Kitchen Retro

Jenn at the Thrift Shop Romantic presents some amazing Victorian/Edwardian photo postcards of actresses - and some cool biographical information, too. Do not miss this!

At Gigglesugar, you can check out this 1939 Marital Chart, and be glad that you weren’t married to someone like George W. Crane, Ph.D, M.D. Break out the ragged dresses and red nail polish, I say!

British chocolate fiends rejoice: the Marathon bar is back after 18 years!

For those of us who really, really liked the rotary dial: the iPhone people have responded! But can you use a pencil to help dial all those numbers?

Rochelle has found a truly frightening retro appetizer, the Masked Hot Dog. Don’t ask, just go have a look! (Insert Lone Ranger/ masked man joke here).

The Dirty Disher has some vintage gossip about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, way more fun than Britney & Co.

Vallen Queen shows how you can make something brilliant - in this case, yellow bird sachets - from reworking a vintage find.

Carrying on the yellow theme, Amy has some wonderful old photos of yellow retro kitchens.

Image of a New York Sunday Herald cover from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

This morning we were talking about good manners - let’s talk about bad manners this evening! I mean, really, really BAD manners. And I am not talking about poor old Bess. How about that Lucille, eh? There’s a whole little psychodrama going on in this comic-strip ad (from Chatelaine magazine, circa 1937):

Scene 1: Lucille sets up the backstory with “Has Bess let us down again?” Just how many times has Bess reneged on playing cards? Is she always using the same old excuse? It can’t always be that time of the month, you know. Bess needs some new excuses.

She also needs some new friends. Lucille is pretty scary. She’s right up there with the mother in the Lux stockings ad, and the Tussy fiends.

Scene 2: From poor, blond Bess’ point of view (this wouldn’t be Nancy Drew’s Bess Marvin, would it? she does seem like the meek type who might have this sort of problem). We can hear Lucille screeching from here. Go get some Midol, you loser, and make it snappy! Boy, what a peach. So sympathetic.

Maybe Lucille’s the one who needs the Midol. Or a tranqulizer of some kind.

Scene 3: Hot time in the city! Cards for four - I assume the blond head at the bottom belongs to Bess’s guy. Probably Lucille and Mr. Lucille have no other friends. I can believe that. Mr. Lucille says the girls can have some privacy while they “rustle refreshments.” (Oh, yuck!) And how does he know Bess has been dying to tell Lucille something?

Scene 4: Predictable ending: Bess is raving about Midol. Why, she’s never been so damn comfortable in her life! And Lucille smilingly confesses that she was “sunk regularly” until she started hitting up the Midol, too.

I’ll tell you something. If I was that Lucille, I’d watch my back. Being “sunk regularly” is the least of what she’s got coming to her.

More etiquette tips, this time from a lovely book entitled Search Lights On Health, Light On Dark Corners (1894), which is a complete guide to all aspects of life, sold by subscription only in Toronto by the J.L. Nichols Company of 182 Spadina Avenue, Toronto. I’m just going to give you the more interesting rules, because you probably know about not drinking coffee from the saucer, and things like that.

A lot of these rules seem to concern gravy. I don’t know why.

- Never pour gravy on a plate without permission.

- Never put anything by force upon someone’s plate.

- If at dinner you are requested to help anyone to sauce or gravy, do not pour it over the meat or vegetables, but on one side of them.

- Should you, however, find yourself at a table where they have the old-fashioned steel forks, eat with your knife, as the others do, and do not let it be seen that you have any objection to doing so.

- Don’t attempt to talk with a full mouth. One thing at a time is as much as any man can do well.

- Should you be so unfortunate as to overturn or to break anything, you would make no apology. You might let your regret appear in your face, but it would not be proper to put it into words.

I can imagine the accidents that will happen if you force someone to accept a lot of gravy, and they do not want it, and then you become upset that steel forks are being used. But once the gravy disaster occurs, just look regretful! Don’t say anything! Indeed:

- If an accident of any kind soever should occur during dinner, the cause being who or what it may, you should not seem to note it.

No matter how much gravy is involved.

Believe me, this was not a matter of choice. The photos with both guys were clearly taken after they said stuff like “Who the hell in their right mind would ever wear this?” and “Why exactly are we standing on what appears to be a roof?”

