Retro Recipe Challenge Blog

RRC 10: Story Book Food

2007-11-03T07:48:00.000-04:00

This month's host for RRC 10 is Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried . Here's her announcement! -- LR

I am just delighted to be hosting this month's retro recipe challenge and have been racking my brains for something suitably challenging. Rather than go with the obvious Yuletide theme, I thought I would go back to my childhood - the source of all things retro. Being of Irish descent, there were some pretty un-fascinating foods consumed during my childhood - butterscotch angel delight, smash, fluffy eggs (a bizarre speciality of my mother's which actually deserves its own post), and beany mince (yes baked beans with mince), and I think you'll all agree they don't hold much culinary merit or really deserve to be resurrected. Apart from the squidgy bitter-sweet Guinness cake I used to frighten my school friends with - that is truly the stuff of legend.

Instead I turned to the real culinary inspiration of my childhood - story books. From Maurice Sendak's In The Night Kitchen, through Maisie Middleton and her amazing home made breakfast to Brambly Hedge's hedgerow delicacies, I would dream about foods completely unknown to my humble tastebuds.

So my challenge to you is to revisit your childhood story books - it might be Paddington's marmalade or the tiny cake bearing the invitation, 'eat me', that Alice ate in Alice and Wonderland. Then find a way to recreate that dish using those retro recipe resources. The only stipulation is that the original recipe must have been published or originally made before 1980 (seems pretty recent to me!)

Make your story book dish and write a blog post about it - with pictures if possible and maybe even a link or image of the book you used for inspiration. Let us know where you got your recipe from too - even if it is something you remember your mother making. Then send the post to me at: naomidevlin (at) f2s (dot) com - by midnight on December 14th and I will post all the entries on my blog at the end of the month. I look forward to hearing all about it.

2007-10-31T07:54:00.000-04:00

Dolores at Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity did a FANTASTIC job hosting RRC 9: The Candy Man! Of course, it would be silly not to acknowledge all the RRC particpants' hard work. Everyone did a wonderful job -- Sammy Davis would be proud!

Here's Dolores' RRC 9 round-up--- Laura Rebecca

Sammy, Laura Rebecca and I asked you to take a piece of culinary history, sprinkle it in sugar and create a wild sugar-soaked retro celebration. And over the course of October, you delivered in spades.

Take Pie Lady Brittany from Seattle WA for example. First out of the gate, Brittany covered it with chocolate and a miracle or two, offering us us the Whoopie Pie: a 1920's-era New England chocolate sandwich cookie she found in Betty Groff's Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook. The whoopie pie holds a special place in my heart as one of my mother's favorite confections from *her* childhood. Thanks for joining us Brittany!

Next up is Deb from Wisconsin, who devotes her entire blog Vintage Recipe to recipes of the retro variety. In Sammy's honor she stretches her baking muscles and offers us Lemon Cherry Treats, an adaptation of a recipe she found in the 1962 edition of The Art of Making Good Cookies, Plain and Fancy. They look like a perfect lunch box addition or after school snack on a blustery rainy winter day.

Naomi of Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried in the United Kingdom gives us gluten-free retro sweet treats with her raspberry and pomegranate studded Ballymaloe Tarts. She found these 'real food' pastries topped with fresh seasonal fruit in Jane Grigson's English Food, published in 1974. Your hostess is looking forward to recreating these in her kitchen soon, employing pomegranates as pictured and perhaps a persimmon or two.

Checking in from her One-Walled Kitchen in Phoenix, AZ, Julie offers two tasty alternatives to refined sugar desserts. She reaches back to the disco days of 1978, opens Rodale's Naturally Delicious Desserts and Snacks, and dishes up two desserts that replace sugar with honey: Peanut Butter Pudding and Biscuit Tortoni. Having mastered the luxurious pastry cream of the Bostini Cream Pie, I'm eager to try out these much more calorically reasonable creamy confections.

KJ from Canberra, Australia, the brilliant mind behind A Cracking Good Egg struggles a bit with a sticky sweet treat: Turkish Delight No. 1. She sources her recipe from the CWA Cookery Book and Household Hints and has a bit of trouble with the candy's custom to cling to every surface with which it comes in contact. I can't possibly summarize her story in three sentences nearly as well as she relays it. Go. Read her saga for yourself. We'll wait here...

Her hometown of Quebec, Canada provides just the inspiration Liz of Bits and Bites is looking for. She turns to Canada's answer to Julia Child and the "dean of Canadian Cuisine" Jehane Benoit's, consulting her 1955 publication celebrating the cuisine of Quebec. The result: Liz has found a new go-to pastry recipe in a book she's carted around for years but failed to cook from until now -- and an absolutely yummy looking Sugar Pie.

Gigi, the hostess with the mostest at Gigi Cakes, makes her home in Pasadena, CA and takes us back to the first half of the twentieth century with her contribution: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Her recipe is the 1925 winner of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company's annual recipe contest. Today we know the Hawaiian Pineapple company as the mono-syllabic Dole. And like several of the contributions to RR9, she's found a recipe that stands the test of time.

Peeking out from behind curtain number 8 is Melynda of The Things that Make Us Happy Make us Wise, whose Marguerites don't leave her with a lot of faith in the tastebuds of our culinary predecessors. With the observation that they "look like camel poop and taste like a sandstorm" Melynda wins my admiration for her way with words and the unofficial first place award for the most creative description in this round.

Theresa takes a break from blogging about vintage fashion at Vintage Style Files to share her experience with a retro recipe for Raisin Bon Bons. In response to our call for sugar-soaked sweet treats, she turns to Family Circle's 1972 Illustrated Library of Cooking's Dessert Edition section on candy making. Theresa thinks she'll make these again, next time selecting a chocolate that can stand up a little better to Florida's heat and humidity.

