Good Housekeeping, 1955: Centerpieces

Last night I was wondering around in the back of my 1955 copy of the Good Housekeeping Cook Book (aka "A Gem of a Cookbook") because it is just solid good reading. Practical, still useful tips are found there and I'm gleaning as fast as I can!

One page caught my eye with its title and explanation:

Have a Pretty Centerpiece

"The way your table looks is just as important as the way the meal tastes. So set a pretty table, have a pretty centerpiece. It's worth the extra minute or two."

When I read that paragraph, I cringed a bit inside. IF I have a centerpiece at all, it's the one that sits on the table, day after day, collecting dust. It never occurred to me to change it up a bit, except for special occasions. I wanted to share some of the suggestions. I plan to change out my centerpiece a bit more often because it's "just as important as the way the meal tastes!"

Row on Row: Arrange long narrow rows of green or autumn leaves. Top with tangerines, green grapes, nuts, etc.

Potted Plant: Set plant on brass tray. Group oranges and green grapes around it.

Basket: Set basket on its side, with apples, cranberries, or other fruit (or vegetables--see pic above) tumbling out.

Pansies: Arrange pansies in several individual casseroles.

Garnet Roses: Arrange roses in champagne or other goblets, teacups, or egg cups.

For Small Fry: Fill basket with green leaves; insert large lollipops.

Pie in Center: Surround pie on tray with green or autumn leaves. Nestle cheese wedges or cheese pumpkins among leaves.

Candles: Use silver, glass, brass, or pewter candlesticks, with white, ivory, or colored candles. Be sure candle flame is above eye level.

1955 Cran-Apple Pie recipe

(The picture at right is NOT a picture of the pie I made. I had to borrow it from another blog. It does, however, look like the one I made!)

Today is my husband's birthday. For 15 days, he will be OLDER than I am. I make it a point to thoroughly enjoy every minute of those days, reminding him often of how he's over-the-hill and I'm not. And then day 16 comes.

Anyway, today's his birthday.

I asked him what special food he wanted me to make. His answer? Pie. Always pie. He doesn't really like cream pies (I've never understood that), and he really prefers berry pies. Unfortunately, there are no fresh berries to be had in November. He's not into "normal" pies, anyway (as attested to by THIS pie that I made several months ago, at his request). Finally, he said, "I want an apple pie, but with something to take away all that sweetness. I know, how about apple pie with cranberries?"

I dashed over to my bookshelf and pulled out my "Gem of a Cookbook" from 1955. Sure enough, there was a recipe for Cran-Apple Pie. It, of course, is delicious! Other pie recipes that I saw on the Internet (when I was looking for a picture to steal, I mean, borrow), had cinnamon and other additions. This pie is purely cranberries, apples, and sugar.

For your drooling pleasure:

Cran-Apple Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 T cornstartch
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C corn syrup (I substituted 1 cup of sugar)
1/4 cup water
2 cups washed cranberries
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
2 T butter
1 1/2 C chopped, pared, cored apples (I used McIntosh)
2 pie crusts

In saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, salt; gradually add corn syrup, water. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens slightly and boils. Add cranberries; cook till skins break. Add orange rind, butter; cool. Add apples; pour into lined pie plate. Cover with top crust.

Bake at 425 for 40-50 minutes or until filling is tender, crust nicely browned.

Good Housekeeping, 1955: Dressing Up Soup

It's been a while since I posted from my "Gem of a Cookbook."

Since it's in the teens here and we've had PLENTY of snow, I'm in the mood for some soup. My GH cookbook assures me that I can make the soup from scratch (following their recipes, of course), or just open up a can.

What's fresh and different is that there is a nice list of garnishes!

"For that finishing touch, top soup with one of these:"

• Slivered almonds
• Crisp ready-to-eat cereal
• Whipped cream plus horse-radish
• Popcorn
• Browned onion rings
• Cut-up olives
• Thin lemon slices
• Salted whipped cream
• Paper-thin carrot or radish slices
• Thin celery rings

"If you prefer to serve at-table style, don't forget those attractive pottery bowls and individual casseroles, which can make a meal-in-a-dish soup and occasion."

