Marguerite Patten's Mushroom Fingers - 1970's

This is essentially Mushroom on Toast.  So, Fungi Bruschetta for the posh amongst us.

8 oz. mushroom
Third of a pint of milk
1 oz flour
1 oz butter
Seasoning
Dash of Worcester Sauce
Little parsley chopped
4 slices of buttered toast

1. Wash and chop mushroom caps and stalks coarsely.
2. Simmer in the milk until tender.
3. Blend flour and butter together and work into mushroom mixture gradually.
4. Cook gently for some little time until smooth.
5. Season well, add sauce and parsley.
6. Spread on toast and divide into fingers.

Marguerite Patten's Stuffed Peppers - 1970's

This is most probably the simplest and healthiest dish that I can make without a recipe book near me.  Here Marguerite Patten gives us a quick simple recipe for this classic dish which I personally reckon was more sixties?  Regardless, Ms Patten gives us some alternatives with Cheese or minced meat instead of rice at the end of recipe, but I'll leave that up to you. A neat little recipe which can be adjusted and modified easily.

4 green peppers
2 onions
3 tomatoes
2 oz margarine
3 oz cooked rice
seasoning (salt and pepper?)
little parsley chopped

1. Halve the peppers lenthwise and remove seeds and hard centre
2. Out into boiling salted water and cook for about 5 minutes early.
3. Take out and drain.
4. Meanwhile fry the chopped onions and tomatoes int he margarine, add to the rice, season well and put into the centre of the peppers.
5. Cover with greased paper , put into a well greased dish and bake in teh centre of a moderate oven (375F - Gas Mark 6). Sprinkle with Parsley.

Golden Cheese Marbles - 1930's

Strangely enough, these appear in the 1936 edition of 'Cookery Illustrated and Household Management'.  These make excellent party appetisers.  This will serve three to four people.



1 and a half cupfuls of grated cheese (Cheddar or Edam)
2 tablespoons of flour
half a teaspoon of celery salt
2 egg whites
Paprika

1. Beat the egg whites till light but not stiff, add the flour, cheese, paprika and celery salt.
2. Roll mixture into the size of marbles and fry till golden brown in deep fat at 373F.

Serve on a hot dish lined with a lace paper d'oyley.

Classic Barbecued Hamburgers - 1960's

Continuing the sixties theme, with this little summer number I thought I would try and lighten the mood a bit given the weather outside.  This is one of those two tier recipes with the beef and the sauce being made separately.  However, I reckon a BBQ shop-bought marinade would suffice if you're short of time.  This is a really basic burger recipe which can be added to or modified.

In The Good Housewives Encyclopedia there is a little post-amble for the nervous readers who might not have experienced Hamburgers before, which I have to include here.

"The Genuine American hamburger has at least two or three garnishes, so don't be afraid to experiment"

If you enjoy making burgers then take a look at this, prepare to drool! http://www.cheeseburgersociety.com/. You'll need Flash installed to take advantage of it.

The Burgers

1lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcester Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped.
1 teaspoon salt.
Pepper
Barbecue Sauce or butter for basting.

1. Combine all of the ingredients and shape into ovals (this helps the patties cook evenly).  Remember to use lean beef if you want the healthy option.
2.To keep them tender, handle as little as possible.
3. Baste with the barbecue sauce while grilling, should take between 10 and 15 minutes under a moderately hot grill.

Barbecue Sauce

2 onions, chopped fine.
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 tablespoon of Worcester Sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of chilli powder
half a pint of tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons of water
4 tablespoons of oil

Cook onions in the oil until tender and golden.
Add all other ingredients, stir well and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve BBQ burgers with lots of garnishes as the book says, use soft white rolls.

Herb Omlettes - 1980's

Here is one to teach your kids.

4 - 5 Fresh Free Range Eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp of chopped fresh parsley, chervil and chives
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

1. Beat the eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl until whites and yolks are combined.
2. Melt the butter in a suitable pan until it starts browning and bubbling
3. Pour in the eggs and stir them with the flat end of a fork igorously.
4. Lift the edge of the eggs tilting the edge of the pan at the same time so uncooked egg runs to the edges.
5. Sprinkle over the herbs, fold over the omlette, serve.

Chocolate Tangerine Cake - 1960's

Here is some perfect sixties party food, and its chocolaty too :) There are two elements to the recipe, the cake and the icing.

