April: A month of cream and curry

Happy almost April! A new month means it's time once again for The Chamberlain Calendar of American Cooking (Narcisse and Narcissa Chamberlain, 1957). Since you never know what to expect from April (snow one day and sunny, you-can-forget-the-jacket weather the next), we'll look at some contrasting recipes from April.

For the more staid and buttoned-up side of the 1950s, you know we need something in cream sauce. (Actually, the cream sauce could stand for the April snow day too! It's pretty damn white.)

Minced Veal in Cream is just about what you'd expect from a basic '50s recipe collection: meat in a dairy-and-boiled-egg sauce, with just enough veggies, mace, and lemon to allow everyone to pretend that the meal has some kind of seasoning. The biggest surprise may be that the recipe recommends serving this sauce over rice rather than toast points.

For the sunny day contrast to the sludgy white veal, the book offers International Lamb Curry.

I like the admission in the first line: "East Indian curry, or a homegrown version of it, has become an American favorite...." This looks like it leans pretty heavily toward the "homegrown" side of things. I am not an expert in Indian cooking by any stretch of the imagination, but it does look like the recipe is trying to do its best with the limited spices available in mid-century America. Chili powder has to stand in for actual chilis, and candied ginger tries to replace the fresh. Even if this bears only a passing resemblance to actual international cuisine, it must have seemed pretty exciting to people used to everything being blanketed in cream sauce, and maybe the bright flavors hinted at the brighter, sunnier days ahead.

I hope your April is more sun than snow and more bright than bland!