I'm eyeing up a nice potato soup, myself. Or perhaps something full of beans and vegetables. Slow cooked, of course...

Good Housekeeping, 1955: Treats for Children

Every time I look in my 1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook, I find another gem. This time, the kids will benefit.

First, let me increase your popularity points with a few of these suggestions. This section is entitled, well,:

Ways to Be Popular

• Appeal of the Miniature: Anything cut down to children's size is twice as much fun--a cupcake frosted all over, an individual meat loaf, a pie just 6" across.
• Personalize It: His name or his initials, or the numerals of his age, are just as precious at six years as at sixty. So "write" them on top of the pudding with raisins or with whipped cream.
• Hidden Treasure: A single raisin in the rice pudding, a green pea in the carrots, and a candy tucked in a cupcake after it's baked are fun whether Junior, Mom, or Dad is the lucky finder. (I really liked this one.)

There were more, but I think you'll hit popularity satiation with just the above tips.

Another sections says:

Start the Day Bright

• Orange Juice: With nail polish, mark rules on glass--a line for babies, one for little boys, one for big boys. Of course "big boys" line is at the bottom.
• Eggs: Serve scrambled eggs right in small skillet in which they were cooked. Or serve in Sister's toy skillet. (Using the toy kitchen items to serve sounds like fun.)

Now let's get down to the issue of soup:

Happy Soups

• Two Tones: Simultaneously pour two soups, such as tomato and cream of chicken, into soup plate. Each soup will stay put on its own side.
• Parsley Figures: Sprinkle soup with finely snipped parsley to form child's initial or star, or other figure.
• Toast Float: cut toast into animal shapes; float on soup.
• Center Star: Set cookie cutter (star or other shape) in center of soup plate. Pour pea soup into cookie cutter, tomato soup around it. Carefully lift out cutter. Serve at once.

I think I might just incorporate a few of these myself. My 7yo will be all over this. Personally, I'm going to do the "Center Star." For me. Hey, I may be older than 7, but I still like fun!

Good Housekeeping, 1955: Box Lunches, Part 2

Here are some lovely suggestions for what to put into the box lunch. Most will be familiar, but one never knows if one will discover something new.

Bread-and-Butter Sandwiches:

Whether they're made from bakers', homemade, or canned bread, bread-and-butter sandwiches always carry well in a lunch box even without refrigeration. The variety is fascinating, includes nut or fruit breads, muffins, rolls, buns, etc.

Old Reliables:

Lunch-box sandwiches made with one or more of the fillings below will keep well even when the lunch box can't be refrigerated.

• Any cheese spread
• Any natural cheese
• Applesauce
• Celery
• Cream cheese
• Green pepper, carrots, or raisins
• Marmalade, apple butter, jelly, or jam
• Nuts
• Peanut butter
• Pickled tongue (See? I told you there might be something new!)
• Thuringer-type dry sausage (Any clues on this one?)

Salad-Type Sandwiches:

Include these only when the lunch box can be kept refrigerated...Such sandwiches are likely to keep better too if they're made from canned meats, fish, chicken or spreads, or ready-cooked meats, rather than leftovers. Adding chopped olives, lemon juice, catchup, or pickle relish helps, too. (I have never seen ketchup/catsup spelled "catchup" before.)

Sliced-Meat Sandwiches:

These should be handled like Salad-Type Sandwiches, above. Mix olives, lemon juice, etc. with the butter before it's spread on the bread. (Interesting.)

