Jan 28
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Sandwiches, Vegetables, retro food
I have a fondness for club sandwiches. I blame a childhood where such things were ladylike and fancy. Of course, I failed at ladylike anything…but I sure did like some grown up lady food. I couldn’t figure out the dresses, heels, discussions or make-up. I didn’t quite understand why all the ladies didn’t have “jobs” but never had a minute to spare. I did understand the club sandwich, but not why it was marked “lady food.”
I still like club sandwiches. My love does not…but I aim to convince her with…the MUSHROOM club sandwich! Yes! A mushroom club sandwich. Coarse cut butter fried mushrooms instead of the original chicken. I need to investigate the peppy mayo though. Because I live with an anti bacon person…I have to skip that too…making it a vegetarian dream sandwich. You know why? Because a little bit of olive makes a fine substitute for bacon when it comes to vegetarians.
I will start with the “Original” club sandwich and continue with the mushroom. Look at the photo though for the Turkey, Duck, Goose, Tongue, Roast Pork, Lobster, Salmon, Flounder Cheese, Boston, or Oyster Club sandwiches.
The Original Club Sandwich
3 slices toast
Butter or Margarine
Lettuce
Mayonnaise
2 slice cooked white chicken meat
2 crisp cooked bacon slices
2 slices tomato
Toast the bread and spread with butter or margarine.Cover one slice with chicken; spread with mayonnaise and top with a lettuce leaf. Place bacon and tomato slices on top. Cover with the remaining toast slice. Fasten securely with 4 wooden toothpicks. Cut the sandwich diagonally into 4 triangles. Stand them upright on a plate. Garnish with pickles, olives, or halved slices tomato.
Mushroom Club Sandwiches
Make according to directions for the original club sandwich; but use instead of chicke, a layer of coarse-chopped butter-fried fresh mushrooms. Add a little chopped scallion or minced olives and use “pepped up mayonnaise”
Better Cooking Library, Sandwich and Party Snack Cook Book, 1964
Nov 09
Tarrant FiglioBreads, Poultry, Recipes
Thanksgiving is on the way here-so time to figure out stuffing. I must not forget stuffing this year. I must not forget the stuffing this year. I must not forget the stuffing this year. Yes, I forgot last year. Yes. I am still hearing about it.
I tend to cheat when it comes to stuffing. Stove Top makes most of the family happy. Denise’s stuffing makes them all happy except me. (The crumby kind in a bag–made with water. Sorta mushy and bleah) I grew up with a traditional stuffing like the one below and a stuffing with apricots and raisins added.
This however is a very traditional stuffing without any mixes. I tend to toss some of the drippings from the fully cooked turkey to the stuffing in place of the butter and add a bit more for moisture if needed.
Traditional Herb Stuffing
3 quarts slightly dry bread cubes. (either buy them or start saving the ends of bread now and dry them a bit for Thanksgiving)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 cup canned chicken broth (or make your ownO
Saute onion in butter. Add broth to heat. Combine bread, seasonings, parsley, onion and butter. Toss lightly to mix. Makes 8 cups.
Feb 16
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Salads, retro food
Last night’s dinner was a sherried chicken. (Throw a cut up whole chicken in a 9 x13 pan with about a cup of cooking sherry and a can of evaporated milk and half can of water-bake at 350 until done.)
There were leftovers–girl child was not home for dinner and the chicken was bigger than normal in the beginning. That means real chicken salad today for lunch. Ok, so I also made some mock chicken salad too.
I tend to go with the thought that the best chicken salad is the simplest.
1-2 cups cut up leftover chicken
2 stalks celery finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
Enough mayo to stick it together
Add about a teaspoon of lemon juice if the chicken was baked plain or boiled without additional flavor.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Chop everything about the same size. Mix together. Dollop on some bread. Add a slice or two of tomato and a leaf of lettuce if you want to get fancy. Also makes a lovely ladies luncheon served on a lettuce cup.
Dec 07
Tarrant FiglioPoultry
Ok this recipe is really called Kathy’s Delicious Whole Slow Cooker Chicken.
It is called explosively good because well, we have a little microwave. It doesn’t defrost very well and the chicken was frozen this morning. I ran it through the defrost, but it wasn’t quite defrosted enough to stick in the slow cooker. If I was oven cooking it, I would have shrugged and stuck it in the oven, but I wasn’t. I hit the button to defrost some more, but I think perhaps I forgot to hit defrost. 10 min later I had a mess in the microwave-thus the explosive. You can skip that part.
We had it for dinner tonight. The kids LOVED it. They want it again. I doubled the broth part because I was worried it wouldn’t be enough in my big crockpot-things often aren’t. I didn’t need to worry. I also skipped the skinning the chicken part. I put it breast side down in the crockpot for most of the cooking, then turned it over about an hour before I served it. It wasn’t necessary but shrug. I did.
I served it with rice on the side and ladled a bit of the juice/sauce over the top of that and vegetables. In any case, the family loved it. It made for a delicious chicken-y scent in the house too. We walked in from a busy day and dinner smelled yummy.
It made a nice busy day dinner and a nice change of pace from our usual roasted chicken.
Thanks to KathyP100 for a fab recipe for my family.
Oct 13
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, retro food
Recipe card collections from publishers tend to be as fascinating and sometimes horrifying as the recipe cards handwritten by someone’s grandmother. Some stuff is to die for good and others frightening. This 1973 recipe card from McCall’s is not quite either. It is amusing in a “this recipe comes from our newest state” sort of way. It also makes me glad that food photography is not my thing. I know that in a decade or two, the food pictures will seem as outdated and quaint.
