Vintage Recipe Thursday/Life this Week: June 27, 1938

I got lucky, because the June 27th (1938) issue of Life magazine has two recipes in it: Gem Tossed Salad and Gin Juleps.

1938 drink, 1938 telephone

First off, the gin juleps were a disaster.  Don't get me wrong.  I love gin (as you probably know if you read this blog with any regularity), but I fully believe gin is made to be mixed.  Sipping straight gin with some ice and mint is not my idea of a refreshing drink.  "Refreshing" drinks don't burn.  That's what's great about a Gin and Tonic or a Gin and French or a White Lady.  I've never had a mint julep before, though, because I'm not the biggest fan of bourbon unless it's got lots of soda in it or if it's in a baked good.  Paul didn't like his gin julep either, but if you'd like to try it, the instructions are at the link above.

an individual bowl of Gem Tossed Salad

I was worried about the Gem Tossed Salad, but it turned out to be pretty tasty.  The recipe sounds like it was created by an insane person: lettuce, watercress, avocado, olives, vinaigrette dressing (OK so far), grapefruit sections and pineapple tidbits.  To be honest, though, it's pretty typical of the twentieth-century salad.  I used everything except the watercress, because ours had gone all manky in the fridge.  I don't have a recipe; I just put in the amount of everything that looked right.  As for the "French dressing," I used a 3 to 1 extra-virgin olive oil to lemon juice mix and added salt and pepper and "Italian herb mix."  Once you get the salad all tossed together, everything tastes like dressing and avocado.  Not a bad thing.

*****

Reading "America: Millions of Its People Set Out to See Their Country" made me realize I need to do a lot more domestic exploring.  The only attraction I've been to on the list is Emporia, Kansas.  That is, if eating at the Pizza Hut counts, which I doubt.  Which attractions have you seen?

*****

The Tivo is back.  It turns out that the big electrical storm we had actually fried the outlet that powered the TV, which threw the HDMI port (which was connected to the Tivo) out of whack.  We turned off the breakers last night and Paul opened up the outlet and we discovered that there was a bare wire in there touching a rusty screw.  Fabulous.  We plugged the TV into a different outlet and now everything (except that poor HDMI port) is hunky dory.  I'm now waiting on the landlords to arrive to fix our dangerous outlet.  

Movie Recommendations: July 2011

To all of you who've asked, our Tivo is still out despite two visits from cable repairmen.  Paul's on the phone with Tivo right now, because our cable is no longer electrically charged, but the Tivo is making sparks when the cable is brought anywhere near it.  It blew out an HDMI port on the TV Saturday.  Hopefully, it will be up and running soon, because there are a lot of movies I'd like to record!

All times are CST; all movies are on TCM.

• Strangers on a Train (F 7/1 2:00 p.m.) Super-creepy Robert Walker traps Farley Granger in a murder plot.  Not to be missed.
• Tom Jones (Sa 7/2 7:45 a.m.) an excellent, very funny adaptation of the Henry Fielding classic
• Pygmalion (Sa 7/2 8:45 p.m.) better than My Fair Lady, even without the Cecil Beaton costumes, Rex Harrison and Jeremy Brett
• To Be or Not to Be (Su 7/3 3:45 a.m.) Jack Benny and Carole Lombard star in this Ernst Lubitsch comedy about Polish actors who get caught up in the resistance movement during the German invasion
• On the Town (Su 7/3 12:00 p.m.) one of those Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra musicals, but this one has Ann Miller
• The Scarlet Coat (M 7/4 11:15 a.m.) I'm only recommending this one because George Sanders is in it--as a British spy during the American Revolution; it's total crap
• Summertime (Tu 7/5 1:45 p.m.) Katherine Hepburn falls for Rossano Brazzi (who wouldn't?) while vacationing in Venice
• Doctor Zhivago (Tu 7/5 3:30 p.m.) Be prepared for "Somewhere My Love" to be stuck in your head for days; it really is a good movie, though
• The Sheik (W 7/6 12:00 a.m.)
• That Forsyte Woman (W 7/6 11:00 a.m.) Errol Flynn gets the thankless task of playing Soames Forsyte; Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon co-star as Irene and Young Jolyon; the Masterpiece Theatre version is better, but doesn't have Errol Flynn