In Pittsburgh, PA Laurie of Quirky Cupcake celebrates the success of her hometown heroes the Pens with a Fresh Apple Cake from her grandmother's favorite cookbook: The "Green" Huntsville Heritage Cookbook published in 1967... and discovered yet another recipe worthy of repeating. This "perfect fall cake" packs powerful fruit flavor, is "moist, sweet and comforting" and "keeps for days."

Melody of Fruit Tart ponders the life of the fantasy stay-at-home-mom watching soaps and popping bon bons (none of which accurately reflects HER reality), checking in with some brightly colored sensational looking Bon Bon Cookies. She takes her inspiration from Betty Crocker's 1963 Cooky Book, experimenting with flavors and fillings to create cookies that double as eye-candy.

Moon represents one-third of the creative genius behind Peanut Butter Etouffee and offers her grandmother's groovy Sugar Pie in homage to Sammy Davis Jr. Her uncle calls it a "Vaseline Pie" ... I think it looks delicious, and delightfully, deliciously, sinfully 1970-something.

"ShannieCakes" Shannon from Corvallis, OR shares a childhood favorite of hers AND mine: the Chocolate Mayonnaise (Cup)cake. She says it's a southern thing and how the recipe made its way to my mid-western grandmother remains a mystery to me, but it's neat to see that someone else out there enjoys the moist cakes it creates as much as I do. I can't wait to try it topped with Shannon's salted caramel butter cream. Because there's not much that doesn't taste better smothered in caramel...

Gretchen Noelle of Canela y Comino in Lima, Peru channels her inner eight-year-old with her contribution to our sugar celebration: Snickerdoodles. She provides a careful history of the Snickerdoodle's emergence on the American cookie scene -- including several period recipes, one from the turn of the 20th century, closing with the recipe as she submitted it to the Peck Family Cookbook back in 1980.

Breadchick Mary treats us to the classic of all classics, Mamie Eisenhower's No Fail Fudge. Who in the United States hasn't enjoyed this marshmallow fluff inspired treat? Mary's a self-proclaimed expert on fudge, claiming Mackinac Island, Michigan as perhaps the fudge capital of the United States. Her childhood nickname for tourists, "Fudgies" had me giggling to myself as I read her post.

Speaking of fluff, check out Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness' neon pink cake -- her contribution to both our Retro Recipe Challenge and Marye's much acclaimed Boobie Bake-Off. She consults the Favorite Recipes from Irvington Kitchens, a 1938 publication of the Irvington (IN) Union of Ladies' Clubs for inspiration, chosing the Delicious White Cake and Buttercream Icing -- then tinting them pink with icing paste.

And lastly but not leastly, my tribute to the American bicentennial celebration, autumn, and all things soaked in alcohol: Drunken Apple Pound Cake. Which the Tribune claims -- since it's made with corn oil rather than solid butter or margerine -- is a-okay for people on a "newfangled" low-cholesterol diet. My, how very far we've come...

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Seventeen celebrations of sugar (and sugar substitutes). Thanks to all of you who took the time to participate in RRC 9.

Hungry for more? Burn off some of the calories you've consumed here... run, don't walk back over to Naomi, from Straight into Bed, Cakefree and Dried. She's hosting Retro Recipe Challenge #10: Story Book Food.

Retro Recipe Challenge #9: The Candy Man!

2007-09-23T19:51:00.000-04:00

Who can take a sunrise
Sprinkle it with dew
Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two?
The Candy Man...
Oh, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can
'Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good.

Delores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity writes:

I'm honored to announce that Laura Rebecca has invited me to host the latest iteration of her delightful Retro Recipe Challenge. With Halloween approaching in all its sweet-centered indulgence, we're celebrating sugar. We've chosen Sammy Davis Junior as our spokesperson for Retro Recipe Challenge #9: The Candy Man...

Who can take a rainbow
Wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie?
The Candy Man...
The Candy Man can
The Candy Man can
'Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good.

So don't just sit there singing along... join us! Dig out your old magazines and cookbooks. Flip to the dessert section. Find a recipe that speaks to you in the language of sugar. Make it. Photograph it. Blog about it. And send me the details...

Who can take tomorrow
Dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream?
The Candy Man...
Oh, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can
'Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good.

Are you in?

Let's take a little closer look at the guidelines: First, we're primarily interested in recipes published before 1980, but we're flexible. Ideally, your blog post should cite your source (even if that's grandma's recipe box) and share your experience with the recipe. You're welcome to use the Retro Recipe Sources [at right] for inspiration. Pictures are lovely, but optional.

Next, send me your contribution, including a link to the post, your name and location before midnight PDT on October 26. Send it to dolores{dot}ferrero{at}gmail{dot}com . Look for a sugar soaked round up the round up on October 31.

The Candy Man makes everything he bakes
Satisfying and delicious
Talk about your childhood wishes
You can even eat the dishes...

Looking For Hosts!

2007-09-09T17:00:00.000-04:00

"Me! I want to be a hostess with the mostess! Me! Me!"

Interested in hosting the next Retro Recipe Challenge? Please drop a line to LauraRebeccasKitchen{at}gmail{dot}com for details!

RRC#8: Retro Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down Round Up

2007-08-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

Cross-posted at FoodMaven by this round's host, Rachel.

Fruittart didn't use a recipe but made these retro Jell-O parfaits.

The originator of the retro recipe round up, Laura Rebecca made Coconut Custard

Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once made this elegant Port Wine Jelly.