Onward with the recipe–frugal…only 2 legs, 2 breasts to serve 4 people….a bit sweet but you can cut the sugar a bit. It won’t glaze as nicely but unless you seriously like your chicken sweet…a good idea.
Chicken Waikiki Beach
2 whole chicken legs and 2 whole chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup salad oil or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Sauce
1 can (1 lb 4 oz) sliced pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 large green pepper, cut crosswise in 1/4 inch circles
Wash chicken: pat dry with paper towels. Coat chicken with flour.
Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Remove as browned to shallow roasting pan, arranging pieces skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350F.
Make sauce: Drain pineapple, pouring syrup into 2 cup measure. Add water to make 1 1/4 cups. In medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, pineapple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and bouillion cube. Bring to boiling stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes, pour over chicken.
Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Add pineapple and green pepper. Bake 30 minutes longer or until tender. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.
Sep 19
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, retro food
The following is a super quick and thrifty recipe that I quite enjoy. Yes, it involves cream of whatever soup. On the other hand, very easy, nice warm fall meal without being too much. I generally serve with white rice. From a recipe card in my great grandmother’s box. I confess that after browning, I toss it in the oven and bake at 350 instead of cooking over low heat. I am much better at baking than simmering on the stovetop. This a little saucy but not so much that the children look at it with suspicion.
Luscious Lemon Chicken
2 pounds chicken parts
2 tablespoons shortening
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I tend to use 2 T. just because I like the extra lemony flavor)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
In skillet, brown chicken in shortening. Pour off fat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover cook over low heat 45 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally. 4 servings.
May 15
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, retro food chicken, recipe, retro
Sometimes you must just entertain on a shoestring. Fortunately, General Mills offered us help in 1971 with this recipe for Chicken Confetti. It isn’t particularly imaginative and I am far more likely to serve it to family than use it to entertain, but it might be a nice choice for entertaining as well.
Chicken Confetti
4 to 5 pounds broiler-fryer chicken, cut-up
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup salad oil
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic
2 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons snipped parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon peopper
7 or 8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese
Wash chicken pieces and pat dry. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil; remove chicken. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until union is tender. Stir in chicken and remaining ingredients except spaghetti and cheese.
Cover tightly; cook chicken slowly 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary. Skim off excess fat. Serve in spaghetti; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 4 to 6 servings.
May 08
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Salads, retro food retro, salad, turkey
This is an actual recipe card from my mother (as opposed to “You remember me making this all the time” or scrawled in the back of my Joy of Cooking for Boys and Girls). This also is a recipe that I remember as getting rave reviews whenever my mother took it to a church potluck, ladies luncheon, etc. Interestingly, she often bought deli turkey for this or a “turkey loaf” from the freezer section. All the better to cube apparently. It is good cold as well as hot. (Skip the grated cheese and potato chips)
2 cups cubed turkey
1 cup celery
1/2 cup ground nuts (Mama used pecans)
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
about 1 t. grated onion
mayonnaise to moisten
Place in individual servers (custard cups–but you can do the whole batch in one casserole dish if making for a potluck) Crumble potato chips and a few nuts on top. Top with grated sharp cheese. Place in 350 oven about 10-15 min till cheese melts and dishes are hot through.
Jan 09
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Salads, retro food
In honor of the election year and the season of primaries…here is a gelatin recipe from a former First Lady. You should consider it for your next political theme party!
Mrs. Eisenhower’s Jewel Ring Salad
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 c. cranberry juice cocktail
1 1-lb can whole cranberry sauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 c cold water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 c. diced cooked chicken
1/2 c. diced celery
1/4 c coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Sprinkle 1 envelope unflavored gelatin onto cranberry cocktail in saucepan to soften. Dissolve gelatin over low heat, stirring constantly. Break up cranberry sauce; stir into gelatin mixture with lemon juice. Pour into 6-cup ring mold; chill until almost firm. Sprinkle remaining gelatin in cold water in saucepan to soften. Dissolve over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce. Cool. Gradually stir gelatin mixture into mayonnaise until blended. Mix in remaining ingredients. Spoon over chilled cranberry layer. Chill until firm. Unmold onto salad greens. Yield: 8 servings.
Oct 24
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Salads, retro food
If you are looking for a retro Jell-o salad for Halloween (and I know you are!) that will scare you just to read it…but will taste pretty good…how about this one? (From 500 Delicious Salad Recipes, 1951)
Chicken Orange Salad
3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold orange juice
2 cups hot orange juice
orange sections
2 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup boiling chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 pimento, chopped
1/4 teaspoon onion juice
3 cups diced cooked chicken
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
Lettuce, Mayonnaise
Soften 1 1/2 tablespoons gelatin in cold orange juice for 5 minutes; dissolve in hot orange juice and strain. Cool. Decorate a large mold, ring mold. or individual molds, with orange sections and cover with half of the slightly thickened gelatin. Chill until firm. Soften remaining gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes; dissolve in boiling chicken stock and cool until it begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper, pimento, onion juice, and chicken. Fold in whipped cream and pour over orange gelatin. Chill. When firm, add remaining orange gelatin. Chill. Unmold on lettuce and serve with mayonnaise. Serves 12.
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