Unearthing and re-creating the "company food" of yesteryear! I'll cook it, my husband will eat it, and you'll rest easy in the knowledge that your next backyard party or church potluck will be a success!
I really can't write anything that would do this justice. It's slaw, made of cheese. Just watch. Be sure and stay tuned for a musical selection at the end.
PS - don't eat it like it's the last food you'll ever eat, or you be sorry the next day.
Our Rating: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 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.)
I won't
bore you with a lot of folderol (you can watch the video for that) but
suffice to say that Dr. Husband provided me with exactly what I wanted
for my birthday, and entire day devoted to Joan Crawford.
After
movie time came dinner, the centerpiece of which was meatloaf made from
Miss Crawford's own recipe. Accompanied by Limestone salad, and for
dessert, an effervescent mid-century-inspired orange creamsicle poke
cake. Recipes below, then stay tuned for Dr. Husband cooking!
KENTUCKY LIMESTONE SALAD
1 pound bib lettuce, washed & gently torn into pieces
1 recipe Kentucky Limestone Salad Dressing - below
Put lettuce in salad bowl and chill thoroughly. Pour dressing over lettuce and gently toss and blend well. Serves 4.
Dressing:
1 clove garlic, put through press or minced
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
About 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon salad mustard
1/4 cup pear vinegar (other vinegar's may be used - we used tarragon)
1/2 cup salad oil
Combine all ingredients and shake well in jar. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Shake again just before pouring over lettuce.
ORANGE CREAMSICLE CAKE
1
box white cake mix
3 eggs
1
can orange soda
1/4
c oil
1
3 oz. pkg orange-flavored gelatin
3/4
c boiling water
1 c cold water
1
jar vanilla frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9x13-inch pan with non-stick spray.
Prepare the cake mix in a large mixing bowl, using eggs, orange soda and oil.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cake springs back
when lightly touched and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool
completely. Using a wooden chopstick, poke small holes through to the
bottom of the pan, all over the cake.
In a small bowl, dissolve a box of orange gelatin with boiling water, mix well. Add cold water and mix well.
Slowly pour the orange gelatin mixture over the cake, making sure that the mixture gets into all the holes.
Our Rating:Four 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.)
There won't be any rating this time, as I know Dr. Husband will eat this dip, and continue eating it until all of it is gone. I can't believe I haven't already told the world about this. It's my go-to bringalaong for pot lucks and parties, is easily adaptable for vegetarians, and is universally beloved by all. First introduced to us by our former colleague Nina Gonzales, I've made a few tweaks of my own. And so here it is!
2 cans pigeon peas (Green Gandules - Mexican aisle at the grocery) 1/4 cup sweet relish 3/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup vinegar 2 tblsp. brown sugar 2 envelopes culantro y anchote (Mexican aisle again) 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro 1/2 red or green pepper chopped 1 medium onion chopped 2 cloves minced garlic
Drain and rinse the pigeon peas. Boil for one minute in one cup chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon.
Drain but don't rinse. Add remaining ingredients and chill. Serve as dip with tortilla chips or as a side relish.
I'll give you a moment to catch your breath, then proceed to tell you that Pieathalon is an annual event organized by our friend Yinzeralla over at Dinner is Served 1972, in which 19 like-minded gastronomes swap pie recipes (the more retro-slash-horrific the better), and then blog about the results. You will find a helpful list with links of all the participants at the bottom of the page, I encourage you to visit each and every one and share the internet traffic love!
Dr. Husband and I were off to a family reunion in my hometown this weekend (my side - lots of cousins I hadn't seen since infancy, but I'm happy to report that we all turned out swell) so I took my ingredients and recipe with me. My assignment was "Mincey Peach Pie" from Pillsbury's Entertainment Idea Handbook (1970).
Having never seen anything from this book but my assigned recipe, I can't say whether Mincey Peach Pie is indicative of the contents in general - the swinging bon vivants from the cover art would seem to speak to more adventurous fare, but who am I to judge?
Also, glancing over the assignments of my compatriots, I and my tasters clearly got off easy. I literally just dumped two cans of slop in a store-bought pie shell and cooked it. (Also got a stern lecture about the misuse of the word literally, but that's my own burden to bear.)
Here is the recipe as originally printed:
Double crust pastry for 9-inch pie 1 1/2 cups prepared mincemeat 1 1/2 cups (1 lb. 5-oz. can) prepared peach pie filling 2 teaspoons grated orange peel Cream Sugar, if desired
In a large mixing bowl, combine mincemeat, pie filling and orange peel. Pour into pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan. Roll out remaining dough; cut slits for steam to escape. Moisten rim of bottom crust. Place top crust over filling. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Brush top crust with cream; sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown.
The biggest challenge, quite honestly, was finding a jar of mincemeat in the summertime. (I briefly considered making my own, authentic meat-containing mincemeat, but we all pretty much know I would never work that hard.)
I was worried that mincemeat, never a particular favorite of mine, was a bit too heavy and reminiscent of winter to be suitable for my summertime audience, but I have to say that the peaches and orange peel really lighten it up considerably. My only complaint was that the finished product is so sweet, even without the optional sugar...but a slice of cheese melted on top will help that along. (As mother would say, "A piece of pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.")
Let's see what the unwitting party-goers thought:
And now be sure to check out the rest of this year's Pieathletes - just click and enjoy!
