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I just found the following instructions written by a reader of "Inglenook Magazine" and included in the Inglenook Cook Book: 

"Take 8 tablespoonfuls of flour, enough water to dampen the flour; rivel with the hands and put the rivels into fresh beef broth"

I certainly had never heard the word "rivel" before.

I also found some fun contextual instructions in the same book:

"After church, visit or washing (according to the day) add to your beans a teacupful of sweet cream; salt to taste, and serve."

What interesting instructions have you run into?

An heirloom Pumpkin Pie recipe in the family calls for "a knob of butter the size of a hen's egg."

Similarly a friend's mom was complaining to one of her aunts that she couldn't get any of the deceased grandma's baking recipes to turn out. Her aunt smiled and patted her hand, "You know dear that when a recipe calls for cups of flour, that it means the blue china tea cup that sat in the flour bin."

Originally Posted by: Fyretigger

"You know dear that when a recipe calls for cups of flour, that it means the blue china tea cup that sat in the flour bin."

I love it. My Finnish Grandmother who at age nine had a job baking pies for the threshing crew was famous in the county for her pies. Unfortunately, she never owned a cookbook nor wrote any notes (I would love to have her pickle recipe), nor had any daughters cooking at her side. If you tried to get directions from her it was along the lines of "enough flour", "until it feels right" . . .

My husband could never get an heirloom family cookie recipe correct (biscotti from the Italian side of the family), until he heard from one of his dad's cousins that her mother would turn on the mixer and leave it on "long enough to fold a basket of laundry."  :) :) :)  

When my grandmother made fondue, it was always finished with a konigstasse of kirsch. Konigstasse = kings head - it was a shot glass with a picture of a king (like a playing card king) on it.