Surprise Tuck-Ins:

• Cheese-stuffed celery
• Cracked nuts
• Cutout cookies to suit the season
• Dried apricots, figs, or raisins
• Marshmallows
• Peanut-buttered graham crackers
• Ripe olives
• Salted nuts
• Semisweet chocolate
• Small chunk of fresh coconut
• Small molasses-popcorn ball
• Stuffed dates, prunes or nuts

The rest of the suggestions were exactly what one would expect:

• Egg, Potato, Chicken, meat, or Fish Salads
• Crisp Vegetable or Fruit Salads
• Crisp Raw Relishes (raw vegetables)
• Milk, Lemonade, Fruit Juices, Iced Coffee, etc.
• Fresh, Canned, or Cooked Dried Fruit
• Cakes and Cupcakes
• Fruit Pies, Deep-Dish Pies, and Turnovers
• Puddings and Gelatin Desserts
• Cookies
• Ice-Cold Fruit, Tomato, or Vegetable Juice

Now, where can I get some pickled tongue for hubby's lunch tomorrow? Of course, knowing my husband, he'd probably eat it. He's no trouble to feed. That's because he's eager, I guess.

Good Housekeeping, 1955: Box Lunches, Part 1

(If the following words don't convert you to preparing box lunches for your loved ones, well, I just don't know WHAT will.)

Box Lunches

The same food for lunch day after day will make anyone's appetite lag, particularly if he must take his lunch with him to school or work. Here's how to keep him always eager.

(See what I mean? Lagging appetite? Don't let it happen. Keeping him always eager? I won't even comment on that one.)

When You Plan

Plan ahead--not just for tomorrow but for several days if you can.

Think first of what your lunch toter should have and would like to find in his lunch box, bag, or brief case.

For the sake of his good health, see that each lunch box includes:

1. Meat, eggs, poultry, cheese, or fish in sandwiches, salad, or main dish.
2. Vegetables--at least one--in sandwiches, salad, or main dish, or as raw relish.
3. Fruit--at least one--raw, cooked, frozen, or canned, as is or in salad or dessert.
4. Breads--varied from day to day.
5. Milk--to fill out the day's quota--as is, as a milk drink, in soup or dessert, etc. To pack in extra nourishment, add a beaten egg or tablespoon of nonfat dry milk or molasses to a milk drink.

(As regards #5, I might do the molasses, but the other two choices are not considered healthy.)

Keep the box lunch in mind when planning dinner the night before. (I am the queen of leftover dinner becoming the next day's lunch.)

Speed lunch box packing by doing all you can while cleaning up dinner the night before.

1. Unpack, wash, and scald lunch box and vacuum bottle. Dry thoroughly. Let lunch box air.
2. Wash and refrigerate raw vegetables, salad greens, and fruits.
3. Make up, wrap, and refrigerate or freeze sandwiches the night before. Then pack into lunch box the last possible moment--especially if lunch box cannot be refrigerated.
4. Plan servings as generous as those at home.

My husband is a paint contractor. There are many times when he is not near a kitchen--no microwave, no refrigerator. The above tips are especially useful for me.

Number 4 is interesting. I realized that I do NOT pack as generously as I would serve at home. I guess I've got the idea that lunch should be smaller with dinner being bigger. Really, that's backwards. I will do my best to rectify this!

After all, I DO want to keep him always eager, right?

Good Housekeeping, 1955--Hostessing, Part 2

A whole page is devoted to centerpieces. I'm not known for my centerpieces, that's for sure. I have done flowers. I tried doing candles. My husband pointed out something about the candles I was using: I was using scented candles. After a few meals he gently explained to me that the candle scent was interfering with the delicious aromas of the meal. You'd think I would have caught that. He's a kind and long suffering man. I bought unscented candles.

As I said, there is a whole page for centerpieces. The next pages describe place settings and how to serve the guests. There are even directions for using a maid.

What really caught my attention, though, was something I hadn't come across before (besides using a maid!). The title is "How to Route Traffic for a Buffet."

Now that's something I need to learn. At last someone will give me instruction on the ORDER to lay things out for buffets! I will now share this wisdom with you:

At a buffet supper, guests should be able to move easily around the serving table and to serve themselves in logical order. (Yes! Logical order. I'm there.)

Arrange plates and food (each dish with its own serving silver), etc., so they can be picked up in this order:

• napkins
• dinner plates
• hot dishes
• cold dishes (or cold then hot)
• salad
• bread
• relishes
• forks

If you can, leave enough room between the serving dishes so guests can put down their plates while serving themselves.

