon, and cloves; serve hot or chilled.

Anise seed: Gives bread or cookies a delightful licorice flavor. Add to filling for baked apples.

Basil: A natural for tomato and potato dishes. Try 1/4 teaspoon in each cup of tomato-juice cocktail. Add a pinch to tomato aspic or cheese souffle. Use to brighten the seasoning for hamburger patties, meat loaf, or tuna casserole.

Bay leaves: A favorite because they give pleasant flavor to meat, fish, soups, potatoes. When making potato salad, cook potatoes with a bay leaf and onion.

Caraway seed: Add to cream-puff batter-2 teaspoons for 1/2 cup flour; fill with creamed ham. Or make tiny puffs; fill with ham salad and serve as appetizers. Sprinkle caraway over coleslaw.

Cardamom seed: Sprinkle on baked custard, fruit salad, or chilled melon cup. For dessert coffee, place 2 crushed cardamom seeds in each demitasse cup; fill with demitasse coffee.

Celery seed: A must in pickles, relishes, potato salad.

Chervil: Add bouquet garni when cooking peas: For 1 pound frozen peas, use 1/4 teaspoon each chervil and thyme, and 1 teaspoon snipped parsley.

Chili powder: Add a dash to scalloped oysters or canned corn.

Chives: Great in cottage and cream cheeses, scrambled eggs, cream soups. Spaghetti is wonderful tossed with butter, Parmesan, and finely snipped chives.

Cinnamon: Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle on 4 grapefruit halves; fill center with butter; broil. Add 1/2 teaspoon to crumbs for 1 graham-cracker crust. To flour mixture from 1 package angel-cake mix, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg. Sift.

Coriander seed, ground: Add to potato salad, bread, cookies, pumpkin pie, and cherry pudding.

Curry: Add to deviled eggs-1f4 to 1/2 teaspoon for 8 eggs. Make curried pastry for main-dish pie: Add 1 teaspoon curry per cup flour; sift with flour.

Dill: For dilled creamed potatoes, add 1f4 teaspoon dried dill weed for each cup white sauce. Wonderful in sour cream sauces. Add dill seed to coleslaw or potato salad.

Garlic Powder: About 1/4 teaspoon is equal to one small clove garlic. Adds zingo to meats, vegetables, salads, and dressings.

Ginger: A must in many desserts, of course. Often goes along with soy sauce to lend an Oriental touch to chicken, pork, lamb, or beef. Try adding to seasoned sour cream to dress a chicken salad.

Horseradish: Adds zest to meats and fish, cheese, and’ eggs. For ham sandwich spread, mix 1/4 cup soft butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 2 teaspoons poppy seed, and 2 tablespoons chopped onion.

Mace: Add dash to cherry pie, a light shake to oyster stew.

Marjoram: Particularly good with lamb. Accents mushrooms nicely. Perfect in scrambled eggs, omelet, or souffle-add 1/4 teaspoon to 4 eggs. Season rice with marjoram, chervil, parsley, thyme; serve with roast chicken or lamb.

Mint: While peas simmer, add few mint flakes or minced fresh leaves. Mint makes fruit beverages, fruit cups and salads more delightful. Add dried mint flakes to hot cooked rice.

Mustard: Add a bit of dry mustard to scrambled eggs. Dry or prepared mustard goes in cheese sauce. Remember mustard seed for relishes, buttered cabbage.

Nutmeg: A must in Swedish meat balls. Add a dash to creamed onions. Dot canned peach halves with butter; dash with nutmeg; broil. To yellow cake mix or favorite recipe, add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice.

Oregano: It’s a favorite of Mexican and Italian cooks. Gives character to meat loaf, stew, chili con carne, potatoes, tomatoes. Sprinkle in potato or seafood salads. Add to baked beans.

Paprika: Use a colorful dash on dips and spreads, salads, and vegetables. Add to flour mixture when coating meat for browning.

Cayenne Pepper: Not related to regular pepper. Should be used sparingly in sauces for sea food, in dips, spreads, egg dishes, and with meat, fish, and poultry.

Poppy seed: Nice in cheese breads. For poppy-seed pastry, add to flour mixture before the water; use 1 teaspoon for each 11/2 cups flour.

Rosemary: Distinctively fresh and sweet, but potent! You will like it with meats, dumplings, biscuits. Nice with cauliflower or corn. It’s a flavor complement with garlic powder and parsley.

Sage: Whole leaf or ground (rubbed), it has a strong but appetizing flavor. Best liked with pork, in stuffings, for turkey and chicken. Mix with process cheese for a flavorful spread. Use to season clam chowder; add dash to canned tomato soup.

Savory: Also called summer savory. Add a sprinkle to pea soup. To sauce cauliflower, combine can of condensed celery soup and a pinch of savory-wonderful! A half-teaspoon in biscuit dough gives delightful aroma. Add to scrambled eggs-lf4 teaspoon to 2 eggs. Nice in stuffings, stew, meat balls. Use on green beans.

Sesame seed: Use in breads and cookies. Toasted sesame seed makes terrific topper for vegetables or add to basting sauce for fish. To toast, spread seeds in shallow pan; heat at 3500 for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tarragon: Use with all sea food, hot or cold. Important in chicken, egg, and tomato dishes. Gives tang to tartare sauce. Does marvelous things for creamed chicken-use 1/2 teaspoon to 2 cups liquid. Perks up the flavor of cream of spinach soup. Add a pinch to favorite cheese sauce.

Thyme: Blends well with other herbs. Popular seasoning for soups and chowders. Use with carrots, green beans, peas, onions. Sprinkle on sliced tomatoes, salad greens, sea-food salad.