Waldorf Salad Cookies

I found this recipe in a magazine type publication Women's Circle Home Cooking- Christmas Snacks, 1989. This is the type of booklet in which home cooks contribute their recipes. Apparently some frugul housewife found herself with some leftover waldorf salad and didn't want to throw it out so she made it into cookies. Then she figured out how to write it up in recipe form. I can't imagine anyone making this with fresh ingredients.

Waldorf Salad Cookies
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
3/4 cups mayonnaise
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped apples
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, mayonnaise, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until smooth. Stir in apples, nuts and celery. Drop by level tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on racks completely before storing in tightly covered container.

Grandma's Pumpernickel Ice Cream

This recipe is from a Bon Appetit cookbook called Frozen Treats. It does not sound like a treat to me. I don't know what Grandma was thinking when she decided to put bread crumbs in ice cream but I think it was a bad idea.

Grandma's Pumpernickel Ice Cream

4 thin slices pumpernickel bread
2 tablespoons grated semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon margarine
Finely chop bread in processor. Set aside 2 tablespoons crumbs. Mix remaining crumbs, chocolate and lemon peel in small bowl. Stir into ice cream. Return to freezer. Combine reserved breadcrumbs, sugar and margarine in small skillet and stir over medium-low heat until mixture begins to caramelize. Cool slightly. Spoon ice cream into bowls. Sprinkle with crumb mixture and serve.

A Holiday Fruit Pudding Like No Other

No this recipe isn't for the one in the photo. That is one of my Ideals Magazine scans. This is something else entirely.

Sometimes we all think fondly of our favorite holiday foods of the past. But I doubt anyone is looking back with nostalgia over this recipe. I really can't imagine how anyone would think this recipe was worthy of publishing.

From my 1936 Royal Desserts and Salads I present to you: Holiday Fruit Pudding

1/2 pound prunes

1 inch stick cinnamon

6 whole cloves

1 package Royal Gelatin Dessert (lemon flavor)

1 cup hot prune juice

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sliced figs

1/2 cup seeded raisins

1/4 cup sliced citron

1/4 cup shredded almonds

Soak prunes in enough water to cover. Add cinnamon and cloves; cook slowly in same water until soft. Remove pits and chop prunes. Measure 1 cup prune juice, heat to boiling.

Dissolve gelatin in prune juice, Add sugar, orange and lemon juice. Chill until mixture begins to thicken; add prunes and remaining ingredients. Chill in pudding mould until firm. Serve with pudding sauce, flavored with grated orange rind. Serves 8 to 10.

Prune Aspic or should we say Dried Plum Aspic?

This is Helen Corbitt's recipe for prune aspic. Her comment: "Among the various fruits I have molded there have been more requests for Prune Salad than perhaps and other. Could be because it was so often served for a buffet and is striking to the eye? Simple beyond words. It is especially good with turkey and ham."
You can't get more retro than prunes. They have such a bad name that they are now called dried plums. What makes this weird? I doubt it has been made by anyone in many a year. It is a recipe that is just completely outdated. Molded salads are out, prunes are out and so is this recipe.
Prune Aspic
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
3 1/2 cups canned prune juice, hot
4 cups canned prunes, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Dissolve gelatin in the cold water. Add to hot prune juice and when partially congealed add prunes and lemon juice. Pour into a ring mold and chill. Turn out on a silver tray and garnish with whatever you please. Fill the center with cream cheese beaten up with light cream until the consistency of whipped cream. Sprinkle top with grated lemon or orange peel.

Weird Apple Recipes

My husband sold an apple cookbook and I asked to see it before he mailed it off. I figured it would have some of those "ingredient" that doesn't belong type recipes. Boy was I right! How about some apple with your spicy hamburger and kidney bean mix served as a Taco Salad. Or in a fish stew with the carrots, celery and potatoes. Or how about putting two in your corn-cheese chowder. I think I'll pass on those. This one was really weird, I just can't imagine what it would taste like:

Apple Spinach Lasagna

1 pkg. (8 oz.) lasagna noodles.