May I draw your attention especially to the knitted ties, and the light blue and harvest-gold tank tops. I would say that this is about 1967-69. I think I had a tank top like the blue one when I was about 8 years old in 1970.

I noticed the cupcakes immediately. Though I’m a native New Yorker, I have never watched a single episode of Sex and the City. But I am aware that the movie has just come out and there are premieres going on seemingly everywhere BUT New York City.

I have learned that Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie ate a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery,  to get over romantic disappointment.  Well, now we’re talking! I can relate to this somewhat. I once ate some stale Archway cookies in my college dorm room when I was depressed about my love life back in the 1980s. That’s sort of similar, right? Not as glam, but there’s a certain connection.

Oh, fine. Never mind then. Back to the cupcakes!

I found a couple of genuine retro,  New-York-City-bred cupcake recipes that would console anyone. They are from the 1929 Any One Can Bake, from the Royal Baking Powder Co. of 100 East 42nd Street. Damn tootin’ any one can bake! And anyone can eat an orange or a chocolate cupcake, too. Or a strawberry puff cupcake. And chase the whole lot down with an anise stick, why not? Perfect with a cup of tea and a good chat with someone who will listen to you whine and maybe recite your latest poem about romantic angst. Good times, I tell you. Beats those Archway sprinkle cookies by a mile!

OK, here’s the deal. You write the last line of the jingle and you win some fabulous prizes. There are some gorgeous clothes from “your favorite store’ (how do they know which one that is?).

Here are the first three lines of the jingle. (I love how the entry form reminds you “last word to rhyme with ’stews.’”) Such a touching ode to the wonder that is B-V (”America’s favorite gravy maker and meat flavor”):

In my kitchen, you’ll always see
My faithful jar of Wilson’s B-V
For gravy, soups and savory stews —–

Here are a few ideas:

1. The hell with dinner, what’s the use?

2. B-V is a poor excuse.

3. Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.

4. And maybe in tomato juice.

5. But not so much in Charlotte Russe.

They are real poets at Wilson - the bottom of the ad reads “The Wilson label protects your table.” Pure literary genius!

Feel free to play along in the comments…After all, there are more than 225 prizes (including “Wilson’s choice canned meat specialties”).

And for more Wilson’s B-V goodness, see Susan’s post on her wonderful blog, Party Meatloaf.

This is for Vintage Thingies Thursday. The thingies from me are pretty much going to be vintage ads (from my vintage magazines and ephemera collection) and cookbook stuff, that’s mostly what I have got for you. Anything else will be the exception that proves the rule, and all that.

Oh, and this is also for National Chocolate Chip Day. I couldn’t miss National Chocolate Chip Day! You see, I was looking up all the food holidays ever since I found out about Fruit Cocktail Day, and lo and behold, I was right on time for the chocolate chips.

This is the original recipe, as found in Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House Tried and True Recipes (orig. pub. 1936, this is the 1940 reprint), a lovely book that is extra-special to me because it was my grandmother’s and has her pencilled annotations. She didn’t write anything about these, though:

TOLL HOUSE CHOCOLATE CRUNCH COOKIES

Cream 1 cup butter,
Add 3/4 cup brown sugar,
3/4 cup granulated sugar and
2 eggs beaten whole. Dissolve
1 tsp soda in 1 tsp hot water, and mix alternatively with
2 1/4 cups flour sifted with 1 tsp salt.

Lastly add 1 cup chopped nuts and
2 bars (7-oz._ Nestles yellow label chocolate, semi-sweet, which has been cut in pieces the size of a pea.

Flavor with 1 tsp vanilla and drop half teaspoons on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes in 375 degree oven. makes 100 cookies.

Mr. Coffee Nerves needs another villain for the tea concession - except the rules are inverted over here in Tea World. With tea, the more caffeine (or - something) in it, the better!

Oh, yes, thanks, I would LOVE some of that Lipton’s tea - it must have double the normal amount of caffeine! Or something else that “brisk flavor’ is a code word for.  Because that girl is halfway to Jupiter, no doubt about it. And after that date, too!

