Sunday, July 15, 2007

Meat Stretcher Cookbook



I can't believe I've been working at this blog for a year. I've learned many things in that time:
1. I have more cookbooks than most stores. Actually,I'm shopping for more today at antique stores. It's my 12th wedding anniversary today. A friend noted that it is interesting that all my holidays are a reason to go antiquing. It's true!

2. I have more time to read and collect than I necessarily do to create the recipes, but I've stretched my cooking quite a bit in the last year.

3. Most cookbooks from the 50's - 70's contain a signature frankfurter dish. I chose this recipe to highlight today as it also contains pineapple. You know what that means. Anything with pineapple is automatically called Hawaiian!

The Meat Stretcher Cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens in 1974 helps families make more for less money. My first recipe on here was a frankfurter dish, so here's another:

Hawaiian Sausage Casserole

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks

1 17 oz. can sweet potatoes, sliced 1 inch thick

1 12 oz. package fully cooked smoked sausage links, slashed at 1-inch intervals

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

Drain the pineapple, reserving juice. Add water to juice to make 1 1/4 cups. Arrange pineapple, potatoes, and sausage in 10x6x2-inch baking dish. In saucepan combine brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in reserved juice. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 1 minute more. Remove from heat; stir in margarine. Pour sauce over casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees till hot, 35 to 40 minutes. Serves 4 - 6.

I have no idea what the fuzzy things in the picture are. There's an orange one in the corner, and a yellow and orange one on top. Why would anyone put pompoms on their table?

It's time again for me to be reading madly for my Crimespree column. That means a mystery a day. Yesterday I finished Drama! The Four Dorothys by Paul Ruditis. It's a new series for teens at a high school populated by children of Hollywood A-listers. It was pretty good, but the best part was the male narrator, Bryan Clark. On to the next one in the pile...

3 comments:

Sarah said...

That picture is so gross!! Did you dare try it? This month's BH&G has a recipe entitled "Seashell Hot Dog Bake"--I thought it sounded very 1950s.

Paul Ruditis sounds like someone who has an affliction that makes him sound/act like the actor Paul Rudd. But the book sounds good!

Anonymous said...

Hey, this is not a comment on that frankfurter dish (thought I'd leave that one alone, thanks!)

But... My husband is looking for a 2-volume boxed set of cookbooks that his dad (now deceased) owned in the 60's and/or 70's. They had brown covers and gold lettering. Any idea what they were?

Amy said...

I am on the case of the cookbooks! Pam, our mutual friend from S&S asked me to find a special chili recipe once, and I did it. I simply use hunts like this as an excuse to hit more antique malls - so thank you!