Chicago seems to have a thing for egg and green pepper sandwiches-not quite like this one though. You can get them year-round in some places-other places seem to save them for Lent. Instead of fish on Friday…it is an egg and pepper sandwich on Friday.

Your corner sandwich shop doesn’t have these adorable retro beauties. You can’t beat them for thrifty, fun and tasty though!

Imagine fighting childhood obesity too-one sandwich for the whole family. Of course, if I tried to feed this to the whole family, my kids would choose no dinner. (One hates mayo, two not keen on eggs, three not fond of green pepper) That is quite all right-I find it the right size for a casual meal for the two of us.

Note the hot mayonnaise sauce is NOT spicey-but rather a cream cheese sauce with olives and pimento-adding a nice touch to this sandwich. Skip the spreading of mayo as you prepare if you plan to “pass the hot mayonnaise sauce” as suggested OR just make the hot mayo sauce and spread while assembling.

Egg and Green Pepper Family Club Sandwich

Remove the crusts from a day-old loaf of unsliced enriched or a specialty white bread. Cut in 3 lengthwise slices. Toast lightly under the broiler. Spread with mayonnaise. Place on a tray or platter. Arrange sliced green pepper on 1 slice. Cover with another slice of bread, then with a layer of hard-cooked eggs. Cover this with the remaining slice of bread. Top with seasoned sliced tomatoes. And here’s a tip–pass hot mayonnaise sauce.

Hot Mayonnaise Sauce

Combine 1/3 cup real mayonnaise, 1 (3 oz) package cream cheese and 3/4 cup milk. Beat with rotary beater until smooth. Add 1/3 cup each sliced olives and diced pimentos’ heat thoroughly in the top of a double boiler, stir occasionally.

This recipe is a pain. I will confess to this right up front. It makes for a lot of dirty dishes. It seems fussy. It matters not…it is one of my favorites.

You see…this is a completely wonderful dish to serve to company or to take to a friend with a new baby. Put it in a heart-shaped springform pan-you have a Valentine’s Day to remember.

It comes from a grocery store checkout cookbooklet I bought in the early 90s that is all pies. The cover is missing. No decent information on the publisher at all. I could make guesses based on the products pimped in it…but it is irrelevant really. It isn’t  retro but this recipe makes people swoon.

Please REALLY read all the directions first and as you go along. Otherwise you will end up with some missing egg whites or cheese or generally going “huh?”

Layered Pasta Ricotta Pie

Makes 6 to 8 servings ( I feel like it makes a bit more than that-but I tend to serve with sides)

1/4 (1lb package) Creamette Vermicelli (I tend to use about 1/2 of the package and you can use whatever brand you like)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 cup grated fresh Romano cheese (Yes, I tend to use Parmesan)
3 eggs
1 15 or 16 oz container ricotta cheese
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained. (I mean it, WELL DRAINED. Press it once it is thawed.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 26 oz jar Classico Di Sicilia Ripe Olives and Mushrooms Pasta Sauce (or any chunky pasta sauce with olive and mushrooms)

Preheat oven to 350. Break vermicelli into thirds; cook according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil until tender; remove from heat. Add cooked vermicelli, 1/2 cup Romano cheese and 1 egg; mix well. Press into well-greased 9-inch springform pan. Combine 2 egg yolks, ricotta, spinach, salt and remaining 1/2 cup Romano cheese. Spread over pasta layer. In small mixer bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce. Pour over spinach mixture. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until set; let stand 10 minutes. Heat remaining pasta sauce. Serve with pie. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate leftovers. This reheats well.

I have a partner and a daughter who hate bacon. Really, really, really hate bacon. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the family loves bacon. The good part and the bad part is pre-cooked bacon. The lack of bacon smell makes the haters happy. The lack of true bacon taste makes the rest of us somewhat sad.

In any case, bacon is good for more than torturing the bacon haters-for instance this spread. I cut the mayonnaise down to 3/4 of a cup and the horseradish by half-I tend to wonder if the original meant creamy horseradish-not the straight up stuff. As for the 4 teaspoons salt? Who knows what Miss Rita Burnley was thinking. I leave that out or just add a touch.

From Atlanta Cooks for Company, 1968

Egg and Bacon Spread

16 hard cooked eggs, minced
12 slices crisp bacon, crumbled
4 teaspoons horseradish
4 teaspoons onion, minced
4 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Mayonnaise
4 teaspoons salt

Combine all ingredients and chill until serving time. Serve with choice of crackers, etc. Yield: 1 1/2 cups

I have a weekend breakfast dilemma-one of my children absolutely hates eggs. The rest of us get tired of pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. This weekend we had a surplus of apples…a trip to the nursing home to visit my sister and take her fresh fruit was put off because of what is being called flamingohousebola or the horrid cold all the adults seem to have still, yet, again.

In addition, later this week our college girl will be coming home for a few days. She is the originator of Apple Pancakes in our home-from those months when she was in charge of menus, food budget and meal prep in high school. (Homeschooling Home Ec…)

We didn’t quite make it the Michelle way over the weekend, it still is roughly based on her recipe, but it turned out pretty darn good.

Baked Apple Pancake

1 T butter
3 eggs
1/4 c flour
1/2 c. milk
Cinnamon
4 apples, cored, cut into bite size chunks
1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 450. Spray pie plate with nonstick spray. Place 1 tablespoon butter in pie plate and place in oven until melted. Whisk flour, milk, eggs, and cinnamon together. Pour into pie plate. Bake 8 min at 450, reduce heat to 375-bake 8 more minutes. Meanwhile, saute apples in remaining butter, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook until softened. Remove pancake from oven…cut into 6 pieces, serve with apples on top. Serves 6.

In other news-on Retro-Food Reviews-I have a new post up You are Drop Dead Gorgeous

We are fond of egg salad in this house. It varies from time to time. Lately I have been lazy and gone with the mayo, mustard, pickle relish combo that doesn’t really do anything for me.

This one though is perfect for something a bit different, especially for the olive lovers in your family. You can easily increase the amount for any number of eggs…though watch the salt when you increase the recipe. I salt to taste after I am done adding everything else.

Olive Egg Salad

Mix 2 finely chopped hard-boiled eggs, 2 tablespoons minced or finely chopped stuffed green olives, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and a little onion juice and finely cut celery.

We are fans of breakfast for dinner at our house, but sometimes it begs for something a bit…more.

This served with the suggested fruit cocktail and biscuits can just be the change of pace we need. Think more like a Spanish Style frittata than omelet.

Cheese-Rice Omelet

1 101/2 oz can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup reconstituted nonfat dry milk (or 1/2 cup fluid milk)
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup cooked/leftover rice
4 oz sharp process American Cheese, shredded (YES, for goodness sake I use cheddar)
1 tablespoon margarine.

In saucepan blend soup with milk; stir in chili powder, onion powder, and pepper. Heat through, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, beat whites till frothy; add 2 tablespoons water and salt. Beat till stiff. Beat yolks till thick and lemon colored. Fold yolks, rice, and cheese into whites. Heat margarine in 10-inch oven going skillet. Pour in eggs; spread evenly, leaving sides higher. Reduce heat. Cook uncovered, till set, 8-10 min.

Place skillet in oven. Bake at 325 till knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 10 min. Loosen sides of omelet. Make shallow cut across omelet slightly above and parallel to skillet handle. Tilt pan. Fold smaller half over larger. Slip onto platter. Spoon on sauce. Serves 4.

Good Food on a Budget, 1971

The strangest thing has happened since we have moved. The dozen eggs we routinely bought every few weeks…just sits. We are childfree except when the younger kids are here and one of them is strongly anti-egg. The girl child who made scrambled eggs on a regular basis–has her own place now. I can’t seem to remember to boil eggs for egg salad so it is cold by lunch time. In any case, we have a dozen eggs that has not moved since it came to this house. Maybe deviled eggs will break the eggs back in.

I am considering these, because one of the kids LOVES cheese nips. LOVES them. I will use less mayo though…but do note the interesting method with the breading of one end of the egg.

Cheese Deviled Eggs

6 hard-cooked eggs
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. finely crushed cheese crackers
1/2 c. mayonnaise
paprika

Halve eggs lengthwise; remove yolks. Press yolks through a fine sieve; (oh just smush them with a fork); add mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and 1/2 of the crumbs and mayonnaise. Refill centers of whites with yolk mixture; press two halves together.. Dip one end of each egg into remaining mayonnaise and into crumbs. Sprinkle with paprika. Yield: 6 servings. From Favorite Salad Recipes of America.

This is a tasty retro jell-o way to use up the last of the ham and hard boiled eggs from Easter. Sort of a tomato aspic meets ham salad. I prefer using V-8 in this dish. In fact, I am doing just that later today. Watch for pics.

Chopped Ham Salad Mold

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. cold water
1 1/2 c. tomato juice, heated
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped cucumber
1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 c mayonnaise

Soften gelatin in cold waater. Add hot tomato juice; stir until dissolved. Add lemon juice and salt; chill until partially set. Soak cucumbers in salted water; drain. Combine with all remaining ingredients; fold into thickened gelatin. Pour into mold; chill until firm. Yield: 6 servings

~Daphne Smith
Winnsboro, TX

Favorite Recipes of America, Salads

I thought about a traditional tuna egg salad since it is Egg Salad week but hey, this one seemed much better. No there is no comma between American and Swiss. Retro, easy, light, frugal, and edible!

Protein Salad Bowl

1 lge head lettuce, torn into large pieces
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
4 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
4 thick slices American Swiss or Bleu cheese, cut into bite size chunks
6 dill pickles sliced
1/2 c halved walnuts
1 lge red or white onion sliced into rings
2 cans chunked style tuna, drained
Salad dressing to taste

Toss all ingredients; serve chilled. Yield-4-6 servings

Favorite Salads, 1946

This retro favorite is a great way to use up a few of those extra hard boiled eggs, and if you want…use some leftover ham in place of the prosciutto and leftover tomato sauce. The thrifty use of leftovers makes this a frugal find. I know the hard boiled eggs sound odd..but they are a treat.

Sicilian Meatloaf

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 small onion, finely minced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
2-3 slices prosciutto

SAUCE FOR TOPPING

1 tablespon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup stewed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine beef and pork. Mix with a fork. Add onion, bread crumbs and fennel seeds. Mix lightly. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add to meat. Season with salt and pepper. Using your fingers, blend all ingredients together. Divide meat mixture in half. Shape meat into two rectangles about 7 x 5 inches. Place in baking dish. Make a shallow depression in the center of the loaf. Wrap each egg,in a slice of prosciutto. Place in hollow of loaf . Push sides of meat in firmly to hold eggs.  Place second half of meat on top of eggs, pushing edges together to seal eggs into the loaf. Place in middle shelf of oven. Bake for 90 minutes at 350° F.