Category Archives: history
Spring Frivolity: Vermouth-Cassis from the 1930s
So far, the recipes I’ve been reading in my grandmother’s cookbooks from the 1930s focus more on healthy family dinners than frivolity. My search for something more festive took me to the Chanticleer Society’s post for the top cocktails of … Continue reading
For Mother’s Day: Grandma’s Chocolate Cake with a Surprise
When my Grandma Bertie was growing up in coastal North Carolina about 100 years ago, she dutifully wrote down recipes from her mother, her aunts, and the ladies of the town. She never baked this chocolate cake recipe for me, but … Continue reading
In My May Kitchen
What a difference a month makes! Just four weeks ago, the snow had barely melted when I reported for this In My Kitchen forum, hosted by Celia at figjamandlimecordial. Now, the mint, chives, and sage have sprouted anew, livening up everything from smoothies … Continue reading
‘Derby Fever’ Cure: A Mint Julep
Though the mint julep was once described as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning,” it became a signature drink of the Kentucky Derby in 1938, when it was served in souvenir glasses
Funny Bunny Salad and Other ’60s Silliness
Forget broccoli-topped pizza and carrot sticks with yogurt dip. Recipes from the Easy-to-Cook Book from 1967 (Grosset & Dunlap) unabashedly rely on frozen vegetables, canned fruits, bacon, and butter.
1960s Casserole Magic
Casseroles built on cream of mushroom soup fed many families in the 1960s, when canned goods seemed ever so much more modern than cooking from scratch. The 1961 top seller, the Better Homes & Gardens Casserole Cook Book, put a … Continue reading
Think Pink!
As the snow cover in Boston shrinks to reveal soggy, battered lawns, I’m unabashedly rushing summer with the Beachcomber cocktail I found in the Blender Cook Book from Better Homes and Gardens. It continues the 1960s theme inspired by the new season of “Mad Men” … Continue reading
From ‘Mad Men’: Party Like It’s 1969
“Mad Men,” scheduled to begin broadcasting its final season April 5, slavishly recreates the 1960s in every detail, from desktop ashtrays to skinny ties and go-go boots. Drinks – poured straight from bottles in the office – often get more air time than … Continue reading
Winter Salad from the Turf and Field Club Era
Leave it to my grandmother, Hanna, to clip every newspaper recipe that remotely interested her and then stash it away where she couldn’t find it again. I came across dozens of yellowed clippings inside a book for Royal Baking Powder … Continue reading
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