CHICKEN CASSEROLE

This chicken casserole recipe is from a 1975 magazine called THE WORKBASKET. The Workbasket was a small magazine that was chocked full of recipes, knitting and crocheting instructions. Many a rural housewife waited anxiously for the local mailman to drop her monthly edition into her mailbox. My mother was one of them.

2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp monosodium glutamate, optional
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips

In greased 2-qt casserole, combine ingredients, topping mixture with cheese and chips. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until bubbly.

ORANGE PECAN SWEET POTATOES

This is an old recipe from the ARGO Cornstarch folks.

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Argo Corn Starch
1 cup orange juice
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Spray a 3 quart (13 x 9-in) baking dish with cooking spray. Add sweet potatoes and pecans to dish. Combine brown sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan. Gradually add orange juice, whisking to blend. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Pour over sweet potatoes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until edges are browned and bubbly.

WINTER APRICOT COMPOTE

2 cans (30 oz each) apricot halves

1 cup apricot nectar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup dried pitted prunes
1 can (30 oz) pear halves, drained
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut, optional

Pour 2 cups syrup from apricots into a large skillet. (Use remaining syrup in drinks and desserts.) Add nectar to syrup; boil rapidly until volume is reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Blend cornstarch and water in a large saucepan; stir in curry powder and sugar. Gradually stir in syrup mixture. Simmer mixture, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add prunes and drained apricot and pear halves; simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or just until heated through. Spoon into attractive chafing dish and serve with coconut, if desired.

This is another recipe from a 1975 The Workbasket magazine.

ASPARAGUS OMELET

This recipe is from the White House Cookbook, 1894

Boil, with a little salt, and until about half cooked, eight or ten stalks of asparagus, and cut the eatable part into rather small pieces; beat the egg and mix the asparagus with them. Make the omelet. Omelet with parsley is made by adding a little chopped parsley.

JACQUELINE KENNEDY'S WAFFLES

 

 

I believe this was no doubt Mrs. Kennedy's recipe. I saw her daughter Caroline interviewed by Oprah. Oprah told about going to a shower or something at Mrs. Kennedy's Manhattan apartment. She said how much she enjoyed the clam chowder (I believe that's what it was) and she mentioned it to Mrs. Kennedy and asked about the cook. She said she was shocked when Jackie thanked her and told her she made it herself.

Caroline assured her that was no doubt true as Jackie really enjoyed cooking.

MEATZA PIZZA

This recipe is not exactly vintage but is 35 years old. My late mother cut it from her rural electric consumer newsletter. Interesting for today's dieters as it has no "pizza crust".

SPICY SUNCHOKE SALAD

 This is another recipe from my old JayC Store booklet. It is small print so the typed recipe follows.

6-8 Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, crushed
Dill, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper to taste

Scrub sunchokes well and peel. Slice them thinly and combine with other ingredients. Chill for several hours so flavors will blend. Makes 6 servings.

BLACK WALNUT TUBE CAKE

This is a very old recipe from a little town in Missouri. My uncle married a gal from Missouri when he was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood during the Korean War. She brought a lot of her family's recipes to our family.

2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup black walnut halves
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat at high speed of an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Pour the batter into a well-greased tube pan (10-inch size) and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

file photo

MAGIC CHOCOLATE FROSTING

I found it interesting that this recipe posted in 1935 warns that evaporated milk won't work in this recipe. All these years later we still have to remind people you cannot sub evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk.

AVACADO DRESSING

 Another recipe from my late mom's recipe collections. As you can see, this recipe along with several others were scotch-taped in a "WOOLWORTH'S" spiral notebook. This recipe was posted in the local newspaper by a lady from Bloomington, Indiana. Having grown up in Southern Indiana and spending many years of my life in New Mexico and Texas I had to laugh at that last sentence.

PINEAPPLE CHEESE CAKE

 Another of my late mom's recipe clippings.

FRESH VEGETABLE STEW

This is another recipe from the 1982 JayC Food Stores booklet I found in my late mother's shoe boxes of recipes.

2 potatoes, pared and cubed
2 carrots, pared and sliced
1/2 cauliflower, cut in flowerets
2 ribs celery, cut in slices
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 onions sliced
1 red pepper, cut in strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (13 3/4 ounces) chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill weed

Combine all ingredients in a 3-quart baking dish. Cover and bake in 350 degree F oven 1 hour, until vegetables are tender. Makes 8 servings.

EASY FRENCH DIP

4 lb rump roast

1 can (10.5-oz) beef broth
1 can (10.5-oz) condensed French onion soup
1 can (12-oz) beer (optional)
6 French Rolls
2 tbsp butter

Trim excess fat from roast; throw away fat and place roast in a slow cooker. Add broth, onion soup and beer (may substitute extra broth if not using beer).

Set cooker on low setting and cook for 7 hours.

To serve:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split rolls and spread with the butter. Bake 10 minutes until heated through.

Slice roast on the diagonal and place on the rolls.

Serve with the sauce remaining in the cooker, for dipping.

File photo for reference only

THE ORIGINAL HERBS AND SPICES FOR KFC?

According to a Chicago Tribune reporter who was visiting the home of Colonel Sanders' nephew, he was looking through a photo book (or maybe a scrapbook) when he came across this handwritten note. According to the nephew this was on the back of the Colonel's second wife's will. Supposedly the nephew said this is the original list of  "11 Herbs and Spices" that made the Colonel's chicken so popular.

THE LATE ACTOR JIMMY STEWART'S SPARERIBS AND BARBECUE SAUCE RECIPE

 

A favorite actor of the past, Jimmy Stewart was happy to share his Barbecue Ribs recipe. The late Mr. Stewart had close ties to Ft Worth and came to town frequently. I've had this for years so I'm not sure but believe I got this from a Ft Worth cookbook.

BEST-EVER ORANGE SPONGE CAKE

This recipe isn't exactly vintage but it is old. I got it from a McCall's Cooking School in the early 80s.

3/4 cup (6) egg whites (do not discard yolks)
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (see directions below)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
6 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tbsp freshly grated orange peel
Confectioners' sugar

In large bowl of electric mixer, let egg whites warm to room temperature - about an hour.

To measure flour: sift about 2 cups of flour once on a sheet of waxed paper; fill cups lightly to overflowing; with spatula cut off excess to make 1 3/4 level cups. Sift flour with the salt; set aside.

With electric mixer at medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly raised. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, with electric mixer, using the same beaters at high speed, beat egg yolks until very thick and lemon-colored - about 3 minutes. Do not underbeat. Gradually beat in the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is smooth.

At low speed, blend flour mixture and orange juice alternately into the egg-yolk mixture, beginning and ending with flour and guiding batter into beaters with a scraper. Add orange peel. With a whisk or rubber spatula, using under-and-over motion, fold yolk mixture gently into whites.

Pour batter into an ungreased kugelhopf pan or a 10-inch tube pan without a removable bottom. Bake at 350 degrees 50-55 minutes for the kugelhopf or 35-40 minutes for the tube pan. Cake is done when it springs back when pressed lightly with finger.

Invert over a bottle and cool completely. See note below.

Using an up-and-down motion, run a thin spatula around edge of cake and pan. Invert cake and shake to release; place on serving plate. Sift confectioners' sugar over top of cake. To cut cake use a serrated knife. Cut gently using a sawing motion.

If you used a nonstick pan or sprayed your pan, do not invert on bottle. Invert on a wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto the wire rack and cool completely.

Yield: 12 servings

1950s Candle Holders

Does anyone else remember your mother baking your birthday cake and putting the candles in these holders? Such fond memories!