Retro Food For Modern Times

03
Jan
2018

Faye Dunaway Cocktail

categories: Celebrity Cookbooks, Chilli, Cocktail, Mango, Vodka

Back in my school days, we had an annual music competition where each House had to arrange and sing a song of their choice to assorted judges, family, staff and fellow schoolmates.

One year the song selected by my House Music Captain for all of us to sing started like this:

Bonnie and Clyde were pretty lookin’ people,
But I can tell you people,
They were the devil’s children.

I had no idea who Bonnie and Clyde before then but wow! Believe me, just those opening lines were enough to send me racing to the Encyclopedia Britannica for more! Pretty people? Of course I wanted to know more. Pretty people who were also evil? My 14-year-old mind was blown. Who knew such a thing even existed!

Why am I telling you all this?

Because a little while ago the lovely Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers asked if I would test out a cocktail recipe for her upcoming cookbook. The cocktail was the Faye Dunaway cocktail, and Faye played Bonnie Parker in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.

And oh boy, you want to talk about pretty looking people?

Oh, the glamour!!!!

The Faye Dunaway Cocktail is also pretty glam! It was invented in 2011 by Jonathan Humphrey of the Drake Hotel in Toronto and was inspired by the film Chinatown, which stars Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson.

The recipe for the Faye Dunaway cocktail calls for mango juice which I was unable to find. I also do not have a juicer so I puréed a fresh mango. I was a little worried because the mango purée was quite thick but it worked out perfectly. So do not despair if you also cannot find juice. If fresh mango is unavailable frozen would also work perfectly!

The Faye cocktail perfectly balances sweet, spicy and sour flavours in a glorious mix of mango, lime and chilli. It’s sooooo good! I loved it – it reminded me of sunshine and holidays and tropical climes! I made this exactly as per the recipe (which you can find here) because I was testing the recipe for Jenny. However, even though this is divine as is, I can’t help wondering what it might be like if you also brought in a salty element by edging the glass? Salty, sweet hot and sour being the four elements Thai cooks try to bring into balance. Because that is really what the flavours of this cocktail reminded me of…cocktails on a beach in Thailand.

Faye’s birthday is coming up on January 14. I was going to hold off posting this until the day itself. Then I thought it would be much more fun to give you all a chance to buy the ingredients so we could all celebrate her gorgeousness and iconic fashion sense by donning a beret and drinking one of these in her honour!

I will be trying the Salty Faye myself but if anyone makes either version, please let me know what you think!

And speaking of iconic fashion…I had so much fun trying to find the Dinah Shore look a few weeks ago that I thought I would give it another go.

Here is my take on Faye’s Bonnie and Clyde look fashion via my very first post on Polyvore. Because don’t we all need a little bad girl glam every now and again?

Oh, and for anyone who is wondering how our music competition turned out?

The judges said that our singing and arrangement were spot on but that the content was inappropriate for both us to be singing and our audience to be listening to!

If you would like to hear the scurrilous lyrics not fit for the mouths of good God-fearin’ girls (and see some photos of the real Bonnie and Clyde) here’s a YouTube of that song:

Many thanks to Jenny for the opportunity to help with her book (I will let you all know when it is ready to be purchased, it’s going to be awesome!) and for selecting such a fabulous recipe for me to try!

And don’t forget, Faye Day on the 14th!

Cheers!

Signature 1

31
Dec
2017

Anne’s Poetical Egg Salad Sandwiches

categories: Books, Eggs, Sandwiches

One of the absolute delights of my childhood was discovering the Anne of Green Gables set of books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. They were my favourite books for years! And to be honest, although I haven’t read one in forever, I still have the entire series and it wouldn’t take much for me to be again drawn into the world of Matthew and Marilla, Diana Barry and Gilbert Blythe and the adorable red-haired, high-spirited feisty girl known as Anne of Green Gables. And that’s Anne with an E and don’t you forget it!

