1970's recipes Archives - Page 2 of 22 - Retro Food For Modern Times

07
Jul
2024

New Zealand Oyster Cocktail

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, New Zealand, Oysters, Starters

Hello friends, I’m back. The old adage that time heals all wounds has lasted so long because it is true. I have had my period of grief. And whilst it is still not entirely gone, facing each day without tears is getting easier. And what better way to celebrate my return than with a spicy starter from the land of the long white cloud! Today’s New Zealand Oyster Cocktail recipe comes from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). The book says that New Zealand men like food with no frills or foreign touches. Based on the two recipes I’ve made, my summary of New Zealand food is not “no frills” but “Ugly Delicious”.

This recipe was somewhat nostalgic for me as back in the day, our local pub used to do a “Bloody Mary Oyster Shot” as an starter. The New Zealand Oyster Cocktail had a very similar vibe. These aren’t pretty! But the best part about ugly delicious is the delicious. And these met that brief in spades, even without the added sprinkle of nostalgia!

New Zealand Oyster Cocktail – The Recipe

If you are entertaining and want a starter that takes less than a minute to make but has a wow factor and as mentioned tastes great, then the New Zealand Oyster Cocktail is for you!

My Variations

The recipe calls for Tomato Sauce which to me means ketchup. We’re classy people here at Retro Food for Modern Homes and ketchup is reserved for chips and pies. I used tomato juice which also added to the Bloody Mary feel.
For my piquant Table Sauce I used a mix of Tabasco and Worchestershire.
I made a little jug of the tomato juice, Tabasco, Worchestershire, Lemon juice and seasonings and added that to the oysters instead of adding each of these individually as the recipe suggests
Finally my serviing glasses were only large enough for one oyster but I prefer the idea of an indidivual serve rather than muliple oysters in the one cup!
You can also ditch the glasses all togther and pour your combined sauce and seasonings into the shell itself! This, to my eye looks a bit prettier but is harder to eat without spilling tomato juice all over yourself!
If you wanted to ramp up the Bloody Maryness of these, add a little splash of Vodka into your tomato juice mix!

Have a great week!

07
May
2024

Swiss Eggs

categories: 1970's recipes, 500 Recipes for Quick Meals, Eggs

Hello, retro food lovers! This week we have a straightforward but delicious supper dish to delight your tastebuds! Now, I use the term “supper” quite deliberately here. For me, dinner is a much more formal affair – a multi-course spread, often quite heavy. Supper, on the other hand, is all about keeping things quick and light. And that’s exactly where Swiss Eggs come in! While they’d also be perfect for lunch or brunch, these beauties fall squarely into the supper category.

The recipe itself hails from a little gem called “500 Recipes for Quick Meals” by Marguerite Patten, published back in 1972. Get ready for a tasty trip down memory lane!

How good does it look with that combination of both melted and crispy cheese! This is not one for the lactose intolerant! And as the name of the book suggests this is also a quick recipe, it also only has four ingredients! Quick, easy delicious = a suppertime win! It would also be a great brunch or work from home lunch! So, as you might have guessed the Swiss in the title doesn’t refer to this dishes provenance but to the use of Swiss cheese which is first used to line the bottom of the baking dish.

You then add your eggs.

Cover with cream:

And more cheese. And that’s it. Job done. Pop that into the oven for around 12 minutes and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions for Swiss Eggs

While your eggs are baking, why not whip up a simple green salad and some toast? Or, if you’re feeling a touch more indulgent (like me!), pop some garlic bread in alongside the eggs to bake together. The combination of creamy Swiss Eggs, a refreshing salad, and warm, garlicky bread creates a light yet undeniably delicious meal.

Speaking of delicious, a glass of chilled white wine wouldn’t go amiss here, would it? The entire dish evokes a certain European charm, and a glass of wine would only enhance that ambiance. So go ahead, channel your inner Elizabeth David on this one. Of course, if you’re enjoying this as a breakfast treat, it might be wise to stick with Marguerite’s original suggestion of some good old-fashioned (and perhaps very 1972) fried bread! It might not be quite as continental, but it’s certainly a nostalgic and satisfying way to start your day. Then again, who am I to judge? If you want wine with your brekkie, go for it!

Swiss Eggs – Recipe

I thought the Swiss Eggs were holey delightful! (Geddit? Swiss Cheese has…nevermind) And not at all eggtravagant! I”m sure you’ll all be scrambling to make these!

Enough with the puns! Have a great week!

04
Feb
2024

Spinach Pancakes

categories: 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Spinach, Vegetarian

Hello friends and welcome to a return to the wonderful vintage cookbook, The A-Z of Cooking. The last time I visited this book was back in 2016/17 when I cooked a LOT of recipes from it. There were only a few recipes left that I wanted to cook and this one for spinach pancakes with tomato sauce was top of the list! I love the combination of spinach and cheese – in spanakopita, in cannelloni and these pancakes did nothing to change my mind!

The finished pancakes looked very much like cannelloni! And to be honest, while the taste was great, this was a lot of work. The sauce needed to simmer for a few hours, the pancakes took some time to cook, the wrapping and rolling was fiddly. Alas, no two of my rolled pancakes were the same size! By the time these came out of the oven I was almost too tired to eat. It was only the day after that realised this recipe was in the “Night Before” chapter of the A-Z. It would have been far less tiring to make the sauce and pancakes the day before!

Maybe because I was thinking of cannelloni, the method of cooking seemed a bit odd to me. The recipe says to fill the pancakes, place them in the baking dish and then sprinkle cheese over the top. You were then meant to serve the sauce on the side.

I did this but about half way through the cook, I gave into to the urge to pour the sauce over the top! I then added more cheese.

Deeelicious!

Spinach Pancakes with Tomato Sauce – The Recipe

My notes on the recipe

I used frozen spinach
I subbed ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese
Leave yourself plenty of time – this took me around 3 and a half hours all up.

And, if l like me you can’t get enough spinach and cheese, here are some other ways you can spin these flavours!

Have a great week!

22
Jan
2024

Classic Pavlova

categories: 1970's recipes, Australasia, Desserts, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Meringue

G’Day Mates! Today we are heading back to our old friend Goodhousekeeping’s World Cookery for a sweet treat from the Antipodes! People hotly debate whether the Pavolva was invented in Australia or New Zealand. We will not be entering into that discussion here. Neither does Good Housekeeping. They, rather wisely have a recipe for Pavlova in both the Australia and the New Zealand chapters! Nice diplomacy there GH!

I am using the recipe from the Australian chapter just because most of the other recipes in that chapter were awful! The recipes included things like Brain and Walnut Sandwiches, Sheep’s Tongues in Aspic, and a leg of lamb stuffed with kidneys, identified as Colonial Goose. I’m sure that 1970’s Australian cuisine was better than what is represented here. So Pavlova or Pavlova Cake as they call it, it was! Not that I minded because I adore a pav! It is one of my favourite desserts and reminds me of summer, Christmas and good times whenever I eat it!

Why Pavlova?

Anna Pavlova, the Russian Ballet dancer was the inspiration for the dessert. She toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926.

The lightness of the meringue represents not only the lightness of her steps but also her beautiful tutus. The Good Housekeeping Pavlova was wonderfully light. The meringue was crisp but it also had that lovely marshmallow inside which is the hallmark of a good pavlova.

Pavlova – The Recipe

I followed the recipe for the meringue as per Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery. However, when it came to the topping I went my own way. Pavlova can be very sweet so to add some tang, I add a dollop of lemon curd into my cream. My favourite toppings are the classic strawberry and passionfruit but you can add whatever fruit you like.

Have a great week!

22
Oct
2023

Sunday Night Ham Slaw Supper

categories: 1970's recipes, Salad, Salads For All Season

Hello retro food lovers! Today we are taking a step back into one of my favourite vintage cookbooks, Salads for All Seasons by Rosemary Mayne Wilson. I last cooked from this book way back in 2014. I chose a Sunday Night Ham Slaw Supper as I will be posting this on a Sunday. Also, because I love the word supper. It seems much cozier than the word dinner.

The Sunday night ham slaw is such a good idea! You know that feeling after a big Sunday roast when you feel you might never need to eat again? Except a good few hours later you start to think that maybe a little something-something might be nice? Well this is that something. A little salad, some cold meat, a bread roll and butter. Enough to stave off the pangs, not enough to fill you up too much.

I used ham as my meat of choice but this would be equally nice with leftover roast chicken or beef. It would also be perfect with leftover grilled salmon, or for the vegetarians amongst us, some slices of avocado or as a filling for a baked potato. I also did not mix my ham into the slaw as per the recipe but had it on the side. I thought the ham mixed in with the slaw might not look great. It tasted great though and, with the bread on the plate was just crying out to be made into a sandwich!

Sunday Night Ham Slaw Supper – The Recipe

This is a quick, easy and very tasty meal and a nice way to round off the weekend!

Have a great week!

Category: 1970’s recipes

New Zealand Oyster Cocktail – The Recipe

My Variations

Serving Suggestions for Swiss Eggs

Swiss Eggs – Recipe

Spinach Pancakes with Tomato Sauce – The Recipe

My notes on the recipe

Why Pavlova?

Pavlova – The Recipe

Sunday Night Ham Slaw Supper – The Recipe