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 pkg. (12 oz.) chopped, frozen spinach

4 large apples, peeled, cored, grated

Nutmeg to taste

12 oz. Swiss cheese, grated

Fresh sliced mushrooms ,if desired

Cook lasagna and spinach as directed. Drain well. Layer in buttered baking dish: lasagna, soup, spinach, apples and cheese. Repeat the layers. End with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Recipe didn't say where to add the nutmeg.

To be fair the book does have some good sounding recipes. This is one of them:

Pumpkin Shell Casserole

1 small pumpkin, 7" in diameter

2 cups apples, peeled, chopped coarsely

1 cup raisins

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

Wash and dry pumpkin, slice off top for lid. Scrape out seeds. Combine all ingredients, mix well, and fill pumpkin. Cover with "lid", place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until apples and pumpkin pulp are tender. Begin checking doneness after 1 hour. It may take up to 45 minutes longer. For faster baking, cover pumpkin with aluminum foil. This casserole may be served hot or cold. Serve from shell, spooning some pumpkin with each portion. Variation: in addition to above fruit, prunes, apricots or pineapple are excellent.

Rumanian Chicken Pancakes- hold the pears please.

The Super Chicken Cookbook has this odd recipe in the international chapter. I have seen quite a few chicken baked with fruit recipes,but this sounds similar to a bizarre chicken/fruit egg foo young. I know nothing of Rumanian cooking so I hope I am not insulting someone's grandmas' cooking but this is just weird. If I had some nice chicken breasts to use this would be about the last recipe I would try.
Rumanian Chicken Pancake
2 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 green skinned pears, about 3 inches in diameter at largest end- not too ripe
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 eggs, beaten until lemon yellow
Place the chicken breasts, water, onion, salt and pepper in a saucepan with a tight-fitting cover. Bring to a rolling boil and skim off any froth that may gather. Cover, turn heat to simmer and cook for 35 minutes, or until the thickest portion of the chicken can be pierced with a fork.
Peel and core the pears, cut them into 1/2-inch cubes and add them to the boiling chicken. Cook 8 minutes, or until the edges of the pears begin to get transparent. Remove the pears and chicken from the heat. Allow to cool.
Separate the meat from the skin and bones. Drain the pears and onion and add them to the chicken meat. Chop all very fine. Sprinkle the flour over the top, then add the beaten eggs. Mix all very well. Pour by spoonful onto a hot griddle and fry as you would pancakes. Serve at once, piping hot. Serves 4. Serve with applesauce, horseradish or orange marmalade.

"Full-Meal" Salad

At the risk of being gross I would say that this salad would look like someone had already disgorged a "Full meal". Another example of a company, in this case Knudsen trying to stretch the use of their product too far.

"Full-Meal" Salad
1 1/2 cups cooked meats (ham, beef, meat loaf)
1 cup mixed vegetables ( canned or fresh)
1 cup Knudsen Cottage Cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1 cup Knudsen Sour Cream
Mix meats and vegetables together. Add cottage cheese, salt, onion salt and 1/2 cup sour cream. Place on serving plate (or plates), garnish with carrot curls or parsley and top with remaining sour cream. Serves 4 to 6.

Hoppin Johns' cousin Limping Susan

Hoppin John has a cousin and her name is Limping Susan. Apparently John likes black eyed peas and Susan doesn't. This version of the recipe is from a Helen Corbitt book:
Limping Susan
1/4 cup finely diced salt pork
1 cup rice
1 onion, chopped fine
3 cups chicken broth or consomme
2 cups mashed canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Cooked okra
Slivers of cooked chicken, optional
Fry pork until crisp. Add rice and stir until rice is golden. Add onion and cook until soft. Add broth. Cover and cook until rice is done, about 1 hour. Add tomatoes and parsley and seasonings, fork-stir and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Just before serving add cooked okra and slivers of leftover chicken.

