toria wrote:Perhaps they will do a Czarist Russian theme at Next...they could have all the greats there on the menu and everyone could dress up in fur hats. Must do it in the winter though.

Never thought I would say this about Next, but I would go to that.

And I'd like to watch Dr. Zhivago on a big screen on a really cold frosty winter evening, before, after, or during that dinner.

Independent George wrote:Does anyone else feel like this should be the next LTH event - the retro revival pot luck?

If it ever is, I will bring the noodles Romanoff.

Sounds like fun!

One thing that my dad loves, and thinks is oh so fancy, is Veal Oscar. There is a supper club in northern Wisconsin that still had it on the menu this decade.

As far as a retro LTH event, I've been milling around an idea built on a potluck my sister once held - all dishes are from those spiral bound cookbooks from a church or junior league.

I have that treasured Pillsbury Bake-Off book from 1959. It will be an excuse to buy rum-flavored wafers.

Oh yum Noodles Romanoff. I remember those well.

Veal Oscar...breaded veal cutlets topped with crab, asparagus and a cheese sauce. What's not to like?


Yes due to the success of the white castle cook off perhaps someone could organize this. It would have to be at some old school place that would capture the ambience of what would be served.

I am certainly ready for a retro potluck.

Their assessment of Crab Louis is nuts on multiple levels. It's still commonly available at any good fish-oriented place in SF, including both Tadich Grill and Swan Oyster Depot (though I always indulge in the lavish version at the lovely Rotunda resto at Nieman-Marcus, with its astounding vintage stained-glass ceiling). And in the 40-plus years I have been eating it, I have never - NEVER - seen it dressed with Green Goddess dressing! It has its own eponymous dressing, made with fresh mayonnaise, chili sauce, minced green onion, and sometimes capers - and it's served on the side. "Fading Favorites," my ass!

Am so excited they also give the recipe for the Betty Crocker style Noodles Romanoff ... I adored those! (and still look longingly at the noodle aisle in hopes they might magically reappear!) Thanks so much!

I find that a lot of food I think is out of style is returning - many rather trendy young friends are making Beef Stroganoff for example and look at the Bolgna craze a la Au Cheval isn't it?

bean wrote:Creamy Garlic Dressing: has anyone seen this outside of a diner or pizzeria?

There was a less than great diner named Two Doves in Wheeling whose only redeeming offering was their creamy garlic dressing.

Here is a thread devoted to creamy garlic dressing.

To pull off the out-of-style pot luck, we need a location. Any suggestions for a location or someone wants to volunteer theirs? (I have an idea, though I need to check ... still if anyone has someplace to offer)

Regards,

toria wrote: Also beef wellington. Quite the elegant dish back in the day. Not so now.

As far as I'm concerned beef wellington hasn't been made, at least not properly, in Chicago since The Bakery closed.

I miss it.

Jasubar wrote:

toria wrote: Also beef wellington. Quite the elegant dish back in the day. Not so now.

As far as I'm concerned beef wellington hasn't been made, at least not properly, in Chicago since The Bakery closed.

I miss it.

I had a fantastic beef wellington (with the duxelle and foie gras) at Joe's Stone Crab about 5 or 6 years ago. Still one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Jasubar wrote:

toria wrote: Also beef wellington. Quite the elegant dish back in the day. Not so now.

As far as I'm concerned beef wellington hasn't been made, at least not properly, in Chicago since The Bakery closed.

I miss it.

Jasubar, you might want to check out this thread about Beef Wellington at the Bakery. Also, our own Evil Ronnie makes a mean BW at the Casino Club on occasion, if you can cage an invite from a member.

Independent George wrote:Does anyone else feel like this should be the next LTH event - the retro revival pot luck?

I do, I do! This is a terrific idea. Not sure I could make it, but a terrific idea.

I once had a retro-potluck focusing on the 60's. People dressed in Leave-It-to-Beaver wear and brought these things: Relish Platter, Artichoke Dip Canapes, Rumaki, Chicken Divan, Sloppy Joes, Tang Pie. My contribution was my Aunt Margie's sour-cream frosted raspberrry jello (with raspberries, celery and walnuts). We had a blast.

