1970's food - Retro Food For Modern Times

09
Apr
2022

Upside Down Cake

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Books, Classic Recipes, United States of America, World Cooking

Welcome to the best of March! I have been dying to share this recipe ever since I made it over a month ago. I held off because after tasting it I thought it would take something absolutely amazing to top it. Whilst my tastebuds would have rejoiced had this been the case, the pineapple upside-down cake from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery was last month’s winner. It also made me realise that this is my favourite cake. You can take your chocolate cake, your red velvet and even your Victoria Sponge, I will choose Pineapple Upside Down Cake over pretty much any other type of cake ( the one exception would be Sri Lankan Love Cake).

Why do I like it so much?

It’s delicious!!!!
It has a delightful retro charm both in look and taste
It’s happy – the bright yellow pineapple and glossy red cherries can brighten a gloomy grey day
The half circles of pineapple look like they are smiling at you and the whole pineapple rings look like bright flowers

Upside Down Cake – The Recipe

Other Favourites of The Month

Reading

The best book I read in March was Turns Out, I’m Fine by Australian comedian Judith Lucy. I am a big fan of her work in general and this one did not disappoint. Lucy tackles relationship breakup, money issues, death of loved ones, aging and menopause, women in comedy, activism and many other things in her typically frank, funny and vulnerable way. This was a joy to read and really, who doesn’t want to know how not to fall apart? (Added bonus is that she reads the audio book).

Cookbook

My favourite cookbook for the month is not actually a cookbook The Alcorithm is about how to let your favourite flavours expand your palate. It reminds me very much of one of my other faves, Niki Segnit’s Flavour Thesaurus. I have only just started reading the Alcorithm but I am already fascinated.

The Alcorithm

Watching

I watched Pieces of Her on Netflix and I am mid-way through Bad Vegan and The Girl from Plainville. All of which I either enjoyed or am enjoying We are watching Se7en for film club this week. Is it weird to say that such a gory movie is probably in my top ten films ever? I am fairly sure that there will be people in the club who do not share my passion but that is what makes these discussions so interesting.

I didn’t do a lot else this month apparently – I have been trying to get to the gym more so my viewing time has been significantly cut back. I am on the lookout for some good streaming series to get stuck into and some new pods to listen to – please let me know if you have any recommendations!

Have a wonderful week! And please, let me know, what is your favourite cake?

06
Apr
2022

La Mediatrice

categories: 1970's food, Bread, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Oysters, United States of America

The recipe for La Mediatrice comes from the creole section of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery. Quite simply, it is a fried oyster roll somewhat akin to an oyster po’boy.

La Mediatrice is French for the peacemaker and the story behind the name is delightful. Apparently back in the day in New Orleans, drunken husbands stumbling home in the wee small hours would stop by a bakery on their way home and buy a freshly baked loaf filled with deep-fried oysters to take home to their wives to stop them from being angry about the husband’s shenanigans.

Now, I suspect that this may be apocryphal. Because personally? The idea of being woken up at 3am by a drunk brandishing an oyster roll is not something that would inspire me to sweetness. It is far more likely to send me into a vitriolic (but highly creative) rant on all the places he could shove said oyster roll!

La Mediatrice – Version 1

You will see from the pictures above that I made two versions of La Mediatrice. The first one, which confusingly is the second photo – the one with the pickles is pretty much the recipe from Good Housekeeping. I did fancy it up a bit by using some garlic and parsley infused butter instead of plain butter for the roll: And I added some smoked paprika to the flour mix for a bit of extra flavour.

The OG version was tasty but it was a little dry, which is why I decided to give it another go.

La Mediatrice – Version 2

For my second stab at this, I wanted sauce and more crunch.

To bring the crunch with the oysters instead of plain flour, I used rice flour to dredge the oysters.

I also added some cos/romaine lettuce into the rolls

And I made a Sriracha Honey Mayo for drizzling over the top:

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La Mediatrice – Sriracha Honey Mayo

Print Recipe

This is a spicy-sweet mayonnaise that perfectly accompanies a La Mediatrice

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Sriracha chilli sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together.

Notes

Quantities are a guide only. If you like it hotter use more Sriracha, sweeter use more honey, etc

I loved my sriracha mayo and the lettuce made this feel not completely unhealthy! Unfortunately, I totally forgot to put the pickles into this one but they would have been super!!!! I would strongly recommend keeping them in the dish!

Question for the week. If your partner came stumbling home dead drunk in the middle of the night, would an oyster roll calm your annoyance? If not what would be your preferred peacemaker?