Monster Chili

To me this is another example of a company trying too hard to further the use of their product. It reminds me of the Coca Cola recipes, putting something in a recipe where it really has no business being. On the other hand people do put almost anything in chili.
Monster Chili
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 1.4 cups chopped green pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 (14 1/2 oz.) each red kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans, well drained
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 16 ounce can Monster Energy Drink
1 (4 1/2 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon groun cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Healt oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper and garlic, cook until onion is translucent. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except cheese and cilantro. Cover and cook on medium low for 4-6 hours
Serve with grated cheeese and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Greek Pickled Octopus

This little dandy comes from the Capt. Anderson's Restaurant Cookbook. Just imagine opening your refrigerator and seeing those glass jars with all the little suckers pressed on the sides.

Greek Pickled Octopus
1 large octopus
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup water
Salt to taste
Cut the head off the octopus and cube the meaty part. Cut the legs apart and steam all of it for about 40 minutes, until slightly tender. Wash well with cold water and cut into bite sized pieces. Stir the remaining ingredients together. Place the octopus cubes into a glass fruit jar. Pour pickling mixture over octopus making sure the octopus is completely covered. More marinade may have to be made. Put in the refrigerator for several weeks. The longer it remains in the refrigerator the more tender it gets. Serve cold.

Liver Dumplings

This recipe is from the vintage cookbook- Louisiana's Fabulous Foods. Well it sure doesn't sound fabulous to me. Liver and spinach together in a dumpling? What a pleasant culinary experience mixing that raw chopped liver and the rest of the ingredients.Just imagine the color of these little lumps.

Liver Dumplings
Calf liver, chopped, 1/2 pound
Bread, soaked in water and squeezed dry, 1/2 loaf
Flour, 1 tablespoon
Spinach, fresh, steamed, and chopped, 1/2 pound
Onions, to taste
Parsley, sprig
Eggs, beaten whole 2
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg
Cayenne pepper
Saute onions in butter with a bit of parsley. Mix all ingredients and form in small oblong balls. Place in boiling salted water and cook until they float in the water. Then simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Take dumplings out; drain; put in bowl. Heat some butter to make a butter sauce; add chopped onions and brown. Pour over dumplings and serve. 6 to 8 servings. (if you can get anyone to eat them)

Roast Chicken with Smoked Oysters- No Thanks

This recipe is from New Casserole Cookery the 1968 edition. I like casseroles, they are the frugal cooks friend and I make them frequently. But this recipe is just wrong for many reasons. 1. I like smoked oysters and have them occasionally as a snack with crackers, but they do not belong in a casserole. 2. If I have a nice succulent roast chicken why oh why would I cut it up in a cream soup casserole?3. Why the Italian green beans? I like them also but they are much chewier than a regular green bean and I think the texture would be wrong for this casserole. This casserole is just a disaster!
Chicken Baked With Smoked Oysters And Italian Green Beans
1 9 0z. package frozen Italian green beans
1 roast or barbecued chicken
1 3 2/3-oz. can smoked oysters
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
For a quick assembly job, the barbecued or roast chicken warm from the supermarket is best for last-minute cooking, juicier and more flavorful than that in cans. Cook the green beans according to direction until barely tender. Drain and arrange in casserole, Cut the warm chicken from the bone in bite-sized pieces. Arrange on green beans. Drain and sprinkle smoked oysters on top. Pour in undiluted cream of celery soup. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top. Bake in 350 degree oven until brown and bubbly, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Breakfast-In-A-Glass- Not the right way to start the day!

This mistake is from a Quaker Oats booklet I have had since the late 60's. I also have a more recent one that has a very similar recipe. When I had my daycare center one of the Moms actually drank these on her way to work. One day she spilled it in our parking lot. You can just imagine what it looked like.