I have never given up on Green Goddess- it's a permanent part of my salad repertoire - with anchovy, of course. I devised a potato salad with it - secret: watercress in the mix of herbs.

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

I bought taragon recently with the intentions of making Green Goddess dressing.

In 1977 during my first visit to Paris, the local McDonalds had what I identified as Green Goddess dressing instead of the secret sauce on the Big Mac. I went this McD's because I had read in the Herald Tribune that McD-USA was taking them to court to strip them of their franchise. The French McD's during this era were rogue enterprises who exchanged ingredients. I wanted to see this for myself. They were stripped of their franchise, then changed their name to something suggesting McD's but not.

When in Paris on a student budget in 1975, I ate at the McD's near the Etoile. Cathy is absolutely correct that there was tarragon in the Big Mac sauce. (However, I always thought it was a take on Bearnaise, rather than GG, as it was less herby and green than GG.) It's funny how other LTH-ers can recall the same tiny taste quibbles decades later. You know you are an LTH-er when. . .

Interesting to learn how that shook out for the franchise.

Wow, what a trip home this thread is! Who says you can't go home again?

OK, here's a couple of pedantic additions which I think everyone will appreciate.

1. Penzy's has a Green Goddess mix in a bottle. I've tried it (who wouldn't? : ) and it'll do just fine.

2. Thousand Island dressing is named for the Thousand Island region of the St. Lawrence river, which was inhabited by rich people and their chefs, one of whom came up with the dressing c. 1900.

3. Although many of these dishes, as noted frequently above, were skillfully deployed by young women with chafing dishes, *some* of them were equally skillfully deployed by young men with rudimentary kitchen eqpt and skills, who had access to the Schilling packet of Beef Stroganoff mix!



Geo

You don't need a spice mix for Green Goddess dressing - it's a lead-pipe cinch to make, especially if you have anchovy paste in a tube on hand. As is the case with Crab Louis, it's a San Francisco invention; here's the original recipe, from Eve Fox's fine "Garden of Eating" blog, which was formerly Berkeley CA-based:

"Green Goddess dressing was invented in the 1920's at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in honor of William Archer's hit play, "The Green Goddess." The original recipe calls for mayonnaise, tarragon and anchovies (among other things).


Palace Hotel Green Goddess Dressing
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or minced scallions
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended (or if you prefer your dressing creamier, throw it all into a food processor or blender and pulse for 30 seconds.)

2. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

3. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate."

Just for reference, I hate you all for this thread(kidding!). I am now so hungry from reading everything but the Shrimp recipe.

For what it is worth, a standard snack for me is baby carrots dipped in Catalina dressing.

Yum that recipe for green goddess looks good. I always wondered what made it green I thought it might have avocado in it. I am not fond of tarragon so if I made it I would cut down a bit on that but I really do love the fresh herbs in it. Freshly made dressing is so good.

I was watching The Chew the other day and they made a relatively easy version of Beef Wellington!

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/r ... n-The-Chew

toria wrote:Yum that recipe for green goddess looks good. I always wondered what made it green I thought it might have avocado in it. I am not fond of tarragon so if I made it I would cut down a bit on that but I really do love the fresh herbs in it. Freshly made dressing is so good.

If you loved Green Goddess and never knew there was tarragon, why not try it as the recipe states? You cut it down, you may not get the dressing you hoped for.

Regards,

Geo wrote:Wow, what a trip home this thread is! Who says you can't go home again?

I heartily agree, Geo, this is a terrific thread!

John Thorne has a memorable account of meal you reference in the chapter entitled "Spring" in Simple Cooking(1987), however, in looking it up, I see that although the recipe involves red meat, mushrooms and onions, it is the young woman making Steak Subs (not Stroganoff) for the young man (Mr. Thorne himself).

For another retro treat by Thorne that fits into the spirit of this thread, I recommend the chapter, "Conflicted about Casseroles" from Mouth Wide Open (2007) Thorne takes issue with Jim Villas, author of Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot Dish Classics who seems to suggest "that there is a happy middle ground between the boobs [those happy to make a casserole of any number of canned soups, and leftover or packaged ingredients] and the snobs [those who eschew all but the purest and best scratch ingredients], a place where reasonable folks-him, you, me- can stand tall." (p. 127 - my clarifications in brackets). Thorne dispatches this line of reasoning as follows:

"It's nice enough sentiment, sure, but it seems to me to lure the reader out onto awfully thin ice. It's like saying that beanbag furniture and lava lamps are okay, but not, heaven forbid, plaster gnomes and fake pine paneling."

I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this. What are your culinary bean bags and lava lamps, your culinary gnomes and pine paneling? For gnome, I'm going to nominate the dish most often made for me by my college boyfriend, who had a serious hippie streak that found its way into a carrot, potato and onion curry heavily sweetened with orange marmalade and served over brown rice. It was the culinary equivalent of a huge macrame plant holder - hideous. It once made French student dinner guests flee our apartment, faking illness, a ruse I later uncovered. Worse still was another curry that made me break a lease promised to prospective roommates: a vile peanut butter and ketchup concoction served over bananas, apples and brown rice. I am honestly stumped to come up with a decorative equivalent - even Elvis's shag-carpeted ceiling at Graceland does not come close- it was perhaps the worst dish I have ever eaten. And I love curry.

Hi,

I am about to enjoy Tuna Noodle Casserole for the first time this winter.

Regards,

stevez wrote:
Jasubar, you might want to check out this thread about Beef Wellington at the Bakery. Also, our own Evil Ronnie makes a mean BW at the Casino Club on occasion, if you can cage an invite from a member.

Thanks, Steve -- I actually posted as part of the thread you reference almost three years ago.

Alas, I believe my only chance to taste anything at the Casino Club will be if Evil Ronnie can slip me a slice out the back door.

If a retro dinner is indeed desired, I could offer up my church basement. What says potluck more than a church basement?

toria wrote: Veal Oscar...breaded veal cutlets topped with crab, asparagus and a cheese sauce. What's not to like?

The veal should not be breaded. Actually, Bearnaise sauce is standard for Veal Oscar, which I've never heard of made with cheese sauce. Nicer places will also add a bit of Madiera sauce or veal jus under the veal, which is usually just floured and then sauteed.

Evil Ronnie wrote:

toria wrote: Veal Oscar...breaded veal cutlets topped with crab, asparagus and a cheese sauce. What's not to like?

The veal should not be breaded. Actually, Bearnaise sauce is standard for Veal Oscar, which I've never heard of made with cheese sauce. Nicer places will also add a bit of Madiera sauce or veal jus under the veal, which is usually just floured and then sauteed.

I recall that the White Birch did not bread their veal and I think they used hollandaise.

Josephine wrote:John Thorne has a memorable account of meal you reference in the chapter entitled "Spring" in Simple Cooking(1987)

I became infatuated with John Thorne and subscribed to his newsletter for a number of years before I lost track. Whatever happened???

I'm still trying to track down my beanbags, etc. Zucchini and brown rice got me through a few harsh winters in VT.

Thanks for reminding me of Veal Oscar.

I made a pretty decent version of Chicken Cordon Bleu tonight--prosciutto and gouda in the chicken, portabellas in the sauce.

If this occurs I would bring a main dish but also jello made in a can of pineapple slices. I only recently became aware of this. I am not a big jello eater but as a child, a jello mold was often made for the holidays. This one has escaped me and its shimmering beauty with the pineapple slice is a sight to behold.

sundevilpeg wrote:Their assessment of Crab Louis is nuts on multiple levels. It's still commonly available at any good fish-oriented place in SF, including both Tadich Grill and Swan Oyster Depot (though I always indulge in the lavish version at the lovely Rotunda resto at Nieman-Marcus, with its astounding vintage stained-glass ceiling). And in the 40-plus years I have been eating it, I have never - NEVER - seen it dressed with Green Goddess dressing! It has its own eponymous dressing, made with fresh mayonnaise, chili sauce, minced green onion, and sometimes capers - and it's served on the side. "Fading Favorites," my ass!

Cannot speak for the West Coast BUT Crab Louis is a staple in Maryland, Delaware and coastal Virginia ... and there, the dressing is mayo based and it is generally served on top.

Ms. Ingie wrote:As far as a retro LTH event, I've been milling around an idea built on a potluck my sister once held - all dishes are from those spiral bound cookbooks from a church or junior league.

My post related to that potluck can be found in the "Feed my cookbook jones" thread.