Tag: Federal Glass

Old Fashioned Cake

Old Fashioned Cake

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 2 Comments

A Recipe from Kamp Kookery (198?)

About the Recipe

I’m always hesitant when it comes to cooking recipes from the ’80s. It was not a great time in culinary history – low-fat, low-cal, low-sugar, no sugar – the list goes on. The good news is, this recipe is none of these things. I can imagine that this cake recipe was first made in grandma’s kitchen in the 50’s/60’s when all things “Hawaiian” (aka banana and pineapple) were very in fashion, and nothing was low-fat.

This is a total winner of a recipe. It’s delightfully crunchy on the outside, with a moist, fluffy inside. The pineapple melts away and just leaves its sweetness behind to linger with the banana. All told, this tastes like an especially rich banana bread. It’s perfect for luncheons and dinner parties to go with a cup of decaf.

About the Book

Unfortunately, there’s not a ton to be found about this community cookbook, but here’s what I know: It was published sometime in the ’80s by the Ginter Park (Virginia) Junior Women’s League to benefit Camp Easter Seal – East. The camp was in the process of being built at the time and was set up to be available to all mentally and physically handicapped children and adults in the state of Virginia. It still is in existence today, and if you’d like to find out more check out the website here.

One more note on this one – there are nearly 400 pages of recipes in this book, and the Junior Women’s League had to turn people away! All that said to mean – these are truly the best of the best that this community had to offer. That’s the crux of why I love community cookbooks to begin with, and I’m so glad to find that this one doesn’t disappoint.

About the Glassware

What better use for the Federal Glass Atomic Flower snack plates, than a little bit of after dinner cake? It’s truly what these ’50’s era plates were designed for, and I swear it makes little snacks taste just a little bit better. Sadly, they’re without a teacup companion for the time being, but they serve as the perfect tiny platter all the same.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

3 c flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1 t. soda
2 c. sugar
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple (don’t drain)
1 1/2 c cooking oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 eggs
2 c. diced bananas

Directions:

Oven temp 350*F. Grease an 8 or 8″ tube pan; set aside, sift together dry ingredients. Add undrained pineapple, cooking oil, vanilla, eggs and bananas to dry mixture, mixing until blended. Do not beat. Bake for 1 hr. 20 min. Cake will crack slightly on top. Cool in pan on rack.

 

Avocado Crabmeat Salad

Avocado Crabmeat Salad

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Ida Bailey Allen’s Time-Saving Cook Book (1940)

About the Recipe

I love a recipe that looks super fancy but was a snap to put together – and thankfully this is one! Full disclosure, I’ve never made proper Russian dressing before. My only exposure to Russian dressing was some mystery, chunky dressing that smelled a little funny and made squishy noises coming out of a bottle… so not great. This Russian dressing is divine. Not only is it perfect for mixing with any kind of flaked fish for a quick salad, but it jazzes up any salad that you’d like to put it on. Definitely a winner!

About the Book

For those not familiar (I wasn’t), Ida Bailey Allen is an “author, lecturer, broadcaster, and one of America’s leading authorities on foods and cookery.” She was a food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine, and instituted the standard tested recipe in 1916 – thank you, Mrs. Allen!

There are so many things to love about this book, but I’ll undoubtedly cook from it again so I’ll try to focus on just one thing this time around. Mrs. Allen starts the book with The Time Saving Kitchen – tips and tricks on how to set up your kitchen for efficiency! Here are some of my favorite gems from this section:

  • Don’t crowd your kitchen; make it modern, cheerful, gay
  • Have some asbestos mats – saves dishwashing time.
  • A good puree sieve is essential.
  • Stop being a Table Hopper!
  • Accurate measuring utensils are more essential than a new parlor suite. Yet they cost only about half a dollar!

This book is just so delightful in so many ways. I can’t wait to cook from it again!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized avocados
1 cup chilled flaked crabmeat
Russian Dressing (see below)
Lettuce

Russian Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 T chili sauce
1 T minced green pepper
1 T minced pimiento
1/2 t paprika
Few drops onion juice
1 chopped hard cooked egg
2 shredded sardines or anchovies (optional)

Directions:

All the ingredients should be very cold. Mix the crabmeat with the Russian Dressing. Cut the avocados in halves lengthwise, peel, and remove the seeds. Fill the centers with the crabmeat mixture and arrange for service on the lettuce.

Russian Dressing:
Combine the ingredients and use in preparing a salad bowl containing lettuce and fish, or lettuce, tongue, and chicken; or serve on hears of lettuce, romaine, or French endive.

 

Souper Crescent Pizza

Souper Crescent Pizza

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Bake-Off Cookbook 100 winning recipes from BAKE-OFF 26 (1975)

About the Recipe

Okay, so nothing about this recipe is particularly genius, but it is yummy and simple and fun. I love the hack of using the tomato soup as a base for the pizza sauce (apologies to my Italian friends, I’m sure that’s heresy), and I can see so many opportunities to really make this recipe your own.

In short: classic, fun, messy, delicious.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

In this book, the crescent roll is King! Out of the 100 recipes (including the GE Microwave Winner) 49 of the recipes use the crescent rolls as a base. As someone who loves a quick dinner, this is thrilling. As someone who seeks to learn new baking techniques – oy, with the crescents already!

The good news is, this is a great book for those who are looking for quick hacks to delightful dishes.

About the glassware

I love pulling out my Federal Glass Atomic Flower snack plates. I found these at an antiques barn in North Carolina, and thought they were so cute! They’re part of a set that also has teacups, but I love them on their own.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

8 oz. can Pillsbury refrigerated Quick Crescent or Italian Flavor Dinner rolls
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t Italian Seasoning
1 cup (4 oz.) chopped salami, cooked ham or pepperoni
10 3/4 oz. can condensed tomato soup
8 slices (12 oz.) Mozzarella or Muenster cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Separate crescent dough into two rectangles. Place in ungreased 13×9-inch pan; press over bottom and 1/4 inch up sides to form crust.

Blend seasonings, salami and soup; spread over crust. Top with cheese.

Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Cut into squares. Serve immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers.

TIP: To reheat, wrap in foil; heat at 350*F for 12-15 minutes.

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