Early American - Corning Ware, not Pyrex

Most of us that collect anything even remotely connected to Corning Glass Works are familiar with some of the Pyrex patterns.  Early American Pyrex Ware, in it's lovely shades of Brown, White and sometimes Gold was a fairly common pattern in it's day. (1962-1971).

There was, however, another Corning product by the same name, though not nearly as common nor well known.  Corning Ware also came in an Early American pattern.

Granted a much simpler pattern, featuring a lone bald eagle in black, and devoid of superfluous accoutrements like weather vanes, cats, coffee grinders, bellows, kerosene lamps and ears of corn.

Very little is known about this pattern, but thankfully some of the original boxes have shown up, so the correct name has been verified.  All the pieces seem to be unmarked, however, the saucepans have P-series handle lugs, so production was prior to 1972.  The fact that there are 2 percolators in this pattern (P-119 and P-116) suggests that date should be lowered from 1972 to 1970, because Corning discontinued the P-119 in lieu of the P-149, which made it's debut in the Renaissance Limited Edition Gift Line from 1970.  Recent developments have also revealed the existence of a P-23-EP (1st generation Electromatic Percolator)... Since these were discontinued in favor of the P-80-EP model in 1966, this firmly places this pattern to a 1962-1966 production window.

There is a variation on this pattern where the eagle has a solid black head.  (As seen on this MW-11 piece)

Whether it was a test pattern or not remains a mystery.

Where is your Corning Ware??
~~

Flower Power!! Take 2 - Floral Bouquet (2nd Edition) Begins to Go Mainstream

In 1969, Corning released the Floral Bouquet Limited Edition Gift line.

Due to it's popularity, Corning decided to continue producing the pattern in 1970, though in a slightly modified form.  This, to us collectors, has become known as 2nd edition Floral Bouquet...  Though at the time, it was still called "Floral Bouquet", just like the Limited Gift line had been.

The modifications were fairly simple... First, the special ceramic knob lids used on the Gift line were replaced with the standard clear glass Pyrex lids.  Secondly, the pattern was altered by using a solid yellow background instead of a linen looking texture and the flowers were accented with blue and avocado colors to make them stand out more. Thirdly, the line was expanded slightly by the addition of a 10 inch skillet and a 1 quart saucepan.

This version of Floral Bouquet would remain in production until mid 1971, when the 3rd edition of Floral Bouquet would be released.

P-12-ES and P-22-B Electromatic Skillet set with P-12-C lid

Note the flat ground bottom....

P-10-B skillet with P-10-C lid

P-2 1/2-B Saucepan with P-9-C lid

P-1 3/4-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid

P-1 1/2-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid

P-1-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid.

Though there is a percolator to match this set, it wasn't released until 1971.  The percolators for Floral Bouquet (2nd & 3rd editions) are exactly the same.  All 9/10 cup percolators have a significant amount of yellow in the background of the front medallion (for the pattern does not wrap around like Renaissance does).  These include the P-149 stove top and the P-80-EP & E-1210 Electromatics.

P-149

 P-80-EP

All the 6 cup percolators, however, have a small single patch of yellow between 2 of the flowers.  As far as I can tell, there were only two 6 cup models produced.  The P-146 Stove Top and the P-6-EP electromatic.

P-146

P-6-EP

No matter when the percolator was produced (1971-1974) it is the size, not the edition, that determined the pattern.  For this reason, I usually leave them out of the "Editions" list... Aside from the Original Gift line P-119, they all look the same.

Where is your Corning Ware??
~~

Posh Nosh - Lobster Mac & Cheese

Normally, I snub my nose at Seafood with Cheese.  I like to TASTE my seafood and cheese tends to be a little to overpowering for the subtlety of things like Lobster and Crab.

That being said, I have found exceptions to this basic "rule".  One of these is Lobster Mac & Cheese.  As long as the cheese is a mild and subtle one, it can be one of the most delectably decadent dishes you will ever consume.

Danish Fontina is my go to cheese for this application.  This mild, subtly nutty cheese is smooth melting as well, which makes for a perfect sauce addition.    I based this "sauce" loosely on "Lobster Newburg", so it's loaded with cream, in 3 different forms.  The Fontina cheese replaces the egg yolks, but I could not leave out the "kick".  Thus, I tossed in some Tabasco, instead of Cayenne, and left the Cognac in to kind of pull everything together and smooth out any rough edges. (it's a miracle liquor in cooking)

The "Lobster" I chose is the smaller Squat Lobster.. which is what is usually used in restaurants for such applications as this. It's usually referred to as Langostine or Langostino in the United States, but could even be sold as "scampi", because the seafood naming conventions in the U.S. are REALLY wishy washy...  Don't get me started on "Colossal Shrimp" that are really prawns (cause there is a difference between a prawn and a shrimp).

Lobster Mac & Cheese

4 oz Unsalted Butter
1 Shallot, minced fine
3 TB AP Flour
1 cup Heavy Cream
6 oz Mascarpone
4 oz Crème Fraîche
1 TB Tabasco
3 TB Cognac
12 oz Danish Fontina
1/4 tsp White Pepper
16 oz Medium Shells
12 oz Langostine (Previously Cooked)
~optional - Black Truffle oil

Parmigiano-Reggiano, shredded
Panko

Corning Ware A-3-B or P-2 1/2-B
Corning Ware A-5-B
Corning Ware P-332 OR 6 of the French White F-16 ramekins OR 6 of the P-14-B Casser-ettes from the Heat n' Eat line (Grab-its)

Fill your A-5-B with 4 quarts of water... Add about 1 1/2 TB of sea salt and place over High flame.

