1970's recipes - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: 1970’s recipes

21
Nov
2018

Sour Cherry Stuffed Monkey

categories: 1970's recipes, Desserts, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Israel, World Cooking

Disclaimer: No monkeys, stuffed or otherwise, were hurt, or even involved in the making of this week’s recipe. Stuffed Monkey is actually a Jewish pastry. With a totally kooky, and kind of revolting, name. Which is, of course, why I had to make it!

And I’m so glad I did because Stuffed Monkey is delicious! The pastry is like a cinnamony shortbread and the filling is slightly fudgy, a bit like a brownie. It’s so good!

Now, the original recipe for Stuffed Monkey, direct from the pages of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery, had candied orange peel as the fruit in the filling. I’m not a big fan of candied peel at the best of times and, certainly not in the quantities required to make this. So I subbed in some dried sour cherries and some dried apricots for my version. I did add some orange zest as well so there was a hint of orange in my recipe as a small nod and a wink to the original.

So, why the odd and not appetising at all name? I found a couple of theories on the old interwebs…the first is that “monkey” is a corruption of the Arabic word “makhshi” which means stuffed. So this would then become a Stuffed Stuffed? The other theory I found is that these were first popularised by a family called the Monnickendams.

I’m not sure I’m entirely convinced by either of these but what do I know?

Here’s the recipe direct from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery:

And here is my version with the cherries and apricots.

Stuffed Monkey

Print Recipe

A delicious baked dessert

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Pastry

170g butter
227g plain flour
170g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten

For The Filling

80g dried sour cherries, chopped
80g dried apricots, chopped
60g slivered almonds
zest of an orange
227g ground almonds
85g butter
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
1 egg white

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For The Pastry

Rub the butter into the flour.
Add the sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Add the egg. Combine until the mixture becomes a smooth dough.
Divide in two equal pieces.
Roll the first piece out and use it to line a pie dish.

For The Filling

Beat the butter, ground almonds and egg yolks together.
Add the dried fruit, nuts and vanilla and salt.
Stir to combine.
Spread the filling over the dough in the pie dish.
Roll out the second piece of pastry and cover the filling with it.
Press the edges to seal them.
Brush with the egg white to glaze.
Heat the oven to 180C.
Place the pie pan in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

This is great on its own but is fabulous with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

There is a downside to making a dessert called a Stuffed Monkey.

Which is that no one wants to eat it. The minute you mention the name, they get a funny look on their faces. Then they ask you to repeat what you said. Then they say “It’s okay, I think I might just have coffee”.

So just tell your friends it’s called Sour Cherry Tart or something. They’ll be shovelling it down like nobody’s business and asking for seconds in no time at all!

Or tell them the name and keep it all for yourself. It’s that good!

Have a great week!

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31
Oct
2018

Potato Maraska

categories: 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Israel, Middle Eastern

Today, as we continue our globetrotting trek through 1972 we are saying goodbye to the Balkans and heading to…well, here’s the clue given on page 273 of Good Housekeeping World Cookery….

If the baking dishes of non-descript food didn’t immediately alert you to our destination, then maybe the shisha, the toy camels and the fact that the dishes are placed on SAND may indicate that

a) We are off to the Middle East, and

b)Subtlety was not strong back in the day!

That picture is the worst!

Specifically, our first stop on the trip is Israel.

I really wonder, why, when the line drawings in this book are so pretty, they even bothered with the cliched photography. It was hardly to make the food look attractive!

The Potato Maraska was not my first choice of recipe for this post. I originally wanted to make a Butter Kuchen. I even bought all the ingredients for it. Well, I bought sour cream. I had everything else.

Then I read the recipe…

Hmm….and after you let the dough rise overnight? Then what?

Well, if you’re Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery you move swiftly on to a recipe for Chremzlach and the Butter Kuchen is never mentioned again.

Never mind, I thought, there is a recipe right above the recipe for Butter Kuchen for Kuchen Dough. I’ll just get the rest of the recipe from that…

Or…..not….

I would love to know what Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery has against finishing a recipe for Kuchen. But given the absence of how to cook the risen dough, I decided that mine was going to be a kuchen free kitchen!

