Category: 1980’s recipes

Fresh Asparagus with Rouille

Hello friends and welcome to another post on what posh people ate in the 1980s. Spring has sprung in many parts of the world. I have been holding over the recipe for Fresh Asparagus with Rouille for months as I think it is a perfect dish for the season. 

Asparagus with Rouille

Why Is Fresh Asparagus with Rouille Posh Food?

We’ve long considered asparagus a high-end vegetable. 

A scene in The Crown was reshot because the etiquette advisor noticed Dominic West using a knife and fork for asparagus. The proper way is to pick it up with your fingers! This is exactly how I used to eat it back in my single days. Sometimes, when too tired to cook after work, dinner became microwave hollandaise sauce and steamed asparagus dunked straight from the jar.  I just thought I was being lazy!

And I suspect that the inclusion of the word “Fresh” in the recipe title was further 1989 code for “Not that tinned garbage the hoi poiloi eat darling, we only want the real deal”. 

Rouille accompanies the asparagus. This: 

  1. Is a Provençal Sauce
  2. Is Hard to pronounce – its Roy-ee btw
  3.  Contains saffron, a very expensive spice

Any of which would send the Poshometer into overdrive.  All of them?  This could be the poshest recipe ever!  

Finally, this recipe comes from an article called Polo Partying Shot.  Now, I don’t know if you know any polo-playing people?  One of my friends once dated a polo player and he and his buddies were universally vile.  They truly believed that having more money than God entitled them to be arrogant, rude, dismissive, sexist and racist.  They were the worst!  

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Dunking with Glee..not a knife in sight!

Fresh Asparagus with Rouille – The Facts According To Me

This was amazing!  It was so tasty!  I love asparagus.  My Nana’s asparagus sandwiches (made with tinned asparagus) were one of my favourite things to eat!!!! And, as above, it was one of my lazy single-girl meals.  So, I am already a fan of asparagus.

But the Rouille?  

OMG….

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The Rouille was a game-changer!  I always thought nothing could be better than Hollandaise with asparagus.  The Rouille blew my mind.  Not only was it a beautiful deep, rich yellow but it also had a deep rich flavour that was nothing short of superb.  It’s thick and lemony and garlicky with a little kick from some mustard and cayenne but you could also definitely taste the saffron.  But whilst it is punchy, it doesn’t overwhelm the asparagus.  

Finally, this was ridiculously easy to make! And certain to impress your friends at your next dinner party, picnic or night on the couch!

Fresh Asparagus With Rouille – The Recipe

via the pages of Vogue Entertaining Oct/Nov 1989

Asparagus with Rouille recipe (2)

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For another lovely take on Spring Asparagus recipes, why not check out my Easter Lily Sandwiches?

Have a wonderful week!

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Savoury Upside Down Pie

Hello friends! On the menu today is a savoury upside down pie (say what?) which comes from a new book to the blog, 250 Quick and Easy Recipes by Woman’s Day from 1986.  It’s actually from Let me tell you , if the savoury upside pie was anything to go by, I am looking forward seeing what the rest of this book has to offer.  This was delicious! I made this back in February and looking back at the photos now is really making me want to make it again!

Savoury Upside Down Pie 2
I chose this recipe because of its unusual cooking method.  You line your pie dish with bacon (yum) then spoon a mix of minced chicken, creamed corn, and some herbs on top of the bacon.  Finally, almost like a tarte tatin, you top the lot with pastry.  The end result is great, the bacon and the pastry turn crispy and the chicken mix stays succulent!  You will see below that the recipe below calls for green capsicum. I can’t bear them.  They also tend to repeat on me for hours afterward so instead of the capsicum, I added some additional herbs from the garden being sage and oregano along with the parsley and mint the recipe called for. 

Herbs

I have been featuring a lot of “posh” food recently.  This is definitely not that.  This is mid-week budget-style cooking.  I think it would be a great family meal.  I served my pie with shop-bought sweet chilli sauce, some zucchini pickles made from homegrown zucchini and a watercress and orange salad which will feature in an upcoming post. 

Savoury Upside Down Pie 1

 

Savoury Upside Down Pie – The Recipe

Savoury Upside Down Pie recipe

The sweet chilli was the perfect accompaniment to the pie – they really worked well together.  The pickles also bought a nice tang.  And it all looked lovely and colourful.  

The pie was also good cold the following day when I had some for my lunch!  I was going to reheat it but couldn’t wait!

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250 Quick and Easy recipes really delivered on its title with the Savoury Upside Down Pie!  Add in that it was also really tasty and you have a winner, winner chicken dinner!  There are a few more recipes which sound like they might be worth a try so I’m sure this will not be the last time we see this book!

Have a great week!

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Eggsclusive

Hello friends and welcome to a pre-Easter edition of “What Posh People Ate in the 80’s”. This time they are not even pretending to be slumming it as even the name of this dish “Eggsclusive” speaks to its ritziness! The recipe for this eggcelllent (hey, if they can make egg puns, so can i! 😜) comes from the Vogue Entertaining Guide from Autumn 1986. 

Eggsclusive

The Eggsclusive recipe comes from an article about the Lamrock Cafe in Bondi Beach in Sydney.  A quick Google search showed that The Lamrock is still going strong.  And OMG…look at that view.  I know EXACTLY where I am heading for brunch next time I go to Sydney!  (The Eggsclusive is sadly no longer on the menu though). 

The Eggsclusive Recipe and Variations

You will notice that I have altered the recipe a little bit. I did not cook the smoked salmon or the caviare in the eggs, just served them on top. I also only used one type of caviar and I sprinkled some parsley and chives over the top. 