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (F 7/8 10:45 a.m.) So my favorite Pimpernel is the 1982 Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour one, but Leslie Howard does a fantastic job in this version (if you can stand Merle Oberon as Lady Blakeney)
• It's Love I'm After (F 7/8 12:30 p.m.) a bit of an oddball film--Leslie Howard and Bette Davis in a romantic comedy
• Casablanca (Su 7/10 5:00 p.m.) Play it, Sam!
• The Bride Wore Red (Th 7/14 5:00 p.m.) A ridiculous plot in which a saloon girl (Joan Crawford) poses as an aristocrat, but ends up falling for mailman Franchot Tone; I really liked it, though
• Road to Morocco (Th 7/14 9:00 p.m.) Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, silly jokes: I love it

• The Saint Strikes Back (Sa 7/16 5:00 a.m.)  I get all the Saint movies confused, but it stars George Sanders, who makes a damn good Simon Templar (take that, Val Kilmer)
• Mogambo (Sa 7/16 9:15 p.m.) Paul and I spent a lazy, rainy Sunday morning watching this remake of Red Dust; great on-location filming
• The Male Animal (Su 7/17 8:15 p.m.) Henry Fonda is a college professor who has to battle stupid university trustees and his wife's (Olivia de Havilland) former suitor
• A Face in the Crowd (Tu 7/19 5:45 a.m.) You MUST see this film.  It is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. Andy Griffith plays against type to perfection and Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau are magnificent; Elia Kazan was a genius.

• The Son of the Sheik (F 7/22 1:00 a.m.)
• Victor/Victoria (Tu 7/26 12:00 p.m.) James Garner falls for female female-impersonator Julie Andrews
• Ivanhoe (Sa 7/30 3:00 p.m.) This movie is pretty much terrible, but it has George Sanders in it.  You might want to read the hokey book instead.
• All Quiet on the Western Front (Sa 7/30 7:00 p.m.) devastating portrayal of the horrors of World War I; I won't be re-watching it, but if you haven't seen it, you probably should
• Road to Utopia (Su 7/31 7:00 p.m.) Another Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Dorothy Lamour road movie

There are actually a good number of films I haven't seen that will be on this month.  So, I'm excited about that.  Here's a list of new-to-me George Sanders movies I'll be recording for possible inclusion in the next film fest:

• Action in Arabia (Th 7/7 8:30 p.m.)
• Trunk to Cairo (F 7/8 12:00 a.m.)
• King Richard and the Crusaders (W 7/27 12:30 a.m.)

*****

For Lisa, here's a photo of an all-grown-up Ty Power (twenty-two in the photo in my last post, twenty-eight in this still from The Black Swan):

Yowza!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm a bit biased toward Tyrone; this portrait was in my locker in high school along with numerous Errol Flynn photos:

Forever Nigella: Nursery Fish Pie

Thanks to Kat at Housewife Confidential for hosting the sixth Forever Nigella Blogging Event.  

The Official Forever Nigella page is at Maison Cupcake.

I've talked about the problems associated with seafood in a landlocked state before, but that evidently hasn't kept me from attempted to add fish and seafood to our meals.  I decided I'd like to make Nigella Lawson's Nursery Fish Pie, because a) it's so very British, b) I've never had fish pie before, nursery or otherwise, and c) I was slightly afraid of it.  We didn't eat a lot of fish at my parents' house (also in a landlocked state), so I had no idea if poached fish (and poached smoked fish) in a cheesy béchamel sauce covered in cheesy mashed potatoes was something I would like or not.  Thankfully, since the smoked rainbow trout was so expensive, the pie was very tasty.  I had to use smoked rainbow trout instead of smoked haddock, because our grocery store didn't have any smoked haddock and the fishmonger by our house promised to get some for me and didn't.  Also, I used U.S. wild-caught Atlantic pollock instead of the fresh haddock because that was the whitefish that was available this week that comes from a country with rules about food safety.  Plus it was on sale for $3 per pound, so I think I got a pretty good deal.

I forgot to hard-boil eggs, so I had to leave those out (so maybe I didn't get a truly authentic Nursery Fish Pie), but added extra green peas to make up for it.  I actually followed the recipe for the most part; I only made 1/4 recipe and discovered it was enough for four people, not two.  I didn't want to risk four packages of smoked rainbow trout on a dish I'd never tried before!  Half of a Nigella-sized serving was plenty (even for the husband), because the dish is very dense and rich.  I did double the amount of milk for the poaching and the béchamel.

Single-serving Nursery Fish Pie with a side of Carottes étuvées au beurre from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

*****

The sky east of our house last Saturday evening

In other news, we had a storm last Saturday night that messed with our cable signal.  According to the Tivo people, the signal is strong enough to get a picture to the television, but not strong enough to allow the Tivo to record it.  So--I've been largely without film-recording capacity all week.  I even had to record a George Sanders movie with the upstairs VCR.  The cable technician is supposed to come out this afternoon to adjust our signal strength.  Fingers crossed that it actually works...

