Perusing our vast collection of women's magazine cooking encyclopedias, I discovered quite a few images that were probably meant to be cosmopolitan and exciting in the 1970s. Most of the recipes, of course, seem fairly innocuous, but there are some dishes that just seem to question their own edibility. For the next week or two, I'll be posting the highlights from the various volumes. First up is the Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking series dating from 1972. Volume 1 comprises 'A - Bev.'
Maryland Moldy Ham
'A luscious lineup of milk and fruit based coolers' - I was entranced by the face in the top-middle beverage.
Volume 3 of the series is charmingly titled 'Bur-Buy.' The theme of this volume is 'How not to serve your hamburger.' Case in point:
Do not attempt to shape your hamburgers like this. It is best to stick to recognizable geometric shapes.
Beans are an acceptable side dish, but do not top the other bun with beans.
Not only should it not top the other bun, but spaghetti doesn't even really go with a burger.
2 comments:
After looking closely at these illustrations, I wonder how they sold any of these cookbook sets. I looked in my single-volume Family Circle Cookbook from 1974 and they seem to have stuck with normal dishes, particularly in the photos, for that one.
Well, most of the pictures aren't that outrageous. In some cases, there are only one or two unappetizing pictures per volume, but they're all more frivolous dishes that probably wouldn't be included in a single-volume set.. hopefully!
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