Ah… those thrilling days of yesteryear… or were they?!? Answer in a minute…

Since I had updated the TJ Recipe site, I thought I’d do a bit of an update on Flour Power and Mom’s Cookbooks, as well to give the sites a bit of a more uniform look. The only issue was Mom’s Cookbooks used a different theme than the other two.

In order for Mom’s site to have the same general look, I needed to install a new theme and redo most of the 1038 pages individually – a lot of repetitive work. These sites have all been around in various configurations, on different urls, and different formats since at least 2005. It was time to get them all together and more easily updatable.

The fun thing about it was actually revisiting all of those recipes!

I collect recipes the way my mom did – not necessarily to make the dish, but to get an idea of what to do. It was unusual for her – or me, for that matter – to actually make a recipe completely as written. They’re concepts, not absolutes.

Some of the recipes brought back memories. Some of the recipes sounded completely gawd-awful. Some were intriguing…

I thought it would be fun to actually make a complete dinner using only recipes from the book.

Enter Phoebe, Nancy, and Victor as my trusting dinner guests…

I chose five recipes – an appetizer, a protein, a potato, a vegetable, and a dessert – very ’60s meal planning. Of the five, I had only had one of them, before – and only a very vague recollection of it. The others just sounded interesting. Not wanting to throw a modem spin on anything, I actually made them pretty much as written. I did use actual sherry in place of the Holland House Sherry Cooking Wine. I have my standards, low as they may be.

First was a Party Cheese Ball.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of my creation, but it pretty much looked like the picture – and it really tasted great. It was no-brainer simple to make and I could see it becoming a regular family-gathering treat. We served it with Ritz Crackers, Saltines, Chicken in a Biskit crackers, and Triscuits.

We also had Lipton’s Onion Dip, and Mixed Nuts, because those were always constants at our house growing up.

**NOTE: Chicken in a Biskit crackers suck.

Next up was Chicken Parisienne.

This one sounded intriguing, but I do have to admit it was about as French as I am – and definitely didn’t live up to it’s supposed Parisienne roots. I’m guessing that the only reason it was called Parisienne was because it had a sauce.

The concept wasn’t bad, but the execution was wrong. It would have made a better dish if the chicken breasts and sauce were cooked separately with the sauce poured over the chicken at serving. Being baked in the oven, the sauce consistency was uneven and the chicken stringy.

Flavor-wise it was okay. Not great, but okay.  The concept has promise, but I probably won’t be making it, again, any time soon.

Next we had Vaughan’s Potatoes.

I have no idea who Vaughan is or was – but I loved their potatoes! They are definitely something I could see making, again.

I made them pretty much as described, but used a bit more than a pound of potatoes – my two russets weighed more than their three 1960s counterparts.

I riced the potatoes to make them completely smooth and then mixed everything in by hand. Very easy.

The potatoes were a bit loose – definitely not add more milk if dry – so I formed then into balls using an ice cream scoop and then refrigerated them to firm up. It was really easy to roll the refrigerated balls, dip into the egg, and roll in the crumbs.

They were fun – a nice, crispy exterior and a smooth, flavorful interior. Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix, potatoes, and corn flakes… Who woulda thunk?!? Thanks, Vaughan!

And then we had Guess-Again Carrots.

This was the only dish I had a vague recollection of – and the recipe made enough for several armies – not a dinner for 4. I could have halved it and still had leftovers.

They were not bad. My Mom completely changed the recipe around – how unusual – so I have no idea what the original would have been, but, overall, they were not bad.

They were silky-smooth and the crumbs added a nice contrasting texture.

The concept would also work with butternut squash, pumpkin…

Naturally, we had to have dessert – and also naturally – my first thought was to something really ooey and gooey. Mom was a dessert queen. Her original dessert binder was twice as thick as the binder holding all the other recipes. Gee… I wonder where I get my sweet tooth from?!?

But.. after the above meal, I knew my 71 year old over-weight metabolism would not be happy. My taste-buds would, but I’d pay for it.

Instead, we went with Peanut Cookies.

I do not actually remember these particular cookies from my childhood, but that really doesn’t mean I never had them. My mother made so many different cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts – we actually had some sort of dessert every night – that they all just blend and fade into sweet memories.

That being said – these cookies are dangerous! The perfect two-bite treat!

They were soft but not cake-like. Fully-baked – not under-done like designer cookies of today. A good but not overpowering peanut flavor, good crunch, and not too sweet. The perfect cookie, in my not so humble opinion.

A perfect end to a fun meal with excellent company.

The recipe states 6 dozen cookies dropped by rounded teaspoons. I got 8 dozen cookies using a #60 scoop.

So… gastronomically speaking, were those thrilling days of yesteryear really thrilling?

A resounding yes, no, and maybe.

Let’s face it… tastes change. When my Mom was making these things – or at least collecting the recipes – avocados were exotic, fresh strawberries were only available in summer, chicken was expensive and bone-in, beef was cheap, pork had fat, and watermelons had seeds.

Every one of those things is different, today. We didn’t have access to the ethnic foods and exotic spices we see in supermarkets, today. Fresh produce was local – canned and frozen reigned supreme.

We have access to so many different ingredients, today, that using a can of condensed soup as the base for a sauce seems rather low-brow. But adding sour cream and sherry – even if it was Holland House Sherry Cooking Wine – elevated it to a company meal.

I grew up with a mother who loved to experiment in the kitchen. I think it was part of her escape mechanism from dealing with six kids. She could let her mind wander and creative juices flow in-between changing diapers and stopping brawls in the living room.

Some of her meals were home runs, most definitely got on base, and, once in a while, there were strike-outs, but her batting average made Ty Cobb look like a loser.

And I was definitely a benefactor of it. It paved my way into the kitchen.

For lunch, today, I made a sliced ham and cheese ball sandwich.

Mom would be proud.