Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumThe Mad Mad Mad Mad Sixties Cookbook
Tish Wells | McClatchy Newspapers
If you want to eat like a 20th century 1960s family, youll 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 Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the recipes come from the first half of the decade think Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and AMCs 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 1960s gallon of milk was $.49 its now $2.79 and up. And who wouldnt like a 30 cent a gallon of gas verses todays 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
cbayer
(146,218 posts)"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)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)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.
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)lol
60's homecooking is why fast food conquered America.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)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)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)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)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)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)My husband likes fish sandwiches from McDonalds. To me, they are the worst thing on the menu.
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)as a tribute to my childhood's esprit du temps.
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)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)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)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)There was more time for things like cooking and eating.
surrealAmerican
(11,340 posts)You got it at the butcher shop. It was not pre-packaged; it was cut to order.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)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)lol
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)in two minutes flat.
surrealAmerican
(11,340 posts)... 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)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)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.