Eggsclusive Recipe

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This was really easy to make and has a lovely luxe appeal to it  It would make the perfect breakfast in bed for someone you love (or yourself) over the Easter break.  Why not complete the feel with a glass of champagne? And maybe some of these vintage Easter Pinups could influence your choice of attire!

How cute is this?

Or if little cottontails aren’t your bag, you could try a tutu like Debbie Reynolds. 

Maybe an Easter bonnet might be more your style? 

I would, however, suggest you avoid bursting out of an egg.  This looks uncomfortable!

Have a safe and happy Easter, however you decide to spend it!  

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Other Recipes from the Vogue Entertaining Guide Autumn 1986:

 

Avocado and Crab Finger Sandwiches

Hello friends!   Welcome to the latest post on “What Posh People ate in the ’80s”. This recipe for Avocado and Crab Finger Sandwiches comes from the Vogue Entertaining Guide from Autumn 1986.  The article features a mother and daughter who love to entertain after a match or two on their private tennis court.  When I said posh I meant swish enough to have a house with its own tennis court!

Avocado and Crab Finger Sandwiches

I would LOVE to be invited to a spot of doubles followed by an elegant afternoon tea!  (Note to friends – can one of you please get rich so we can do this?  And can we also wear gorgeous tennis dresses like these?)

Tennis Dresses

The whole thing reminded me very much of the John Betjeman poem called A Subaltern’s Love Song:

Miss J.Hunter Dunn, Miss J.Hunter Dunn,
Furnish’d and burnish’d by Aldershot sun,
What strenuous singles we played after tea,
We in the tournament – you against me!

Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,
The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,
With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won,
I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn

Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,
How mad I am, sad I am, glad that you won,
The warm-handled racket is back in its press,
But my shock-headed victor, she loves me no less.

Her father’s euonymus shines as we walk,
And swing past the summer-house, buried in talk,
And cool the verandah that welcomes us in
To the six-o’clock news and a lime-juice and gin.

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Rather than lime juice and gin, this article waxes lyrical about a boysenberry daiquiri served with the afternoon tea:

One of Helena’s specialties is the delicious boysenberry daiquiri which is smooth in texture, with a wonderful colour and just enough zing in it to revive tired tennis bodies

And even includes a large picture of said daiquiris:

Boysenberry Daiquiri

But, back in 1986, if you had a tired tennis body and needed the reviving properties of a boysenberry daiquiri, you would have been SOL as the Vogue Entertaining Guide did not give you the recipe for it!  It’s the opposite of Chekhov’s Gun.  Even today, with full use of the internet, the closest thing I could find is this recipe for a berry daiquiri from the BBC.  Never let it be said that I don’t give you something to soothe your tired tennis body! I mean it’s not boysenberries but what can you do?  Maybe boysenberry daiquiris only exist in the realms of people who have their own tennis courts and would never dream of publishing their recipe on something as mucky as the internet!

The Recipe – Avocado and Crab Finger Sandwiches

The article made no mention of who Margie is/was so neither shall we.  These were very yummy and delicate sandwiches.  And whilst I don’t want to drag Agatha Christie into every post, they were certainly something I could imagine people eating after a hit of tennis in one of her novels.  Whilst someone was being stabbed in the drawing room.

Avocado and Crab Finger Sandwiches

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I added a sprinkle of chives from the garden and some chive flowers as a garnish for my sandwiches.

The Saratoga Torte which I featured a while back is from this same article.

I am now going to go dream of a life that includes

The traditional charm of a tennis afternoon tea expressed through the use of gleaming family silver and old lace

 

 

Have a wonderful week!

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Hummer Strudels

Welcome friends.  Today we are channelling our inner Gordon Gekko’s and subscribing to the credo of  Greed is Good”  to make some luxurious Hummer Strudels.  These are coming to us via Vogue Entertaining and Travel from Autumn 1986. Now, greed and huge shoulder pads may have been good in the 1980s but this name is not.  To me, hummers are giant gas-guzzling cars nearly always filled with semi-drunk teenagers off to a school formal (aka prom for my American friends).  It makes no sense why this is called a Hummer strudel.  It also possibly made no sense to the magazine editor who added a subtitle to the recipe so everyone knew they were going to be eating Crayfish and Spinach Strudels.

Hummer Strudel 1

Or were they?  Let’s address the Hummer-sized elephant in the room.  These also aren’t really strudels.  I guess it depends on a definition of a strudel but to my mind, a strudel has layers of pastry wrapped around a filling.   I would call this thing a pasty or an empanada or, if these are considered cultural appropriation, then maybe a hand-pie.    Maybe these terms were all too common for the la-di-dah folks of 1986?

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Hummer Strudels – The Recipe

The pastry was really short and rich and the spinach, lobster tail and cream filling was delicious!  But just because we are adopting the 80’s creed of “greed is good” for today’s meal, it doesn’t mean our 2020’s sensibilities need to suffer.  I waited to make this until I could find some highly discounted lobster tails in my local supermarket. These were on sale for  $1.50 each!  If you are unable to find cheap lobster tails most other seafood would work in this – prawns, scallops, or even any firm white fish.  Or a mix of any of them. If you are not a seafood lover, chicken would also work and for a vegetarian version, mushrooms would be great!

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A quick note on the pastry too.  The OG recipe calls for both lard and butter.  I used coconut oil instead of lard and as mentioned above, the pastry turned out beautifully!

Hummer Strudel recipe 1

For the two lobster tails, I used half quantities of all the other ingredients which made 8 hand pies.  So enough to share…or not!

The Hummer Strudels were delicious!  So why not channel your inner 80’s icon, stream Wall Street and make these this soon!

Have a  great week everyone!

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