Retro Food For Modern Times - Yesterdays Recipes, Cooked Today

31
May
2023

Food For Lovers Redux

categories: Devilled Eggs, Food For Lovers, Prunes, Rice, Salad, Soup

Hello friends, and welcome to a special series I will be running over the next 12 months. A while ago, I realised I had totally missed the 10th birthday of this blog. In fact, I was thinking about how to celebrate this and wanted to check the exact date of the first post which I thought was in 2013. Nope. It was 17 May 2012! There didn’t seem much point in celebrating eleven years but twelve sounds impressive. So in the 12 months leading up to my 12th birthday I will be featuring one of the old books I blogged about in the early years. Those old posts are mostly dire but the books are quirky and fun or just plain good. Sometimes all three. To get this party started I am revisiting one of the most bonkers books I own – Kelly Brodsky’s Food for Lovers from 1971.

Food For Lovers – The Book

Food for Lovers is broken into 15 chapters, each of which is devoted to a particular type of man and the food that their beloved should cook to keep them interested. As the old adage goes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! This may make it sound like this is a very conservative, conventional cookbook – the type of book you might have seen in the 1950’s on how to please your husband. But this my friends was not the conservative 50s, this was the 1970s and the birth of women’s liberation so the tone is definitely tongue in cheek. At least I hope it is because each of the men mentioned sounds awful (although also somewhat recognisable). To introduce you to the book and its characters I thought it might be fun to do a little speed dating with the gents of Food for Lovers!

Bachelor #1 Come on down!

Freddy Finikin

“Freddys who dislike food are an asexual lot who seem to get a perverse kick from driving the women in their lives to a frenzy in search of something to tempt their appetite…the woman who falls for such a man is either unaware of his finickiness, or trapped, or mad, or maybe she prefers to read in bed”

Kelly Brodsky – Food for Lovers

Should you find either the picture of Freddy or his blurb attractive, or you are mad, trapped, or prefer to read in bed here is a recipe to keep your Freddy happy!

Zakusi

You’ll notice I have changed the recipe so that rather than filling the egg whites “liberally” with caviar, I have made a more traditional and certainly more economically viable devilled egg. These were AMAZING. So tasty!!!!

Let’s move on to Bachelor #2

If fussy eaters aren’t your style, maybe this likely lad is more your speed!

Joe De Go

A man with the Midas touch, Joe usually has his fingers in many pies. Often in the guise of pop star, P.R, ad-man, disc jockey, TV star or such, he wizzes from one assignment, luncheon or deal to another with a slick show of competence that belies his lingering adolescence. Bright and on the ball he mostly shoes away from anything that smacks of more than superficial know-how, for he hates to be caught out of his depth

Kelly Brodsky – Food for Lovers

Intrigued by the sound of Joe? Why not tempt his palate with some

Creamed Leek and Potato Soup

This soup was delicious!

Still not found your ideal man? Let’s take a look at Bachelor #3

Champers Chas

With the carefully cultivated air of an educated debauchee and a fascinating, if largely fabricated family history to back it, Champers provides an inexhaustible supply of gossip. Whether on or off the boards, he delights in titillating his ever present audience with spicy, often malicious anecdotes and ribaldry

Kelly Brodsky – Food for Lovers

Fancy chatting with Chas? Tempt his tastebuds with some

Pistachio Nut Pilau

This was really nice, the rice was light and fluffy and went perfectly with last week’s Chilli Crab!

Still not found the love of your life? Maybe you like your men a little more sleazy and possibly criminal? Bachelor #4 may be more your style!

Professor Repressor

If the name doesn’t say it all, here’s Kelly’s description

Repressor exudes the coldness of a tree frog, his sang-froid masking some Lucifer-like leanings. One kinky chink in his armour is his obsession with the Lolita-type nubiles on his campus – who usually run for their sweet lives when they see the kind of red-hot light they inspire in his eyes. Inevitably, he is forced to turn his attentions to any neglected wives of his colleagues

Kelly Brodsky – Food for Lovers

Ok. We might need a palate cleanser after that so how about some

Watercress and Orange Salad

This was great and just the refreshing hit I needed after writing about the pervy professor! Let’s swiftly move to Bachelor #5!