Original poster from Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans

Speaking of George Sanders movies, I did manage to record Lloyd's of London (1936) before the Tivo went on strike.  Lloyd's of London is suitably British and maritime to go with a Nursery Fish Pie, I should think.  First-billed Freddie Bartholomew (who was the biggest star out of the cast at the time) plays Jonathan Blake, portrayed as an adult by Tyrone Power (a baby-faced twenty-two-year-old in his first starring role).  Blake goes from waiting tables in his aunt's tavern to working as an errand-boy for the syndicates at Lloyd's Coffee House to English spy and leader of his own ship-insuring syndicate.  Quite a life!  I don't know much about the historical accuracy of the script, but if other 1930s productions are any indication, I wouldn't try using this film as a source for a paper!  George Sanders, in his first American production, tries to throw a wrench into the works as the suitably caddish (what else?) husband of Jonathan Blake's lady love, played by Madeleine Carroll.  All in all, this is a solidly entertaining film.  I enjoyed it.  Keep an eye out for Una O'Connor and C. Aubrey Smith in small, but deliciously fun, roles.

George Sanders and Tyrone Power face off; Madeleine Carroll intercedes

(from Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans)

Lloyd's of London is not available on DVD, but is shown on Turner Classic Movies.

Breakfast Club: Finnish Blueberry-Filled Buns (Mustikkapiiraat)

Helen at Fuss Free Flavours started Breakfast Club last year, but this is my first time to participate. Thanks to Nayna at simply.food for hosting Breakfast Club #12: Berries.

Finnish Blueberry Buns

I fully intended to post a recipe for my adaptation of this recipe (I made it in the bread machine), but I think I need another go-round. I loved the idea of putting cardamom in the dough, but I don't think there was enough, because I couldn't taste it at all. Also, the blueberry filling wasn't as tasty as I had hoped. It has a whopping 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in it and I could definitely taste it. They're not bad, but they're not as good as I hoped they would be, but they're promising enough to tweak a bit and try again.

The recipe is from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas, which I picked up in Lindsborg ("Little Sweden USA") in December when Paul and I drove up there for the St. Lucia festival. It's a really cute little town that has a wonderfully preserved downtown that's very pedestrian-friendly. Lindsborg is about 72 miles north and a bit west of Wichita and 20 miles south of Salina.  It's cold there in December.

Naturally, I didn't take my camera, but here's a photo I found on flickr of Lindsborg's Main Street in the summer. The little painted horse is one of many "Wild" Dalas in downtown Lindsborg. You can click on the photo to enlarge.



This is where we had a yummy lunch, a cinnamon roll and lots of coffee:


Another of the dalas:



We also visited the McPherson County Old Mill Museum which included a tour of the town's old flour mill:


We had a really awesome tour guide who currently works at one of the flour mills in Salina. He was one of the most knowledgable history museum guides I've ever met.

My favorite part of the museum, though, was the charmingly absurd and slightly creepy cabinet of curiosities directly past the museum gift shop (where I bought the cookbook). There's an entire room full of mangey taxidermal examples of local wildlife from birds to bobcats. Everyone else did a quick once-over, commented with disgust and moved on.  Paul and I examined every sparrow, snake and skunk. To us, it went a little way toward making up for the fact that we hadn't heard of Deyrolle until after we had been to Paris. Alas, I could find no photos online. I guess I'll just have to go back and take some in a crafty manner. I promise not to use a flash.

Life This Week: June 20, 1938

Poster from Wikipedia

This weekend, Paul asked me if there were any movies I'd like to go see.  I couldn't think of anything and neither could he.  Evidently, this isn't a new problem.  The year 1938 saw the cinematic rerelease of many older films due to cuts made in the film industry.  There were 60 fewer films made in 1938 than in 1937 and something had to fill the gap.  These rereleased films performed better than most of the new releases.  Life magazine writes, "In Chicago [Rudolph Valentino's] Son of the Sheik outranked such new features as Test Pilot and Robin Hood."

The Son of the Sheik and its predecessor, The Sheik, are two of Valentino's best-known roles.  The Sheik made him a star; The Son of Sheik turned out to be the last film he ever made.  Both films are set in Algeria (when it was still a French colony).  Valentino plays Sheik Ahmed in both films, as well as Sheik Ahmed's son Ahmed in The Son of the Sheik.  I had no idea split-screen technology was so advanced in 1926.  Both films were rereleased in 1938 and were edited to conform to the production code.  I wish I could have seen the original cuts of both films, but they're still pretty racy compared to films made in 1938.

