My
mother had three recipe boxes – her first, her second, and the one that was current
as she moved from the family home. (Hard to believe that was almost 30 years
ago.) Also, one drawer of her kitchen desk was devoted to recipes from magazines,
newspapers, friends, product packaging, etc., and in the basement, she had a drawer
filled with a similar collection from bygone eras. On a shelf were Grandma
Portfors’ (mother’s mother) two recipe boxes. To my way of thinking, all this constituted
a treasure trove. I braced myself for a fight with my older sisters.
“What about the recipes?” I cautiously
ventured.
“You
can have them,” said one. The other, nodding in agreement, said, “and take the cookbooks, too.”
“You
don’t want them?!” I asked in disbelief.
“No,”
they answered emphatically and in unison.
Score!
I came home with Mother’s (and Grandma’s) recipe boxes, her cookbooks, and a
packing box full of loose recipes and pamphlets. I couldn’t believe my good
fortune! Harriet and Joni had just let me walk out of the house with our family’s
recipe history. (It would be 20 years before I fully recognized my love of fading
vintage paper.)
The
recipe boxes are still intact – sort of – but I had to work through that box of
loose clippings and pamphlets. I couldn’t keep it all, but I came out of it
with an interesting collection of vintage recipes.
Today,
recipes abound. All you need is your smart phone and internet access, but back
in the day it wasn’t so. The homemaker kept her eyes open for tasty recipes to
expand her repertoire.
So,
I have this bulging folder full of old recipes. Some are so faded that it’s
time to salvage them if I’m going to, and I thought it would be fun to share
some of them here. It may not be practical to try these recipes in your own
test kitchen, but they have vintage value nevertheless.
Let’s
start with Aunt Ethel’s recipe for “Chicken Fried Hot Dogs,” which my mother
wrote on a recipe card. Interesting that Mother would go to the trouble to write this out. If I served this to my husband, he would
think I’d taken leave of my senses, but back in the day, we weren’t so
concerned about all that fat and salt, and some folks even said that a good ol’
beef wienie hit the spot. KW
4 comments:
Looking through all those boxes must be such fun! I did love hot dogs (back in the day) that were split length wise and then fried. I don't eat ANY hot dogs anymore, but those sure tasted good! Chicken fried hot dogs sound like a lot of work. Maybe your mom copied the recipe to be kind when Ethel mentioned it? I'm assuming your mom never made them.
I, too, suspect that Mother was taking polite interest as Aunt Ethel told her about the wiener bake. I don't think it would be too much work, though. Just smash up a few potato chips with a hammer and spread them on a plate. Spread a little mayo on another plate and start rolling your hot dogs from one plate to the next.
It's an odd idea, though. I would never do it. We don't eat hot dogs either, but if I were so inclined, I'd bake them wrapped in crescent rolls.
You're such a genius! I pictured carefully spreading the mayo on with a knife and sprinkling the crumbs on. Sheesh! Still, I wouldn't try them. Mom used to boil our hot dogs and they were never my favorite. Pale and puffy. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure the fried ones I described above were made by mom. I think I ate them at someone else's house.
Hahaha! Which hot dog company used to advertise, "Grill 'em, fry 'em, blah blah blah, but don't you dare boil 'em." Yes, I remember boiled wieners, too.
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