Gad About Guy

Gad about Guys come in all shapes and sizes with ages and egos to match. They usually hover round fellow Gads with a few of the uninitiated thrown in as audience. “Remember that night in Singapore when we strolled along Bugis Street – and those fantastic little roadside stalls with the delicious Satay? ….”Lord, yes! And will you ever forget that Lamb Solanka in Moscow last winter.”…And on and on it goes, the name dropping, the reminiscences and regurgitations of past splendours”

Kelly Brodsky – Food For Lovers

If the well-travelled man is your bag, why not whip up a lovely breakfast for him with some

Wine and Song Prunes

I LOVED these. I feel so bad that prunes have such a bad rap! This was so delicious. And what a fabulous name! I served mine with a little bit of labneh, some orange zest and some pistachios left over from the pilaf and it made a heavenly breakfast!

And because all good things must come to an end, we come to our lucky last Bachelor…who out there fancies

Jack Snack

He’s strictly a non-event up to his neck in dreary day to day existence, blissfully unaware of anything outside his tight little domain…his every move as predictable as the plainness of his sitting-room with it’s enormous brick veneered fireplace above which some gypsy flamencoes wildy within a heavy gilt frame

Kelly Brodsky – Food For Lovers

I laughed out loud when I read this because growing up, we had possibly that very same flamenco dancer painting on our wall at home! I thought it was incredibly beautiful and have always wanted to learn to flamenco as a result of it!

Now, I have also not made Jack’s Snack, mostly because I quite like my life and don’t fancy being taken down by a premature heart attack any time soon. But should you wish to share your life with this homebody and are not afraid of death by overindulgence, here is the recipe for a Veal Scallopine Sandwich that will melt Jack’s heart whilst simultaneously clogging his arteries!

Okay, food lovers, I hope you have enjoyed my second journey into Food For Lovers…I LOVED revisiting this book!!! And there are so many more delicious-sounding recipes and terrible men in it that we may have to take a third look somewhere down the track!

I have searched online for other books by Kelly Brodsky and Kelly Brodsky herself and have drawn a big flat blank! At the moment there also appear to be no other copies of Food for Lovers for sale so, sadly you cannot share my delight in this book. Kelly, if you are out there, and I hope you are, I hope you read this and know that fifty-two years after the publishing of your book, you have a number one fan in me!

Have a wonderful week friends and please let me know if you make that Veal Scallopini Sandwich! Or any of the other recipes!

28
May
2023

May 2003 – The Letter P

categories: Chicken Liver, Classic Recipes, Crab, Steak, Super Food Ideas

Welcome friends to Twenty Years Ago today, where we find out what the good people of 2003 were eating via a magazine of the time and a self-imposed challenge by which to deliver a menu. Today’s magazine was Super Food Ideas from May 2003 and the challenge was to build a menu that featured the letter P.

But first, let’s set the scene by having a quick peek at what was hot in May 2003. The Matrix Reloaded was number one at the office followed by X2: X Men United and Bruce Almighty. Topping the Australian music charts through that same month were “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake and “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence. Also, sneaking up on those charts was another favourite of mine, “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes so for my mind, May 2003 had some pretty good music and some fairy average films. In book sales for the month, The Da Vinci Code was #2 and The Devil Wears Prada was #8.

So, pop some JT on your speakers and open that bottle full of bub, because we are going to party like it’s your birthday with a menu featuring the letter P.

The Menu – May 2003

Chicken Liver Paté – To Wake You Up Inside

There were actually a few options for the starter – the paté which I chose, a prawn cocktail and some mini potato cakes with smoked salmon and creme fraiche. I literally eeny meeny miny mo’ed these three recipes to choose one. The pate was easy to make and was quite delicious. It was a little grainier than bought patés but that probably says more about my food processor than any real flaw in the recipe.

Chicken Liver Pate Recipé:

Pepper Steak – To Rock Your Body

The pepper steak main was delicious! And another classic to go with the very traditional starter! And although I am trying to limit my consumption of red meat, this is likely to go on high rotation!

Pepper Steak Recipe:

Pecan and Date Syrup Pudding

I was soooo disappointed that I didn’t have time to make this. I even bought all the ingredients but, the weekend I had planned to make it, I also realised we had most of a bag of apples that were getting a bit old…so apple pie it was. However, as I said I have all the ingredients so this pudding may make an appearance in the coming weeks.

Pecan and Date Syrup Pudding Recipe:

My Nigella Moment – Chilli Crab

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was the most appetising thing in the mag!

I mean…who does not love a Chilli Crab. I mean…who does not love Chilli Crab. We had the most memorable chilli crab in Malaysia. We went on a tour to see the fireflies where part of the tour was dinner. The restaurant looked pretty basic – plastic plates and cups, definitely catering to the tourists going to see the fireflies so we were not expecting much. Then they brought out the chilli crab!!! It was amazing. So fresh and tasty. It was divine. So expectations were high on this one. Could I do our memories of chilli crab justice?

I am not going to blow my own trumpet to say this was as good as our Malaysian meal. For a start, it was not followed by cruising down the river watching fireflies, it was followed by a night on the couch watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall which was this week’s film club choice! BUT…this was AMAZING!!!! A seven-nation army couldn’t hold me back from this one!

Chilli Crab Recipe:

Oh my gosh, Super Food Ideas delivered on the P recipes! This was a great month of eating for me culminating in that chilli crab…possibly the best month yet! And the pudding still to come!

So tell me, if you were making a menu featuring the letter P, what would you make?

And have a great week!

10
May
2023

Salmon Rillettes: Sad Cypress

categories: Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot, Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Starters, Uncategorized

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Welcome to Dining with the Dame for May and my take on Sad Cypress. I loved this one! And I also loved the Salmon Rillettes so this was a win-win for me! Now it may be a bit risky to base my recipe on the supposed murder weapon (poisoned salmon paste sandwiches) but the rillettes were absolutely delicious!

Sad Cypress -The Plot

First up, the name comes from a quote from Shake’speare’s Twelfth Night:

Come away, come away, death,

And in sad cypress let me be laid.

Fly away, fly away, breath;

I am slain by a fair cruel maid.

The beautiful Mary Gerrard is dead. Prior to her death, Mary had been the gardener’s daughter in an estate owned by the Welman family. Elinor Carlisle, niece to the recently deceased Laura Welman stands accused of her murder.

Her motive? Elinor had recently been jilted by her fiance (and kind of cousin) Roddy for Mary.

Her means? Salmon paste sandwiches laced with morphine.

Her opportunity? Tea time whilst clearing out the Welman estate.

All fingers are pointing to Elinor being the murderer. But did she do it? Luckily the local doctor who has a bit of a crush on Elinor brings in Hercule Poirot to determine who is guilty.

We have:

A poison pen letter
Some missing morphine
An elderly aunt possibly bumped off before her time
A very large fortune left to Elinor.
A mysterious figure lurking in the bushes
A possibly perfidious cousin
A strange mark on a nurse’s wrist
Secrets from the past impacting the present
Poirot hilariously calling himself a “pukkah sahib”

Such a good story!!

Sad Cypress – The Covers

There are some great covers here – many of which contain aspects of things we have mentioned, the roses, the morphine, the poison pen letter. We also have our first Japanese cover, some French covers, a Spanish cover and a German which may actually be my favorite. Here it is in full:

I also want to call out this one because…what?

I understand the rose and the tea set. The weird green guy? Not a clue! It reminded me of Dumb Witness when Emily Arundell, who had been poisoned with phosphorus was said to have a luminous haze around her head.

The Recipe – Salmon Rillettes

I based my recipe for Salmon Rillettes on the recipe for Rainbow Trout Rillettes, Rye, Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches from Food for Friends by Hardie Grant Publishing. That recipe is by Philippa Sibley and her book New Classics. I swapped out the trout for Salmon and used white bread for my sandwiches.

Elinor went across the hall and brought back from the pantry a big plate of sandwiches. She handed it to Mary saying:

“Have one?”

Mary took one. Elinor stood watching her for a moment as the girl’s white, even teeth bit into the sandwich”

Agatha Christie – Sad Cypress

Links to The Christieverse

Peter Lord, the doctor who is crushing on Elinor tells Poirot that he was recommended by Dr Stillingfleet. He is a character in a short story called The Dream which appears in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Sad Cypress

Raspberries
Fish Paste Sandwiches (multiple references)
Cocktails
Tea (multiple references)
Doughnuts
Pink Sugar Cakes
Milk
Salmon and Shrimp Paste
Salmon and Anchovy Paste
Beer
Fresh Fish for lunch

June’s read will be One Two Buckle My Shoe

Have a great week!

08
May
2023

Passionfruit Flummery

categories: 1950's recipes, Australia, Desserts, Jelly, Passionfruit

Hello friends and welcome. Today I am featuring another recipe with a wonderfully evocative name – Passionfruit Flummery. The name flummery makes me think of something that is light and fluttery, like a gorgeous butterfly. And also something summery and maybe even a little bit shimmery! Now, I can’t promise fluttery or shimmery but this is a delicious summery dessert! This recipe for Passionfruit Flummery comes from 250 Quick and Easy Recipes which also contained the recipe for the wonderful Savoury Upside Down Pie.

