Pork Chop Casserole / Buttered Carrots and Celery

1959’s “The Electric Cookbook” was “your complete guide to cooking electrically” and it sure is a good thing I have it, ‘cause in my apartment, I have an electric stove. Now, I was raised cooking with gas, and I greatly prefer it, but I’ll leave off that particular tirade for the moment, and be glad that as long as I must use an electric range, I have a guide. My guide, in fact, tells me that perhaps this whole “electricity” thing is gonna be huge: “For the homemaker, electricity takes the “work” out of housework…Tireless electric servants do most of the work, affording more time for the fun of creative cooking.”

SO! That explains how cooks in the 50s had so much time to come up with all the TOTALLY BIZARRE and INEDIBLE concoctions I encounter in vintage recipe books. Anyhow, there is something completely sensible about this book that I just love. Basically, you decide which electric appliance you are going to use (Roaster? Broiler? Electric Skillet?) and then the book presents an entire menu, all to be cooked at once, at the same temperature for the same amount of time. Genius!

And, happily, THIS RECIPE TASTES GOOD. And in fact, it is one I had been taught to make by the mother of an old boyfriend (by the way, moms always LOVED me because I wanted to learn all their recipes and hang out in the kitchen with them rather than trying to sneak off with the boyfriend or smoke cigarettes. OK, enough of the goody-goody show!). She called hers “White Trash Casserole”, and it was essentially the same thing, with the addition of sautéed onion and garlic added to the canned soup. I always add in sliced fresh mushrooms (sautéed), and organic “healthy” mushroom soup, when I’m not using Campbell’s for the whole “Andy Warhol” effect. So I already knew the pork chops would be yummy. But I had no idea the carrots and celery would – and it turns out that my daughter went bonkers over them and asked for them again the next night! There was a third element to the menu, but I ran out of time so I’ll have to try the Steamed Devil’s Food Pudding another time. Probably the next time I make these yummy pork chops!


Pork Chop Casserole

Temperature: 375
Time: 50 minites
Serves: 6

Preheat roaster to 375 degrees. Trim excess fat from 6 loin chops; salt and pepper; brown on both sides in skillet; place in meat dish. Combine 10 ½-ounce can cream of mushroom soup, ¼ cup water; pour over chops.

Buttered Carrots and Celery

Temperature: 375
Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 6

Peel 4 or 5 medium carrots; cut in lengthwise quarters. Cute celery in 2-inch pieces to make 1 ½ cups. Place vegetables in covered dish. Add ½ cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons butter. Cover to cook.

Raspberry Roundup (Jell-O Part 2)

As many of you know, I LOVE Jell-O, so it was with delight that I received as a gift this handy-dandy 1980 General Foods “The Jell-O Gelatin Salad Selector” from my cousin Peggy. (Actually, Peggy sent me a whole box of old cookbooks from various family members, which was a real treasure-trove, and a story for another day) Give me any excuse to make Jell-O, and I’m thrilled!

The divine thing about this “pamphlet” (I’m somewhat at a loss as to what to call it, since it came to me as separated pages that may have been bound together in some way originally) is that each page begins with the type of meat dish you are planning: “Making Hamburger Tonight?” and then suggests a Jell-O salad o accompany it. If that one isn’t to your liking, just SPIN THE WHEEL and select another! And some of them even looked pretty good! No more 50s way-too-bizarre concoctions with shrimp, tuna, olives, onions, sour cream…. (as disgusting as that sounds, there are HUNDREDS of recipes for these “delights”)

I made this up happily the night before (one of the “things” about Jell-O – it is NOT spontaneous. No wonder it wasn’t popular in the 70s…) and l always love the suspense of the un-molding: will it turn out? YES it did! And it is even quite yummy – just the tart berry Jell-O mixed with applesauce. Of course it’s “great with any pork dish” – good old General Foods, they were right!


Raspberry Roundup

1 package (3 oz) Jell-O Brand Raspberry Flavor Gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp. vinegar

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add applesauce and vinegar and pour into 2-cup mold. Chill until firm, about 3 hours. Unmold. Garnish as desired. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

Honestly, if I were stranded on a desert island with only one cookbook, The Silver Palate Cookbook (1979) would be it. Well, that is assuming there’s plenty of food around for me to cook, right? So I guess I mean a luxury desert island of sorts… you get the idea. This book was a big hit in the early 80s, and I ALWAYS find copies at thrift stores, and they are universally oil-splattered and well-loved like mine is! I grew up cooking from this cook book, and this is where many of my all-time favorite recipes come from, and this chicken dish would be at the very top of that list.

This was my first experience with cooking in foil pouches (or, as the French like to say, en papillote, though that is often done in parchment paper rather than foil) but in a pinch, this also works in a small casserole with a tight-fitting lid. I’ve even made these packets up for cooking over a fire! The herbs, fat, even the citrus can all be adjusted to your taste (prefer orange and ginger to lemon and garlic? Fine! Substitute olive oil for butter? Fine!), and it just never fails. Kids will eat it (I mark my daughter’s pouch with a Sharpie and use no garlic in hers), and you can even make up the pouches in the morning, put them in the fridge till you get home, and just bake them in time for dinner: quick and fabulous.

The mind literally boggles when I try to estimate how many times I have made this dish. If I estimate about twice a month since I began cooking at age 13, that would be 24 times a year for – oh, several years. Shoot, my calculator hasn’t got enough space in its memory to figure that! Let’s just say, I’ve made this a lot, and you will too after you try it!

Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

1 cup chopped fresh mint, dill and parsley in about equal proportions, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 boned chicken breasts, skinned and halved, about 4 ½ pounds altogether
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 lemons
4 Tbsp sweet butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Mix herbs and garlic together in small bowl. Flatten chicken breasts by pressing them against the work surface with the palm of your hand. Arrange breast pieces on foil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle herb and garlic mixture over chicken breasts. Slice lemons and arrange 2 or 3 slices over each breast. Dot with butter and seal the packets. Set on a baking sheet. Set packets in the middle of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to serving plates and allow guests to open packets at table. 6 portions

Fondue au Crème

Have I mentioned that I love fondue (witness: partial fondue collection!) and that I recently had the pleasure of judging a food competition at a fondue party? What an honor, and what a delicious and delightful evening! Every entry was special, and there were all sorts: from a traditional Swiss-style cheese fondue, to meatballs, to sweet dessert fondues. (Mmmmm…..) It was so hard to pick a winner, but ultimately I did, and it was a chocolate concoction of melted Toblerone and Grand Marnier, with fruit to dip. O earthly delight! O sticky mess!

I also brought a dessert fondue, and though it was not judged, I was able to participate in covering poor Jennye’s house with soot and goey residue. Residue that, even with the aid of oven cleaner, I was not able to fully remove from the fondue set till a whole week later! OK, I’ll admit that the real problem was that while I was sampling all the food entries, I went off and ignored my own for two hours… and, lest we forget, fondue is cooking with fire. So the sauce at first caramelized (yum!), and then scorched (what’s that smell?) and then literally burnt, with huge bubbles of blackening frosting forming in the little Corning Ware dish I had set over a teeny votive candle (yuk and double yuk!).

Despite becoming inedible after the melt-down, this desert fondue is actually quite tasty; something akin to dipping cake into warm, molten frosting. I whipped up a quick brownie mix and cubed that, as well as a frozen Sara Lee pound cake, and set that all out with fresh strawberries and little forks. (If cooking in luke-warm sauce, you can experiment with forks other than the long metal kind that must be used with hot oil.) I did add a drop of vanilla, but I think the idea of lemon would be nice as well. You could add more sugar to firm up the mixture if you like, but the key is to watch the flame and NOT let it scorch. And of course, enjoy!

Fondue au Crème

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Combine sugar and cream in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil about half a minute. Pour into fondue pot or chafing dish. Keep heat as low as possible to prevent scorching. Flavorings such as vanilla, almond or lemon may be added. Serve by spearing pieces of cake or fruit on forks and dipping into mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Bloody Mary

When I felt the need for a Bloody Mary, I knew right where to turn: the 1956 “Esquire Drink Book”, which comes to me highly recommended as the definitive book on the subject. I actually flipped through a few other cocktail guides, but even the esteemed Trader Vic had a much less exciting version, leaving out any spices, and thus, all the fun. This book actually includes two Bloody Mary recipes, one of which is a blender drink, but my blender recently died (insert sad face here), so I used the more traditional recipe below. How can you go wrong with a shaker of ice – you get a workout AND a drink!

I hate to admit this, as into food as I am, but until quite recently, I wasn’t aware that cocktails could actually taste good – that careful thought goes into the pairing of flavors, the ratio of sweet to sour, even the choice of garnish. I’ve since come to enjoy a good drink made by talented friends and bartenders, but am nowhere near an expert myself. This was my first attempt at making a Bloody Mary, and I have to say, it worked quite well. Now I just need to get the girls over for brunch!

You’ll note that the recipe below doesn’t mention the celery I so carefully garnished mine with, but having seen Bloody Marys served thus at fancy dining establishments, I added that. Also, I used Spicy V8 rather than tomato juice, which eliminates (and boy, does it!) the need for pepper. Finally, I don’t keep vodka on hand as I don’t love it, so the brand I grabbed at the cheap corner liquor store was so embarrassing that I had to hide the label. You folks at home, please use something classy and expensive, and don’t tell any of my cocktail expert friends or bar owners what you’ve witnessed here...


Bloody Mary

1 jigger vodka
2 jiggers tomato juice
1/3 jigger lemon juice
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Shake well with ice and strain into glass.

Low Calorie Fondue

I love fondue! I have had so much fun with it over the years, despite the mess and time. I have served entire fondue meals, with each course a different item dipped into a different liquid. I have experimented with sauces, oils, cheeses, chocolates, you name it. I have several lovely vintage fondue sets, forks beyond counting, and maybe 10 books on the subject, but I hadn’t yet ventured into fondue for kids (hello, hot oil burns!) until I found this recipe. Straight out of Concord, CA: 1968’s Nitty Gritty Productions “The Fondue Cookbook”.

Let me point out that by the time I was born, fondue’s heyday had come and gone. I clearly recall my parents making fun of fondue, even while my friend’s older sister worked in a Berkeley fondue restaurant that, apparently, was still popular. It was a fad of their immediate past - I think my mom and every single one of her contemporaries was given a fondue set as a wedding gift, which they probably used once, if at all. I know, I understand: It is a fairly elaborate set up, takes ages, and leaves a big mess. Lots of people don’t even like the taste of the traditional Swiss fondue, with sherry and Emmenthaler and Gruyere cheeses. But come on, the real fun of fondue is the party element! After all, fondue is “the happiest entertaining idea since cheese first melted”, and such a great way to get to know your neighbors. Oops, who’s fork is that?

My dinner guests this time included a friend and two 6 year old girls, and there was much hilarity but not much patience, so half-way through, we abandoned the forks and turned the hot broth into soup. This worked just fine - why not, after all, it’s a party! In the interest of reducing burns, I also used not a vintage aluminum set, but my fancy new All-Clad fondue set (which also comes with ceramic insert for chocolate, allowing for those entire fondue meals!) which has the benefit of a proper-fitting splash-guard and secure Sterno holder. Expensive, but worth it if you plan on actually using it more than once. Also, all my work creating several sauces was for naught, as the kids wanted nothing but (surprise!) catsup. Still, it is amazing the number of sauces you’ll find in any given fondue cookbook, or even in the prepared foods aisle of your supermarket. Get out your Sterno, folks, and enjoy the Magic of Fondue!



Low Calorie Fondue

This version of fondue is very popular with calorie watchers. Meats and vegetables are cooked in this delicious broth instead of being deep fried. After the meat has all been cooked, the flavorful broth can be served as a tasty bonus.

2 ½ cups beef or chicken broth
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup dry white wine
½ bunch green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
Few sprigs parsley
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fine herbs

Simmer ingredients in saucepan 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 2 hours. Strain into fondue pot and bring to boiling. Use as directed.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies for St. Patrick’s Day

“Irish food,” so my 1979 book on Irish Cooking tells me, “tends to be high in caloric content and is intended to satisfy even the heartiest working man.” Indeed, I love to eat their traditional offerings at one of our many Irish pubs in San Francisco, but I just don’t cook like that at home. Oh sure, I can make a nice soda bread, and I do eat oatmeal every day for breakfast. But this year for St. Patrick’s Day, I’m off the hook anyhow: I’m going to a friend’s house – and he really knows how to make the stew, the corned beef, and the cabbage dishes that everyone expects. So my contribution will be some green sugar cookies. Green, see? Irish. There.

Not that I wasn’t tempted by plenty of the recipes in the book: “craibechan of the sea”, for example. (?) “Balnamoon skink” (??), or rabbit in stout (well, OK I do love stout, and rabbit can be tasty, but there is no WAY I am getting away with cooking that around my 6 year old!). I’ve also tried some of the baked items in the past, but plain old sugar cookies just seemed like a fun (and more familiar) thing for my daughter to help with, and BOY did she get a kick out of watching the dough turn green with each mighty little drop of food coloring.

The idea was to make lovely green shamrock cookies, but when I looked for the shamrock cookie cutter, alas: it was nowhere to be found. I have tons of cutters, though, so we selected the medium sized Adias symbol (thank you: that is the Adidas-symbol-as-cookie-cutter, a gift-with-purchase from trainers I paid way too much for at their boutique in Georgetown, not a pot leaf!) and it suited us just fine. (Note to self: the more detailed the cutter, the more of a pain in the neck it is to cut out the shapes! I must get rid of the “cute” shapes that are more trouble than worth, such as the tea pot, the high-heeled shoe, and the guitar. NOT WORTH IT!) We also made some plain sugar cookies, because there came a time in the evening when mommy had had JUST ABOUT ENOUGH of the rolling and cutting and rolling and cutting and rolling and cutting, and I made the executive decision to do the final third of the dough in balls rolled in green sugar. Aren’t cookie cutters cute? Isn’t it a pain to cut out 6 dozen cookies? This is exactly why I make so many recipes for drop cookies. Still, when I have the energy, these are just about the best. Not too sweet, with a hint of almond – perfect with tea or coffee. Or Guiness!




Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
2 cups flour
3 Tbsp colored sugar, if desired

In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond extract, vanilla and egg yolk; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring up; level off. Stir in flour until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours for easier handling.
Heat oven to 375F. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8” thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated.) Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured 2 ½” cookie cutters. Place 1” apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain or, if desired, sprinkle with colored sugar.
Bake at 375F for 7 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets; cool completely. If desired, frost and decorate plain cookies.
Yield: 6 dozen (2-inch) cookies