20
Feb
2022

Skillet Custard Cornbread

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, United States of America

I wasn’t sure about the recipe for Skillet Custard Cornbread from the North American chapter of Good housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). Truth be told, I have only eaten cornbread twice in my life and both times in London. Once was at friend of the blog Jenny’s (from Silver Screen Suppers) house and once for breakfast at a pub. Both times, I very much enjoyed the cornbread and both times I was keen to try my own. And until now, I had not done so. And I really wanted to make cornbread. But did I want to make this cornbread? It was the custard part of the skillet custard cornbread that was bamboozling me…

Would a layer of custard magically appear in my cornbread? And if so, did I want it there? Both times I have eaten cornbread it was savoury. Every time I have eaten custard it has been sweet. So the question in my head was – did I want a layer of something I would usually eat for dessert in bread that in my mind comes loaded with cheese and jalapenos? The solution, when it arrived was blindingly simple. If the custard worked I would eat it like sweet bread (not a sweetbread!) If there was no custard, I would go for a savoury option!

Well, in the right light, there was definitely a line of something that resembled custard so sweet it was! I served the cornbread with the same cherry jam I used for the chocolate mousse hearts and it was delicious!

If you like a sweet breakfast (I don’t) this is perfect. For me, this was lovely as a morning or afternoon tea treat at right about the time where you need a little sugar/caffeine boost!

Skillet Custard Cornbread – The Recipe

I’m not sure if this is traditional or If I am breaking some long-held rules of cornbread but I LOVED this toasted. I would pop a few slices in the toaster and the taste of the toasted corn was AMAZING! I can’t wait to try making a savoury cornbread – one without the custard centre now. But I guarantee I will be toasting that too!

Have a great week everyone!

04
Jan
2022

How To Eat Spaghetti

categories: 1970's food, Margaret Fulton Cookbook, Pasta

Happy International Spaghetti Day! We must have been pretty gauche back in the 1970s because in her eponymous cookbook, Margaret Fulton had to show us how to eat spaghetti. Lord only knows what we’d been doing before this. Launching face-first into the plate? Lady and the Tramping it? Employing scissors a la Buster Keaon?

Thank goodness we had Margaret to tell us how to do it with a modicum of grace and class.

Three Steps to Spaghetti Eating Heaven

I very clearly remember my parents teaching me this exact method of twirling spaghetti in our favourite Italian restaurant (Leo’s Spaghetti Bar) when I was around 5. I’m not sure if they had been taking lessons from Margaret or were just trying to prevent the tabletop from looking like Armageddon. Apparently, though this is not the proper way of eating spaghetti at all.

It would be remiss if I left this post without commenting on the model in the spoon twirling shots. That woman has quite hairy arms. Nowadays she would be epilated, waxed and / or photoshopped into hairless conformity. The 1970s were content to let it all hang out. Except for their spaghetti which was tightly coiled around a fork, thanks to Margaret Fulton!

If you would like to celebrate today by eating some spaghetti, you can find a recipe here!

Have a great week!

05
Dec
2021

Cabin Casserole

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Meat, United States of America

The very name Cabin Casserole conjures up something hearty and comforting. Something the Ingalls family might have eaten on Little House on The Prairie. And the recipe for Cabin Casserole from the American Chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery did not disappoint. For my readers in the Northern Hemisphere who are heading into winter and who are looking for an easy tasty meal, this one needs to go onto your rotation list ASAP.

What is Cabin Casserole?

Cabin Casserole is layered tomato and onions with bacon and chops that have been sprinkled with curry powder and salt. I used lamb chops for my casserole but pork chops would also work. Also, don’t stint on the salt. I only used a little salt because I thought the bacon would bring enough but I had to add salt at the end. Having said that, for a recipe with so few ingredients, this is really tasty!

I also did not use dripping to fry my chops, I fried the bacon first then used the bacon fat to fry the chops.

I served my cabin casserole with little potatoes wrapped in Proscuitto and a sage leaf and some grilled zucchini with feta cheese. The Cabin Casserole would be super with mashed potatoes!

Little House on The Prairie – The Lost Cabin Casserole Episode

Further to my mention of Little House on the Prairie, I can almost imagine the episode which would be called “Give them curry, Laura”. The Olesen’s start selling the very exotic ingredient of curry powder in the Mercantile. Nellie teases Laura that her family is too poor to ever even taste it. A fight ensues a little like this one. Just substitute “Your pa’s too poor to buy curry powder” instead of smelling like a horse.

Laura is required to go to the Mercantile and apologise to Nellie. She also has to help out in the store for a week. We see in a store work montage that she works very hard and is so polite to the customers that through the week she makes a little tip here and there.

At the end of the week, she has enough money to buy herself some candy or maybe a toy. Instead, she asks for some curry powder which she takes home and gives to Ma.

That night the Ingalls family feast on Cabin Casserole.

The moral of the story is that hard work and not giving someone curry is the key to getting curry.

Here’s the recipe

Have a wonderful week!

Category: 1970’s food