Rutabaga Cake- A rude thing to do to a cake

I have seen recipes for beet cakes and sauerkraut cakes but never a rutabaga cake. Rutabaga is not a particularly popular vegetable. Quite a few of the recipes I have seen for it combine it with some other vegetable, I guess to disguise it. Well this cake would certainly disguise it but why go to the trouble. Unlike zucchini I don't think many people have an abundance of rutabaga in their garden. If you are going to make a cake why would you risk ruining it by putting rutabaga in it.

Rutabaga Cake

3 eggs

1/2 cup margarine, melted

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups sifted flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 (13-1/4 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained plus reserve juice for glaze

1 cup shredded, raw rutabaga

1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup flaked coconut

In large bowl, combine eggs, margarine, buttermilk, and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Drain pineapple well. Fold pineapple, rutabaga, walnuts, and coconut into batter. Bake in a greased and floured 9 cup Bundt pan at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes, turn out on wire rack or serving plate to complete cooling. Top with a glaze made with powdered sugar and pineapple juice.

From 300 Delicious Ways To Use Your Bundt Pan.

Tuna-Noodle Luncheon Mold

This recipe needs no snarky comments. It speaks for itself. Thank goodness there was no photo, the idea of noodles in Jello is just too gross to contemplate.

Tuna-Noodle Luncheon Mold

1 tablespoons salt
2 quarts boiling water
1/2 pound San Giorgio medium egg noodles
1 3 ounce package lemon-flavored gelatin
1 cup hot water
1 cup cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pineapple juice
1-1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup drained canned crushed pineapple
2 7 oz. cans drained solid pack tuna
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Add 1 tablespoon salt to rapidly boiling water. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain in colander. Combine gelatin and 1 cup hot water. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add 1 cup cold water and pineapple juice. Chill until slightly thickened. Fold in carrots, pineapple, tuna which has been broken into pieces with a fork, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and cooked noodles; mix well. Turn into oiled 2 quart mold and chill until firm. Unmold and garnish with carrots and green pepper flowers, if desired. Serves 6-8.
From How to play Pick-aroni copyright 1957 San Giorgio Macaroni Inc.

Masked Hot Dogs- cold and quivering


This appetizer comes from a little 1955 phamplet: Hot Dogs with recipes from Woman's Day Kitchen. There are some recipes that still sound appealing but this idea just sounds really bad. A cold hot dog chunk with gelatin coating seems truly revolting. Were you suppose to just pop it in your mouth or sit it on a cracker or what. The photo makes it look just as bad as it sounds.
Masked Hot Dogs
Soften 1 envelope unflavored gelatin in 2 tablespoons water; dissolve over hot water. Add to 1/2 cup creamy French dressing. Dip frankfurter pieces in mixture; let set; redip; chill.

Orange Sauerkraut- What do you think?

Today at a thrift store my husband picked up a promotional booklet from a local radio station KFMB 76. It contains listener contributed recipes submitted to radio personality Don Ross in 1968. This recipe is just plain odd. Is it a side dish, dessert or what? I wonder why Don included it. Did he not want to offend a listener or did he think it sounded good? I don't know what to think about it. It might be good, but then again?

Orange Sauerkraut

1 can (1 lb. 12 oz.) sauerkraut
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup orange juice
Salt and pepper
2 whole oranges
2 teaspoons melted butter
Drain sauerkraut, then combine with orange peel, caraway seeds, orange juice and salt and pepper depending on the saltiness of the sauerkraut. Turn into 1-1/2 quart casserole, cover and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. While casserole is baking, peel oranges cutting away all the membranes and remove seeds. Carefully lift out orange section. After sauerkraut has baked, arrange slices on top and drizzle with milted butter. Return to oven and bake for 10 more minutes.

Chicken Pickletelli

This is a real doozy of a recipe. It seems like it is a simple Asian inspired chicken dish and then when you are not expecting it they throw in dill pickles! Yes you read that right- dill pickles. I can't think of why anyone would think of doing that. I know vinegar and soy sauce is used in Adobo but there is no dill in that. I found this in a Woman's Day Special Issue- Simply Delicious Meals In Minutes from 1981.

