Outdoor Eating: Wine 'N' Honey Ribs

For many years beginning in 1957 Woman's Day Magazine had a little monthly recipe insert titled The Collector's Cook Book. Each month was devoted to a different food item, method of cooking etc. They often had whimsical illustrations. The edges were perforated for easy removal and had hole punch markings.

Several times these were compiled and released as cookbooks. I have a paperback edition and a deluxe ring binder, slip case version from 1970.

I've saved a large number of the magazine editions. This one is from July 1972. The topic was outdoor eating and contains this different take on barbecued ribs:

Wine 'N' Honey Ribs

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup red-wine vinegar

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

4 pounds beef short ribs

Combine all ingredients, except ribs, and mix well. Lay ribs in shallow glass dish and pour sauce over top. Refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator and cook on grill, brushing frequently with sauce. 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until very tender. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Garden Vegeables and Patty Medley

This is a frugal recipe that is good for the summer because it is cooked on the top of the stove and uses some of the veggies you might have growing in the garden.

Garden Vegetables and Patty Medley

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound lean ground beef, formed into 4 patties

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium-size zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium-size onion, chopped

6 or 7 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon whole marjoram

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

3 medium-size tomatoes, chopped

salt

pepper

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil and add patties. Brown well on both sides before turning heat to medium to cook almost to desired doneness. Remove patties set aside and keep warm. Heat remaining oil in skillet and add garlic, zucchini, green pepper, onion and mushrooms. Sprinkle with marjoram, dill weed and celery seed: saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste; continue to saute for 3 minutes, or until vegetables are tender crisp. Place meat patties on top of vegetables, cover and continue to cook for about 1 minutes or until meat is heated through. Remove patties to serving platter sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Top with vegetables and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Makes 4 servings.

From Ground Beef Favorites by Babara Swift Brauer, 1981 Owlswood Publications

National Peaches and Cream Day- Peach Bombe

Today is National Peaches and Cream day according to some online food calendars. This frozen dessert is much facier than plain old peaches and cream. The recipe is written in the old style and is a little hard to follow.
The recipe comes from an interesting cookbook: Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book. It is a 2002 reprint of the original 1903 cookbook. Its' unusual feature is its size: 9-1/2 by 4-1/4 inches.

Peach Bombe

Scald one pint of cream and one and one-half cups of granulated sugar till the mixture looks blue and thin. Take from the fire and add one pint of uncooked cream. When cool add the juice from a pint can of white or pink peaches, one teaspoon of vanilla and one half teaspoon of peach extract; freeze. When nearly frozen add the peach pulp, mix in thoroughly and pack till you are ready to mold it.
Any simple form will do for this, a melon mold is very good. Have it as cold as possible and line it with the ice cream, leaving a cavity in the middle.
Fill this with a vanilla mousse, made of one pint of cream whipped very stiff, a few drops of vanilla and the same of orange extract. Put on the cover, bury in ice and salt and leave to ripen for three hours. If you find the outside is not deep enough in color, a suspicion of the damask-rose color paste will improve it.

Frankfurters & Corn Casserole

This is a frugal recipe from a 1973 recipe card. Today in my neighborhood gas was $4.51 for regular so it is definitely time to dig out some really frugal meal ideas.
If you like corn pudding I bet this would be quite good.

Frankfurters & Corn Casserole

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

3 tablespoon butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1-1/2 cups milk

2 cups canned whole kernel corn, drained

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine

1 pound frankfurters, scored

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook onions in butter until transparent; stir in flour. Add salt and pepper. Over low heat, gradually stir in milk; cook until sauce is thick and smooth stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add corn. Fold in beaten eggs. Pour into 1-1/2-quart buttered casserole. Mix melted butter and bread crumbs; sprinkle on top. Bake 30 minutes; place frankfurters on top of casserole and bake 15 minutes longer. Serves 6
Suggested Menu on card: Frankfurter Corn Casserole, Pepper Slaw, Peach Melba

I have been AWOL

I haven't been posting much or commenting on others blogs because my son-in-law has been very ill. He had intestinal surgery last week but came home from the hospital today. They don't know exactly what the problem is and are awaiting test results. The surgeon was an older man and told my daughter after the operation- "I have never seen anything like it in 30 years, but I don't think it is cancer". That is certainly not the type of thing you are hoping to hear.

My daughter is also expecting after several years of physically and emotionally draining infertility treatment. Her husband was in the hospital when she had her first prenatal appointment so he obviously couldn't go with her which was very upsetting to both of them. I went with her though and everything looks good. Hopefully the lab report will be good for my son-in-law and everything can get back to normal. I sure hope so.

Soda Pop Frozen Passion

I have saved this ad since 1972. I think the ice cream or sherbet or whatever it is is so pretty. It is very easy to make also. I have made regular vanilla ice cream with sweetened condensed milk and it is very good. So I think this might be good. You could sure make a lot of different flavors. Orange soda would probably have a creamscicle taste. Yum. The recipe is listed as World's Simplest Recipe but else where in the ad they refer to it as Frozen Passion.

World's Simplest Recipe

Pour 2 cans of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and two 28 oz. bottles (or four 12 oz.

cans) of soda pop into freezer drum of an electric ice cream maker and follow instructions.

Makes two quarts of Frozen Passion in minutes. For small families, cut the recipe in half.

Pie Plate Salad

This is another ad from the 1952 Better Living. I am sure it is not a tasty as yesterdays cake. This is a recipe for a 50's favorite, the gelatin salad. "Enjoy this new, different salad, made like a pie in your regular pie pan!. So quick and easy! Veg-All Mixed Vegetables- seven delicious salad vegetables all ready to use- bring you a nutritional combination that's vitamin and mineral-rich, perfect for salads." I don't know how they can call just putting some canned veggies in lemon gelatin a salad- no seasonings or added ingredients. Gee how creative.

1. Dissolve one package lemon gelatin in 1 cup hot water. Stir until thoroughly dissolved. Add 1/2 cup cold water.
2. Add 1 can drained Veg-All. Rinse 8-inch pie pan with cold water. Pour in mixture. Chill until firm.
3. Unmold on flat plate. Garnish with tartar sauce or salad dressing, pimiento lettuce. Serve in pie cuts.

I can not imagine anything as unappealing to me as canned mixed vegetable in lemon jello. This is in part because of my own traumatic 50's canned mixed vegetable experience. I can remember very clearly the night my Mom opened a can of mixed vegetables to serve for dinner and there right on top of the veggies was a very well canned fly! I would not touch canned mixed vegetables from that day on.

Colorvision Cake

This ad from the Feb. 1952 issue of Better Living promotes the idea of flavoring and coloring your cake with fruit flavored gelatin, "Your cake will have a wonderful, tempting fruit flavor."

When this ad came out there were only three flavors of Betty Crocker Cake Mixes. The colorvision cake called for the Party Cake mix that made a yellow cake. To make it you added three tablespoons of your favorite fruit flavored gelatin as you started to mix the cake.

To make the Icing : Mix, in top of double boiler all the remaining fruit gelatin in package, 1/4 cup egg whites, 1 cup sugar,1/8 tsp. cream of tartar, 1/4 cup water. Place over boiling water and beat with electric mixer on high speed, or rotary beater, until icing holds stiff peaks. remove from over boiling water and beat about 1 min. longer.

I don't recall seeing this idea in later Betty Crocker booklets so I wonder if it really turned out very well. It seems like it would work. Remember the gelatin poke cakes? You don't hear about them much any more either. Maybe this idea just came and went.