Tag Archives: 1950s

Whatever happened to olive loaf?

Does olive loaf still exist? I will say yes based on my experience at BJ’s, my local big box store which is a pale simulacrum of Costco. I had a $2 off coupon on their house brand and went for … Continue reading

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Vintage recipes from Milwaukee Library

We stumbled on a remarkable and little-known (judging from the Google search results) resource for mid century recipes: The Historical Recipe Archive of the Milwaukee Public Library. The home page pretty much says it: “For over 20 years, from the … Continue reading

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Food for Thought: Myra Waldo Complete Book of Oriental Cooking

We have published a couple of recipes from Myra Waldo’s grandiosely-titled paperback, and when we went looking for another in our tattered copy its page was missing. That led us to Amazon.com (affiliate link!) where we were surprised to discover … Continue reading

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Golden oldies from Burnt My Fingers

September is the anniversary month of this blog, wherein we reveal the posts that have garnered the most views over the past 12 months. In the next couple of weeks we’ll report on the most popular recipes, then the most … Continue reading

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Recipe: Steak with Cream Corn

Cream corn is something you grew up with if you lived in the south or midwest, but it’s available in most U.S. grocery stores. It’s cooked corn niblets in an umami milky base, produced by squeezing the liquid out of … Continue reading

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Recipe: Pineapple Cole Slaw

Inspired by the slaw served at the historic Saltsman’s Hotel in Ephratah, NY, Pineapple Cole Slaw is a mild, refreshing side dish that would be right at home at my mother’s canasta club lunches. Goes well with barbecued meats. Serves … Continue reading

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Recipe: Porcupines (Meat Balls with Rice)

I tinkered with Dorothy Crum’s very plain recipe in the Phi Beta Phi cookbook by adding the ingredients marked with a *. Makes six porcupines. Ingredients: 1 lb lean ground beef ½ c uncooked rice ½ chopped onion 1 clove … Continue reading

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Food for Thought: Phi Beta Phi Cookbook

My mother’s Phi Beta Phi Cookbook, published in 1936, is the source of the Turkey Wiggle (nee Chicken Wiggle) served at my grandmother’s holiday parties. It’s a popular download from Burnt My Fingers, particularly after Thanksgiving. I’m actually puzzled as … Continue reading

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Recipe: Chef Salad

Is it Chef Salad or Chef’s Salad? Considering its roots in the aspirational 1950s, “Chef” might have been some food writer’s idea of a descriptive adjective connoting quality—the kind of salad a chef (as opposed to a mere cook) might … Continue reading

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Recipe: French* Dressing

Here’s a midcentury classic from a jingoistic time when Americans (and specifically Kraft Foods) were happy to take international flavors and give them a uniquely inauthentic makeover. French Dressing is tangy, a bit heavy, but delicious on a composed Chef Salad … Continue reading

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