Chicken Pickletelli
2-1/2 to 3 pounds broiler-fryer pieces
1 chicken bouillon cube
2/3 cups hot water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, cut into rings
1/4 cup sliced celery
1 can (16 oz.) bean sprouts, drained
1/2 green pepper, cut into strips
6 tablespoons dill pickle liquid (drained from dill pickles)
1/2 cup sliced dill pickles
Place chicken on broiler rack about 3 to 4 inches from source of heat. Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon dill pickle liquid and broil until chicken is brown. Turn chicken over, brush again with 1 tablespoon of pickle liquid and broil until chicken is brown. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Dissolve bouillon cube in water and combine with 1/4 cup pickle liquid, soy sauce and seasonings; pour over chicken. Add dill pickles to baking dish and bake in 325 degree oven 25 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables to baking dish and continue baking for about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender. Makes 4 servings.

Circus Caesar Salad with Happy Little Clowns


Well I wasn't sure if I should post this recipe here or on my other vintage blog but I decided it belongs here. I can understand a clown or circus theme cake or dessert, but a salad just seems wrong. I don't know if the idea is to entice the little ones to eat a green salad but it is just carrying a theme meal way too far. The clowns are actually small molded salads. The ladies in the Kraft Kitchens were really working overtime when they came up with this idea in 1965.
Circus Caesar Salad
In your salad bowl, toss 2 cups croutons with 1/4 cup Kraft Italian- the most tantalizing Italian of them all. Fill bowl with 2 quarts crisp greens, add 1/2 cup Kraft Italian and a raw egg. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Kraft Grated Parmesan and toss until the greens are glistening with exciting flavor.
Happy little clowns-full of velvety Kraft Mayonnaise and other good things
For white clowns, soften 1 envelope unflavored gelatin in 3/4 cup cold water; dissolve over low heat. Gradually blend 1 cup Kraft Mayonnaise with 8 oz. softened Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese. Stir in cooled gelatin, a 6-1/2-oz. can flaked crabmeat, 2 tablespoon chopped green pepper, 1 tablespoon each chopped onion and pimiento. Mold in 6 well oiled paper cups. Make red clowns of your favorite tomato aspic. Use clown cocktail picks for heads, peas and bits of ripe olives for buttons.

Spaghetti-Tuna Buns

No this is not spaghetti, tuna and buns. The spaghetti and tuna are in the buns. This recipe is from Good Housekeeping's Quick 'n' Easy Cook Book from 1958. I know the theme is quick and easy but putting the spaghetti in the bun is just carrying it too far. And personally the idea of tuna with spaghetti has always seemed nasty to me.

Spaghetti-Tuna Buns

Start heating oven to 375 degrees. Cut top from 6 large round hard rolls; scoop out soft part. Spread inside of each roll with soft butter or margarine. Into rolls, spoon 1 can spaghetti in tomato sauce with cheese. Top with 2 cans (2 cups) chunk-style tuna. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese. Spoon another can of spaghetti on top. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoon Parmesan, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. Dot with butter. Bake 15 minutes.

Mock Fruit Soup

This recipe is from a 1969 booklet Pillsbury's Soup & Salad Cook Book. It is described as a "great appetizer or dessert soup. Especially good on a cold winter's night." I doubt that. I am not a fan of fruit soup anyway but you can't tell me it is going to look or taste like anything other than warm, slimey, watered-down fruit cocktail in a bowl.
Mock Fruit Soup
1 can (1 lb. 1 oz.) fruit cocktail, drain and reserve 1 cup syrup (adding water if necessary)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons orange liqueur, if desired
Dash nutmeg

In medium saucepan, gradually add reserved 1 cup syrup to cornstarch; stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and fruit cocktail. Heat through. Serve warm. If desired, top with toasted slivered almonds. 4 to 5 servings.

Eggs with Cucumbers- cooked cucumber chunks, no thanks

This recipe is from a vintage Crisco book from the 1920's. It is definitely something I don't see any one eating nowadays. The idea of a cooked cucumber is quite repulsive to me let alone the odd egg topping.

Eggs with Cucumbers

1 tablespoonful Crisco
3 eggs
1 large cucumber
1/2 cupful stock
1 tablespoon tomato pulp
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cupful tomato sauce
Peel cucumber, cut off ends and divide rest into two-inch pieces. Remove center portion of each with a cutter or small spoon. Place them in a Criscoed pan with stock; cover with greased paper and cook in oven till just tender. Great care must be taken so as not to break the shapes. Break eggs into saucepan, add Crisco and tomato pulp; season nicely and stir over fire until creamy and just set. Place cucumbers on hot platter and fill cavities with eggs. Cover with thick tomato sauce, and serve hot.

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.