This curious recipe comes from the ever weird and wonderful, Cocktail Companions, published in 1954.  Why this fine cookbook is no longer in print, and gracing the NY Times Best Sellers list, I will never know.  But now…. the Bologna Pie Recipe!

• 12 slices bologna
• 1 3 oz. package cream cheese
• 1 tsp. grated onion
• 1 Tbl. mayonnaise

Mix cream cheese, grated onion and mayonnaise together. Remove casing from bologna, place one slice on a plate, spread with cream cheese mixture, add a second slice, spread this with more cream cheese mixture, etc., until six slices are used, leaving the top slice without cheese. Chill well and cut into pie-shaped wedges to be served on a toothpick. Do the same with the remaining six slices of bologna and cheese mixture. Quantity production, inexpensive.

(Hmm… what does “quantity production, inexpensive” mean?  Strange little sentence or phrase!)

Good Housekeeping’s Egg and Cheese, Spaghetti and Rice Dishes - tempting, satisfying and flavor-filled, published in 1958.

I love this series from Good Housekeeping magazine, and have many in the series.  I do believe that one of the cookbooks in this series is partly responsible for my vintage cookbook addiction.

Here we have a long and somewhat clumsy title, Egg and Cheese, Spaghetti and Rice Dishes done in a fun, upbeat font.  This is a fun cookbook, you can just tell.  Shall we guess at what the cover photo is?

As is the case with most or all of the cookbooks in this series, this one is filled with wild and wacky illustrations by Jerry Warshaw. It is also filled with some okay looking food photography of some of the wacky recipes.  [On a side note, if anyone has a definitive resource for Jerry Warshaw and his great art, please let me know.]

Looking for a recipe for Bunwhiches? You’ll find it here!  Or those Hi-Yi sandwiches your mom made for you when you were a kid? Yup, it is here also. Or maybe you’ve always pondered “Can I put spaghetti in my omelet?”  Yes, you can find the answer to that question and many more in Egg and Cheese, Spaghetti and Rice Dishes!

Obviously this baby is another fun filled vintage cookbook which I am very please to have in my collection, and to share with the World of vintage cookbook fans, addicts, and zealots!

Drat! I don’t think I have enough cheese, eggs or spaghetti in the house to make any of these recipes for dinner tonight.  Ya know… some of these recipes actually look vaguely appealing!

Cocktail Companions – Snacks for All Occasions by Marion Courtney, published in 1954 by Wilcox & Follett, Co.

Allow me to begin with WOW, What a find this was! Fantastic font and goofy little illustrations, but what is with the color scheme? While it definite stands out from the other cookbooks in my bookshelf, it is rather dark and ominous. Maybe it should be Cocktail Companions of Satan!

Okay, and the other bizarre (yet very funny) thing about this cookbook is the illustration you see on the cover.  Let’s take a better look at this… continue reading » »

This recipe comes from the 1959 Sunset Barbeque Cook Book.

A leg of lamb or mutton should be spitted more or less parallel to the bone. A rolled boneless should may either be spitted on the diagonal or straight through the meat. Both roasts take about the same length of time to cook: medium rare (145° to 150°) in an hour or a little over, well done up to 2 1/2 hours.

Wipe leg of lamb with damp cloth. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little flour. Rub into meat. Slash and insert cut pieces of garlic. Place on spit and baste frequently.

Basting Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 3 tablespoons meat sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato catsup
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1 medium sized onion, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Few drops Tabasco

Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat to boiling.

And there you have it, leg of lamb, simple as that! This recipe seems to be lacking in detail, don’t you think? The only other detail they had in a chart was that you’d cook this over medium heat which they say is 250° to 300°.

I’ve added a bunch of new vintage cookbooks, books, and other items to the Retro Cookbook Shop!  Most of the items can also be found on the Retro Cookbook Etsy Shop as well. (But you will find some sales here!)

Savor the Seasons with Beef, compliments of your Oregon Beef Council, publishing date is not noted, 50′s or very early 60′s would be my guess. Maybe 40′s, but probably not 30′s… definitely not 1800′s.

What better way to cook with the seasons then this vintage cookbook? Savor the Seasons with Beef!  And not to catch you off guard, but this little gem even has some vegetable recipes in it!  Well, one or two.

You can even find “ethnic” recipes in this lil’ goodie.  Acapulco Pot-Roast with Frijoles, Beef Kabobs Waikiki…

Seek it out, even if there is something disturbing about the meat thingies on the cover.

Well it is that time of the year, time for camping, and fishing, and what better cookbook to choose than the classic 1950 Outdoor Cooking With Reynolds Wrap?

Here we have Camp Menu No. 2 – Fisherman’s Delight, and I bet it tastes darned good when you are out camping.

This recipe is for individual quantities, so adjust accordingly.

Menu

• Trout
• Steamed Potatoes
• Buttered Onions
• Bread, Apple Butter
• Coffee, Cookies
• Canned Peaches

Amount

• 2 Slices Bacon
• 3/4 to 1 lb. Fish
• 1 Med. to Lge. Potato
• 2 Small Onions
• 4 to 5 Cookies
• 1 Jar Apple Butter
• 1 Small Can Peaches

Directions: Clean and wash fish and vegetables. Take out about 26 inches of Reynolds Wrap. Place 1/2 slice bacon on the wrap. Place fish on top. Slice potatoes in 1/4 inch slices and place on top of fish. Slice onions in same manner and place around sides of and on top of potatoes. Put another slice of bacon on top of potatoes and onions. Carefully fold foil and crease over to seal. now fold in the ends to seal in all moisture. Caution—do not make a hole in the wrap.

Place dinner on hot coals for 10 minutes. Now take a blunt stick and turn it over and leave for 10 minutes more. The length of time it is left in the fire is determined by the size of fish. The larger the fish, the more time. Only experience can teach this.

Open up your fish dinner and enjoy its sealed-in flavor.

Reynolds Wrap cooking brings the pressure cooking idea to outdoor campfire cooking for the first time.