My Man is Proud!

For your educational accomplishments? For your sparkling intellect? For your selfless volunteer work? Oh no. Something much more meaningful. For slashing the grocery budget by using Kerr Mason jars.
“Jim is so proud of me he is about to ‘pop’ and I found the way to save yet have fun and enjoyment in serving my own delicious and attractive home canned fruits and vegetables.”
Life was just one big party in the early 1940s. All of that exciting canning going on, and no need for Viagra when you have attractive home canned produce in the house.

It was a terrifying time...

I imagine that there were many scary things going on for those who lived in 1940. The tail end of the Great Depression, the fact that a minor illness could easily kill you, getting maimed by primitive factory/farm equipment etc. But the scariest thing of all - JELLY MAKING!
Friends thought that Barbara was a "natural born jelly maker". They had no idea it wasn't her birthright. For years Barbara quivered in her kitchen, sweat pouring down her brow, when confronted with those jelly jars. Then finally, the reign of terror was ended. All thanks to Sure Jell.

What Cup Size is that dessert?

All of these desserts are made with eggnog. The best place to store eggnog desserts is always on the front porch steps. Frozen solid, they will keep quite awhile in the dead of winter. Unless of course the neighborhood canines find them. Desserts make a festive, holiday porch decoration. My favorite in this group is the eggnog boobie on the bottom step. Perhaps an incentive to seduce the milkman into leaving a little extra eggnog on his next trip.

Mmmm, what to make first!

So many delicious choices on a single page! How can one ever choose? As well as the Sour Cream Chicken Mousse pictured in the previous post, this page of the McCalls Salads and Salad dressings contains recipes for "Layered Tongue and Cheese Salad Mold" and "Jellied Veal Loaf". The words tongue/mold and jellied/loaf just shouldn't appear in the same recipe title.
On the other hand, "gherkin" is fun word that one rarely hears anymore!

The jello salad of Kings

There it sits, glistening in the foliage. The castle in the background lets us know that this dish (Sour Cream Chicken Mousse) is meant for royalty, not the common man. Perhaps it was stolen away by a wicked knave. Or perhaps it was created by magical woodland fairies, who plan to deliver it to the beautiful queen to win her favor.

Boyfriends need not apply

These cakes are for husbands only. After a long day of smoking cigarettes at his desk, cocktails in the office, and secretaries in the supply closet, your own Don Draper is going to come home, and he's going to want cake. Be a good little lady, and whip up one of these Cakes that Husbands Like Best. The way to a man's heart is surely by loading him up with Spry (Crisco).
It's hard to pick from the 10 cakes shown based on the stunning black and white phots that make them all look very similar, but my gut tell me to go with "Spicy Prune Whip Cake", with a delectable Prune Whip Frosting. Though it's tempting to swap out the frosting for "Tawny Satin Frosting" , just because it sounds like a burlesque dancer.

It's 10 PM, whatcha hungry for?

Ten PM. By now, your guests must be hungry enough to eat anything. No one can resist when you pass around a tray of "Pungent Liver". The recipe doesn't specify to serve with crackers, so maybe guests just eat this with their hands. An especially satisfying taste treat if your guests happen to be labrador retrievers.



This spread is quite the rhapsody in blue. I particular like the large pile of stuff on lettuce in the lower left. Nothing completes a table setting like dusty fake flowers.