Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet Cookbook

 

In 2008, fellow blogger Judy Dunn wrote the following about Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet cookbook, her favorite cookbook:

"My favorite cookbook is Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet. The recipes are straight forward, not too complicated, and have ingredients that I am likely to have around and they are healthy! It is probably the first cookbook I go to when I am looking for a recipe."

Judy, if you are still writing on line drop me a note and say where you're at!  

Find your copy of Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet here on Amazon.

See you in the kitchen!
Brenda
Culinary Favorites

Raspberry Ice Cream Bombe: A Vintage 1960s Dessert Recipe

This is the second time I am posting a vintage recipe. Once again, I am sharing because I am participating in Merle's Vintage Challenge on Instagram. Each day there is a different theme for the challenge and yesterday the theme was ice cream so I am sharing this Raspberry Bombe recipe, which looks and sounds delicious.

It is from a 1960s cookbook called Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which is shown below though this copy is no longer new but rather battered, bruised and beloved. 

I think the recipe looks fairly easy. The list of ingredients is not overly long and the preparation does not look too difficult. The only difficult part may be that you need a 2 1/2 quart metal mold. I will have to see what I have that could be substituted in place of that particular item. Also, you will need a spot in your freezer to hold the mold.

I will also have to find a reason to make it. Right now, when the world is turned upside down because of the virus, making a dessert that serves 12 to 16 in a house where two people live does not really make sense. Maybe I will try breaking the recipe down into half the size. I will have to think about it but anyway, here is the vintage recipe. I hope you have the chance to try it.

RASPBERRY BOMBE RECIPE 

Serves 12 to 16 people

3 pints red raspberry sherbet

2 pints pink peppermint or strawberry ice cream

1 cup whipping cram

3 tbsps confectioners' sugar

dash salt

1/4 cup finely chopped mixed candied fruits and peels

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted

rum flavoring to taste

Chill mold in freezer. 

Stir sherbet just to soften. Using a chilled spoon spread the sherbet on the bottom and sides of the mold. Making sure sherbet comes to the top.  If it won't stay on the edges, refreeze in the mold until it becomes workable again. Freeze until firm.

Stir the ice cream until just softened.  Spread over the raspberry layer quickly, covering sherbet. Freeze again until firm. 

Whip the cream with sugar and salt until soft peaks form.   Fold in the fruit, nuts and flavoring. Pile into the center of the mold smoothing the top.

Cover with foil and freeze 6 hours or overnight. 

Peel off foil. Invert mold on a chilled plate and rub the mold with a hot damp towel to loosen. Lift off the mold.

-------------------------------------

This ice cream dessert recipe is found in the pages of the 1969 version of this Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, which you can find in my eBay store by clicking right here. Note, it has been used and loved and the condition really shows it. 

That's it. A dessert that suits anytime of the year. Special enough for company or for your next family get together. It really does not sound too hard to make and the only special item you need is that metal mold. 

Good luck and be sure to let me know if you try the recipe!

See you

in the kitchen!

Brenda

Grapefruit, Avocado and Cream Cheese Salad: A Vintage 1950s Recipe

This is the first time I have ever posted a vintage recipe. The post is designed to work with Merle's Vintage Challenge, a monthly challenge that I am participating in on Instagram. Each month there is a different theme for the challenge and this month it is food and drink.

Today's is avocado and to link it up with the challenge, it needs to be vintage style. That is the only rule. Just let your imagination run wild though posts should be vintage and in some loose way relatable to the food of the day. Even anything avocado green would suit the theme just fine.

Anyway, I decided to share these fun avocado fruits on a rope with this vintage 1950s recipe. Yes, avocado is a fruit though we often think of it as a vegetable and we use it more like a vegetable. The recipe is from a 1950s cookbook called The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Given, which is shown below. Obviously, my copy is battered, bruised and beloved though not by me. Yet.

Find The Modern Family Cookbook

in my eBay store on eBay.

Fair warning, I have not tried this recipe. When and if I make it, I think I will cheat and use store bought French salad dressing and I will have to have company because my husband does not really like avocado. Anyway, here's the recipe:

GRAPEFRUIT, AVOCADO AND CREAM CHEESE SALAD RECIPE

2 grapefruit

1 avocado

1/2 cup French dressing

Crisp lettuce, I'd choose iceberg

3 ounce package of cream cheese

Paprika

Pare whole grapefruit, removing white membrane as well as the skin. Cut out the sections, using a very sharp knife. Peel avocado, remove seed and slice 1/2 inch thick. Marinate both fruits in French dressing. Chill thoroughly. Just before serving, arrange drained fruits on lettuce leaves, with a ball of cream cheese in the center of each plate, then add a dash of paprika to the cream cheese. (The cream cheese may be omitted or cottage cheese substituted.)

