No retro food today just a random collection of what I’m doing and loving at the moment. I love it when other bloggers do this so I thought I might give it a go. The title for this is inspired by this gorgeous song by Missy Higgins, covering an old Split Enz song which I have just rediscovered on my ipod.
I joined a book club!!! Our book of the month is Us by David Nicholls. I am so excited to read this. I loved his last book, One Day. Also a bit scared about the whole book club thing. First meeting next Monday!
I have just finished reading this which I loved. This was one of those books where I just wished I had had the idea to do it. This was so funny although it did get a bit repetitive at times but this may have been because I read it in pretty much a day. And like most diets, it left me wanting more!
Blogs
I’m loving Flawless Visions take on MKR. Hilarious
I took a fairly ordinary baked vanilla cheesecake and fancied it up with the addition of some Chambord and a take on Sabrina Ghayour’s Strawberries with Basil Sugar. This was delicious!!!
Have a great week. And beware the hooded figures in the dog park!
A few weeks ago Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers invited her readers to celebrate the launch of her book of Joan Crawford recipes by taking part in a cookalong. I was so excited to be a part of this and I set Melbourne Cup Day as the day because strangely enough, I was going to be at the races on the actual day.
Jenny very kindly provided us with three of Joan’s recipes. One was for Crepes Suzette. Having recently had Crepes Suzette expertly cooked for me at the Lotus Blanc in Cambodia, I thought I might give this a miss. I wasn’t sure my attempts at flipping and flaming would compare. However, I was well and truly up for the other two, starting with
Joan’s Crawford’s Danti-Chips
Joan Crawford’s Danti-Chips
I was so excited about these. I was even more excited when the jars of devilled ham were two for one at the local supermarket.
And then, dear readers, I made a newbie, amateur, doofus mistake. Because logic should tell you that when you are confronted with a jar of pink paste called Devilled Ham, you just need to accept that all it contains is ham and…other….stuff. Don’t ever go wondering what that other stuff might be. For the love of all that’s good in the world….
DO NOT EVER READ THE LABEL ON THE BACK OF THE JAR OF DEVILLED HAM.
And yes, I am shouting at you. Because it was over a week ago and I still feel sick thinking about it. And you know, Deviled Ham was one of my pleasures in life. Admittedly not high on the list but it was there. And now it has gone. Forever. Just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
I’m not going to tell you what was in it. Just don’t read the label. Even though now you really want to. I know you do. do not give into the temptation. Imagine that jar of Peck’s Paste is local Nazi Colonel and you are an oversexed French Cafe owner hiding some English airmen and a priceless painting of The Fallen Madonna with The Big Boobies and resist!
(And if you had absolutely no idea what that last bit was about, your parents obviously didn’t watch enough British sit coms during your formative years….
You can find out more about that particular tangent here:
So anyway, I chose the vegetarian option. I used a mushroom and spinach tapenade for my chips. He had the devilled ham, Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of life the way mine has been destroyed. Plus, we have two jars of it to get through. Ignorance? Bliss.
These do look really pretty though don’t they? And they tasted really delicious. I added some chopped up pickled chillies to my pickle garnish and they went really well with the other flavours as well as adding a little colour.
Danti-Chips2
We ate these mid’-afternoon whilst watching the races. And believe me, it took no time at all for that plate to become this…
Where have all the Danti-Chips gone?
STEAK WITH ROQUEFORT
Later on in the evening it was time for the second of Joan’s recipes and….it’s making my mouth water even as I think about it.
Ooooohhhhh yeah…Steak with Roquefort come on down. (Although technically mine was Steak with Stilton as the local supermarket does not stock Roquefort).
Joan Crawford’s Steak with Roquefort
We had this with some kale and beans I also doubled up with a book club recipe and made the Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes from Persiana. Which were also super!
Steak with Roquefort
Persiana Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes
Meal to remember!!!!!
Steak and any sort of blue cheese is amazing. And Joan’s little twist with the….not telling…you need to buy the book to find out….is awesome!
Oh, and if, like me you happen to have some leftover corn chips from the Danti-Chips and some leftover roquefort mixture from the steak you can combine these with any leftover kale and some very finely chopped red onions to create a delicious spin on Nachos the night after!
Hopefully Joan would approve!!!
Thanks Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this!!!! I loved the recipes and can’t wait to see the rest of the book!
I think it’s only fair this week to have the sign off to come from the lady herself. Have a fabulous week – maybe think about how you can add some old Hollywood glamour into your life. And buy Jenny’s book! If the recipes I tried are any reflection it will be awesome!!!
I think it’s kind of weird that it’s taken me this long – I love to read and I love to talk about books I have read. However, this is a rather special club catering to those of fairly specific tastes. Don’t worry, I am not about to get all 50 shades of weird on you; it is a food lovers book club where, instead of novels, we discuss cookbooks.
I am a cook book junkie. Here is part of my collection. .
There is also another shelf in a different room that has most of the retro food books. Then there are the hundreds of magazines…..and regular trips to the local library.
So, given this problem predilection when I read in their weekly newsletter that my local book store was starting a food lovers book group, I did a little dance of joy. No, not quite like this…well…maybe a little.
The First Rule of Book Club
Each meeting will have a theme. The first theme was Winter warmers. Members have a choice of three books that they could purchase related to that theme. The books were really well chosen by the owners in terms of both variety, audience and price point.
Whoo, hoo….new cookbook fix guaranteed. And to those annoying people who ask “Don’t you have enough cookbooks?” (you know who you are) you can genuinely say. “I had to buy it, it was for book club”.
I chose Slow by Valli Little which was actually the cheapest option but I love her work in Delicious Magazine and I knew there would be plenty in here I could, and would, make outside of the group. I was not disappointed on this count – it jam packed with great ideas for everyday cooking. And, incidentally, this book was rated the best on value and practicality as well as being visually alluring.
Second Rule of Book Club
You must cook from the book you have chosen.
This is utter genius. So, not only do you get your cookbook fix but you also have none of that guilt of buying a book and never actually making anything from it.
I made the Autumn Rosti from Valli’s book, my slightly adapted version of the recipe below.
Third Rule of Book Club
You must have evidence of cooking from the book.
This could be in photographic form or, as I and some of the others chose to do, you could bring evidence of your cooking to the meeting for the group to sample.
Best. Idea. Ever.
I took along my rosti. We also had an amazing Chicken Liver and Porcini Pate, a killer Carrot and Lentil Soup, a super tasty Lamb and Apricot Tagine with couscous and we ended the evening with a delicious Carrot Cake. The following pictures of the soup and the tagine are from Valli’s book. I did not take pictures of the food on the night because “Hey, I’ve just met you and this seems crazy but I’m going to take photos of your food and put them on the internet” is no song I want to be singing. However, in both instances, as with my rosti, the actual product looked a lot like the picture.
Valli Little’s Lamb & Apricot Tagine
Working within the theme allows you to step out of your normal comfort zone and try something new and or different. And tasting other people’s goodies can also expand your horizons. I generally do not like cooked carrots and one of the worst soups I have ever eaten was full of bits of grated carrot. So I did not look twice at the Carrot and Lentil Soup recipe in Valli”s book. Not interested. Not even remotely. In fact, I could not turn the page fast enough.
Luckily for me, someone else did give it a second look.
Valli Little’s Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup from Slow
DISH OF THE NIGHT. Who knew carrot soup could taste so good. How good? I’m making it as we speak. Damn it was good! Make it. Make it now! (Recipe below). You will not be disappointed. And even if you are? Firstly what is wrong with you? And second, get over it. By my reckoning this costs about $2.50 to make. At around 40 cents a serve even if you hate it, which I’m pretty sure you won’t, you’ve lost less than the cost of a cup of coffee.
Fourth Rule of Book Club
You must talk about your book.
This has to be the fourth pleasure of cooking – the buying, the preparing, the eating and finally, the talking. You got to speak about what you did and didn’t like about the book and learned about the good and bad of the books you didn’t buy as well. It’s really interesting to see what people do and don’t like. For instance, this was one of the other books we could choose from:
Let me tell you, this cover was controversial. People had opinions. I had opinions. I didn’t know I had opinions but it turned out I did. I quite like it but other people thought the dirty spoon was kind of gross.
The other great thing was that you got to share war stories. You know how sometimes you make something and despite following the recipe to the minutest degree it just doesn’t work? And you automatically assume it was something you did wrong? Well two people from the club made the exact same recipe and had the exact same problem with it. Coincidence? I think not.
It was awesome. I can’t wait for the next one, where the theme is Middle Eastern. I have chosen Persiana as my book and it looks amazing!!!!
Just so we’re clear? Free on E is not my memoir of rave and single life in the ’90’s but a new thing I thought would be fun – I could cast my eye over some of the cookbooks available for free as ebooks and…you know…do what I do. Read. Cook. Mock. Eat.
And occasionally give a little “Eek” of delight when I find a hidden gem.
And because they’re readily available and free you can read, cook, mock and “Eek” right along with me!
Ice Cream Muffins
Anyone actually wanting my memoir of rave life in the ’90’s? Sorry, that’s a completely different e-book that will be available for purchase in the not too distant. Just kidding. Unless anyone would actually pay money for it. In which case….hit the contact me button immediately. I’ll start writing….
Anyway, my first venture into “free on e” was “Rapid Recipes for Writers And Other Busy People” By Marsha Ward.
Oh boy.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha….
To put it nicely, the 31 recipes in here are mostly pretty ordinary. I was seriously struggling to find one that I wanted to cook. There’s a lot of ground beef, a lot of canned soup and frozen vegetables. This is a typical example:
Boss Beef Dish
Make patties of:
2 lbs ground beef
4-5 grated potatoes
1 grated onion
1 tbsp garlic salt
2 eggs.
Brown both sides of patties in skillet.
Add mixture of:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cans water
1 lb frozen peas.
Simmer until warmed through.
Blecchhhh….
Then there’s
Garlic Baked Potatoes:
Cut a small triangle out of each potato; add 1/2 tsp garlic powder and replace triangle. Put a pat of butter on or margarine on potato, wrap in foil then bake in over or on coals in barbecue or campfire. Salt and pepper maybe added to margarine for extra flavour.
Hmmm…Enjoy that mouthful of burnt garlic powder. Why not just add the garlic powder to the margarine? Whilst we’re on the subject of garlic powder? It’s the devil’s work. Second only to margarine. Don’t even get me started on that particular rant…
I was just about to agree with the reviewer who said this book wasn’t worth free when I came across the recipe for:
Ice Cream Muffins
1 ½ cup self-raising flour
2 cups soft vanilla ice cream
Mix until dry particles are moist. Grease muffin tins; bake 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees F.
“No way” I thought. “There’s no way that’s going to work. That’s about the dumbest thing I ever heard”.
So, I made them.
Yeah, I don’t get how my mind works either.
And…believe it or not, they worked!
Ice Cream Muffins
Don’t get me wrong, these weren’t the best muffins I’ve ever eaten but they were recognizably muffins and they were made out of ice cream and flour! That’s kind of awesome. And the possibilities are only as limited as the flavours of ice cream available to you. I didn’t have vanilla and I wasn’t about to buy some for a recipe that I was sure wasn’t going to work so mine were actually rum and raisin muffins.
Ice Cream Muffins
This exercise also reminded me that if you ever need a dose of kooky in your life, spend an hour or so reading Amazon reviews. They’re hilarious!!! This gem was in the review section for Rapid Recipes for Writers.
Let’s break this baby down shall we?
I’m not a good judge here. Didn’t stop you from writing a review though, did it!
This is an actual cookbook! Yeah. Uh huh. What did you think it was? A rubber chicken?
AND a lot of the recipes had MEAT. Maybe they don’t tell you in NaNoWriMo circles that it’s bad form to start a sentence with “and”*? Or that it’s kind of annoying when you capitalise RANDOM words.
I’m a vegetarian who doesn’t cook. So why buy a cookbook then? Oh, that’s right. You didn’t realise it was a cookbook (sigh…facepalm).
When you’re reviewing a book, it might also be useful to tell people more about the book than yourself**. I believe all we learned about “Rapid Recipes for Writers ” was that it was an actual cookbook! That contained MEAT.
What do I know though? Five out of seven people found that review helpful. Which only serves to confirm my belief that five out of seven people are idiots. Which I guess dear, smart, funny, cute, discerning reader leaves you and me!
We’ll head back to Vietnam next week….
Bye for now.
*For the pedants, I’m perfectly aware I started at least 3 sentences with “and” in this post. Please refer to sentence 3 in **below.
** For the most part people reading Amazon reviews are not remotely interested in what you eat or anything else about you. If you are that self-obsessed, maybe you should try blogging. The added benefit of which is, that when it’s your blog, you can start sentences with whatever the hell you want.
My favorite thing to eat is finger food. And it doesn’t have to be fancy – I’m just as happy with a mini-quiche or a party pie as with a teeny Peking duck pancake or a tempura prawn on a stick with wasabi mayo.
If I was ever going to open a restaurant, all it would serve would be tiny bites. And champagne. Cocktails of course. But the entire menu would be finger food. It would be a cocktail party restaurant. Anyone wishing to fund this establishment…you know where to find me.
Finger food has been on my mind recently as I have been drooling over the contents of Lydia France’s Party Bites which is like setting a child loose in a sweet shop – I want that one! And that one! And I REALLY want that one!
I was also not the only one who thought this book was looked delicious. Oscar’s been suffering from a little bit of separation anxiety since I have gone back to work and I came home one day to find the book, which I had left on the couch was not exactly how I had left it….
No so much dog eared….
I then had to go fess up to the library – the upside of which, after exchange of some financial compensation, the book, albeit slightly chewed now belongs to me!
There is a recipe in Party Bites which is a modern take on the old retro favourite of a cube of cheese on a stick with a bit of something. This is often to be had with pineapple in the fabulously kitschy Cheese and Pineapple Hedgehog:
Then there is the equally retro but less whimsical Aussie Staple of kabana and cheese….
Kabana And Cheese
No Australian barbeque of the 1970’s or 80’s would have been complete without a tray of this. Often, the kabana and cheese was topped with chunk of pineapple, a gaudily coloured cocktail onion or, if you were really classy, a stuffed olive.
The idea is actually sound. Who doesn’t love a meaty cheesy snack? And if topped with something sweet or sour or salty…well, so much the better. We here at Retro Food For Modern Times are not subscribers to the minimalist maxim that less is more. We believe that more is more. With a cherry on top!
The main problems with kabana and cheese is that kabana is kind of gross and although this combination might be tasty, it is drop dead boring. So, how do you give the ubiquitous kabana and cheese a modern twist whilst still retaining some of the kookiness of the cheese and pineapple hedgehog? Hello Lydia France’s Spanish Men…or should that be Hola los hombres españoles!
Here’s Lydia’s Version:
Spanish Men – Lydia France
And here are mine…my Spanish men look a little drunk and definitely more chunkier. I think my Spanish men may have been hitting the Rioja a little too hard….
My Spanish Men
For all their wonkiness, I loved them. These were sooooo good! Serrano ham, where have you been all my life? If you weren’t so damn expensive I would be feasting on you non-stop.
The salty olive, the sweet quince paste, the meaty deliciousness of the serrano and the creaminess of the cheese combine to create a little piece of heaven on a stick!
Spanish Men I love you!
Mario Casas
And you’re not bad either Mario Casas…
I’m going to be spending my week checking out Spanish cinema. Enjoy your week whatever you do!
