Retro Recipes and Traditional Fare

I have a large collection of both vintage and current cookbooks with many favorites, but my heart skips a beat when I come across one of those local PTA, Church Auxiliary, American Legion, Junior League or Private Club cookbooks - usually in a spiral binding! Heaven! Where else can one find so many venerable variations on the great American cheese ball, guacamole, bean and sour cream dip, or anything made with dried onion soup mix – Laugh! (Ha-Ha) but the best comfort food in the world comes from these unpretentious, homey books!

My darling husband, Bill and I summer on Martha’s Vineyard (true Heaven) and while there, my favorite go-to references for comfort food are STAR-SPANGLED RECIPES from the American Legion Auxiliary General George Goethals Post #257, Vineyard Haven, MA, and my newest, THE WEST CHOP COOK BOOK.

From Star-Spangled Recipes comes Island Lobster Stew, Lasagna for 150, and Spaghetti Pie. Yes! I used to make re-fried spaghetti pie when I secretly raided the fridge as a young child! Well, actually my dish was re-fried spaghetti sandwiches on white bread with mayo. Yum. Their pie has neither white bread nor piecrust but it does have cottage cheese, and while I haven’t tried it (the name alone satisfies me) I have the recipe near by for any potential nostalgic hunger fits. There is a saying on the island, “Summer People – Summer not!” When I cook from this book, I am no longer a summer resident but … An Islander!

NY Style Coffee Cake typically comes with a thick rich crumb topping and one of the most famous brands is Drake’s Coffee Cakes. Newman E. Drake baked his first pound cake in Brooklyn in 1888 and sold them by the slice. Drake’s popularity grew and the Drake’s brand with it, supplying such favorites as Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles and Ring Dings.

In New York City and New England, Drake's products came to rival national brand Hostess. Largely unknown outside of these areas until the 1990s, the Drake's product line received national exposure on the sitcom Seinfeld, most notably in the episode "The Suicide" in 1992. Later in 1990s television talk show host Rosie O'Donnell professed a fondness for them, sharing the cakes with her audience members on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

When it's incredibly hot outside, like it has been this month, standing by a hot stove is not something anyone wants to do. Grilling outside is another option, but when it's too hot to even do that, what do you do? Why not make a no-cook recipe, like a chilled soup? The cooling qualities of a cold soup are perfect on days where you need a refreshing respite from the sweltering heat. And there's no better way to achieve that than with a cold soup.

The tradition of cold, raw soups comes by way of Spain and their famous gazpachos. Originally, the recipe was made with just bread, garlic, and oil (bread and oil were the thickeners and garlic helped cool the body by way of sweating.) After the New World explorations, tomatoes were added to the recipe, creating what we know of today as the classic gazpacho. Many other nations have cold soups too, just think of borscht. In Hungary cucumber soup is very popular during summer. The pairing of cucumbers and yogurt is one that can be found in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisines. This recipe takes inspiration from all of these.

Some nights I just can’t decide what to make for dinner - especially when time is short, and I’m not in the mood for recipes that require lots of prep (and therefore lots of cleanup).

This lemon chicken recipe adapted from Ina Garten’s cookbook – How Easy is That? – is perfect when you’re looking for “fast and delicious”.

Lemon, garlic and thyme is a classic combination for chicken – I usually buy chicken breasts with rib bones and skin, I think it adds a lot more flavor to the dish.