Cow Pies

My grandpa loved pies so much that grandma used to say, "He'd even eat a cow pie if I put it in a pastry shell." She didn't mean a beef pie when she said "cow pie" either. She meant the kind of filling the cows could make all by themselves.

For some reason, I thought of her when I came across this picture from the 1971 Good Housekeeping's Meat and Other Main Dishes booklet:

I really love rice pilaf, but I don't think I could be induced to eat it if it were topped by a cow pie. I guess I didn't inherit grandpa's fortitude.

I love the contrast of the picture, too. The bottom half of the picture lives up to the company-best name of "Guest Hamburger Pilaf": the large crystal serving dish clearly intended to impress, heaping with fluffy rice studded with brightly-colored vegetables. The top half, though, is a chunky brown, topped with a shimmery, gelatinous cap that seems to suggest that Bossie wasn't feeling so great when she made the topping.

In case you ever want to simultaneously horrify and delight your guests:

The pilaf still looks pretty good, but it seems kind of odd to mix raw carrots in with the burger/ ketchup mixture. Then top it all off with chutney. Why not?

The better question, as always, is probably "Why?"