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EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
Mon May 21, 2012, 12:43 PM May 2012

The Mad Mad Mad Mad Sixties Cookbook



Tish Wells | McClatchy Newspapers

If you want to eat like a 20th century 1960’s family, you’ll now have a chance. “The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook” brings back all those family favorites that you might only have seen on television or the Thanksgiving table.

The title plays off a classic 1963 comedy “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and the recipes come from the first half of the decade — think Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and AMC’s current hit “Mad Men.”

Rick Rodgers and Heather Maclean have modified the original to make them healthier. Their recipes have more of an emphasis on making recipes from scratch rather than opening a can of ready-made soup to provide a base for Chicken a la King.

One of the most eye-opening charts is on grocery inflation. “$1 in 1963 had the buying power of $7.10 in 2010.” A 1960’s gallon of milk was $.49 — it’s now $2.79 and up. And who wouldn’t like a 30 cent a gallon of gas verses today’s prices?

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/21/149532/the-mad-mad-mad-mad-sixties-cookbook.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=news#storylink=cpy


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The Mad Mad Mad Mad Sixties Cookbook (Original Post) EFerrari May 2012 OP
Ugh! Reading some of this makes me think I might have food based PTSD: cbayer May 2012 #1
I like the Crab Rangoon, Spam/Pineapple kebobs and pigs in a blanket woodsprite May 2012 #2
I ate way too much spam in my younger years and would have to be half starving cbayer May 2012 #3
You're supposed to heat them up first. EFerrari May 2012 #5
Isn't that the truth. cbayer May 2012 #7
I thought spinach grew in cans! EFerrari May 2012 #8
Oh, the memories eridani May 2012 #19
I never had mac and cheese or homemade baked goods or egg salad EFerrari May 2012 #20
I remember fish sticks fondly from school lunches... Phentex May 2012 #12
Funny, my kids loved fish sticks, but I can't stomach them at all. cbayer May 2012 #13
I once wanted to make a coffee table book of SPAM sculptures EFerrari May 2012 #6
My mom made tomato aspic. Once. GoCubsGo May 2012 #14
I know I do. EFerrari May 2012 #4
I have many cookbooks from that era. What strikes me the most, is the availability sinkingfeeling May 2012 #9
Back then you didn't need both parents working to make the rent or mortgage. EFerrari May 2012 #10
Back then, you didn't even get meat in the grocery store. surrealAmerican May 2012 #16
Mine love Sloppy Joes... Phentex May 2012 #11
You don't need to buy a can of SPAM. Just sprinkle 3T of salt on your tongue. EFerrari May 2012 #15
LOL! Phentex May 2012 #17
I'm not kidding. If Kirk had had a can of SPAM that salt monster episode would have been over EFerrari May 2012 #21
It's a bit strange, isn't it ... surrealAmerican May 2012 #18
I think my godmother had a very early edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook. EFerrari May 2012 #22
This is my era. Lugnut May 2012 #23
I was 7 in 63 but ten years later, I could still fill up my car for 2.12 EFerrari May 2012 #24

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
1. Ugh! Reading some of this makes me think I might have food based PTSD:
Mon May 21, 2012, 12:56 PM
May 2012

"Sixties food favorites include Pupu platters with Crab Rangoon, Coconut shrimp, Spam and Pineapple kebobs, piggies-in-blankets (small hot dogs wrapped in dough), Sloppy Joes (goopy hamburger and vegetables in tomato sauce sandwiched in a toasted bun), candied yams with marshmallow topping (think Thanksgiving for many families) and the absolute 60s classic: tomato gelatin aspic salads decanted from a copper fish mold."

woodsprite

(11,854 posts)
2. I like the Crab Rangoon, Spam/Pineapple kebobs and pigs in a blanket
Mon May 21, 2012, 01:49 PM
May 2012

I still make the pigs in a blanket for dinner once in awhile. The trick is finding a hot dog that tastes decent.

When I use spam anymore, it's to make a last minute sandwich spread (grind up sweet gherkins, spam, onion, and celery. Add enough mayo or salad dressing, and a dab of mustard, to make it spreadable on bread). I'm sure it's not healthy, but it brings back memories from my childhood.

My MIL made that tomato aspic salad one night for family dinner (17 of us) except instead of unflavored or lemon jello, she used raspberry. I've never been in 100% percent agreement with everyone in my in-laws family until that day. Sixteen of us were trying to find a place to dump the salad before Mom returned with the next course - even my FIL. YUCK!!! Raspberry, tomatoes with a whipped topping of mayo -- DOUBLE YUCK!!!

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
3. I ate way too much spam in my younger years and would have to be half starving
Mon May 21, 2012, 01:54 PM
May 2012

before I would eat it again.

All I remember about those pigs in a blanket were those nasty little cocktail weenies.

And fish sticks. To this day I believe that my aversion to fish is due to being fed frozen fish sticks.

'60's food? They can keep it.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
7. Isn't that the truth.
Mon May 21, 2012, 02:44 PM
May 2012

My mother, bless her, took her cooking seriously, but her access to ingredients was horrible.

Canned asparagus and spinach? Fish sticks?

And then there was the powdered milk because she was afraid of nuclear fall out.

I think my love of cooking, and particularly cooking with fresh ingredients, is a reaction to all of that.

You are right, my devilish love of fast food was born and flourished in the 60's.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
8. I thought spinach grew in cans!
Mon May 21, 2012, 03:03 PM
May 2012

Same here. One of the first fast food outlets in SF was Chicken Delight and they delivered -- "Don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight!"