Still from The Sheik from Wikipedia

Although they do propagate common negative stereotypes of Arab men and commit most of the sins outlined in Edward Said's Orientalism, what I find most disturbing is the unenlightened attitude both films have toward rape.*  No wonder our society still has trouble with "no means no."  It's important to think of the morals of a film as a product of the time in which it was produced, but that doesn't mean that I have to like the conclusion at which both films arrive: "Love thy rapist."  These two movies really got me thinking about what is "child-appropriate" in the world of classic cinema.  I certainly wouldn't want children watching either of these films without having a serious discussion about racism and sexual violence.

Poster from Wikipedia

All of that being said, I have to admit that both The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik are entertaining movies, and not just compared to other silent films.  I like to think of the first few minutes of any silent film as an acclimatization period where the viewer gets used to the crazy makeup, the silly facial expressions and having to read the title cards.  In a bad silent movie, all of these things bother me right through and I often give up and stop watching.  The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik had short acclimatization periods.  I genuinely enjoyed watching both of them, even if I wasn't crazy about the "message."  That's what's great about being an adult, right?  Making the attempt to separate the medium from the message?  The medium is awesome 1920s orientalist fantasy filmmaking; the message is just appalling.

Both films are available on DVD.  The Sheik airs July 5th  and The Son of Sheik airs July 21st, both on TCM.  The Sheik is available to watch (for free!) at Internet Archive:

*****

For dinner, we're off to another part of Africa--

Moroccan Pilaf

Here's my next leftover roast beef recipe.  I have one more, which I'll try to post later this week.  Iceberg Lettuce with Grecian Dressing goes well with the pilaf (we're getting really multicultural now).  You could also use lamb in the pilaf.  I didn't give amounts for the seasonings, because I just sprinkled them in.  The cinnamon gives a nice musky heat, but be careful to just use a little bit--you don't want your pilaf to taste like Christmas potpourri.

Moroccan Pilaf

*I feel it's only fair to point out that both films are adaptations of books by E.M. Hull.  In the book The Sheik, Lady Diana is kidnapped and repeatedly raped by Ahmed.  They eventually realize they love each other.  Ick.

Vintage Recipe Thursday: Leftovers

Here's a menu from Modern Meal Maker (from 1935), to help use up leftovers from the roast beef from my last post.

Minced Beef Sandwich

Raw Vegetable Salad

Fresh Cherries

Coffee, Tea or Milk

My "raw vegetable" was lettuce, because that's what I had.  With only two people in our house, we often have to eat the same vegetable several meals in a row to use it up before it goes bad!  The original recipe uses cabbage, carrots and celery and I'll have to try it soon.  The vinaigrette is adapted from the one in Mastering the Art of French Cooking: 3 parts olive oil, 1 part white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, a bit of Dijon mustard and a sprinkling of fresh or dried herbs.  It's important to use good olive oil and good vinegar, which cost significantly more than their cheap counterparts, but the taste is worth it.

To make the Minced Beef Sandwich, just toast one thick slice of good white bread per person and top with beef in gravy:

Make the gravy by melting 2 teaspoons of leftover beef drippings with 1 teaspoon of butter over low heat in a saucepan.  Then, whisk in 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour (plus a pinch of salt and pepper) and cook over low heat two minutes.  Take off the heat and gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups beef stock and return to the heat.  Bring to a boil, boil one minute, add the chopped beef (1/4 to 1/3 lb) and turn heat down so mixture simmers 5 to 10 minutes to heat the beef and reduce the gravy.  Serves 2.

Sorry there's no photo.  I didn't get a good one!

Because I'm not the biggest fan of cherries and I had a punnet of past-it strawberries, I adapted two recipes* from BBC Good Food for Strawberry Jellies.  What could be more vintage meal appropriate than something with gelatin in it?  I ended up using Simply Lemonade instead of apple juice, because our grocery store didn't have any small bottles of apple juice.  If you would like to use homemade lemonade, I would be really excited about that.

Strawberry-Lemonade Jellies

The leftover cooked strawberries don't look very pretty (they'll be quite mushy and drained of color), but they taste pretty darn good.

*****

Eddie Condon playing at his eponymous club in New York, 1946

I've been listening to Eddie Condon this week.  I have a soft spot for Dixieland jazz.  I really don't know why, unless it was all that Lawrence Welk viewing at an impressionable age.

An Eddie Condon playlist from archive.org:


This post is linked to Vintage Recipe Thursday.  Be sure to check it out--just click on the image.

*Strawberry Jellies recipe 1, Strawberry Jellies recipe 2

Very Good Recipes tags: beef, bread, lettuce, strawberry, lemonade, gelatin