Peanut Butter Dipsies!

Party Perfect, 1960
contributed by Amy from Iowa City

New fan Amy from Iowa City writes:

Hi Dr. Bobb,

I found your blog a few weeks ago and I love it! 

I have a recipe request for you.  This is a recipe for "Peanut Butter Dipsies" from the 1960 edition of Party Perfect (images attached).  Could you please make it and try it out on Dr. Husband?  I need to know if I should make this for my next Saturday night get-together.  My husband refuses to try it :(

Thank you so much for all that you do - your blog is AWESOME!

Amy from Iowa City has done everything right - a recipe, pictures, and PLENTY of complimentary salutations. If you'd like to be at the top of my list like Amy from Iowa City, just drop me a line here! (or on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Tumblr. Or Instagram.)

Now, then, let's see about these Peanut Butter Dipsies.  Nothing fancy, but plenty that
sounds horrific:

Peanut Butter Dipsies

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 cup pickle relish, drained
1/2 tsp salt
3 slices crisp bacon, crumbled
30 small round-shaped pieces of bread

Combine peanut butter, mayonnaise, eggs, pickle relish, and salt.  Mix until blended.  Spread on bread rounds and top with small pieces of crisp bacon.  Makes 30 small 

sandwiches

Is your mouth watering yet? Well, let's see how it goes!

Our Rating: Three and a half Screaming Husbands!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Tuna Nicoise Mold b/w French Toasted Mortadella-Salami-Artichoke Sandwiches

The New Joys of Jell-O (1973)
The Midnight Cookbook (1971)

 

A double feature! Dr. Husband and I are on the road this summer - as you well know if you're following our travel posts -  and today we're coming to you from lovely Florence, South Carolina, home of Seminar Brewing, and of course you'll remember Dr. and Mrs. Substitute.

A quick scan through the French-Toasted sandwich recipe will tell you that it doesn't sound disgusting at all, just interesting, and since we had to make dinner anyway, we figured we might as well make something delicious.  The Tuna Nicoise Mold, on the other hand - well, a glimpse of the photo above may be reminiscent of a frat house bathroom on a Sunday morning, but as longtime readers know, we've never been led astray by a seafood/Jell-O combination.

Tuna Nicoise Mold (aka Jellied Salad Nicoise)

1 can (7 oz.) tuna, drained and coarsely flaked

1 small tomato, diced and drained

1/2 cup cooked cut green beans (I used canned)

2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives

2 tablespoons green pepper strips (I used roasted red)

2 tablespoons red onion strips

2 tablespoons mild French or Italian dressing (I used Mrs. Substitute's homemade French)

1 package (3 oz.) Jell-O Lemon Gelatin

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 hard-cooked egg, diced

2 cups coarsely chopped lettuce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons cream or milk

2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional)

Combine tuna, vegetables, and French dressing in a bowl. Mix lightly; let stand while preparing gelatin mixture.

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water. Add cold water and vinegar. Chill until mixture just begins to thicken. Then spoon vegetable mixture and diced egg into a 6-cup ring mold. Pour on half the gelatin. Spread lettuce on top. Add remaining gelatin. Chill until firm - at least 4 hours.

Mix mayonnaise, cream and anchovies. Unmold salad. Garnish with watercress, if desired. Serve with mayonnaise dressing. Makes about 5 cups or 6 entree salads.

French Toasted Mortadella, Salami, and Artichoke Sandwiches

16 slices thin white sandwich bread

Soft butter or margarine

1 pound mortadella sausage, thinly sliced

1/2 pound genoa salami, thinly sliced

6 ounce jar artichoke hearts in oil

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup light cream or milk

Salad oil

(at Mrs. Substitute's suggestion, I added a slice of Swiss cheese to each sandwich.)

Spread 8 slices of bread generously with soft butter. Place mortadella and salami on buttered bread. Meat should not extend beyond margin of bread. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving oil. Cut artichoke hearts into thin slices and place them on meat. Brush remaining bread with oil from artichoke hearts. Put bread slices together to make sandwiches. Press lightly. Mix eggs and cream. Heat 1/4 inch salad oil in electric skillet preheated at 370 degrees (I used cooking spray in a non-electric skillet). Holding each sandwich firmly with two hands, dip into egg mixture briefly as in making French toast. Sauté sandwiches until medium brown on both sides.

If you were looking forward to some tuna-induced retching this week, I hate to disappoint you, but we have two winners:

Our Ratings:  
Tuna Nicoise Mold - One Screaming Husband!
French Toasted Sandwiches - Zero Screaming Husbands!

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Party Sandwich!

Cookindex (1958) via vintagerecipecards.com

I'm on the road this week, but that won't stop me from cooking up potentially-disgusting recipes to foist on unsuspecting husbands all across America.  This week, we take a trip to lovely-ish Florence, SC, where Dr. and Mrs. Substitute were kind enough to put me up and help me in my culinary endeavors.

Florence, as you probably already know, is the site of an almost-calamity in 1958, when an atomic bomb accidentally fell out of a plane and landed in someone's back yard. Whoops!  Luckily the plutonium core didn't detonate, but there's a crater nonetheless, which you can visit to this day!

On a lighter note, Florence is also the soon-to-be-home of Seminar Brewing, Florence's first commercial craft brewery! (I can personally, and highly, recommend the Carver Peanut Butter Porter).