Simone (aka Xiao Zhu)of Curiously Ravenous made this kitschy Lime Fluff

Sarina Nicole at TriniGourmet.com made this Spiced Orange Mold .

I loved hosting this event and couldn't resist the opportunity to make a homemade version of the '60s era discontinued, cult favorite Jell-O 1-2-3.

Retro Recipe Challege # 8: Retro Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down

2007-07-02T13:57:00.001-04:00

I'm thrilled to announce that the next edition of the Retro Recipe Challenge will be hosted by Rachel of Food Maven. (Thank you, Rachel!)

Here's her announcement & fabulous theme!

I'm excited to be hosting RRC #8: Retro Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down. This time around we will be making food that wiggles and wobbles. Think aspic, Jell-O salad, gelatin parfaits, jelly candies or even jam. The only catch? You have to use a recipe that was first published before 1985. For help in finding a recipe, check out the "helpful links" sidebar.

Once you've created your dish, post a picture of the finished product, along with the recipe and your review to your blog or flickr account. Don't forget to include the year the recipe was first published and its source.

When you're done, send an email to coconutlimeblogATgmailDOTcom by August 10th at 11:59pm EST. In the email, please include:

Your name or blogging nickname
Your blog's name and URL
The recipe's title
The post's URL
Please attach a photo (no larger than 100x100 pixels) and include "RRC#8" in the subject line.

The round-up will posted by August 12th on Food Maven and here.

UPDATED! From Retro, With Love: Retro Recipe Challenge No. 7 Round-Up

2007-06-14T17:05:00.001-04:00

Let's take trip 'round the world, retro style, shall we?

Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once offers a delicious "uber retro, Swiss-classic, fondue" perfect for any well-heeled jet-setter.

The recipe hails from Graham Kerr's classic 1973 cookbook, The Complete Galloping Gourmet Cookbook.

Retro pro Emily at Appetitive Behavior visited France via Hungary (read her post for the details) to create "Flaky, uberbuttery, layer-y, crisp on the outside and soft inside, and all told pretty darn awesome [croissants]." They look fabulously French (yet make me hungry for Hungary).

The recipe comes from the Illustrated Good Housekeeping Encyclopedic Cookbook, 1965, Vol. 3.

Theresa at Vintage Style Files (a woman & blog after my own heart) took a tour of the orient with her gorgeous Tokyo Salad. It's a "spicy Asian shrimp and noodle" hailing from Kitchen Fare, International Menus Cookbook, just the kind of book that inspired the RRC No. 7's theme.

Tara at the hilariously named Should You Eat That? (have you been looking in my fridge, Tara?) tantalizes the taste buds with Sweet and Sour Pork. She found a classic irony in retro recipes: turning something healthy into food that could take down an elephant.

"I found it amusing," Tara writes, "that [the recipe] required lean pork, which was then deep fried, but I suppose it is better than the alternative of 'fat' pork being deep fried."

Rachel at Coconut and Lime whets the palate and wets the tongue with her fizzy Moscow Mule, which is "credited with having popularized vodka in the United States" during the 1950s.

Having recently been to Russia, I can definitively say the Moscow Mule is vast improvement over the traditional Russian summertime drink, квас (kvas).

The Expat Chef in The Expatriate's Kitchen takes a turn updating a classic favorite, Spinach Artichoke Dip, with her Spinach Artichoke Tart in Puff Pastry.

She writes, "You can actually taste the vegetables now that your taste buds aren’t doing the backstroke in butterfat."

Last but not least, Gillian at Food History provides dessert with her Dundee Cake. Gillian writes, "This is another of those 1950s recipes from my grandmother. We used to make Dundee Cake a great deal in the late sixties, but I haven’t seen it anywhere recently. I think it’s time it was revived!"

And that's the tour of the globe! Thank you to all who participated! (If I've neglected to include a submission, please email me right away. Except you, porn site. We don't feature that kind of eating on this blog.)

If you're interested in hosting the next round of the Retro Recipe Challenge, please drop me a line!

RRC #7 - Deadline Extended to June 6!

2007-04-26T21:26:00.000-04:00

Hey! Guess what? Shane & I are going to Russia! (In less than a month!) And I'm can't really decide if I'm more excited about seeing an embalmed Lenin, visiting a city that inspired this song (translation), or being "forced" to eat samples on the Red October Chocolate Factory tour.

The trip is also the inspiration for RRC #7: From Retro With Love. Whip up dish a with international flare, using a recipe first published before 1985. For help in finding a recipe, check out the “helpful links” sidebar.

Once you've created your dish, post a pic, along with the recipe and your review. Don't forget to include the year the recipe was first published and its source (e.g., Gourmet). A link to this post would also be appreciated.

When you're done, send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom by Sunday, June 6 at 11:59pm EST. In the email, please include:

Your name or blogging nickname
Your blog's name and URL
The recipe's title
The post's URL

Please attach a photo (no larger than 100x100 pixels) and include "RRC#7" in the subject line.

The round-up will posted by Friday, June 8 here and on Laura Rebecca's Kitchen .

Bon voyage and bon appetite!

RRC 6: Food of Love Round-Up

2007-02-14T09:40:00.001-05:00

It's Valentine's Day and, beloved retro fans, I would like to cordially invite you to an old school Food-of-Love spread.
To start the day, Emily of Appetitive Behavior baked up Cinnamon-Nut Rolls from The Illustrated Good Housekeeping Encyclopedic Cookbook, 1965, Vol.1., which advises that "everyone (particularly men) likes something good and simple." (No lace teddies for Good Housekeeping's women, just a solid white Cross Your Heart bra and matching briefs, thank you very much.)
Oh, were we talking about food?

Anne-Marie at A Readable Feast is tickled by what Victorians fed their children. "Children were allowed small glasses of wine at the dinner table. Alcohol was a traditional sleep aid for all ages back then. This posset was a classic drink that nannies would prepare for kids in their care who were having trouble falling asleep. They even had special posset pots to make them in, some of which are very collectible today."

Anne-Marie suggests using it today as an adult night cap, but it's Valentine's day and you've got to get the kids to sleep somehow.

But if you don't want to drug your children, perhaps you can share a family meal with them. Freya at Writing at the Kitchen Table cooked up a Retro Meatloaf .

"Sure, it may seem about as romantic as Boston Baked Beans," Freya writes, "but Paul [her honey] loves Meatloaf and what more romantic way to celebrate love than to cook your loved one food that they love?This is the ideal retro food photo. Patry wrapped meat, accented with a boiled egg and a ketchup heart!

If you do decide to serve the kiddies liquored posset (and, honestly, that's the best way to go) you and your beloved can enjoy Haalo's aphrodisiac, Oysters Kilpatrick, all by yourselves.

Haalo, of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, was worried that serving Oysters Kilpatrick, instead of "au naturel [...] wouldn't be met with feelings of love, more like a flood of tears over my act of desecration." But all ended well in the end: "keeping the oysters under the grill for less then a minute meant they didn't go rubbery and in fact the sauce and bacon worked well to heighten the sweetness in the oyster."

Now that dinner is out of the way, it's time for sweets.

Kathy Maister's Start Cooking whipped up a classic chocolate fudge. Chocolate is definately associated with Valentine's day but, as Kathy points out, we "don’t need a holiday to think about chocolate!"

Elle at Feeding My Enthusiasms got her food processor going for these scrumptious Chocolate Shortbread Hearts. The recipe comes from the 1980 edition of Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts.

Brilynn from Jumbo Empanadas has her Valentine salivating with her grandmother's recipe for Self-saucing Pudding Cake (served with Brilynn's own Strawberry Ice Cream).

If you're not in the mood for chocolate sweets, there's still plenty of treats to choose from.

Breadchick from The Sour Dough took a break from kneading to bake up this Old Fashioned Coconut Cake from the McCall’s Cookbook Collection called Cook Your Way Into His Heart with Our Man-Tested Menus.

Here's the book's opening paragraph: If it’s true that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then all a girl needs to achieve that end is a working kitchen and our man-tested menus. [...]We can almost guarantee that you can cook your way into his heart - and live happily ever afterward.”

Holly at Craving Cleaveland baked up a One-Egg Cake from the 1910 cookbook (get this) Cupid at Home in the Kitchen. She gets an extra rose for attempting a recipe consisting on one sentence.

Margaret at Kitchen Delights bested Betty Crocker AND Duncan Hines with her gorgeous St. Valentine's Day Pavlova.

Finally, Jerry Russell at Cooking by the Seat of my Pants set a romantic scene with Tipsy Pudding. It comes from Fannie Farmer's The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, published in 1918, suggesting that Fannie was all about getting men drunk.

And that's it! Thank you to everyone who participated and have a very happy Valentine's Day!

RRC 6: Food of Love

2007-01-16T17:07:00.000-05:00

As the merchandise in every grocery store, card shop, and confectionary can attest, Valentines' Day is right around the corner. (And that that glow-in-the-dark Christmas sweater has yet to be returned.)

So for the next RRC, whip up dish a perfect for your favorite lov-ah. (Sadly, "Whipped Cream on a Taut and Tanned Stomach" isn't really a recipe. But I'm not saying it shouldn't be tried.)

Your creation should come from a recipe first published between 1900 and 1980. For help in searching for a recipes, visit the “helpful links” sidebar to the left of this page .

Once you've created your swoon-worthy amuse bouche, simply take a picture (SFW, please) and post it along with your thoughts and the original recipe, including the year it was first published and its original publication (Gourmet? Joy of Cooking?). A tag for RRC 6 and a link to this post would also be appreciated.

Then, send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom by the deadline of Sunday, February 11 at 11:59pm EST. Please include "RRC#6" in the subject line, with your name or blogging nickname, your blog's name and URL, plus the recipe's title and the post's URL in the body of the email.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at LauraRebeccasKitchenATgmailDOTcom.

Get it in the kitchen: the products of a hot stove can leave to an even hotter boudoir.

Or something.

Tags: RRC6

Retro Recipe Challenge #5: Boozy Holiday

2006-11-17T10:52:00.001-05:00

I look forward to the holidays each year -- baking, listening to Christmas carols, sending out holiday cards -- but I also find them stressful. The over-crowded malls, the bleeding of money, the desire to get everything just right; sometimes it's just too much.

And that's when a visit with Johnny Walker comes in handy. He and his friends Captain Morgan, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and the rest really help take the edge off a stressful holiday season.

You may say I'm a boozer, but I'm not the only one.

As such, the theme for Retro Recipe Challenge #5 is Boozy Holiday. Here's the nitty gritty:

• Cook up a holiday-appropriate dish featuring alcohol OR mix up a festive holiday drink using a recipe first published between 1900 and 1980. For help in searching for a recipes, visit “helpful links” on the sidebar of Retro Recipe Challenge Blog.

If your religion or lifestyle prevents you from consuming alcohol, then you may submit a mocktail recipe.

• Take a picture of your creation(if possible)
• Post the recipe, the picture and your results on your blog. Please include:
--The year the recipe was published
--Where the recipe came from
--How it tasted
--A tag for RRC5
--A link to this post

• Send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom by Friday, December 15 at 11:59pm EST. Please include:
--RRC#5 in the subject line
--your first name or blogging nickname
--your blog's name and your blog's URL
--the recipe name and the post's URL

I hope today you'll join us, and the world will drink as one.

Tags: RRC5

Retro Recipe Challenge #4: Fall Favorites Round-Up

2006-11-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

"Welcome, everyone, to the Junior League's 'Cats in Trees Benefit Dinner.' As you probably know, cats getting stuck in trees has reached epidemic levels in our community, diverting our firemen from their primary task. Just last week, a church, a hospital, and a convent all burned down while the Fire Department was busy getting Queenie out of a maple tree. But before we get to our keynote speaker, please enjoy the lavish spread provided by our wonderful members."

~Soups, Starters & Sides~

Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas is ladeling out Borscht .

Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once serves up Cream of Carrot Soup.

P3nnyLan3 at For the Love of Baking offers Koninginne Soep

Ulrike aka ostwestwind at Küchenlatein serves up Swede Mash, with a side of sausage.

Sara at I Like To Cook has both Cornmeal Gem Muffins and Tomato Curry.

Kirsten at Kirsten's Home Cooking Adventures serves up Cornbread Sage Stuffing.

For your salad, Gillian at Food History has salad cream .

(Artist's interpretation.)

Hometown girl Laura Rebecca has Poppin Fresh Barbecups .

(Artist's interpretation.)

~Entrees ~

Michelle from Je Mange la Ville presents Opulent Chicken with Wild Rice Pilaf .

Em from Kitchem cooked up Beef Bourguignonne .

Anh from Ahn's Food Blog created a lovely Beef Stroganoff .

Cathy from Not Eating Out in New York offers the exotic Moussaka .

Emily at Appetitive Behavior melts comfort food fans hearts with Susan's Macaroni, Tomato and Cheese.

If you can't decide what to order, sit back and let Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness serve you Irish Stew, Brown Bread, and Dark Gingerbread.

~Desserts~

Becke of Columbus Foodie is dishing out Autumn Apple Squares .

Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms has slices of Pinapple Pinwheel Cake.

La Vida Dulce at La Vida Dulce offers up that perenial favorite, Cranberry Wine Mold.
(An interpretation.)

Rachel at Food Maven cooked up Betty Crocker's recipe for Chocolate Fudge

(Yet another artist's interpretation)

Breadchick at The Sour Dough baked up some Maple Shortbread Bars.

Shandon at How's Annie whipped up some Maple Sponge. (She's less than thrilled about it, but I bet it's delicious.)

Last, but certainly not least, the loverly Alicat at Something So Clever has brought Baked Doughnut Puffs.

"And that's the spread, ladies! I want to extend my gratitude to all the wonderful chefs who helped make this luncheon possible! If there are any dishes I've left out, please let me know so I can put them out and everyone will be able to sample them. Please enjoy your meals!

"And don't forget about next month's holiday celebration! I hope you can join us!"

Retro Recipe Challenge # 4: Fall Favorites

2006-10-16T13:57:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of year again. There’s a crispness in the air. Apples and pumpkins are in season. The coats, gloves, and scarves emerge from storage. There’s Halloween AND Thanksgiving to celebrate.

It’s fall and it’s wonderful.

Retro Recipe Challenge #4 is all about Fall Favorites. Go on the hunt for old recipes that work well in fall: apple cider donuts, cheesy chicken casseroles, hot toddys, squash gratins, etc. – what ever makes you think “fall” and “retro” is perfect for this round.

Here are the details:
• Cook up a recipe associated with fall and first published between 1920 and 1980
• Take a picture (if possible)
• Post the recipe and your results on your blog. Please include:
--The year the recipe was published
--Where the recipe came from
--How it tasted
--A tag for RRC4
--A link to this post

• Send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom by Wednesday, November 15 at 11:59pm EST. Please include:
--RRC#4 in the subject line
--your first name or blogging nickname
--your blog's name and your blog's URL
--the recipe name and the post's URL

That's it!

For help in searching for recipes, visit “helpful links” on the sidebar of Retro Recipe Challenge Blog. If you come across some resources that aren't listed, share the wealth! Leave a comment or send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom .

Good luck and get cooking!

Tags: RRC4

Retro Recipe Challenge # 3 Round Up!

2006-10-16T12:59:00.000-04:00

Our mission: to explore recipes first published in the year of one’s birth – or at least, in a year within five of one’s birth. Our guides: Mr. Peabody and his boy, Sherman, ready to take us on a culinary tour of the 20th century.

Mr. Peabody: Sherman, set the Waybac Machine for 1987.

Sherman: Yes sir, Mr. Peabody!

First stop is Emily’s White Bean and Pork Chili from Bon Appetit. She wasn’t impressed with it of first, writing “Keebler TownHouse Cornbread crackers […] and Monterey jack cheese saved the chili.”

Sherman: I guess 1987 didn’t need flavor when it had NKTOB!

Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you.

Kirsten serves up Lazy Texas Brisket Bon Appetit which she calls “euphorically delicious and simple.”

For dessert, Brilynn (who’s blogger photo is A CABBAGE PATCH DOLL) has Canadian Living’s Cinnamon Buns

They look delicious as well. Hmm, why would recipes from ’82 be more flavorful than those from ’87?

Sherman:I know! By the late 80s we had a distracting bad taste in our mouths due to the Regan administration! God, it all makes sense.

Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you.

I knew Mr. Peabody was a Republican.

Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you.

Hm, well. It’s not worth stopping the Waybac in 1981 to sample Cowboy Cookies from Applehood & Motherpie.They’re pretty flavorless and boring, but maybe that’s the way the Junior Leaguers avoids having to hide food in clothes dryers.

