Category Archives: vintage

February 21, 2012 · 4:11 pm

Bad Idea. Very Bad Idea.

I have a 1954 issue of American Home that I plan to scan for posting, right after I erase the pencil scribbles left behind on EVERY SINGLE PAGE by a child with anger management issues.* And so, I erase. Turn the page, erase. Turn the page, erase. Turn the pageâ€¦

WTF? Live burros? That can’t be right. Read with ever-widening, incredulous eyes. Snap a quick pic of one portion for a friend whom I know needs the smile, and will totally understand why I think this is hilarious. Decide it needs to be shared more widely viaÂ Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. Today, it’s time to share the ad in its entirety. Most of the offers are benign, but I think they set off quite nicely the outrageous idea that some homemaker might buy a live burro orÂ alligatorÂ to have around the house (sorry, no refunds or exchanges). If you’ve been to any shopping mall ever, you know that Spencer Gifts is still around. I guess we were a less litigious community back in 1954.

click to inflate

*Kids are kids, and kids “draw” on stuff. I know this. My concern isn’t the amount of scribbling so much as the placement, usually blacking out faces or obliterating animals. Creepy.

Cookbook Tuesdays: Mirro-Matic Pressure Pan // Stuffed Peppers

Woo! The final in our Mirro Challenge series. (The winner won’t be chosen until tomorrow, so there’s still time to post your recipe review in the comments of that there linked post, hint hint.)

I’ve written about my 1954 Mirro-Matic Pressure Pan before. I’d used it (against modern safety precautions, don’t follow my example) for canning, and when I discovered theÂ Hip Pressure CookingÂ site, I started using it more frequently for dinner. But I’d spotted a fancy new electric model at Costco, one with digital settings and a timer, and as much as I love Sturdy Old Timey Stuff, I wanted that newfangled Cuisinart jobbie.

Lo and behold, my dad and his wife splurged and got it for me for Christmas! The old one will go into storage for the time being, because I love it so (and it will work even if the power goes out) but the new one gets all the gigs now. I’ve actually only used it twice: to prepare an overdone roast (user error; I’m still a n00b at this) and again last night to steam a giant globe artichoke in a record 10 minutes. TEN. MINUTES. That includes bringing the cooker up to pressure.

I considered posting a recipe from the new Cuisinart guide today, but quite frankly, most of the included recipes are annoyingly fussy and they’re also all written specifically for the fancy electric cooker which might confuse any of you with “regular” pressure cookers. “High” on the Cuisinart is a mere 10psi, so timing is different. Instead, I’ll post a recipe from the trusty 1954 guide by Mirro. I haven’t actually made this one yet, but I do have 6 bell peppers in the fridge which need to be eaten soon or sooner, and a pound of ground buffalo in the freezer. This recipe for Stuffed Green PeppersÂ is the short list! (Click image to enlarge)

Cookbook Tuesdays: Magical Desserts

If you read last week’s post (and if you didn’t, why not?) then you know that I’m giving away a copy of Magical Desserts with Whip â€™n Chill to a random taste-tester of the likely-inedible Banana Tuna Salad.

I still have a hard time typing that out.

Anyway, I thought the prize itself deserved to be shown off with a more in-depth mention than it received last week, so here we go.

Back in the early 1960s, General Foods introduced a product called Whip â€™n Chill to their Jell-O brand lineup. Available in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and lemon flavors, this “deluxe dessert” (instant mousse) mix could be served plain or, with the help of this 44-page recipe booklet from 1965, originally available for 25Â¢ and the tops from two boxes of Whip â€™n Chill, be turned into a number of potentially delightful desserts.

You will learn that Whip â€™n Chill is synonymous with versatility because its light creamy texture can be chilled plainly in dessert dishes, sherbet glasses, or pie shells. It can be layered in parfait glasses with fruit, nuts, or whipped cream. It can be frozen in fancy shapes or simply in a freezer tray. It an be turned into a frosting or filling to make a plain layer cake or angel food cake an extravagant delight.

Etcetera, etcetera. For every recipe with an unfortunate or uninspired name like Refrigerator Loaf (ladyfingers, vanilla Whip â€™n Chill, peanut brittle) or Applesauce Dessert (vanilla Whip â€™n Chill, applesauce, nutmeg), there is an equally magnificent sounding recipe the likes of Heavenly Lemon Cream (lemon Whip â€™n Chill, sour cream, lemon zest) or Emerald CrÃ©me Pie (too many ingredients to list).

But what really got me interested in this cookbook were the photographs of some of the more fanciful desserts. I’ll leave you now with some images from the book (click to enlarge), and encourage you to try your hand at winning a copy for yourself. No box tops required!

Cookbook Challenge: Doing My Part

Okay, folks, I have taken on and completed my portion of last week’sÂ Cookbook Challenge, the long-waiting Ketchup In DessertÂ from a 1956 ad for Heinz Ketchup.

First, we start off with some tart, green Granny Smith apples.

Apples: both tart and green

We peel them, slice them, and arrange them in a shallow, buttered baking dish.

Next, we mix up some ketchup and lemon juice.

It's organic, baby.

And then, um, pour it over the apples. (NOTE:Â I’m using a vintage aluminum pie pan because I forgot that you’re not supposed to mix tomatoes and aluminum until after I’d poured and I wasn’t going to dirty an extra baking dish, but there was very little contact and everything survived. Still: do as I say, and not as I do.)

Appetizing, no?

Still with me? Good! Now we mix up some flour/sugar/cinnamon/butter into a fine crumb.

Siftin'

And top the apples with it.

Ketchup: Masked!

Bake bake bake bakeâ€¦hey, the kitchen smells pretty good!

Looks unassuming, eh?

Time to serve!

Nobody will ever know.

VERDICT: It was actually pretty good. The ketchup adds an interesting flavor note that your guests would be hard-pressed to put their finger on, but is in no way overpowering or, well, ketchup-y. If making this again, I would stir the ketchup thoroughly into the apples before pouring them into the baking dish, to better distribute the color. It’s a bit jarring to see that streak of red just under the crumbs!

Now it’s your turn: A winner will be selected on the 11th! Get on it!

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Filed under amusement, food, kitchen, reviews, vintage

December 27, 2011 · 6:29 pm

Cookbook Tuesdays: Mirro Challenge!

Once upon a time (April of 2011), I invited my readers to prepare a 1956 dessert recipe that used, as a main ingredient no less, ketchup.

I had no takers.

The recipe, while unusual, didn’t actually sound awful. I’m still curious about it, and I’ll very likely make that dessert this week while I’m thinking of it.

This time, I’m not so brave. This week I’m featuring a recipe from my 1954 copy of the Mirro All-Purpose Cook Book, which I bought specifically for the chapter on pressure cooking (my Mirro-Matic pressure cooker is also, coincidentally, from 1954). The introduction says that the book “has been written for the average American homemaker who insists upon serving food at its best.” It also claims that each recipe in the book has been tested and approved for taste and appearance.

I don’t think so.

You see, there’s one recipe in here which I have decided must have been placed by a practical joker of an editor, and nobody ever caught it. Until now. Because there is no way, in spite of changing tastes, home economics, food availability, no NOTHING that would ever make this recipe seem like a good idea.

I give you: Banana Tuna Salad.

A recipe that did not stand the test of time. Any time. Ever.

For those of you who might enjoy stumbling upon this post via keyword searching, I’ll type out the recipe.

1 cup (1 or 2) ripe bananas, sliced or diced
1/2 cup canned or fresh pineapple, diced
1 10-oz. can flaked tuna
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 tablespoons stuffed olives, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Combine bananas and pineapple.

Add tuna, celery, olives and salt.

Mix together mustard and mayonnaise and add to salad ingredients. Mix lightly.

Serve with crisp lettuce or other salad greens.

Garnish with additional mayonnaise and lemon slices, if desired

Â Serves 4.

Or 400, as soon as people hear what it’s made with. Go ahead. I dare you to try it. No, really! Post a personal review (or link to same) in these here comments, and be ready to provide photographic evidence if asked. I’ll give you two whole weeks to prepare! On January 11th I’ll choose a random reviewer from the comments to receive a copy of Magical Desserts with Whip’n Chill, published in 1965. This 44-page recipe booklet is worthy of a post of its own, to showcase these gorgeous, fluffy creations made with a product I’d never heard of, but which it turns out is still in production, although apparently only in food-service sizes. I imagine any instant mousse mix would work in place of the home-use-size packets of Whip’n Chill called for in the recipes.