So, off we go. Party Sandwich is one of the gems presented by our friends at Vintage Recipe Cards, an invaluable source of kitschy recipes when I'm away from my cookbooks and in a jam. If you're too lazy to click the link, here's the recipe:

1 small round loaf Italian bread
Softened butter or margarine
Ham and Celery Filling, see below
Curried Egg Filling, see below
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Avocado Filling, see below
Cream cheese, about 1/2 lb.
Light cream
Sliced stuffed olives
Springs of parsley

Cut loaf, crosswise, into four thick slices. Spread each slice with butter. Spread bottom sliced with Ham and Celery Filling. Top with second bread sliced; spread with Curried Egg Filling. Top with slices of tomato and third bread slice. Spread with Avocado Filling; top with remaining bread slice. Mash cream cheese; stir in enough cream so cheese will spread easily; beat until smooth. Spread on top and sides of loaf. Garnish with olive slices and parsley. Cut into wedges to serve. Makes about 12 servings.

HAM AND CELERY FILLING: Combine 1 cup ground cooked ham, 1/2 cup chopped celery and enough mayonnaise to moisten.
CURRIED EGG FILLING: Combine 4 finely chopped hard-cooked eggs, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and enough mayonnaise to moisten.
AVOCADO FILLING: Mash 2 fully-ripe avocados; add 2 tablespoons highly-seasoned French dressing. String until well blended.

You'll notice that the first step is to spread the bread with butter. This seems to have been a thing back in the day, at least according to my grandmother Mrs. White, who started every dish that could even be tangentially considered a sandwich (including hot dogs) with a liberal spread.

Once your bread is sufficiently buttered, you can start assembling your fillings. Mrs. Dr. Substitute was a great help in the kitchen this week, as was Chester, a great huge lumbering creature with two different colored eyes.

Mrs. Dr. Substitute was concerned that the ham "salad" didn't contain pickle relish; I argued that the sweetness might clash with the curried egg mixture, but in hindsight, the dish as a whole is such a mishmash of mayonnaise-y flavors that it probably wouldn't have mattered a whit.

I must also praise Mrs. Dr. Substitute for her insistence on homemade French dressing, she made about a gallon just to provide the measly two tablespoons needed for the avocado layer.

Once you start adding mayonnaise into your mixtures, the gentlemen in the house will sit up and take notice!

So, once you assemble and combine all your layers, you will be faced with icing your creation. I recommend securing the "sandwich" with a skewer before icing (and leave it in place for the slicing). Also, be prepared to have some slopover avocado and egg mix in to your icing.

When you're finished, add your olive and parsley garnish. You'll arrive at something roughly looking like this:

Based on our scientific slicing technique, I'd estimate that this sandwich will provide about 8 servings.

But enough about science, how does it taste?

And, seriously, if you want to be a guest kitchen, drop me a line!

Our Rating: Two Screaming Husbands!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Herb-Glazed Triple-Decker Ham-Clam Sandwiches

The Midnight Cookbook (1971) and Joys of Jell-O (1962)

Happy Valentine's Day!  To demonstrate my everlasting love for you, I've crafted a composite recipe from two different sources, because that's how much I care. 

Source number one: The Midnight Cookbook: A Guide to Intimate Dining (1971) by Thomas Mario. From the frontspiece:
The Midnight Cookbook offers an escape into the debonair world of late-night feasting...whether you're a swinging single on a late date, a housewife or husband eager to seduce your partner with gustatory delights, or a party-giver planning mouth-watering specialties of the house, Thomas Mario offers step-by-step instructions on food preparation and gives suggestions for drinks to precede and complement the meal.

From the cover art, I think it's safe to assume that "swinging" is the operative word in the above description.

A

Also, "gustatory" is apparently a word.

The basic recipe, for "Triple Deck (sic) Clam and Ham Sandwiches" is found on page 43. My own alterations are noted:

24 thin slices white sandwich bread (I used a mini pumpernickel loaf)
Soft butter or margarine
2 cans (10 ounces) baby clams, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pound boiled or baked ham, thinly sliced
1 pound firm ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper 

Chop clams fine. Combine clams with mayonnaise, celery, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bread with soft butter. Spread clam mixture on one slice bread. Place second slice on top. Place ham and tomatoes on second slice of bread, keeping both within bread margin. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper. Continue in this manner until 8 sandwiches are assembled. Crust may be left on or sliced off with very sharp knife. Wrap each sandwich individually with clear or plastic wrap. Chill. (The recipe goes on to suggest broiling the sandwiches and serving them with a dill cream sauce. I ignored this bit. Instead...) 

Source number two:  The bountiful 1962 Joys of Jell-O has a whole section devoted to extended Jell-O techniques. Among them, on page 75, is "Herb-glazed sandwiches".   

"Your luncheon or tea sandwiches stay fresh and flavorful under a glaze," the booklet joyously proclaims!

1 2/3 cups water
1/8 teaspoon peppercorn (I used a bit more)
1/2 bay leaf (I used a whole one)
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 package (3 oz.) lemon Jell-O Gelatin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne
3 tablespoons vinegar (I used tarragon vinegar)
6 to 8 open-faced sandwiches, 0r 12 to 14 appetizer-size sandwiches

Combine water, peppercorns, bay leaf, and dried dill in a saucepan. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes; strain. Dissolve Jell-O Gelatin, salt, and cayenne in the hot liquid. Add vinegar. Chill until syrupy. Place sandwiches on a rack and pour syrupy gelatin over them, allowing about 1/4 cup for each large sandwich or 2 tablespoons for each small sandwich. Chill until glaze is firm. Makes about 1 3/4 cups glaze.

By now, you must be thinking, "This is going to make a plate of sandwiches that look like they're covered in yellow mucous."  

Yep, you got it!

 Our Rating: One Screaming Husband!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)