And every weekend, us kids prayed they would.

eridani

(51,907 posts)
19. Oh, the memories
Mon May 21, 2012, 11:38 PM
May 2012

The only fish I ever had before leaving home were fish sticks, salmon patties (from a can) and tuna casserole (also from a can). The only lettuce I ever saw was iceberg. We did have tomatoes and green peppers from our garden in the summer, and celery and carrots from the grocery store, but that was it for fresh veggies. Frozen were more expensive than canned, and therefore a Sunday treat. The only cheeses I ever saw were Velveeta and Swiss, and from the Kraft Mac and Cheese box.

McDonalds (over 10 million sold!) and Sandys burgers were an exotic treat.

I still remember the awe I felt visiting my first California veggie department in 1970. And freaking out sharing a meal with my landlady when she put fresh broccoli florets in the salad WITHOUT COOKING IT first!

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
20. I never had mac and cheese or homemade baked goods or egg salad
Mon May 21, 2012, 11:58 PM
May 2012

or an omelette or cole slaw or homemade beef stew until I got married and ate at my MIL's house. I don't think my grandma kept staples at home besides beans, onions and garlic and Masa Harina. And Sanka. Oy. lol

Phentex

(16,330 posts)
12. I remember fish sticks fondly from school lunches...
Mon May 21, 2012, 06:18 PM
May 2012

I tried to give them to my boys as toddlers but they never liked them.

But yes, in general, I don't want to eat 60's foods!

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
13. Funny, my kids loved fish sticks, but I can't stomach them at all.
Mon May 21, 2012, 06:28 PM
May 2012

My husband likes fish sandwiches from McDonalds. To me, they are the worst thing on the menu.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
6. I once wanted to make a coffee table book of SPAM sculptures
Mon May 21, 2012, 02:36 PM
May 2012

as a tribute to my childhood's esprit du temps.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
14. My mom made tomato aspic. Once.
Mon May 21, 2012, 07:58 PM
May 2012

Even my dad, who eats just about everything, HATES having food go to waste, couldn't finish it. She also used to make a Jello salad using lime jello, crushed pineapple and cream cheese. She'd whip it up in a blender, using the pineapple juice in place of some of the water, and pour it into a Tupperware mold. I don't care much for lime Jello, but that salad was the one exception. It was delicious!

I still like Spam, too, which is odd, because I don't care for ham, and it's basically ham scraps compressed into a loaf. I rarely eat it because I tend to avoid processed foods, especially those as high in salt and fat as Spam. But, I love it fried to a crisp.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
4. I know I do.
Mon May 21, 2012, 02:30 PM
May 2012

Between my grandmother who set out to learn how to feed a family in a foreign country at 60 (she was raised by servants and had never set a premeditated foot in a kitchen) and my working mom who had zilch interest in cooking, I really looked forward to being invited over to the neighbor kids' homes for dinner. Breakfast was always cold cereal and lunch was something in a sandwhich and a piece of fruit. How I escaped an eating disorder, I dunno.

sinkingfeeling

(51,279 posts)
9. I have many cookbooks from that era. What strikes me the most, is the availability
Mon May 21, 2012, 03:43 PM
May 2012

of food back then. Meat was a heavy hitter then and there must be a hundred cuts that one can no longer get in the average US grocery store. People went out of their way to make food look good back then. No plate was served that wasn't garnished to the hilt. And I keep wondering what happened to the use of pimento strips and spiced crab apples.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
10. Back then you didn't need both parents working to make the rent or mortgage.
Mon May 21, 2012, 03:57 PM
May 2012

There was more time for things like cooking and eating.

surrealAmerican

(11,340 posts)
16. Back then, you didn't even get meat in the grocery store.
Mon May 21, 2012, 09:05 PM
May 2012

You got it at the butcher shop. It was not pre-packaged; it was cut to order.

Phentex

(16,330 posts)
11. Mine love Sloppy Joes...
Mon May 21, 2012, 06:15 PM
May 2012

haven't had them in a long time and doubt we will. But I remember them thinking it was something fun to eat - ha!

I don't think I've ever had Spam but I should buy a can just for the hell of it. They might get a kick out of seeing what it really looks like.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
21. I'm not kidding. If Kirk had had a can of SPAM that salt monster episode would have been over
Tue May 22, 2012, 12:18 AM
May 2012

in two minutes flat.

surrealAmerican

(11,340 posts)
18. It's a bit strange, isn't it ...
Mon May 21, 2012, 09:09 PM
May 2012

... to have a "retro" themed cookbook for an era where it is not at all difficult to get an actual period cookbook. A used book store or thrift store around here would probably be a better source for these recipes.

EFerrari

(163,986 posts)
22. I think my godmother had a very early edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook.
Tue May 22, 2012, 12:21 AM
May 2012

She couldn't cook either and the thing sat in her kitchen like a red and white checked accusation. But I remember the clown head birthday cake she made. She was very game, a dear lady. even though she locked us kids out of the house while she wrestled with the cookbook demons. I don't blame her. We were brats.

Lugnut

(9,791 posts)
23. This is my era.
Tue May 22, 2012, 02:10 AM
May 2012

I was 18 and a high school graduate in 1963. Recipes weren't particularly healthful. Nothing was. I bought 5 gallons of gas for a buck. My windshield was washed and the oil was checked while I sat behind the wheel. When I filled up they even gave me free stemware!

Recipes had real butter in them along with whole milk. White bread was the standard.

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