Another two stops in one year – this time, it’s 1975. Stephanie made scrumptious looking Fried Risotto with Gruyere and Truffle filling. "Must I go through the formality of saying this was fabulous?" she writes. "Risotto, which is good. Gruyere, also good. White truffles, decadent. Put them together, and fry them? Heavenly."

Also in 1975 is a trip through The Mickey Mouse Cookbook for the Seven Dwarfs’ Cupcakes. Peabody (the blogger) writes “There is one basic recipe with 7 different adaptations so I decided to make one of each. It said it made twelve, but really only made 7 (how fitting).”

Mr. Peabody: (chuckling) How droll.

Get in the Waybac, Mr. Peabody. This isn’t that kind of website.

1973 offers up a beautifully photography (and delicious looking) Carrot and Apple Salad. Its chef, Pepper, first consulted the House and Garden Drink Guide. "There was one cocktail named Between the Sheets, giving me a mental picture of some mustached, sideburned guy in a light colored, wide lapelled suit mixing up one of these...let's change the channel." Good idea, Pepper. We don’t need Mr. Peabody getting excited again.

Becke turned to the grand dame of retro recipes – the Pillsbury Bakeoff archives – and whipped up the Grand Prize Winner for 1972: Quick ‘n’ Chewy Crescent Bars. “They are very simple to make, and sickly sweet [...] actually, they’re not bad at all, quite good […] It sort of reminds me of the praline topping that I put on top of my yams at Thanksgiving, minus the booze of course."

Sherman: I kind of would like have to have one with booze, Mr. Peabody.

Mr. Peabody: Just. God.

1970 gives us Cheese Toast from Gourmet. Finding it, writes Caryn “as a Yank living in the UK […]seemed somehow serendipitous.” This was after a google a search yielded a recipe for a WMD from The Anarchist Cookbook.

Mr. Peabody: Thank you for not making a joke about WMDs and the current administration.

I think I just did, Mr. Peabody.Let’s go to the nuclear age of the 50s, shall we?

Ruth baked up a Date & Nut Loaf from the book “that Jewish mothers traditionally buy for their daughters when they get married -- A Treasure For My Daughter .” It’s a beautiful bread.

Mr. Peabody: That’s the only "date" on your horizon, isn’t Sherman?

Sherman: To call you a “son of a bitch” wouldn’t be inaccurate, huh, Mr. Peabody?

1954 yields a Macaroni Sauté from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cook Book. La Vida Dulce writes that her mom “made this macaroni dish, but she gave it her own flair. Her technique was to leave it uncovered, use canned crushed tomatoes instead of tomato juice, a tiny pinch of comino (ground cumin) and then she added grated Monterey Jack cheese to finish. If it got too dry during cooking, she added more water. It was one of our family favorites.”

Another trip in the Waybac Machine takes us to the rationing of the 40s where Doodles reminisces over Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese. “The soup was probably Campbell's with a can of water added, eeek! And the grilled cheese was probably made with white bread, two eeeks!! But in those days it was made with love just like today. And if we were really good we probably got a pickle to accompany our sandwich.”

The last two recipes have indeterminate dates, so bear with the Waybac.

John Buehler offers up his Gramma’s recipe for salsa. In an email, John writes “When we were first married, my wife tried it several times and it just didn't taste like Grams. The long notes following the recipe are mostly her secrets to making it taste just right.”

Finally, Joanne Hay has recreated the perfect snack for time travel: Pemmican. “Pemmican is a great way to get nourishment…,” she writes. “Just keep a bag of Pemmican in your car [or Waybac Machine]. It keeps for years out of the fridge.”

Mr. Peabody: Sherman, were you aware that a war was waged over Pemmican?

Sherman: No, and honestly, I’m tired of pretending to care about history.I mean, do you think--

Mr. Peabody: Just SHUT UP.

Well, it’s time to hustle the boys into the Waybac and get back things back to normal. Thanks to everyone who participated -- please email me if I've left anyone out.

See you for Retro Recipe Challenge #4 (just announced)!

Tags: RRC3

Announcing RRC#3!

2006-09-25T11:52:00.000-04:00

Whip out your aprons, warm up your ovens, and grab yourself a nip of sherry ‘cause it’s time for the latest Retro Recipe Challenge!

There were a number of wonderful theme ideas. But the one that got the most people buzzing was suggested by Bibliochef: a recipe from Gourmet published during the year of one’s birth.

It’s an absolutely wonderful idea, but Gourmet’s archives aren’t up to the challenge. A quick search for “1977” yielded two recipes, “1955” yielded one, and “1940” didn’t turn up anything.

So let’s broaden things a bit: for Retro Recipe Challenge #3, create a recipe (from any publication) originally published within five years of your birth year.

If you can find a great recipe that comes from your year of birth, great! If not, you’ve got five years of wiggle room to find something you’re really interested in making. (This IS about having fun!)

For example, I was born in 1977 so I’ll look for recipes published between 1972 and 1982. This might include Chile and Chorizo Cornbread(1977), Pasta Primaveria(1975), or Chile Relleno Casserole (1982).

My mom was born in 1952, so she might whip up Lobster Newberg (1950), German Apple Pancakes (1952), or Barbecue Potato Cheese Meatloaf.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your search to online resources. Check out the library, scour garage sales, mess around in Grandma’s attic.

Here are the details:

Cook up a recipe published within five years of your birth year

Take a picture (optional – if you can’t do it; don’t worry!)

