So, would you guys like me to host this in my church basement in Elmhurst? We wouldn't have a max as it can hold a fair number of people, not that there would be a big rush.

Ms. Ingie wrote:Sob would you guys like me to host this in my church basement in Elmhurst? We wouldn't have a max as it can hold a fair number of people, not that there would be a big rush.

I think it might be premature to pick a venue for this nascent collection of vintage abomination, but I appreciate the offer and personally have no problem with it coming together in an Elmhurst church basement. Let's wait and see how it shakes out, ok?
--Rich

RAB wrote:

Ms. Ingie wrote:Sob would you guys like me to host this in my church basement in Elmhurst? We wouldn't have a max as it can hold a fair number of people, not that there would be a big rush.

I think it might be premature to pick a venue for this nascent collection of vintage abomination, but I appreciate the offer and personally have no problem with it coming together in an Elmhurst church basement. Let's wait and see how it shakes out, ok?
--Rich

That's fine. Wouldn't be until March at the earliest anyway.

It might be cheating, but I think you could spin something pretty decent out of the "tuna salad pie" concept.
Hot/room temp as a sort of quiche/tuna melt combination.
Cold in a prebaked crust as a tuna/green olives/red pepper strips/+? mix in a slightly citrus-flavored aspic.

Ms. Ingie wrote:. . . Wouldn't be until March at the earliest anyway.

Can I put in a request for later in the month of March? I'd love to be part of this, if that is something that works for others, especially the planners.

RAB wrote:If this happens, please nobody make "Perfection Salad." It looks positively revolting.
--Rich

I beg your pardon. My mother used to make Perfection Salad on a regular basis. She even used that name for it. Though this recipe is missing the obligatory dab of mayo on top.

Judy H wrote:

RAB wrote:If this happens, please nobody make "Perfection Salad." It looks positively revolting.
--Rich

I beg your pardon. My mother used to make Perfection Salad on a regular basis. She even used that name for it. Though this recipe is missing the obligatory dab of mayo on top.

Who wouldn't want to achieve perfection???? I actually find it pretty fascinating . . . a salad totally suspended as if in space. I never realized America was once totally obsessed with mayonnaise. So how is it that we only have obesity issues now . . . I mean, it looks like people were eating the stuff in ice cream scoop-sized portions.

Just a suggestion, but the other day I came across a trove of 1920's ephemera, and got this idea: to ask celebrants at the future retro dinner to bring the sources of their inspiration for others to see. I promise to share the glories of Jello and mayo and spaghetti boiled for hours. And an artichoke tree.

I could bring/make a recipe from my Mom, when she was Foods editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal in the late 1940s.

Just reviving this thread to see if anyone's still interested in making this an event!

Cathy2 and I just talked about this on Tuesday night. There was some discussion of a Culinary Historians potluck. Perhaps Ms. Cathy2 will chime in here.

About 7 years ago I attended my sorority alumni luncheon in Golf, Illinois. Except for some current coeds from Northwestern, I was one of the youngest attendees. It was the first (and last) time I had ever seen a sandwich loaf. It was so beautifully decorated I thought it was a wedding cake. Someone took that Wilton cake decorating course years ago. The women oohed and ahhed as they cut through its magnificent layers. I just could not get over the amount of butter and mayo in the concoction and the variety of fillings between its layers so I never tasted it. Regret? Nah. But I do believe that this is a dish of the past.

This is a good idea. Somebody just has to pick a date and then set it up. If people are available, they will come. I would certainly be interested. This may be a good fall endeavor.

A few months ago, I took a stab at some vintage recipes: a meatloaf igloo, a porcupine cheese ball, a jello mold and an ambrosia salad. I didn't take as much time as needed to really make them look perfect, but here are the pics of the meatloaf igloo (which was actually delicious) complete with penguins (goat cheese, olives and cheddar cheese) and the porcupine cheese ball (goat cheese, herbs and pretzels):


Meatloaf igloo




Porcupine goat cheese ball



Not sure how I feel about vintage recipes that are just disgusting to taste, but I obviously enjoy the kitschy presentations of 70s food.

Love that igloo! And the penguins are just too much! The porcupine looks a bit like he saw a ghost, though.

Josephine wrote:Love that igloo! And the penguins are just too much! The porcupine looks a bit like he saw a ghost, though.

I think the porcupine saw the jello mold! Thanks Josephine.

A few of these things I've never seen, but some of them are familiar from my youth -- especially the sandwich loaves (we never called it a ribbon loaf, as in the article). I thought they were so cool, because if done right and beautifully decorated, they really looked like cakes, and with good fillings -- well, how bad can it be with an extra half pound of cream cheese added.

We also had tomato aspic regularly -- in the winter -- back in the day when tomatoes weren't flown in all year long and you had to wait until summer for fresh. Mom would make a sauce of sour cream and mayo loaded with sliced radishes, scallions, and green peppers, which was lovely drizzled over a wedge of tomato aspic. Definitely kept the vitamin C intake going even in the cold months.

Some of the dishes don't look bad, just a bit corny and old fashioned. I love the igloo meatloaf. The lobster relish is stunning -- I certainly wouldn't reject anything that came to the table with that much shellfish involved. Couldn't afford to do it myself, however. The individual Yorkshire puddings are harmed by the quality of the photo, but the concept is appealing. Can't imagine why the object to baked, stuffed salmon. A few things look a little post-war rationy, and like they might be less delightful in more abundant times, but still, I agree with the OP, not at all upsetting.

And at least all the salads use real mayonnaise.

Don't know if the party idea ever came to fruition, but it would be fun to recreate some of these dishes.