I had been going to make a fish pie that night and, in the absence of kuchen I decided that I would use the recipe for Potato Maraska as the topping instead of regular mashed potato.

The Potato Maraska was…..okay. Not as nice as normal mashed potato but if you and didn’t have milk and butter or you wanted to cut down on some calories, the egg adds a richness to the plain potato.

And at least it was a full recipe!

That’s it for me!

Have a great week!

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PS – If anyone knows how to make a butter kuchen, please send me a full recipe!

07
Mar
2018

REPOST: All The Z’s – Part 5 – Zurich Mushroom Tartlets

categories: 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Mushrooms, Switzerland, Vegetarian

Hello, and welcome to the fifth and final post of the Food that starts with Z mini-series…We’re heading to Switzerland for some Zurich Mushroom Tartlets. And I have a new book to cook from! Pack your passports friends, we are taking a trip around the world via Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery from 1972.

The book promises

222 illustrations, 48 in full colour
672 pages
2316 recipes from all over the world

The World in 1972

So what was this world of 1972 that we are about to enter into? What was the zeitgeist that spawned this tome?

www.thepeoplehistory.com tells us that

1972 This year is marked as a black year in history due to the use of terrorism entering sport with the massacre of 11 Israel Athletes by Arab Gunman. Also this is the beginning of the biggest political scandal in modern times and the start of the Watergate Scandal. On the other side of the Atlantic a worsening of the problems between the IRA and the British government see wrongs from both sides and innocent lives are lost.

Hmm…cheerful.

But who knew years were colour-coded? Who has that job? And can I have it when you’re done?

On a happier note, in 1972 you could buy these awesome shoes for just $9.97.

And this wig was a bargain at $20. The resting bitch face is possibly a sign of the troubled times…

Or maybe she was just worried about getting her wig wet. Problem solved by this umbrella for a mere fiver. Look how much happier this woman is now she doesn’t have to worry about wet hair.

Switzerland 1972

So in the midst of all this trial and trib, what was going on in the notoriously neutral country of Switzerland? Well, hold onto your hats because while chaos and panic were overtaking the rest of the world? The Swiss were creating an International Convention on Safe Containers.

The Swiss are an orderly, well-mannered, and meticulous people. This is why you could probably take your safe container and join a group of Swiss people mushroom foraging around Zurich without fear of dying from some fungi-induced poisoning.

Which brings us back to do…oh…oh..oh (If ANY of you thought we were going to get through a post on Switzerland WITHOUT a Sound Of Music reference, then you don’t know me at all do you?).

ZURICH MUSHROOM TARTLETS

Let’s start with the recipe. It’s a very good place to start…(Refer paragraph above re The Sound of Music) And let’s hope that it isn’t an omen of things to come…

Hmmmm….make the pastry it says Without actually telling you how to do that. So, If they’re not going to tell you?

I will. Here’s what you do.

Put your flour back in the cupboard, your egg and butter back in the fridge and tip your salted water down the sink. Then you get in your car and drive to the nearest supermarket and by some ready-made pastry shells.

Because if they can’t be bothered, why should you?

I used a mix of mushrooms for my tartlets and added some herbs from the garden into the mix.

I pan-fried the small fancy mushrooms in so they could be artfully strewn over the top of the tarts whilst I cooked the regular ones as per the recipe.

IWhile the mushrooms were cooking, I warmed the shells in the oven, then tipped the filling into them.

A sprinkle of parsley and some smoked paprika and these were good to go!

And they were delicious! Creamy and earthy with a lovely crisp and light pastry.

Despite the initial setback with the pastry, the Zurich Mushroom Tartlets were a good start to this book. Easy to make, quick, and tasty! Best eaten in front of the telly watching The Sound of Music, Or wearing your best curtains. Or both.

Have a great week!

30
Dec
2017

This Paté is a Turkey!

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Holidays, Leftovers, Recipe Fail

Welcome to the end of the world. Or at the very least the end of The A-Z of Cooking (1977).

Prepare to feel robbed.

Dear A-Z of Cooking,

Look…listen…over the past few years we’ve had joy, we’ve had fun, we’ve had seasons in the sun.

There’ve been many good times.

Remember the Mushroom Cakes?