NOW we're talking. It has always been a pet peeve of mine to have the eating utensils laid out at the beginning of the buffet. My fingers get all pinched and cramped. I winced thinking about it.

And how about the idea to provide room to set your plate down while serving? Genius.

I can go to bed and sleep peacefully now that I know I've passed along some tips that will bring relief to cramped fingers everywhere.

Good Housekeeping, 1955: Hostessing, Part 1

When You're Cook and Hostess Too:

No one--least of all the hostess--enjoys a dinner when the hostess is constantly jumping up from the table to replenish this dish or bring on that. Yet many of us must be cook, waitress, and hostess, too. Below we suggest numerous ways to handle a dinner AND at the same time cut down on steps, dishes, time.

1. Plan dinners with not more than two or three easy-to serve courses. It's correct, smart.
2. Eliminate last-minute chores. Choose dishes that can be completely cooked in advance or can be made ready for cooking early in day and kept in refrigerator.
3. Choose dishes that can wait if dinner is delayed or that can be cooked at last minute.
4. Instead of serving the first course at the table, serve it in the living room--fruit, tomato, clam, or vegetable juice; or a hot soup served in mugs or punch glasses. While guests sip, you can slip out of the room and put main course on table.
5. Or serve first course with main course: Place glass of fruit, tomato, clam or vegetable juice to right of each water glass.
6. Choose course-in one main dishes...a salad that can be tossed in a bowl...rather than ...arranged on individual plates...or even crisp raw...vegetables.

Most of the above ideas we've heard before. I DID find it interesting that the "First Course" of a soup or food drink was considered important.

That made me start to think:

You know how we're always trying to get extra vegetables into our diets? I think this just may be a good solution! A "first course" of a glass of vegetable or tomato juice with a veggie platter set out while finishing the last preparations for the meal will kick start some nutrition and keep those hungry eyes and voices out of the kitchen.

I will be incorporating this!

Good Housekeeping, 1955--Leftovers

In this section, each category gives a short explanation (which I've typed below) and then lists all the recipes (and the page numbers) that could be used for that leftover. The opening paragraph says:

Leftovers needn't mean waste or a dreary repetition of exactly the same meal. They can easily be worked into dishes that are deliciously different form the food's first appearance...Don't forget you can freeze that leftover bird, roast, etc. Give the family a rest by wrapping and freezing the bird; then bring it out a week or two later, when the family's all enthused again.

Leftover Egg Yolks:
To Store Leftover Egg Yolks: Put them in small bowl; cover with cold water; then refrigerate. Use, drained, within a day or two...
Hard-Cook Leftover Egg Yolks: Put yolks in strainer; lower into simmering water to cover; simmer until hard-cooked. Remove; mince with fork; then use where hard-cooked eggs are called for...

Leftover Egg Whites:
To Store Leftover Egg Whites: Turn them into covered jar and refrigerate. Use the whites within 10 days...

Leftover Fish:
Piece out leftover cooked fish with another fresh or canned fish or shellfish. Or mix leftover fish with chopped raw or cooked vegetables, salad dressing, and seasonings to use as a sandwich filling.

Leftover Vegetables:
Add to: salads, soups, tomorrow's vegetables, combine 2 kinds.
Leftover Boiled Potatoes: Serve them cut up, then creamed with peas, tuna, salmon, etc. Or toss with greens, vegetables, meat, fish, or poultry for salad. Or fry in skillet.
Leftover Mashed Potatoes: Add them to mashed turnips or squash. Or form into cakes; then saute.
Vegetable Liquid: Save it. It contains valuable soluble minerals and vitamins. Use it:
1. Combined with tomato juice.
2. As liquid with which to dilute any canned condensed soup.
3. As part of liquid in sauces, soups, gravies, or stews.

Leftover Fruits and Fruit Syrups:
Fruit: Use in or on fruit gelatin desserts, fruit cups, fruit cocktails, ice cream, sherbets, cake slices, etc. Use in salads--fruit, meat, or fish salads. Use as a garnish.
Fruit Syrups: Use in cold drinks.

