RetroLife

Hot Spicy Meat Balls-- 1956

From the book "Sunday Night Suppers" 1956

I decided to make these for a party, seeing how they seemed edible enough that people wouldn't shun them and I had just bought a chafing dish that I wanted to try out. The recipe is pretty easy and straightforward and meatball-like. The main historic lesson we can learn from this recipe, however, is how the hands of time have changed the definition of "Hot" and "spicy."

As my cousin was eating some meatballs, he asked "what are these again?" I replied "Hot Spicy Meat Balls." He nodded and said "I don't know if I would say 'hot' or 'spicy' as much as I would say 'ketchuppy.'" And that's really the thing: They are not, in any way, shape or form, either "hot" or "spicy" by the standards of the citizens of today. In fact, if we look at the recipe for the elements of heat and spice in our "hot sauce," this is what we find:

God forbid you accidentally add a fourth grain of cayenne pepper...it would be like eating lava. A mushroom cloud would erupt from your chafing dish. Better keep some water handy to put out this scorcher!

So, in conclusion, if I had to update this dish to be more contemporary, I'd say maybe throw in some BBQ sauce in place of some of the ketchup and maybe go completely nuts and add a few dashes of tabasco and a whole sprinkle of cayenne. It probably still won't be that hot or spicy, but it will at least taste like something more interesting than meatballs in ketchup.

Coconut Islands -- 1954

From Pillsbury's 5th Grand National Recipes

While those mid-century cooks might have had some crazy ideas about gelatine and canned meats, they definitely had a way with cookies. This chocolate/coconut cookie recipe by Sister Maria Jose Cannon, a nun from Honolulu, won her the $2,500 third prize in the 5th annual Pillsbury Bake Off in 1954. See the full recipe.

This recipe was complex in that it seemed to have a lot of steps and ingredients, but easy in the respect that there wasn't a lot of opportunity for error. They definitely taste more chocolatey than coconuty, although the coconut is a nice touch. When I first tried one, I was surprised at how moist and tender they were. My boyfriend said "They're like coconut dunkin' donuts" which was a pretty accurate assessment of the chocolate cake-y cookies with the sweet chocolate frosting. The shelf life was good and they were still tender a few days after they were baked. This one gets a thumbs up all around.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

When it comes to 50's recipes, I tend to gravitate toward the strange and forgotten, but here's one I picked up a few years ago that's not weird, totally delicious, and I make all the time (you can double the recipe if you're feeding a lot of people):

Baked Macaroni and cheese

2 c dry macaroni (I like to use rotini pasta instead)
2 Tbsp. margerine
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 C milk
1/2 lb. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 Tbsp. dry minced onion

crumb topping:
1 1/2 Tbsp. margerine
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. paprika

Boil macaroni in salted water until just tender, drain & set aside. In medium saucepan melt margerine over low heat, stir in flour & cook for one minute. slowly wisk in milk, cook & stir over medium heat until thickened [actually, I can never get it to thicken, so don't don't feel bad if you can't either...it'll still be good]. Stir in salt, pepper, onion, & cheese, cook until cheese is melted, do not boil. Mix cheese sauce into cooked macaroni & pour into a 9"x9" square baking dish. Melt margerine, stir in bread crumbs & paprika. Top macaroni & cheese with crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until casserole is bubbly. If you wish, you can but it under the broiler for a few seconds to brown the crumbs.

Green Pea Salad

I got this recipe out of an Elvis cookbook and made it as a side for a meatloaf dinner with Micki.

It was easy to make and perfectly edible in a picnic-y sort of way, although we both decided that improvements could be made. There seem to be distinct qualities and ingredients in 50's food that don't fly so well with contemporary diners. Outside the ubiquitous gelatine of 50's recipes that now seems so weird and repellant (no gelatine in this recipe, though!), there is a profligate use of pimentos that also tends to not go over well. Mayonnaise is also abused. So my contemporizing of this recipe to make it more edible are as follows:

1 ten oz. package frozen small green peas
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chedder cheese cut into small cubes
2 hard boiled eggs chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. real bacon bits 1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
lettuce leaves

Basically, I just reduced the amount of cheese, cut the mayo in half, left the pimento out entirely and added bacon bits for extra flavor. Yum!