So what exactly is a flummery. Very simply it is a whipped jelly confection. The whipping makes it feather-light and it almost melts in your mouth! The one odd, I thought ingredient was that you needed to add some flour to the jelly mix. I am not sure why – it did turn the jelly mix opaque rather than the normal clear colour but I can’t figure out if it serves another purpose as well. If we have any flummery experts out there, please let me know!

The other nice thing about this dessert is…you know those people who don’t like desserts that are too sweet? I personally am not one of them. I love a sweet dessert, however my flavour profile also runs to sweet / sour as being right in my wheelhouse. This is definitely a dessert for those people who do not like desserts that are overly sweet. The passionfruit and the citrus juices keep it fresh, zesty and light!

Passionfruit Flummery – The Recipe

The flummery will keep in the fridge for about a week – if you can make it last that long! It is very more-ish! I went in for a spoonful and ended up making a dent this big! I really could not stop!

Flummery Fun “Facts”

I found some facts about flummeries when I was researching this post. Now some of these seem to be more “ïnternet” facts than factual facts but let’s see how we go…

Flummerries started out as a sour porridge-like dish in 17th Century England
The name comes from the Welsh word “llymru” meaning sour oatmeal jelly boiled with the husks
The name was also spelt thlummery and flamery
In Australia and New Zealand, the name flummery was given to a mousse like dessert that used gelatine instead of cream which was more expensive

So far so good. However, I’m less convinced about this:

Flummery was a fall-back dessert in the New South Wales Town of Forbes in the 1950s.

Huh…weirdly specific. When I was in school we had to learn a song called The Streets of Forbes which is about the death of the bushranger Ben Hall. And that is pretty much all I know about Forbes. So maybe, there and nowhere else, people were scoffing down flummery like there was no tomorrow in the 1950’s. But I’m dubious.

I’m even more dubious about this one:

In the Queensland town of Longreach, it was staple food in the 1970s

Yep, right up there with flour, rice and corn…flummery!

Longreach

Of course then, I had to Google Longreach to see if there was any reason why it might be the whipped jelly capital of Australia. And I swear this is true…the very first question that pops up is:

Which is intriguing…what is the smell in Longreach? Is it something to do with the overconsumption of flummery?

According to this article the lanes of Longreach “were always foul with the rank and unpleasant smell of goats’ faeces and urine”.

.And based on that we can whip through the rest of the questions pretty quickly:

2) Zero is the number of days you need in Longreach. Unless you have no sense of smell. Then, stay as long as you like.

3) Longreach is famous for the stench of goats.

4) Whenever the wind is blowing those goaty fumes away.

Well, this post took a turn…we started with pretty butterflies and ended with dead bushrangers and stinky goats!

Have a great week, I hope it doesn’t end up with stinky goats!

02
May
2023

Moors and Christians

categories: 1970's recipes, Cuba, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Great Name, Rice, The Caribbean, World Cooking

I love food that has an evocative/unusual name so as soon as I saw a recipe for something called Moors and Christians in the Caribbean chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972), I knew it was something I wanted to cook.

This dish which is a mix of black beans and rice comes from Cuba and looks back to the time of conflict between the Moors and Christians in Spain. It represents the end of this conflict and how two different cultures can live side by side in harmony. Which is a heartwarming story for a lovely spot of comfort food!

Moors and Christians was a great side dish to a very non-Cuban lamb and potato curry we were having that night for dinner. I could also see myself just eating it with a little pico de gallo-style salad. Or mixed some pulled beef or chicken as a burrito filling!

Moors and Christians – The Recipe

This looks to be a very simple version of Moors and Christians. There are some more elaborate versions on the internet if you want something more fancy!0

I was also fascinated to see that my dish which I cooked without a picture reference was a lot paler than most of the other dishes. I think this might be because I cheated a little bit and used canned black beans.

Travel Aspirations

I am fairly sure that Moors and Christians is the first Cuban-inspired food I have eaten. And reflecting on it reawakened a long-held desire of mine to travel there. I first got the urge after watching The Beuna Vista Social Club many years ago. The music, the dancing, the culture really spoke to me! Now that we can travel again, I guess I better start saving!

Havana here I come!

Have a great week!