Leftover Meats, Cake, Pie, Bread or Crusts, Cheese, Milk, and "Extras" (eg. pickles, olives, potato chips):
All of these categories just listed many recipes in which to use up the leftover.

For me, I found the ideas for egg whites and yolks, fish, fruits, and fruit syrups most useful. I can't count how many times I've thrown out the syrup in the fruit cans. The only way I've ever used up the extra yolks or whites was to scramble them. It's nice to see better ways to reduce food waste.

Am I the only one who has wasted more food than I care to admit?

Good Housekeeping, 1955--Planning Meals

I COULD just copy everything in the book, it's so good, but I won't. It would ruin my manicure (HA!)

I will, though, copy out some significant parts that I found helpful. For example:

The Easy Way to Plan

• Consider the day's three meals as a unit--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--and they'll be better both esthetically AND nutritionally.
• Choose the main dish first. What will it be? A casserole, stew, main-dish salad, hearty soup?
• Vegetables come next. Usually it's potatoes and a nonstarchy vegetable, or two nonstarchy ones. If you'd like a starchy dessert...it's wiser to serve only nonstarchy vegetables.
• Then select a dessert. If the main course is to be salad or soup, you'll want a hearty dessert...But if you're having goulash with noodles or mashed potatoes, you'll want something light, such as fruit gelatin and cookies.
• Also ask yourself, would a cold or hot dessert taste better?
• Now which salad will you choose? The tossed green salad is the perfect answer almost anytime. But for variety's sake, consider raw relishes, a jellied salad, fruit or vegetables salad, etc.
• What about bread? Does your meal need a HOT bread or will a COLD one do? Often the choice is plain bread and butter; now and then it's no bread at all. Other times you may crave [other types of breads].
• Take another look at your menu, for the job isn't done. Consider color, texture, flavor. The dishes of a well-planned meal do not clash in color, flavor, or texture, but do include contrasts.
• How much time and effort is involved in getting the meal on the table? Will the cooking be on top of the stove or in the oven? Can you manage it all?

(Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1955, pages 662-663)

Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1955

I have this cookbook on the desk next to me and I am surrounded by fumes. Mothball fumes.

I remember when I was very little (early 60s) that our across-the-street neighbor's house always reeked of moth balls. They were from "Up North" somewhere. We lived in South Florida. There was nothing for the moths to eat! (Don't worry--we had plenty of other worrisome insects to keep us busy.)

Aside from the odor accosting my nose, I have to report about a GEM that I picked up last week. I actually found several books (see THIS post), but this cookbook has quickly become my favorite. (Sheesh--does anyone know how to get rid of this smell?)

I'm going to do a series of posts on several sections of the book that might prove interesting and useful to others. I'm finding them to be so for myself.

It has the usual categories one would find in any cookbook. This one, however, is like the KING of cookbooks. The chapters I want to share have the following titles:

• Leftovers
• Thrifty Meals
• Box Lunches
• Your Weight
• Planning Meals
• Serving the Meals
• Your Kitchen

Just to give you a sample of what I'm so excited about, look at this entry under "Planning Meals:"

Sunday--Dad's Favorite

Pan-fried Smoked Boneless Shoulder

Golden Cauliflower

Green-Lima and Apple Salad

Whole-wheat Bread

Fresh Strawberry Tapioca

Gingersnaps

Milk

Early in day or day before: Make tapioca. Simmer shoulder as directed. Refrigerate all.

About 30 min. before dinner: Break cauliflower into flowerets; cook as on p. 280. For salad, toss together 1 drained 10 1/2 oz. can green limas, 1 or 2 cubed unpared red apples, and 1/4 cup French dressing; chill. Fold cream into tapioca. Saute sliced shoulder; remove to heated platter; keep warm. Drain cauliflower; place in same skillet; toss gently over heat until lightly browned.

Do you see what it is that has me intrigued? Directions on preparation TIMING!

Stay tuned for the first post in the "Gem of a Cookbook" series. (I love making up titles.) Click on the book cover above for the posts about it.

(Seriously--what DO I do about this wafting odor??)