It does not disappoint because it's got that whiplash-inducing combination of recipes I love. Some of them clearly seem like slight modernizations of old recipes handed down by generations of cooks who had to figure out how to make something filling and appealing out of whatever was available. And some of them... well... I'll just say that they don't seem to have quite that same time-tested feeling. If you're not sure what I mean, I've put together a full menu from the Creole section. See if you can tell what's what.
First up: the salad!
Now the main dish:
We'll head back to the bayou for the side dish too:
And finally, dessert:
I know it takes a carefully trained eye, but you've been reading this blog for a while now. (Well, unless you haven't. Even if you're unfamiliar, though, I'll bet you can pick up on the sarcasm. And if you can't, well...maybe you're not destined to be one of the fourteen readers.) Which ones seem more like they originated pretty close the 1971 publication date?
If you prefer your whiplash all in a single entry, here's one from the Pennsylvania Dutch section where the head note and the recipe that follows seem like maybe they shouldn't be on the same page.
You've got to love the talk of lavish special-occasion chicken dishes in Amish country followed by a recipe combining a five-ounce can of chicken with cream of celery soup and biscuit mix. That's just about a summary of the whole book by itself-- and definitely a reason why I love this thing!
The lemon gelatin and Cheez Whiz are dead giveaways here (not to mention the instant rice, frozen broccoli, and canned soup). One thing that has me puzzled is why the congealed salad recipe calls for lemon gelatin and then optional green food coloring. If the salad must be green, why not use lime gelatin, which has more than enough green coloring to do the job?
ReplyDeleteI have to say, though, that I would rather eat the congealed salad or the broccoli side dish than even attempt to cook a squirrel! And the recipe for calas looked intriguing until I reached the part about boiling vegetable oil. I am not dropping anything into a vat of boiling oil!
The recipe for chicken pie just looks like a variation on tuna noodle casserole, minus the noodles and with the addition of a biscuit mix topping. Now that really does shout mid-20th century to me (but without even a whisper of Amish)!
My guess for the gelatin is that it was written by someone who really dislikes lime. I've always loved lime, but I remember when I was a kid and got lime-flavored things, a few other kids I knew would act completely grossed out by my choice. There's a small but vocal lime haters group (and I suspect it may have been a bigger group before "ethnic" dishes that use a lot of lime were popular).
DeleteI'm sure the calas were delicious, but I can buy a few donuts if I want them. I'm not frying up a batch (or cooking a squirrel, for that matter) either!
You're not convinced that the Amish are big believers in biscuit mix and canned soup? What a cynic...
Doesn't your mouth water (with fear) whenever you see a recipe with "congealed" in the title? Those mid century cooks would starve in my house. No canned soups, no biscuit mix, I rarely keep instant rice around because I don't really like it (and have a pressure cooker to make the real stuff). I guess it's one more reason I'm glad I don't live then.
ReplyDeleteCooks used to seriously overestimate the appeal of the word "congealed."
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