The CWI Cookbook

 1 knuckle of veal [foot with hoof removed]
Butter
Flour
Water
Salt
Parsley

Boil a knuckle of veal, and serve it up with a sauce made with the usual proportion of butter, flour, water, and salt, and parsley, which, in order to extract its flavor, must be chopped very fine.

From The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge, 1847

Comment: For your skeptical friends who do not believe just how very bare-bones recipes were in the 1800′s, we invite you to display this one which we print here in its entirety. A similar receipt today would specify quantities of ingredients down to the fractional portions of an eighth of a teaspoon while here you can almost see Mrs. Rutledge’s sniff of disapproval of anyone who did not simply know from experience what “the usual proportion” of these items should be.