Breakfast-in-a-glass
1/2 cup cooked Quaker oatmeal
1/3 cup fresh or frozen fruit
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
Place all ingredients in a blender container and blend about 1 minute. Or place all ingredients in a shallow pitcher. Beat with rotary beater until thoroughly blended. Pour and serve. Makes 1 serving.

Coca Cola plus Chicken= Wrong

I have a Coca Cola cookbook. Inventive folks have tried using Coke in all sorts of recipes where it really doesn't belong. Coke in a barbecue sauce is a fairly common recipe and I can understand that. Sweet ingredients are often in barbecue sauces. But these recipes are not barbecue and are just weird!

This one seems rather bizarre: Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
4 whole chicken breasts, boneless, with skin
1/4 cup clarified butter
16 small canned artichoke hearts
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped shallots
few slivers of fresh garlic
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 tablespoon arrowroot or flour
Cut chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Saute the pieces in the butter, skin side down, turning carefully until they are browned on all sides. Set them aside on a heated platter. In the same pan, saute the artichoke hearts until browned. Remove them to the same heated platter. In the same pan saute the sliced mushrooms, chopped shallots and garlic. When mushrooms are tender and the shallots are transparent, transfer the chicken and artichoke hearts back to the pan. Add the cup of Coca-Cola and simmer until the chicken is tender. Remove everything from the juices and thicken with arrowroot or flour and pour over chicken mixture.

I can't imagine what this would taste like: Baked Chicken Breast
4 whole chicken breasts, split
4 tablespoons minced parsley
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 cups Coca-Cola
4 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Mix the soups together and add the Coca-Cola and garlic. Place the chicken in a casserole dish and pour the soup mixture over it. Sprinkle the parsley and almonds on top. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

This one states Coca-Cola "deliciously replaces wine in many recipes". I don't think so.
Chicken In Coca-Cola Sauce
3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken, cut up
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut up if large
1/4 cup chopped spring onions
2-3 cloves garlic, diced very fine
4-5 tablespoons flour
2 cups Coca-Cola
3/4 cup chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
Dry chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in very large cast iron skillet. Add the chicken pieces and cook until golden on one side. Turn and brown on other side. Chicken will have to be cooked in batches. Place on separate plate and set aside. In the same pan, add mushrooms and cook until golden. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring , until softened. Sprinkle flour in pan and cook while stirring until a light color (1 -2 minutes). Add Coca-Cola, broth, and herbs. Stir to blend and cook 4 to 5 minutes more. Return chicken to pan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Chicken Liver Salad Dressing and Pork Apple Salad

I have come across some really weird recipes recently in some of my vintage cookbooks. I have decided to post some of them.
How about this one:
Chicken Liver Salad Dressing
4 cooked chicken livers
4 hard-cooked egg yolks
3 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1/4 cup olive or salad oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons red wine
I am not going to bother giving the directions for that one.

How about some Pork Apple Salad:
2 cups diced cooked pork
1 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced apples
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 green pepper shredded
Mayonnaise
Mix well and toss into enough mayonnaise to coat well. 'A good way to use left-over pork." I don't think so!

Sardines- A nasty little fish

Sardine-Filled Eggs- Well maybe these aren't really weird but they don't sound good to me and I bet they look nasty.
6 hard cooked eggs
6 skinless sardines
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 tablespoon onion
1 tablespoon mince parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut eggs in half, remove yolks. Crush remaining ingredients into a paste. with the yolks. Refill egg whites with the paste.

Well I might be picking on the poor defenseless sardine but this sounds yucky too:
Sardine Turnovers
Pastry for 1 crust
1 can sardines, drained
2 teaspoons mustard
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, moisture pressed out
Lemon juice to tastef
Roll the chillled dough out to 3/16-inch thickness. Cut into 3-inch squares. Mix remaining ingredients together. Place a small mound of filling on each square. Press oppposite points of turnovers together and pinch the seams firmly. Cut vents on top side and brush with cold milk. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake until golden about 10-12 minutes longer.