There’s nothing like the simple goodness of a grilled cheese sandwich, especially when you ad some mayo to it! This recipe comes from A Festival of Cheese Recipes, and even a non-cook can make this easy recipe.

Spread one slice of bread with mayonnaise. Heap on grated Miss Wisconsin Medium Aged Cheddar and top with another slice of bread. Grill on both sides in butter until slightly browned. Serve hot, garnished with pickle fans.

A Festival of Cheese Recipes, featuring Miss Wisconsin brand… “A natural cheddar… not a processed cheese.” Tested recipes from Marie Gifford’s Kitchen. Undated, and published by Armour and Company in Chicago, Illinois.  Hey, wait a minute!  A company in Illinois making cheese and using “Miss Wisconsin” to ride on the fame of our great cheese-making state?!  Why I oughta….

Okay, you may have noticed I’m originally from Wisconsin… love cheese and fish fries! As this cookbook points out, “Cheese is one of America’s favorite foods– cheese and crackers, macaroni and cheese, cheese with pie, are all standard fare in most homes.”

This quaint little cookbook recipes from appetizers, main dishes, salads, sandwiches, to desserts. Mmmm… their Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwich recipe looks good with the addition of mayo! I might have to make that for lunch. (recipe to follow)

There is nothing a good fish fry!  Especially if you’re from Wisconsin.  Frying fish at home can be a big undertaking, but oven-fried fish is easy.  Pick up (or catch) some of your favorite fish, and have a fish fry! This recipe is from the 1957, Delicious Recipes for Fish and Shellfish.

• 2 pounds fillets, steaks, or portion fish
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, or other fat, melted

Cut fillets into serving sized portions. Add salt to milk. Dip fillets in milk and roll in crumbs; place in well greased baking pan. Sprinkle each piece of fish with butter. Bake in an extremely hot oven, 500 degrees F, for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  Serves 6.

Delicious Recipes for Fish and Shellfish is a little recipe brochure published in 1957 by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service.  It is filled with recipes, a purchasing guide, tips on garnishes for fish, and best of all “real help in solving your difficult food budget problems.”

“With today’s high prices, no wonder you’re at your wit’s end!”  I guess things haven’t changed much in the past 53 years, have they?  Apparently fish was “easy on your budget” back then, and choosing fish helped lower food costs.

This brochure also points out the high nutritive value of fish with it’s protein, iodine, calcium, iron, copper, phosphorous, and essential vitamins.  Mercury must not have been an issue back then.  Fish is also easily digested, so it is particularly good for children and elderly people.

Stay tunaed, er, tuned for recipes and more from this fine little recipe brochure!

From the 1967 Betty  Crocker’s Hostess Cookbook. If you are a cheese lover like me, this chart will come in handy for describing some of the more common cheeses.  I highly recommend finding a really good cheese shop who will let you try different varieties before buying.  Then again, it is fun to just buy cheese based on a whim to see if you like it.  I’ve found many great cheeses that way.

Soft Cheeses

Brie – Creamy ripened cheese with an edible thin brown rind and white crust.  Mild to strong flavor.

Camembert – Soft, ripened cheese with a creamy yellow interior and edible crust. Pleasantly pungent.

Cream – White, smooth, mild; unripened type. Available plain and as pimento, pineapple, and other varieties.  Also comes whipped–plain and flavored. An unripened cheese, serve slightly chilled.

Liederkranz – Soft, creamy yellow. Pungent in flavor, similar to a mild limburger.

Neufchatel – Soft, white, mild. Similar to cream cheese. An unripened cheese; server slightly chilled.

Semisoft Cheeses

Bel Paese – Light yellow Italian cheese; mild and smooth.

Blue – Blue veined, white and crumbly; robust flavor. A first cousin to Roquefort.

Brick – Mild Flavor; creamy yellow with tiny holes.

Gorgonzola – Italian blue-veined cheese, sharp flavor.

Gruyere – Nutlike flavor; light yellow color. Similar to Swiss cheese but with smaller “eyes” and sharper flavor.

Port du Salut – Mild flavor; creamy yellow. Cheese made by Trappist monks in France.

Roquefort - French blue-veined cheese; sharp flavor.

Stilton – English blue-veined cheese; sharp flavor.

Hard Cheeses

Cheddar - Mild to very sharp flavor

Edam or Gouda – Firm, mild, red-coated rounds; a colorful addition to the cheese tray.

Fontina - Round Italian cheese with mellow flavor

Swiss - Mild, nutliek flavor and distinctive holes or “eyes”.

In the photo, from left to right…

Top row: Cream, Neufchatel, Camembert, Brie, Liederkranz.
Second row: Roquefort, Port du Salut, Blue, Brick, Gorgonzola.
Third row: Stilton, Fontina, Bel Paese, Gruyere, Swiss.
Bottom row: Gouda, Cheddar, Edam

Betty Crocker’s Hostess Cookbook featuring more than 400 guest-tested recipes. A Wealth of Ideas for Today’s Entertaining. Published in 1967 by General Mills, this is one fine vintage cookbook! When I first saw this extremely cool cover design, I knew I would soon own a copy.  Believe me, it is not easy being a vintage cookbook junkie… “Hi, my name is Jim, and I am a vintage cookbook junkie.”  Okay, I admit it!  You know, if I was buying them to resell, that would be a different story… but for the most part I am not. (I only sell duplicates I accidentally get.)

Anyhow, enough about my sordid addiction to vintage cookbooks…

The cover illustration on this one is just fantastic, kudos to the illustrator!  The house on the cover is surely a classic “modern” tri-level, with great sleek & modern furnishings.  I want to live there and have dinner parties every weekend! continue reading » »

This recipe is from The Art and Secrets of Chinese Cookery, published in 1949 for La Choy brand Chinese food.

Cooking time: 15 minutes  •  Yield: 4 large portions

• 1/4 cup butter or shortening
• 2 cups (1 lb.) lean pork, cut in thin strips
• 1 cup onions, cut fine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/16 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups celery (cut in 1-inch pieces, then into thin strips, lengthwise)
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 can La Choy Mixed Chinese Vegetables (drained well)

For Flavoring and thickening:

• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons La Choy Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon La Choy Brown Gravy Sauce if Chop Suey is desired

Method: Melt butter or vegetable fat in hot skillet. Add meat, stir and sear quickly (without browning or burning), add onions and fry for five minutes. Add celery, salt, pepper and hot water. Cover and cook for five minutes,  Add drained La Choy Mixed Chinese Vegetables. Mix thoroughly and heat to boiling point.  Combine and add flavoring and thickening ingredients.  Stir lightly and cook for one minute.

Serve piping hot with La Choy Noodle for Chow Mein or cooked rice for Chop Suey.  Flavor individual dishes with La Choy Soy Sauce.

Garnish or decorate with lettuce, parsley, sliced green onions and sliced cold boiled egg, or slender strips of fried beaten egg.  Whole or chopped nuts may be added.