2 heaped tablespoons cocoa
4 tablespoons hot water
8 oz. self-raising flour
8 oz. luxury margarine
10 oz. caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk

For the icing

3 dessert spoons tangerine juice
grated rind of two to three tangerines
8 oz icing sugar
3 oz luxury margarine




1. Sieve the cocoa and mix smoothly with the water.  Let it cool.
2. Sieve the flour then cream the margarine and sugar thoroughly together.
3. Beat the eggs in separately one at a time, adding a little sieved flour with each egg after the first.
4. Fold in the remaining flour and the milk.  Divide equally between two sandwich tins, (8 x 1.5 inches) lined with greaseproof paper and brushed inside with melted margarine.
5. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in a moderate oven on the middle shelf.
6. When cold, cut open and sandwich all the layers together with the tangerine icing attaching the first layer to an 8 inch cake board with a little icing before beginning to fill.
7. Ice all over and mark a pattern in the icing.  Decorate how you will, rosettes, oranges and lemons etc.

Icing

1. Sieve the icing sugar, beat margarine until creamy.
2. Add icing sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the rest of the icing sugar and rest of the ingredients and beat thoroughly until smooth and ready to spread on cake.

Iced Cheese and Pear Salad - 1960's

Mad Men themed party? Perfect party dish.




3 level tablespoons
1 red pepper (chopped)
4 oz crumbled Cheshire cheese
One eighth pint of double cream
2 large pears
4 lettuce leaves
Sprigs of watercress

1. Either turn up your refrigerator up to maximum or make sure you have access to a clear freezer.
2. Mix mayo with the Cheshire cheese, chopped red pepper, double cream and spread in an ice tray.
3. Place in a freezing compartment/refrigerator and stir every 30 minutes until mixture is frozen which should take 1 - 1.5 hours.
4. Wipe pears (peel if skins are tough) and cut in half and remove core.  Place each half pear on a lettuce leaf, pile iced cheese mixture on pear and garnish with watercress sprigs. Serve immediately.

Anchovy Rolls and Twists - 1960's

I don't personally like Anchovy but here is a lovely little recipe for sixties party food.

Pastry (ready rolled)
1 can of flat fillets of anchovy

1. Roll out pastry into an oblong third of an inch (just over 1 cm thick)
2. Cut into two pieces 3 inches wide.
3. Lay strips of anchovy fillet at intervals across one of the 3 inch pieces of pastry, cut between and roll pastry over in quarter inch wide strips and twist the two ends together with a strip of anchovy between.
4. Place on greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown in a hot oven.

Stewed Pheasants and Rice - 1930's

This is one of the older recipes that I have posted on here, so bits of it might not make perfect sense.   recipe assumes that you know how to gut and skin Pheasants too, you're welcome to cheat by getting a couple from the roadside or even a butcher who specialises in Game.

2 Pheasants
4 oz lean Ham (diced)
2 Onions
2 oz Butter
A bunch of Herbs
Pepper and Sale
Flour
Rice.



1. Singe and draw two young pheasants, then cut them into neat joints.
2. Put the giblets on to boil with an onion, a bunch of herbs (bouquet?) pepper and salt and sufficient water to cover.
3.  Bring all to the boil then skim and boil gently.
4.  Melt the butter in a stew pan and put the pieces of pheasant, the other onion (sliced), the ham (diced) and a little pepper and salt.
5. Cover tightly and draw the pan to where its contents will cook gently in their own juices. (roughly translated let it simmer).
6. Turn the pieces two or three times during the cooking which should last 45 minutes.
7. Take the pieces up, put them in a soup plate, cover with a basin and stand the plate over a saucepan of boiling water to keep hot whilst making the gravy.

At this point it might be worth starting to cook the rice.

8. Sift one large tablespoonful of flour into the pan in which the pheasants were cooked and stir it well.  Then strain a pint of gravy made from the giblets into it.
9.  Bring all to the boil for 5 minutes then strain.  Rinse out the stewpan and put the pices of pheasant in to it with the sauce and boil up again.
10,  Prepare a nice circle of rice on the dishes you are to serve them on to (or put the Microwave Rice on) and place the pheasant in the centre with sauce over the top.

Healthy Brown Lentil Risotto - 1980's

1 Large Onion
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1.5 lb or 625g of cooked brown rice
0.75lb or 340g of cooked brown lentils
1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley

1. Lightly saute or simmer the onion with a pinch of salt

2. Add the rice and the lentils and heat through

3. Garnish with parsley and serve with lightly cooked fresh greens and carrot slices.