Post the recipe and your results on your blog. Please include:

*The year the recipe was published
*Where the recipe came from
*How it tasted
*A tag for RRC3
*A link to this post

Send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom by Sunday, Oct. 15 at 11:59pm EST. Please include:

*RRC#3 in the subject line
*your first name or blogging nickname
*your blog's name and your blog's URL
*the recipe name and the post's URL

That's it!

If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate! Please click here for details.

For help in searching for recipes, visit “helpful links” on the sidebar of Retro Recipe Challenge Blog. If you come across some resources that aren't listed, share the wealth! Leave a comment or send an email to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom .

I can’t wait to see what everyone whips up – good luck and get cooking!

HUGE thanks to Kalyn, Kevin (aka Acme Instant Food ), Ellie, Rachel, Gena, Emily, Doodles, and Lis for their input and theme suggestions. You guys are grea! I can’t wait to tackle all of your wonderful ideas.

Tags: RRC3

RRC#3 Guidelines for Non-Bloggers

2006-09-25T11:32:00.000-04:00

Whip out your aprons, warm up your ovens, and grab yourself a nip of sherry ‘cause it’s time for the latest Retro Recipe Challenge!

For Retro Recipe Challenge #3, create a recipe (from any publication) originally published within five years of your birth year.

If you can find a great recipe that comes from your year of birth, great! If not, you’ve got five years of wiggle room to find something you’re really interested in making. (This IS about having fun!)

For example, I was born in 1977 so I’ll look for recipes published between 1972 and 1982. This might include Chile and Chorizo Cornbread(1977), Pasta Primaveria(1975), or Chile Relleno Casserole (1982).

My mom was born in 1952, so she might whip up Lobster Newberg (1950), German Apple Pancakes (1952), or Barbecue Potato Cheese Meatloaf.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your search to online resources. Check out the library, scour garage sales, mess around in Grandma’s attic.

To participate, just send an email by Sunday, Oct. 15 at 11:59pm EST to RetroRecipeChallengeATgmailDOTcom with “RRC#3” in the subject line. Please include:

The recipe

The year the recipe was published

Where the recipe came from (your source)

How it tasted and what your experience making it was like

Attach a photograph of your food creation (optional)

Your name and hometown, with as much/as little information as is comfortable: "Carolyn from NYC” or “Food-lover from Florida”

Good luck and get cooking!

A big thank you to Sugar High Friday blog for setting the groundwork & details for non-blogger submissions.

Tags: RRC3

Retro Recipe Challenge #3 Call for Theme Suggestions

2006-09-23T12:53:00.000-04:00

"Hmmm. Should I make tomato aspic or a sherry chicken hot cup?"

There have been some GREAT ideas for the next RRC:

* Casseroles, suggested by Kalyn

*Mother's (or grandmother's) best recipe, suggested by Acme Instant Food and seconded by Ellie

*Brightly colored, suggested by Rachel

*Fall/autumnal theme, suggested by Gena

*Fudge, suggested by Gena

*Comfort food, suggested by Bibliochef

*Retro with a twist, suggested by Bibliochef

* A recipe from Gourmet during the year of one's birth, suggested by Bibliochef and seconded by Emily and Doodles

*Bake Sale items, suggested by Emily and seconded by Doodles

There's still time before next Monday to make a theme suggestion (or suggestions!) or vote for one of the ideas listed above. Just leave a comment in the comments section below. Thanks for your help!

Retro Recipe Challenge #2 Round-Up

2006-09-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

Originally published at Laura Rebecca's Kitchen on 7/17/06

I think we have a dream spread here, folks. There is nary a healthy dish in sight. We are laden with sugar, fat, salt -- just the way people ate before they knew about cholesterol.

So get out your prescription for Lipitor and dig in.

The lovely AliCat from Something So Clever has two recipes for us in this go-round, the first being her Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting .
“The Peanut Butter Cake was verrry good. I found the recipe online from a cookbook that was guessed to be published 50s or prior. I love this little cake,” she says. She even went the extra mile and adapted a recipe for peanut butter frosting.

Ali also made some descriptively named Cathedral Windows. “I don't recall my mom making these grow up, but I know a lot of you are familiar with the marshmallow - chocolaty goodness of the Cathedral Windows,” she wrote. “They are no bake and come together in a flash. They are also really gooood!”

Mooncrazy whipped up some vibrantly colored Picked Beets with Eggs, from her "mother-in-law Ann's Better Homes and Gardens new cook book" printed in 1953."
She “couldn't bear to make the Crown roast of Spam with potatoes” (hee hee hee) “so I thought I'd do the beets as I remember our mom bringing them to picnics when I was a kid.”

Retrofood whipped up a Kidney Bean Salad which sparked a bit of debate in her comments section.

Kathy Maister at The Main Dish pulls out that all-American classic, Lipton Onion Soup Mix Dip. “In this day of being health and calorie conscious,” writes Kathy, “the luxury of real sour cream is by-passed for fat-free sour cream or yogurt. These substitutes work - just. But they just don't have the luxurious taste of real sour cream. I do think Liptons must have a secret recipe with this soup mix because other brands don't work as well, in my opinion.”

Lastly, I threw together some Lime Honey dressing, which sounds a lot better than it actually tastes.

Thank you to all who participated! I appreciate your hard work and tempting contributions!

The next Retro Recipe Challenge won't be announced until the fall, so you have plenty of time to perfect that veal loaf recipe with orange sauce you've been dying to make.

Retro Recipe Challenge #1 Round-Up

2006-09-23T12:43:00.000-04:00

Originally posted at Laura Rebecca's Kitchen on 6/12/06.

I am filled with gratitude toward our Retro Recipe Challenge contributors. They threw on their decorative aprons, all-purpose pearls, and 2-1/2 inch heels, headed into their kitchens, and whipped up a little something for Wally and the Beave.

Because it would be wrong -- and dare I say, unfeminine -- to let the tykes suffer with a Swanson TV dinner. Madge Jenkins down the street does that, but that's only since her divorce. The poor thing.

But, really; she should have known better. Wearing pants and flat shoes when her husband was around. I mean, really! It's not surprising he ran off with his secretary. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Still, it's a shame and I feel terrible for her. Maybe I'll bring Madgie some wine jello. That'll soothe her nerves.

Oh, fine. No more episodes of the Middle Class and the Restless.

Sadly, no gents were able to shellack their heads in Bryl Creme for this go-round, but I'm hopeful that they'll be in top condition for the next one.

On to the entries:

The first one comes from Emily at

Appetitive Behavior. Her (East-Coast) California Casserole was the 1956 Pillbury Bake-off winner and created by Mrs. Hildreth H. Hatheway of Santa Barbara, CA.

Emily explains the recipe:

With the exception of diner food, nothing screams 1950s to me more than casserole. And this casserole, in particular, seemed like a straight-from-a-sitcom dinner table classic. It photographs like mystery meat, it contains condensed soup, and made by the original recipe a serving accounts for 46% RDA fat, 25% RDA cholesterol, and 44% RDA sodium. Now that is a casserole.

Send that over to Madge's house, Emily. Tommy and Bobby haven't eaten a home-cooked meal in ages. But don't expect to get your casserole dish back anytime soon -- Madge can't keep track of things like that these days.

Ilva at Lucullian Delights whipped up an elegant Potage Au Lait D'amndes (Almond Soup). Ilva puts the American housewives to shame as she not only hails from Tuscany but created a French dish. We're burning with jealousy, Ilva, what with your Italian countrysides, and your Italian Maseratis, and your young Italian men glistening in the hot, Tuscan sun...

Where was I? Oh, yes; the recipe comes from the 10th ed. of La Cuisine de Madame, published in 1933.

Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen makes sure we can all squeeze into our dresses for the Kiwanis benefit with her tasty Hamburger Kebabs. The recipe comes from the fabulously titled How to Eat Better for Less Money by James Beard, first published in 1954.

Haalo at Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once took advantage of her local Queensland Tiger Prawns and put together an amazing Prawn Cocktail for 2 -- perfect for those rare evenings when the boys are at your mother's house and you and the Mr. are all alone.

Or when you're trying to impress your date from the key party.

Fran from Fran's Flavors put together some Porcupine Meatballs, assuring us "there is no actual exotic meat in this dish." Hee.

Fran continues:

When I first asked about the curious name, I was told it was because the rice grains resemble little porcupine quills! True? I don't know. It is a good story. I am not sure of the origin of the recipe (there are many variations--most more complicated than mine--one is found in my very retro 1967 edition of The Joy of Cooking-p.430).

The story of the original recipe as I heard it was that it was devised when pressure cookers became popular way back when and the meatballs could be made quickly. Those of you who are older probably remember all of the accompanying horror stories of pressure cookers. When I was growing up every kitchen had one, yet I never (fortunately) witnessed any of the awful accidents told by the cooks of the day. Probably a heartfelt warning to keep children away from the hot stove.

Did you read that bit about protecting the children? Fran is gunning for Mother of the Year.

The lovely Lis at La Mia Cucina baked up a 1960s Betty Crocker Velvet Cream Cake. She speaks of white hot frustration, and calls her frosting job a monstrosity (it's not) but that's only because the Valium hasn't kicked in yet.

Don't worry, dear; when it does, come over and I'll pour you a nice glass of cream sherry.

Alicat from Something So Clever whipped up the very colorful Raisin Gumdrop Bread. It hails from the Farm Journal - Freezing and Canning Cookbook, Popular Edition published in 1963, which she "stole from [her] mother in law."

Crime doesn't pay, Ali. Do you want to end up like one of those women in prison?

Maltese Parakeet from Peanut Butter Etouffee pulled out her mom's (Mooncrazy) Betty Crocker Cooky Book and baked up some French Lace Cookies . "I thought it looked totally Jackie Kennedy," writes the 'keet.

Angelika from Flying Apple concocted a delicious Old-Fashioned Chocolate pudding . She explains:

I found this recipe lately in an Austrian cooking magazine ("Gusto") featuring an interview with the first violonist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (the one which plays, among many others, the world-famous New Year's Concert), Martin Kubik. He is not only a great musician, but also a wine collector and private cook. Asked about his favourite dish to prepare he divulged this chocolate pudding recipe which goes back to his grandma (her name was Franziska Ludmilla Krautstofl - what name ! It sounds definitely like good, old Vienna...)

A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. Of course, the hips can be hidden under a giant crinoline, covered with a skirt festooned with a poodle, so it doesn't really matter.

Last, but not least, JulieBean from the thematically appropo Suburban Apron Company gives us Lemon Cracker Pudding. "I sampled the questionable dessert with reckless abandon," she writes. "'Odd,' was my initial reaction. The second forkful was, 'better.' And when I had finished the serving, this dessert had proven itself not only edible, but, actually, 'not too bad.'"

Mmm-mmm. Just like Mommy's first experience with hard liquor.

***
And that's the whole shebang. If there's anyone I missed, please email me ASAP so I can correct my mistake. Thank you again to all the wonderful participants for their contributions and their tolerance (I hope) for my Gladys Kravitz-esque joking.

Stay tuned: the next RRC will be announced tomorrow.

Catch you on the flip side, daddy-o.

***

For your viewing pleasure, click the photo above to screen the educational film, "Date With Your Family." Commentary by Joel Robinson, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot.