Pineapple Fruit Salad - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

If I had to choose a dessert to epitomise the sixties, this would be on the Top 3 list.  The fact that its served in a freaking pineapple just says so much about this dish.

LOOK AT ME I CAN AFFORD PINEAPPLES!!!

American Chocolate Pudding - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I give you Marguerite Patten's American Chocolate Pudding.  It has walnuts, it has cream, it is amazing.

Serve it to your friends, serve it to your enemies, serve it to your grandmother.  If you do, you will make friends and influence people when they realise you are brandishing an American Chocolate Pudding.

Crepes Au Mocha - 1970's (Robert Carrier Cookery Card)

There is nothing better, in my world, that coffee flavoured stuff.  And here is a fantastic little recipe for Coffee flavoured Crepes :) :)

Cream of Potato Soup - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

Potatos are a large portion of the British diet.  Yet essentially they are a really boring vegetable, tasteless and a pain to prepare.  Why do we like them so much? Because they accompany most dishes without obliterating the flavour, they make are softly spoken and don't offend anyone.  Which makes me realise that when they become the main focus of a meal, you have to make sure you put plenty of zing in to it.

Luckily for us, there are lots of cool potato recipes that do just this.  In this recipe, onions and seasoning provide the backbone of the flavour.

Lobster Chowder - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

There is a distinct lack of seafood recipes on this blog.  The main reason is that I don't really do seafood, and the idea of it makes me turn a little green.

But, I know that the hundreds (HAHAHA) of emails and comments that I get on this blog each week do request that I do a few more seafood related posts.  So here is one... and as we're on a theme of soups and chowders today, this one is quite apt.

Ham and Bean Supper Chowder - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

The temperature has dropped here in Exeter.  And now is the perfect time to start looking at Soup and Chowder recipes for an instant hot savory fix.

Nettle Soup - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Cards)

For someone that writes about food, has a general preoccupation with culinary matters and mixes with those who have brilliant gastronomic taste, I have very crude food tastes.  And the idea of Nettle Soup doesn't really do anything for me, despite the majority of people who I have spoken to over the years who have said how nice it is.

I encourage you to give it a go.  If it is nice, tell me and it might encourage me even more to go and pick some and see what happens!  Nettles are a free and abundant plant, but be careful you pick from a spot that you know has not been treated with weed killer.

Blackberry Chiffon Pie - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

A few notes with this recipe.  First off it needs gelatine, so make sure you inform any vegetarians who you might be offending.  Alternatively you could try using pectin, but the consistency might suffer if you do so it might need a bit of tweaking to make a vegetarian-friendly version.

It requires lots of Ginger Biscuits, so by default I am in love with this recipe already just by reading it!

Beef Bourguignonne (Fondue method) - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

Beef Bourguignon is one of those classic 'childhood' recipes, a staple classic that your mum shows you how to make before you disappear to university and ultimately fending for yourself.

It can be slow cooked, or like this recipe, it can be used in a Fondue.

This is a party piece, a classic sixties non-cheese fondue.  There is quite a bit of prep, but it'd be perfect for that authentic sixties/seventies feel to any themed occasion.

Honey Angel Cake (Christmas, Festive, Traditional) - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

Happiness Tree Cake; Christmas Pudding Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

I have included this one for its pure weirdness.  A Marshmallow covered Christmas Pudding and a Happiness Tree Cake...also covered in marshmallows.

Claret Punch and Mulled Ale - 1960's Marguerite Patten Recipe Card

Without a doubt the best part of Christmas is the excuse to have Mulled Anything.  Wine and Cider tend to be the traditional choices, but here is a fascinating little recipe for Mulled Ale!

Christmas Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

A theme tonight.  Now its the sister of the Christmas Pudding, again this needs lots of brandy!  Christmas Cakes have mixed origins, but take a gander at this lovely website to get the full fascinating history.

Christmas Pudding 1960's - Marguerite Patten Recipe Card

Love it of loathe it, that time of year is bearing down on us.  It is about this time the foodies among us, start thinking about Christmas Pudding, which takes a lonnng time to make if you do it properly.

So I invite you to have a go at Marguerite Patten's version, and see if you can make one just like you used to have when you were a kid (hopefully a good thing).

School Cake 1920s (The Anerly Cookbook)

Here is a very basic cake recipe. I can imagine it would have plenty of scope for adding to or modifying.

1lb self raising flour
6ozs butter or lard
4ozs castor sugar
2ozs currants
2ozs sultanas
2ozs raisins, stoned and chopped
2 eggs, well beaten

Rub the butter or lard into the flour then add the other ingredients also a drop of milk if required.

Put in a well greased tin and bake for one and a half hours.

Moist Chocolate Sandwich - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Card Index 6)

Moist Chocolate Sandwich.  Very much a variation on a theme, but a quite delicious theme.  

Speedy Orange Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 5)

I have such good memories of this recipe.  It reminds me of that quintessentially English past time of High Tea or even being a young lad at the village Fete etc.

It is also pretty easy, as most of Marguerite Patten's recipes are.  If you don't like Orange, you can use Lemon rind instead.

Summer Pudding - 1960's (Robert Carrier Cookery Card)

Another amazingly easy recipe from the hayday of the Beatles...

This recipe is in anticipation that we might actually have a summer.  My mum always makes this recipe, and although the whole 'bread-as-pudding' concept is not one I can quite get my head around it is always enjoyable with lashings of custard.

Economical Light Fruit Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 4)

I present most probably the easiest recipe ever.  If you are terrified of baking, this is a good place to start.

Victoria Sandwich - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 2)

The Victoria Sponge or Sandwich, as it is referred to here.  See the previous post for the Chocolate Layer Sponge, which relies on this recipe for the basic sponge recipe.

The Victoria Sponge has a relatively unremarkable history, but it is the very notion of the British act of High Tea.  It is also a very difficult recipe to get truly perfect.