These books taught me so much about the world – about love, about friendship and family, about how it’s okay to be different (and how to embrace that difference). Oh, and how I wasn’t the only person in the world who constantly had to spell their name to people to ensure that they got it right!

So I was overjoyed to find out that there is an Anne of Green Gables Cookbook. And beside myself to be given a free ARC from NetGalley and Race Point Publishing to review! Thank you so much!

First up, this book is gorgeous! The illustrations and the photos are beautiful. And all of the recipes are referenced to the exact place in the books where they occurred..which a pedant like me totally loves!

I choose to make Anne’s Poetical Egg Salad sandwiches. And they were delicious.

OMG…these were so good!

I think sometimes it’s hard when blogging to present something as simple as these sandwiches because…..well…it’s egg salad right and everyone knows how to make that. so why bother? But this is also real food, the kind of food I want to make. Eat. Repeat.

Recipe? Here.

And you can also fancy these up. The version you are looking at has some chives in the mix. It’s great with lettuce in the sandwich. To make it really fancy, a slice of smoked salmon is divine!

I adored this book almost as much as the novels that inspired it!

And as we head into the new year, some rules for living from Miss Anne Shirley:

ON FRIENDS

ON MAKING MISTAKES

ON MAKING AN EFFORT

ON ATTITUDE

ON LOVE

THE FUTURE

And on that note sweet people, I’m going to bid you adieu for 2017.

Thank you for reading, commenting, liking, sharing. You’re the best and most wonderful kindred spirits ever!

And for all of you, all my very, very best for a joyful 2018! May it bring it everything you wish for!

Signature 1

30
Dec
2017

This Paté is a Turkey!

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Holidays, Leftovers, Recipe Fail

Welcome to the end of the world. Or at the very least the end of The A-Z of Cooking (1977).

Prepare to feel robbed.

Dear A-Z of Cooking,

Look…listen…over the past few years we’ve had joy, we’ve had fun, we’ve had seasons in the sun.

There’ve been many good times.

Remember the Mushroom Cakes?

And the Brioche?

The Profiteroles? They were awesome!

Okay, so it wasn’t always smooth sailing. There were downs with those ups.

There was this:

Still one of the scariest pictures I have ever seen in the pages of a cookbook.

And lets not forget this delightful looking salad:

Or this suggestion for punishing people who drop in without notice:

But on the whole, it’s been good times.

And this is how you end it? With a Turkey Paté that looked like cat food until I slapped a few sage leaves and pomegranate seeds on top? And, I might add, tasted of nothing?

And whilst we’re at it…right from the start you promised me an A-Z.

So…ummm…why are we done after Yesterday’s Leftovers?

Where’s my Z, you dick?

And a really bad turkey paté.

And no Z.

Signature 1

27
Dec
2017

History Happy Hour – The Flamingo

categories: Apricot Brandy, Cocktail, Gin, History Happy Hour

So, I made this Flamingo cocktail today with the idea that I would post it in the usual time it takes me to post anything – a month, six weeks, some time in the yet to be disclosed future. But then I opened my email and discovered that today, December 26 in the way back of 1946 was the day that Bugsy Siegel opened the Pink Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada.

I’m not a big fan of posting too quickly because I like to ~~procrastinate~~ carefully curate what goes into these pages.

It’s why the quality is usually so high…😂

But some opportunities are too good to miss.

And how pretty is this? It’s a gorgeous, glorious, fabulous pink! Perfect for drinking at the most fabulous, magnificent , luxurious resort in the world….or just, you know, at home…

Siegel, called “the mobster with the beautiful blue eyes” by Cesar Romero named the resort the Flamingo after his girlfriend Virginia Hill who was a leggy redhead.

The opening of the Pink Flamingo Casino was a total clusterf**k. Bad weather kept many of the Hollywood celebrities who had been invited to the opening away. The rooms weren’t finished so gamblers took their winnings elsewhere. By the end of the first week, the Pink Flamingo had lost $300,000 in revenue. By the end of its first year of operation it had earned nothing!

Siegel was shot to death in 1947.

A memorial to him still exists in the current Flamingo complex.

Far from being a clusterf**k, the Flamingo cocktail is a total delight!

Gin, Apricot Brandy, lime juice and Grenadine make it delicious!

A maraschino cherry gives it some vintage glamour. It’s not in the recipe but it does make it gorgeous!

Here’s the recipe – Enjoy!!!!

https://mixthatdrink.com/flamingo-cocktail/

22
Dec
2017

Moules Marinieres

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, France, Mussels, Seafood, White Wine

Today we are heading back into The A-Z of Cooking to the chapter called Wine For a Change. And on the menu is the classic French dish of Moules Marinieres. This is one of my favourite dishes. I probably make this around once a month – it ticks all my boxes – it’s healthy, it’s quick and it’s cheap and so, so, tasty! Over the years my recipe has evolved so now I have my favourite version of Moules Marinieres which I will list below alongside a more pared back version from The A-Z.
Before we get into the Moules lets talk about this chapter. Wine for a Change. Not around here it isn’t. Around here it’s a basic food group. So there goes that title. There are some good recipes in this section. The Moules, Coq au vin, Peaches in Wine….oh and veal kidneys with Marsala.

You can’t win ’em all. (Sigh)

If the thought of veal kidneys with anything isn’t off-putting enough on its own, the picture is truly unsettling (It’s also at the very bottom of this post if you are brave enough).

Moules Marinieres loosely translates as Sailor’s Mussels. Be careful of your spelling if googling this. You could end up with this:

Hot damn! Ladies (and possibly gentlemen), don’t ever say I don’t give you anything. Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday and Goodnight Irene!

Where were we? I seem to have lost my entire train of thought.

Oh yeah, mussels. The thing that takes the longest with the Moules Marinieres is all your prep work. First you have to debeard and scrub all of your mussels.

Then cut up your veggies for your mirepoix I use carrot, celery, fennel and onion in mine. And for seasoning salt (I used the Port infused salt I bought in Portugal) peppercorns, a pinch of chilli flakes and a smashed garlic clove.

Cook these down then add some white wine and a splash of Pernod (optional but goes really well with the fennel and the mussels). Cook these down a bit – the longer the better! Then add wine, Pernod if using and stock and bring to the boil. Add the mussels. Add a lid. Shake the pan occasionally and in all of about 5 minutes you will have a piping hot bowl of mussels with a deliciously tasty broth.

Moules Marinieres are great with bread to soak up all that broth. And if that bread happens to be a tasty warm loaf of crusty garlic bread? Heaven…I”m in heaven….

This time though I made mussels other best friend…frites. With aioli. Hard to tell from the pictures but there were three types of frites – potato, sweet potato and parsnip.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is amenable to all sorts of changes. Don’t like cream? Don’t add it. I quite often will throw in a can of tinned tomatoes. Also, (and this is where i am sure I will have the purists tutting at me) if you can’t be arsed debearding and scrubbing the mussels, most supermarkets now sell frozen mussel meat. I always have a pack of this in my freezer so can whip this up at any time. One codicil on that though. The shells on fresh mussels do seem to add some extra flavour. If using mussel meat alone be sure to use a really good fish stock in your broth!

Here is the original recipe from The A-Z of Cooking and the original picture. I cannot tell you how much I love and covet that terracotta mussel pot. Straight to the top of my list of kitchen must haves!!!

And here is my slightly fancier version:

[yumprint-recipe id=’107′]So, there is only ONE Chapter left in The A-Z! Will I be able to get it out before Christmas?

Absolutely not because one of the key ingredients will be a Christmas leftover. And yes, I will be slapping people’s hands away from the plate if there is even the remotest chance of there not being enough leftovers to make it!

Will there be another post of any sort before the big day?

Almost definitely!

See you in a couple of days!

Signature 1
Oh and for the bravest o the brave? Here are those veal kidneys: