Ok, this recipe is not how I make deviled crab at all. However, some of you might like it this way…

2 hard boiled eggs
1 raw egg
2 TBS melted butter
1/2 c hot water
crab meat
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 teasp dry mustard
2 TBS vinegar
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Mix yolk of raw egg with yolks of boiled eggs. Add dry mustard, vinegar, melted butter, pepper and salt. Chop whites of hard boiled eggs, add crab meat and bread crumbs. Mix with dressing. Add beaten egg white and water. Place in shells or casserole. Cover with bread crumbs and dot with butter. Bake at 450. Mrs. E. C. Marshall- From the Alachua Hospital Auxiliary Cookbook, 1969.

It has been hotter than the blazes here this week and humid. I don’t want to even look at the kitchen, much less cook. Thus…this is appealing. It is very similar to the much loved curried chicken/curried not chicken salad I make for the family.

Luau Tuna Salad

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp parsley flakes

Mix ingredients well

1 13-oz can tuna
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained (I use tidbits-well-drained)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped (I use cashews)

Combine tuna, pineapple, celery and walnuts. Fold in curried mayonnaise. Serve on lettuce leaves garnished with whole walnuts. Serves 6-8.

This one is from an old newspaper clipping. Dauphin Island is off the coast of Alabama and where my mother spent many of her childhood summers.

 Dauphin Island Crab Gumbo

2 cups finely chopped celery
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
Minced Parsley
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
3/4 cup sifted flour
2 cups raw crab meat
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup cut okra
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Paprika (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon gumbo file

Saute celery onions, peppers, and parsley in drippings in covered skillet until soft. Remove from pan. Brown flour in drippings, add to vegetables. Add 3 qts water and crab. Cook for 30 minutes. Add tomatoes, okra and seasonings; simmer for one hour. Remove from heat; stir in file. Serve over rice.

Note: if cooked crab meat is used, add 10 minutes before removing from heat. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Well this could be called such because you can make it on a shoestring budget…but also because of the can shoestring potatoes. Do cut the amount of Mayo though or you won’t be able to reach your shoestrings. Icky to look at but a hit with the family.
Shoestring Potato Salad
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
3/4 c. milk
Dash of Tabasco sauce
2 -oz cans tuna, drained
1 1/2 c. diced celery
1 4 1/2 oz can shoestring potatoes

Blend mayonnaise, mustard, milk, and Tabasco sauce. Add tuna and celery. Chill. Immediately before serving add shoestring potatoes; mix just so they stick together. Serve on lettuce leaf. Yield: 8 servings.

Myrna E Erickson
Cooperstown, ND

Salad Recipes, 1964

This recipe from the Alachua General Hospital Auxiliary cookbook doesn’t fuss with a fancy name or fancy prep. It just is plain old comfort food with nothing special.

Tuna with Mushroom Soup

1 can mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of whole milk
1 6 1/2 oz can tuna
1 c English peas, cooked and drained
2 hard boiled eggs, diced

In sauce pan mix soup and milk, over low heat bring to boil. While boiling, add tuna and peas, stirring with fork. Boil about 2 minutes, add eggs. Serve while hot over canned noodles or rice. ~Mrs Carl Williams

The other half of Friday’s recipe card with the Avocado Cheese Dip, this one uses tuna for an inexpensive tasty dip or even sandwich spread. If using for a sandwich spread, I would reduce the sour cream quite a bit…just enough to stick together and less salad dressing mix or add another hard boiled egg.

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 can tuna fish, drained and flaked
1 hard cooked egg, chopped

Combine all ingredients, blending well. Serve as a dip with crackers. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

These are the baked oysters I grew up eating from my great-grandmother. Nothing fancy…best with the freshest oysters you can get. So…really not a good choice for a month without an r in the name.

1 qt oysters, cooked in juice.
Saute 3 or 4 stalks celery, parsley, 1 bell pepper, chopped fine, 1 stick butter, 1 large onion (chopped). Toast to light brown 1/2 loaf bread, grated. Pour oysters into vegetables, thicken with bread crumbs. Season with Tabasco, chili powder (lots). Preheat oven to 450. Bake 12-15 minutes or until crumbs on top are toasted and dish is warmed through and bubbly. Serves 6.

This recipe from my great-grandmother’s files includes a bible verse from Romans 12:1-2.

Tuesday and time for your retro tuna fix. This week a sandwich. Much like a Monte Cristo sandwich…sorta not. Nice and inexpensive. (Though geez-what is going on with the price of tuna?!) Too much mayo in the recipe as usual.

Tuna Berry Sandwiches

1 6 1/2 oz can tuna-drained and flaked
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
8 slices white bread
1 8-oz can jellied cranberry sauce, sliced 1/4 inch thick

***

2 slightly beaten eggs
3 tablespoons milk
Dash salt

Combine tuna, celery, nuts, and mayonnaise. Spread filling on 4 slices of bread. Arrange cranberry slices atop filling; top with remaining bread. Combine eggs, milk, and salt. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture. Brown on medium hot, lightly greased griddle, about 6 to 8 minutes, turning once. Makes 4 servings.

From Fondue and Tabletop Cooking, 1970

We do a lot of family sized recipes around here…this one is a nice tuna  just for one. Use cheddar or swiss instead of American. Yes, the cucumber gets cooked.

1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 3 1/4 oz can tuna, drained and flaked
1/4 cup quick cooking rice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Dash garlic salt
1/4 cup shredded American cheese

In a 12-ounce casserole, combine cucumber, tuna, rice, water, lemon juice and garlic salt. Bake, covered at 350 till rice is cooked-about 25 minutes. Top with cheese. Bake uncovered until cheese melts, 5 or so minutes. Makes 1 serving.