The concept was easy - a dinner based on recipes from the year this person was born. The execution was not that easy.
First, the recipes: It seems the only thing one cannot find online today are 1972 recipes. Two days of email exchanges with the editors of Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Chatelaine to get 1972 editions of the magazines lead nowhere. But a search term on Craigslist brought out this binder of 1972 Gourmet magazines from a lovely lady in North Vancouver.
This made for both a special birthday gift and an endless source of 1972 recipes. Well, until I realized that I wanted to make a vegetarian dinner from an era when the term did not exist.
But nothing will stop somerville kitchen. A week of reading, planning, adjusting recipes; followed by a fun-day of cooking brought out a surprisingly interesting (and sometimes tasty) spread.
Pineapple and Rum Cocktail (from June 1972) - The addition of lime in the drink made it taste like grapefruit juice, but with a kick.
Mushrooms Stuffed with Brazilian Nuts (from November 1972) - A lot of work for such little delicacies, but worth the effort. Parsley, shallots, thyme, mushroom stems, chopped Brazilian nuts and bread crumbs (I skipped the recipe's ham dices) made the stuffing. I used 1/3 of the required butter though and they still slipped through our hands. Deemed the best appetizer.
Ensalada de Pinay Aguacate (from April 1972) - An easy and fun salad with avocado, pineapple, lemon juice, grated fresh ginger, mayonnaise and paprika. Chilled and deemed the interesting (but no, thank you, for leftovers) appetizer.
Artichoke Bottoms with Eggs (from February 1972) - I attempted this because (a) I love artichoke bottoms and (b) I have those delicious lumberjack eggs you've been reading about all week. Failure.
Peas & Spaghetti (from May 1972) - Home made pesto, but using Hawaiian basil that gave it a sweet taste. Again, I skipped most of the called-for-butter but kept to the olive oil proportions (there are 1.5 cups of olive oil in that pot). I scored.
Green Salad with French Dressing au Jus (from February 1972) - Even a vinaigrette dressing in those days included roast beef jus, which I replaced simply with soy sauce. Wonder what it would have really tasted like with that jus.
Whole Wheat Dill Biscuits (from February 1972) - They came out looking like something from the 70's. Not only did they taste good, but made for party entertainment.
Banana Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting (from January 1972) - Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, walnuts, banana and lots of butter and buttermilk (plus over 3 cups of combo brown and confectionery sugar in the frosting). The most fun, yet demanding recipe to make; but turned out to be the star of the party and the pride of my day - all from scratch.
And so goes the story of reminding a special person of the year of her birth and what she has missed out on having no teeth at that time.
Happy Birthday C.
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