Makes 5 servings.

And that's it. If you try it, be sure to let me know what you think!

See you

in the kitchen!

Brenda

Quick Links:

Find The Modern Family Cookbook in my eBay store on eBay. The avocado on a rope will eventually wind up in my eBay store, too.

This Week in Brenda's Kitchen: A Vintage Toaster

Do you remember the toasters with the sides that folded down? You placed your bread upon those metal sides or flaps and folded it back up to toast your bread? I have to admit that I do.

One of my grandmothers owned such a toaster. As a matter of fact, I am almost positive that she owned one like that shown in this picture and, with a large family of 12 children and of course their children by the time I came along, this toaster worked hard at least during the years that I knew it.

I recently purchased this toaster and had fun testing it out for my eBay store. Turns out that it is a Toastess Sturdy Model Number 202 flopper toaster like these ones on eBay. Flopper, of course, referencing the fact that the sides folded down.

This toaster is in excellent used condition. As a matter of fact, it seemed almost unused before I tested it not that testing it hurt it in anyway. However, since it is an electric appliance I felt that it was necessary to test it before I listed it in my eBay store as I guarantee all of my items to be in working condition, unless mentioned otherwise.

Anyway, not only is this toaster in great condition but it worked very well too, almost putting my modern toaster to shame.  I have a long story of disappointment with modern toasters but that is a tale for another day.  This Toastess toaster did a beautiful job of toasting my bread. The only caveat with a flopper toaster is that you have to remember the toast because it does not tell you when the job is done!

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Find a Toastess Flopper toaster on eBay.

Find more interesting vintage items in my eBay store.

This Week in Brenda's Kitchen: B. Kliban Cat Cookie Jar

This week in Brenda's kitchen we find another cookie jar, this time featuring B. Kliban’s cat or, to be exact a trio of B. Kliban’s cats on a cookie jar.

These posts about some of the more unique kitchen items I discover are not only about cookie jars though it might appear that way at the moment and I do love them.  It just happened that this great cookie jar was the next interesting item to find its way onto my counter after my last “this week in Brenda’s kitchen” post.

The artist B. Kliban created the cartoon cat known as Kliban in the 1970s and this black and white cat achieved huge celebrity. Continued popularity and a certain amount of nostalgia mean that people are still looking to find Kliban items including vintage calendars, t-shirts, coffee mugs and cookie jars to add to their collections.

In our humble opinion this item is a bit small for a cookie jar. We like (okay, we love) cookies and this jar, because of the unusal pants shape, would not hold many but I think we could make it work. It would also work for storing candy or even for holding cotton balls or something of that nature in the bathroom. Of course, it doesn't have to have a practical use at all and could simply be a decorative accessory for a Kliban fan.

This cookie jar measures 8-inches tall with the lid on or 5.25 inches without the lid and about 6 inches from the front to back on the bottom or 4 inches from the front to the back at the opening.

Whether you have a whole Kliban collection or you are looking for a single cat-themed decorative accessory, this B. Kliban cookie jar will serve you well.  We think he would look fine in just about any kitchen.

You will find a few more interesting vintage 1970s Kliban items by Trendsetters and Sigma in this scrolling gallery from eBay.  I tried to pick a favorite but I love them all!

Kliban loved to “eat them mousies." We love to eat cookies! How about you?

See you

in the kitchen!

Brenda

Quick Links:

Check Treasures By Brenda on eBay for Kliban items.

Learn more about B. Kliban the cat.

Giles' Coffee Mug From Buffy and the Vampire Slayer

Do you sit up and take notice when a coffee mug or a coffee shop shows up in the movies or on your favorite television program? Many people do and sometimes those movie props go on to become quite well known and even sought after.

Recently an online friend told me that she gained a new appreciation for coffee mugs after she saw Giles of the television program Buffy and the Vampire Slayer drinking from a green Jadite mug like the one shown here.

As it turns out, the mug Giles used is a heavy vintage Fire-King Jadeite / Jadite cup that is sometimes known as restaurant ware.

As a mug fan who tries hard not to increase her collection regularly and as a seller of mugs on eBay, I thought it was pretty cool to see the Fire-King mug shown here that was listed on eBay by eBay seller deztiques who does not appear to be selling on eBay anymore.  Not only is it the mug Giles used but it is a vintage piece that has NEVER been used and that actually still wears the original Fire-King sticker. That is pretty unusual and makes this particular mug particularly valuable. However, if you want to own the mug that Giles used, there are plenty of used mugs available here on eBay that are quite a bit more affordable.

Have you spotted any mugs in your favorite movies and television programs?  Do tell!

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

More coffee mug reading.

New, used and vintage coffee mugs in my eBay store.