You should never trust an old recipe that doesn’t have a few stains or some food smeared on it.  If it’s not dirty or well-worn, then it probably wasn’t used very often to begin with and isn’t worth the effort to make.

My Grandparents Knode owned and operated Maple Hill Inn way back in the day.  That’s my Grandmother hard at work in the picture above.  Before the popularity of ‘B&B’s’, the Maple Hill Inn operated as a long term, short term boarding residence for travelers and visiting businessmen and was open as a restaurant to the local folks. 

When people ask me about my love of cooking and my lifetime spent working in the restaurant world, I jokingly reply (but it’s the truth) “Well, ya see, I ate my most of my meals as a toddler in a commercial sized kitchen”.

Dr. Gearing, who delivered me into this world, was a big fan of my Grandmother’s Chocolate Pie.  Shortly after my birth, as an extra-special thank you, Grandmother Knode made and delivered to Dr. Gearing’s house an entire homemade-from-scratch old fashioned Chocolate Pie with meringue topping.

Below are pictures of two recipes, handwritten by my Grandmother Knode.  There’s something so warm and personal about a recipe handwritten by your Grandmother some 60-plus-years-ago.

PINEAPPLE CRUMB CAKE

WALNUT TEA CRUNCH SALAD

Here’s a link with more pictures and information on Maple Hill Inn  Woodstock, Virginia