Peggy, I do have a few suggestions for you - now that the Lipton’s has invigorated my brain. One, I would try a different outfit for hiking. I recommend running shoes, soft athletic trousers, a T shirt and a hoodie. Works for me. I realize that it is 1950-something and you may not have access to all this modern stuff. But I’ll bet you have some Keds and pedal-pushers, right? Because that outfit is ridiculous.

But maybe you were actually expecting Phil there to take you out to a tea dance or for cocktails (not fruit cocktail, I hope!).

That’s my other piece of unsolicited advice (so much fun to give, unsolicited advice!) - I’d lose Phil.  I believe the name is misspelled - it should be Pill -  and that’s a nice word for what he is! He looks a little like Archie Andrews, maybe they are cousins; that same maniacally cheery, oblivious energy, the same red hair and little sweater vests (Archie did wear sweater vests, didn’t he? I can’t be bothered to check in the Archie Archives upstairs, please feel free to elucidate in the comments).

Phil only notices that you’re not having fun when you’re on the verge of fainting right off the mountain top. Then he whines about you being too tired to meet up with Susie and Ben (who were not out hiking, I bet).

Peggy acts out Lipton Tea during the charades (boy, these are some fun dates she is having). She looks dangerously crazed. She is still wearing that red dress from the hike, too.

I see that Peggy went right back to hiking though - and in the same outfit, in the last picture. That’s what you get, giving unsolicited advice to a cartoon. They really can’t take it in, you see.

First of all, tremendous thanks to Tarrant at Retro Food, for alerting us all to the fact that it was National Fruit Cocktail Day yesterday! I am not sure if we are celebrating this in Canada (which I plan to use as my excuse for not knowing this), but I would like to mark the occasion with a couple of recipes that pay cakey tribute to the wonder that is canned fruit cocktail. [I am a day late, I have just realized, and in fact today, the 14th, is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day - but no matter!]

The classic rendition is from The Hospitality Cookbook: Favorite Recipes From Ministers’ Wives (1960, reprinted 1969). And if Fruit Cocktail Cake is not hospitable, I just don’t know what is (I rephrased the end of the recipe, which was replete with remarks about how good this is the second day, etc.):

FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE

1 egg - beat in mixing bowl
1 medium sized (#2) can of fruit cocktail - pour juice and all into bowl with egg

Add to the above:

! cup each flour and sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Stir together well. Pour into greased baking pan (or glass) about 8″ by 12″ size.

Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup nuts; sprinkle over top of cake. (You can use more brown sugar and nuts). Bake at 325 degrees about 45 minutes. Good warm with ice cream.

Ida Bailey Allen is a little more daring and artistic in her Money-Saving Cook Book (1947). She says to whip up a 3 egg sponge cake (I reckon any sponge cake or plain cake will work here) and bake it in 2 layers. Then put the layers together with any kind of jam.

“Then with a kitchen fork prick down through the cake on top 10 times to make small holes. Pour in 3/4 cup pineapple juice or use equal parts orange juice and Tokay wine. Chill at least one hour. Then decorate the top with sections of canned pineapple and cherries; or instead, make small insertions and in each stick half a blanched almond nut meat cut in halves lengthwise. To serve, place on a good-sized platter and surround with slightly sweetened, well-chilled fresh fruit cocktail.”

I don’t know about that last bit. it sounds potentially rather soggy.

Slashfood has an article on National Fruit Cocktail Day, too, and apparently the big name here is Libby’s - how fortuitous that I had a Libby’s ad in the previous post! But I would like to point out that Del Monte is also a big, big name in the Fruit Cocktail World, witness the above ad - which suggests another exciting idea for dessert, Crunchy Fruit Baskets. Something bothers me about it, I am not sure what. The name, possibly, or the resemblance to birds’ nests, or the implication that the canned fruit is going to be the high point of the meal.

You’re set, all right. For snack time at the loony bin! What is up with all that tomato juice? The woman is obsessed, and she’s passed the crazy on to the kid, too. They just love Libby’s tomato juice - to the exclusion, clearly, of all other groceries.

She and the kid are also dressed alike, in that strange 1950s me-and-my-doll kind of way. I’m surprised that there isn’t an identically dressed doll in the ad, too, clurching a teeny paper bag of individual-drink cans of Libby’s. Paging Betsy McCall!