Place your A-3-B (P-2 1/2-B) over Medium-Low flame and add the butter to the saucepan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
When the foaming subsides, add the shallot and saute until soft.

Whisk in the Flour and cook the resulting roux until bubbly and begins to smell nutty.

Add the Heavy Cream and bring to a simmer.

Add Mascarpone and stir until melted and smooth.

Whisk in the Crème Fraîche and bring back to a simmer again.

Add the Tobasco,

then the Cognac.

and cook everything until it begins to thicken slightly....

By now you should be able to drop your pasta into salted boiling water and cook for 3/4 the time listed on the package.

Begin adding the shredded Fontina to the simmering sauce, a little at a time, whisking until completely melted before adding the next handful.

When melted and smooth, whisk in 1/4 tsp White Pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and add the Langostine, then toss it all together to coat the shells well.

Now, you can either pour the resulting deliciousness into a P-332 (like I did this time)

OR.....
Divide the pasta between 6 of the Casser-ettes (P-14-B) from the Heat n' Eat line (which is what I did the last time)

OR.....
Divide the pasta between 6 French White F-16 Ramekins in the same manner... It all depends on how you want to present the dish.

If you are going that "little bit extra" now is the time to lightly drizzle with Black Truffle Oil.

Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano lightly over the top (just a little bit, don't over do it) and sprinkle with Panko.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes for the Ramekins/Casser-ettes or 15 minutes for the P-332.

Turn on the broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes... just enough to color the top.

mmmm Lobster Newburg goodness in pasta form.

Where is your Corning Ware??
~~

Flower Power! - The Floral Bouquet (1st Edition) Limited Gift Line

Though the Floral Bouquet pattern is covered in "the books".  I think these dates refer only to the 2nd and 3rd editions of the pattern (1970-1975) at which point a larger selection of pieces were in production.  1st Edition Floral Bouquet, however, was originally released in the fall of 1969 as a Limited Edition Gift line, just like Platinum Filigree (1966), Renaissance (1970) & Nature's Bounty (1971).   Unlike the other 3 gift lines, however, Floral Bouquet evolved over time, even before breaking out into a full fledged line.

At the end of 1969 Corning released just 3 pieces.  Similar to the Platinum Filigree Gift Line, the Party Buffet (1 3/4 quart) and the Royal Buffet (2 1/2 quart) were chosen.  However, unlike Platinum Filligree, the percolator released was a P-119 Stove Top model instead of an Electromatic (P-80-EP or P-6-EP).  It should be noted here that some of the P-119 percolators are marked as P-219, which means they were originally intended to be sold as "Just/All White" percolators, but apparently the popularity of the pattern forced Corning to dip into their "Just/All White" back stock to produce more Floral Bouquet percolators

These 1st Edition Floral Bouquet saucepans featured a wrap around pattern of white flowers in "negative" due pale avocado outlining and gold linen textured background print.  The matching percolator did not have a wrap around pattern, merely a portion of the design was set front and center.

As with all of Corning's Limited Edition Gift Lines these Floral Bouquet pieces were sold in specially designed boxes featuring a unique numbering system.  Thus, though the piece itself may be marked as a P-1 3/4-B, the box, containing the dish, lid and candle warmer cradle, was labeled as P-520.

Now this is where it gets fun.   Apparently, the gift line was a huge success, so Corning scrambled to add more pieces to the line.. Thus, in early 1970, more pieces were added, though not ALL had the floral pattern.  A couple of coordinating solids were added to break up the busy-ness of the design, when it went to the table.  After all, serve ware should compliment your table, not perpetrate a chaotic assault on your visual cortex.

Added to the original 3 pieces were the P-1 1/2-B with plastic trivet (box P-510), along with a new option for the P-1 3/4; being the plastic trivet (box P-515) instead of Family Buffet candle warmer (box P-520).  The solid complimentary colors were an Avocado P-2 1/2 with Candle Warmer (box P-517) and a Butterscotch P-1 3/4, also with Candle Warmer (box P-516).

1st Edition Floral Bouquet (and coordinates) kicked off what would become a tradition for Corning's "Limited Edition Gift Lines"; the "special" lids.  While Renaissance and Nature's Bounty both had pebble textured lids, the 1st Edition Floral Bouquet & Complimentary Colors had a ceramic knob that literally screwed down onto a threaded stump on the top of the lid. 

These knobs matched the dish.  

Floral Bouquet print pieces had white knobs (to match the negative space flowers) the Butterscotch Party Buffet had a butterscotch knob and the Avocado Royal Buffet had an Avocado knob.

The lid sizes are equivalent to the standard sizes, but followed by an extra C in their model number.  Thus, the P-1 1/2-B and P-1 3/4-B both have a P-7-CC sized lid and the P-2 1/2-B has a P-9-CC sized lid regardless of the knob color.

Though Floral Bouquet changed to the solid yellow background in late 1970 (2nd edition) it appears that a few other pieces were produced in the 1st edition pattern before the change to the design was made   The P-22-B Electromatic Skillet would be one of these pieces.

I also tracked down a P-80-EP Electromatic percolator... Alas, it was smashed during shipping because the seller did not properly pad the heating element inside..

To date, I have found no catalog information giving a date for the addition of these 2 pieces to the Gift Line.

Where is your Corning Ware??
~~