Thank god that the jiggly aspic phase in culinary history is well behind us with little chance of revival. I think I am still traumatized by some of the gelatin based creations I was forced to politely endure as a child. I remember one popular dish that was lobster meat and broth combined with red colored gelatin and poured into a mold shaped like a lobster. I recall being terrified when one of my parent's friends brought out what looked to be a giant alien insect jiggling in a nest of green lettuce. Actually, I am tempted to recreate that dish, but I am unsure if I want to invest in a mold which I would only use once in my life.

As recently as 1981, when I was in my second summer working in the kitchen of a Colorado guest ranch (one did not refer to this one as a "dude" ranch), I had to make a weekly tomato/horseradish/salmon/egg/caper/onion aspic for the Sunday brunch menu. Not one, but three - each in a differently shaped mold. I still cannot get the image of that train wreck out of my mind. It was among the favorite"family recipes" of the owner's wife. Toasted bagel slices were offered and one applied cream cheese to the bagel slice and then topped it with a slice of the aspic. I'm not kidding.

In addition, I had to make two platters of four dozen "capered eggs" - hard-boiled eggs sliced in half, covered in a sour cream/mayonnaise/lemon/caper solution. Also one of her favorite recipes.

Davooda

Davooda wrote:In addition, I had to make two platters of four dozen "capered eggs" - hard-boiled eggs sliced in half, covered in a sour cream/mayonnaise/lemon/caper solution. Also one of her favorite recipes.

Davooda

Deconstructed deviled eggs? It doesn't sound half bad. Now that aspic on a bagel...that's another story.

I read a short article about the aspic craze in which the author theorizes that the reason so many gelatin recipes appeared in the 1940s and 50s was that it was a way for people to show off their new electric refrigerators.

I hate to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater. Some aspics/gelées were poorly conceived, but I can't see dismissing all gelatin applications because of a few unfortunate constructs.

I love a fair number of things that come en gelée/in aspic, such as consomme madrilene or a lovely chicken galantine. And last year, for a party, I made a spicy fresh salsa aspic that was well received.

As for history--aspics and gelées have been popular since the 1700s, so not really putting in a first appearance with the refrigerator. It was just possible for them to be common then, among "ordinary people," rather than the domain of the wealthy.

Cynthia wrote:As for history--aspics and gelées have been popular since the 1700s, so not really putting in a first appearance with the refrigerator. It was just possible for them to be common then, among "ordinary people," rather than the domain of the wealthy.

This is precisely the thesis put forth by the article I mentioned, that the electric refrigerator enabled the middle-class to create and serve dishes that were previously prohibitively complex and expensive in which to partake. The novelty of the genre undoubtedly caused home chefs as well as promotional executives to get carried away with applications for the culinary technique. The fact is there were many more than "a few unfortunate constructs". Many things that should never have been jellied were encased in the jiggly goo, simply because they could be.

d4v3 wrote:

Cynthia wrote:As for history--aspics and gelées have been popular since the 1700s, so not really putting in a first appearance with the refrigerator. It was just possible for them to be common then, among "ordinary people," rather than the domain of the wealthy.

This is precisely the thesis put forth by the article I mentioned, that the electric refrigerator enabled the middle-class to create and serve dishes that were previously prohibitively complex and expensive in which to partake. The novelty of the genre undoubtedly caused home chefs as well as promotional executives to get carried away with applications for the culinary technique. The fact is there were many more than "a few unfortunate constructs". Many things that should never have been jellied were encased in the jiggly goo, simply because they could be.

Then I revise my statement to "I can't see dismissing all gelatin applications because of a large number of unfortunate constructs." My point, however, remains the same: Past abuses should not eliminate a category that also contains some great successes.

And if you can supply a link to the article you mentioned, that would be of great interest. I always enjoy a bit of culinary history. Thanks.

This blog should provide some inspiration to anyone who needs it:

Hey, My Mom Used to Make That!

HI,

I keep hoping someone will bring some of these kinds of foods to the picnic.

At the Missouri State Fair, we had an entrant who brought 'ham' salad made with bologna. It is just the stuff my Mom likes to eat. It has another name: funeral spread.

Regards,

Ham salad is a big thing in my mom's hometown in Missouri (St. Joseph)- my relatives get it from some deli and it's at every family get-together, but I think they make theirs with actual ham. Maybe processed ham out of a can, but definitely not bologna.

Nobel Prize Winner Paul Krugman on some of his first cooking -- this had to be early 80s, but from an older cookbook
The Way We Ate (Cherry Pineapple Bologna) from the Betty Crocker Good and Easy cookbook.

abe_froeman wrote:Ham salad is a big thing in my mom's hometown in Missouri (St. Joseph)- my relatives get it from some deli and it's at every family get-together, but I think they make theirs with actual ham. Maybe processed ham out of a can, but definitely not bologna.

Just for chuckles, you may want to ask. IF they advise it is ham, inquire if they have seen bologna as a substitute.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:At the Missouri State Fair, we had an entrant who brought 'ham' salad made with bologna. It is just the stuff my Mom likes to eat. It has another name: funeral spread.

Two years ago for the Military History Fest in St. Charles (every year in February), the Chicagoland Costumer's Guild (which includes SueF) put on a USO demo: music (on records), some examples of homemade clothes patterns (copied onto newspaper), and food typical of the time: mayonnaise cake, pies (which would have had local, non-rationed fruit, but not in february) and sandwiches of pheasant (would have been locally hunted, we used chicken) salad and bologna salad. I found the bologna ones pretty vile, but I like neither bologna nor mayo to begin with.