And the Brioche?

The Profiteroles? They were awesome!

Okay, so it wasn’t always smooth sailing. There were downs with those ups.

There was this:

Still one of the scariest pictures I have ever seen in the pages of a cookbook.

And lets not forget this delightful looking salad:

Or this suggestion for punishing people who drop in without notice:

But on the whole, it’s been good times.

And this is how you end it? With a Turkey Paté that looked like cat food until I slapped a few sage leaves and pomegranate seeds on top? And, I might add, tasted of nothing?

And whilst we’re at it…right from the start you promised me an A-Z.

So…ummm…why are we done after Yesterday’s Leftovers?

Where’s my Z, you dick?

And a really bad turkey paté.

And no Z.

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22
Dec
2017

Moules Marinieres

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, France, Mussels, Seafood, White Wine

Today we are heading back into The A-Z of Cooking to the chapter called Wine For a Change. And on the menu is the classic French dish of Moules Marinieres. This is one of my favourite dishes. I probably make this around once a month – it ticks all my boxes – it’s healthy, it’s quick and it’s cheap and so, so, tasty! Over the years my recipe has evolved so now I have my favourite version of Moules Marinieres which I will list below alongside a more pared back version from The A-Z.
Before we get into the Moules lets talk about this chapter. Wine for a Change. Not around here it isn’t. Around here it’s a basic food group. So there goes that title. There are some good recipes in this section. The Moules, Coq au vin, Peaches in Wine….oh and veal kidneys with Marsala.

You can’t win ’em all. (Sigh)

If the thought of veal kidneys with anything isn’t off-putting enough on its own, the picture is truly unsettling (It’s also at the very bottom of this post if you are brave enough).

Moules Marinieres loosely translates as Sailor’s Mussels. Be careful of your spelling if googling this. You could end up with this:

Hot damn! Ladies (and possibly gentlemen), don’t ever say I don’t give you anything. Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday and Goodnight Irene!

Where were we? I seem to have lost my entire train of thought.

Oh yeah, mussels. The thing that takes the longest with the Moules Marinieres is all your prep work. First you have to debeard and scrub all of your mussels.

Then cut up your veggies for your mirepoix I use carrot, celery, fennel and onion in mine. And for seasoning salt (I used the Port infused salt I bought in Portugal) peppercorns, a pinch of chilli flakes and a smashed garlic clove.

Cook these down then add some white wine and a splash of Pernod (optional but goes really well with the fennel and the mussels). Cook these down a bit – the longer the better! Then add wine, Pernod if using and stock and bring to the boil. Add the mussels. Add a lid. Shake the pan occasionally and in all of about 5 minutes you will have a piping hot bowl of mussels with a deliciously tasty broth.

Moules Marinieres are great with bread to soak up all that broth. And if that bread happens to be a tasty warm loaf of crusty garlic bread? Heaven…I”m in heaven….

This time though I made mussels other best friend…frites. With aioli. Hard to tell from the pictures but there were three types of frites – potato, sweet potato and parsnip.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is amenable to all sorts of changes. Don’t like cream? Don’t add it. I quite often will throw in a can of tinned tomatoes. Also, (and this is where i am sure I will have the purists tutting at me) if you can’t be arsed debearding and scrubbing the mussels, most supermarkets now sell frozen mussel meat. I always have a pack of this in my freezer so can whip this up at any time. One codicil on that though. The shells on fresh mussels do seem to add some extra flavour. If using mussel meat alone be sure to use a really good fish stock in your broth!

Here is the original recipe from The A-Z of Cooking and the original picture. I cannot tell you how much I love and covet that terracotta mussel pot. Straight to the top of my list of kitchen must haves!!!

And here is my slightly fancier version:

[yumprint-recipe id=’107′]So, there is only ONE Chapter left in The A-Z! Will I be able to get it out before Christmas?

Absolutely not because one of the key ingredients will be a Christmas leftover. And yes, I will be slapping people’s hands away from the plate if there is even the remotest chance of there not being enough leftovers to make it!

Will there be another post of any sort before the big day?

Almost definitely!

See you in a couple of days!

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Oh and for the bravest o the brave? Here are those veal kidneys: