Last week I cooked meals reminiscent of the 1950s. It was an interesting experiment so I thought I’d share a bit about what I learned from our vintage 1950s menu.
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What I learned from our 1950s Menu
I chose recipes and created meal plans largely inspired by my vintage Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I also went through recipes from my grandmother and asked my parents for input. I tried to choose recipes reflective of the times but not too “weird”. For instance, they had a strange fascination with congealed salads back then. Not happening here.
First up, just some overall impressions:
- David (and Chris, our adult son, who ate with us a few nights) loved the dinners. I suspect I may have spoiled them a bit. They’ll have to get over that – ha!
- 1950s food was rather bland. I had to add more seasoning in order to suit our palates.
- Most of the recipes made 6-8 servings. That wasn’t a bad thing, however. I sent leftovers with the guys for lunch most days, had some myself and on one night I had enough for my parents, too.
- It was necessary to plan ahead. None of the recipes were difficult but some needed advance preparation. I now see why so many vintage homemaking resources mention preparing some parts of the evening meal in the morning.
- Chicken pot pie, stuffed bell peppers and Swiss steak were really good and will likely show up on our menus in the future.
Meal By Meal:
Monday –
- spaghetti and meatballs
- green beans
- tossed green salad
- toasted garlic bread
This was my first clue that that era’s food was lacking in herbs and spices. The spaghetti sauce only called for salt and pepper and one bay leaf for seasoning. I added garlic powder and Italian seasoning. I also upped the seasoning in the meatballs. With these additions it was actually quite good although it could have used a splash of red wine, too.
I usually count on spaghetti as one of our meatless meals but I have to admit that the meatballs brought it up a notch. Next time I find a good deal on grass fed ground beef I’m going to make a big batch of meatballs and freeze them in meal-size portions.
Originally I had planned to add buttered bread crumbs to the green beans per one of the recipes in my cookbook but I opted to skip that part. I cooked frozen organic green beans in salted water, drained them and added butter, more salt and black pepper.
Instead of making an oil and vinegar dressing as planned, I opted for a bottled parmesan Italian dressing I had in the pantry.
I had part of a baguette left over from the weekend so I toasted it and buttered it then sprinkled with garlic powder.
Overall, we enjoyed this meal and I will make this sauce again, along with the additional seasonings and a bit of wine.
Tuesday –
- baked pork chops
- baked cauliflower topped with white sauce and cheese
- buttered corn
- baked apples
I ended up doing braised pork chops rather than baked. I floured the pork chops and seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of Creole seasoning (old habits die hard!). I browned them in hot oil, added a bit of water, covered and baked at 350 degrees about an hour.
This cauliflower recipe was where I realized how helpful it is to make some things ahead of time. That morning I boiled the head of cauliflower until tender, drained, cooled and refrigerated it in the baking dish I would use later. I also made the white sauce, poured it in a jar and refrigerated it, too. All I had to do before dinner was pour the sauce over the cauliflower, grate some cheese on top and stick it in the oven the last 20 minutes while the pork chops were cooking.
The corn was frozen organic corn, cooked much like the green beans – boiled in salted water, drained, buttered and seasoned.
The baked apples were simple but delicious. I cored them and filled the centers with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and raisins. I put them in a baking dish with a little water in the bottom and baked. We were too full after our meal so we didn’t end up eating them that night (we aren’t used to eating dessert very often). There were leftover pork chops so I sent those for the guys’ lunches, plus their apples. I saved the cauliflower for another night.
I found a can of biscuits in the back of the fridge which I had bought some time ago (not sure why since I usually make them from scratch). They were just a bit past their expiration date so I went ahead and baked them even though they weren’t on my original menu. My sister-in-law had sent us some of her homemade cherry preserves which I served with the biscuits.
This meal was…okay. I prefer my smothered pork chops which I cook stove top in a rich gravy. The cauliflower with white sauce and cheese was good, though. And the baked apples are something I’ll definitely do again. I used to bake apples occasionally when we were first married but haven’t in years. No idea why.
Wednesday –
- chicken pot pie
- pineapple salad
David loves chicken pot pie and if it’s on the menu at a restaurant he’s likely to order it. My experience with chicken pot pie as a kid were those little individual frozen pies which I never liked. Of course, I’m not a huge fan of pie crust, either. Still, this was 1950s week so I gave it a whirl. I chose to make a version with crust just on top rather than a two-crust version.
I never buy Crisco but I did have a container of organic trans-fat free shortening. That’s what I used to make the crust. For the filling, I simmered thin, boneless chicken breasts in seasoned water and used that broth, along with leftover white sauce and some cream. For vegetables I used diced carrots, frozen peas, leftover corn, celery and onion.
The pineapple “salad” consisted of lettuce leaves topped with a slice of canned pineapple, a mixture of cream cheese with maraschino cherry juice and chopped cherries, another pineapple slice and a cherry on top. One thing I found interesting about that era is what they considered a salad. This seemed like dessert to me. It was tasty but really not worth the effort.
I’ll have to say, despite my general opinion of chicken pot pie, this was really quite good. David and Chris loved it. It’s not something I’d necessarily make for myself but I’ll do it for the guys once in awhile. I’ll use butter in the crust, though.
Thursday –
- stuffed bell peppers
- lettuce and tomato salad with homemade Thousand Island dressing
- Grandma’s Cranberry Star Salad
I’ve already shared the stuffed bell pepper recipe. We were all very impressed and I’ll most definitely be making these again.
I make homemade Thousand Island dressing pretty often anyway but it seems kind of retro. It’s just mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet pickle relish and garlic powder. I also reheated the leftover cauliflower from Tuesday with some bread crumbs on top.
I realized mid-morning that I was lacking a couple of ingredients for the Cranberry Star Salad (I had failed to look at the back of the recipe card!) so I put that off until Friday. Instead, I made Friday’s dessert – pineapple upside down cake.
I had high hopes for that one but it was terrible. First of all, the recipe called for shortening and against my better judgement I used that organic shortening I had used for the crust on the chicken pot pie. I think it was past its prime, even though it was fine in the crust. Also, even though I decreased the baking time by 5 minutes it was still overdone. I had gotten busy writing upstairs and should have checked it even earlier. I took one bite and threw my piece away. David, however, thought it was fine and proceeded to eat the whole 8×8 inch cake himself over the next few days. That should tell which one of us is pickier about the quality of our food.
These stuffed peppers were one of our favorites this week and I’ve already shared the recipe with you here.
Friday –
- Swiss Steak
- scalloped potatoes
- buttered carrots
- peach and cottage cheese salad
- pineapple upside down cake
I remember my mom making Swiss steak when I was growing up but I had never made it myself, for some reason. It was really easy and delicious. I’ll be sharing the recipe here on the blog Wednesday so be sure to watch for it.
I had planned to serve it with scalloped potatoes but since I had leftover rice from making the stuffed bell peppers I opted to use that instead. I also reverted to my usual recipe for carrots which includes butter, brown sugar and whiskey.
We still had some biscuits left so I added them to the meal, along with more of that delicious homemade cherry preserves.
I had made the Cranberry Star Salad earlier in the day so decided we didn’t need the peach and cottage cheese salad. Unfortunately, the gelatin salad didn’t set up. This was my grandmother’s recipe which my aunt had handwritten for me along with a bunch of other recipes when I got married. I’m still using the same recipe file box she gave me. I suspect the crushed pineapple should have been drained but the recipe didn’t mention that. It turned out to be very yummy fruit soup – ha! David and I have been mixing it with cottage cheese in little bowls for a late night snack.
The Swiss steak was really good and super easy. I’m going to be on the lookout for sales on round steak and stick a few in my freezer.
Saturday –
We had a change of plans. We were originally going to have dinner at our daughter and son-in-law’s house but had forgotten we’d been invited to a birthday party. We just grabbed burgers at Sonic on our way. Quite a disappointment after such delicious home-cooked meals.
That also meant I didn’t end up making that 1950s Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. I’ll have to try that some other time.
Sunday –
- pot roast
- mashed potatoes
- broccoli with Hollandaise sauce
- tossed green salad
- hot rolls
- leftover dessert
I don’t generally cook on Sundays and quite frankly, I had lost some of my enthusiasm by this point. David had to work several hours and I had a very long list myself. I still cooked but I simplified the meal.
I made the pot roast and must admit I had forgotten how much better a pot roast or one cooked in the oven is than done in the slow cooker. I ended up adding carrots to the roast even though it wasn’t on my original plan.
I did make homemade mashed potatoes but skipped the Hollandaise sauce on the broccoli. We also skipped the salad. It was rather late by the time David got home from work and we really didn’t need a heavy meal that late at night.
We both had some of that “fruit soup” with our evening cups of tea, too.
The Wrap Up
I actually enjoyed this week. It was fun trying some different things and I found myself thinking of my grandparents a lot.
We ate at the table every night which isn’t something we always do. In fact, I found myself setting the table early each day, a habit I’d like to keep. We always ate at the kitchen table when the kids were young but David and I sometimes eat in the family room and watch an old sitcom together. Lately, it’s been I Love Lucy episodes. We don’t have much time to watch television and this is something we enjoy together. However, I like eating at the table and I think I’ll work on getting us back in that habit.
While I don’t want to limit ourselves to my 1950s cookbooks for meals, there are some really good recipes – especially with some extra herbs and spices added. 😉
I might even do another 1950s week at some point. And I’ll give that pineapple upside down cake another whirl soon – but with butter instead of shortening!
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In case you missed these posts…
if you have leftover cranberries, this recipe, made the night before, is wonderful!! It’s too good to save just for thanksgiving. It’s a great side for roast chicken or any “dry” poultry or pork.
Cranberry relish
20 oz crushed pineapple
1 large orange
12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup of sugar
Chop cranberries in food processor
Peel and chop large orange by hand.
Add drained pineapple and cup of sugar. Mix well and leave sitting out over night at room temp.
I have cranberries in the freezer. Do you think I would need to let them thaw first or just toss them in the food processor?
Sounds like a nice week of meals! Did I miss the recipe for the homemade thousand island dressing and the Cranberry Star salad?
Hi Glena. I want to try making the cranberry star salad again before I share the recipe. It didn’t set up so it turned out to be fruit soup – ha! It was tasty, though. The recipe is handwritten and I think it was missing the directions to drain the crushed pineapple. As soon as I get a chance to make it again to be sure of this, I’ll do a recipe post. As for the Thousand Island, it’s just mayo, ketchup, sweet pickle relish and garlic powder. I’ll figure out the quantities and do a little Lagniappe post soon. I’m sure you can work out the proportions yourself in the meantime. Start with about the amount of dressing you’ll want of mayo, add a little ketchup so it’s the color you’d normally see of Thousand Island, then add a bit of relish and garlic powder.
Pineapple contains an enzyme that prevents gelatin from setting up. Cooking the crushed pineapple in a saucepan on low heat on a low simmer for 10 minutes will remove this enzyme. Then thoroughly drain the cooked crushed pineapple through a wire sieve over a bowl, pressing out as much of the juice as possible, before using it in your recipe. The juice that was pressed out can be drunk, or used in smoothies.
Thank you. I did know that you can’t use fresh pineapple for that reason but canned has been processed with heat and is usually fine. I suspect in this instance it was supposed to be drained so the failure was due to too much liquid. But I’m happy to know there is an easy way to use fresh pineapple. Thanks again!
I really did enjoy reading your thoughts and comments about your 1950’s food experience. I have been looking and reading this website for a long time. You might enjoy it also. Gallery of Regrettable Foodhttp://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll check it out!
The cauliflower sounds nice, and I haven’t had a baked apple in ages (now I want one… I blame you).
I’m not a big fan of pineapple upside down cake in general. My Dad likes it, so it was still being made in my house when I was growing up, but I was never a fan of it myself.
The pineapple salad sounds like they’re trying to disguise a dessert as part of the main meal.
I had forgotten how good a baked apple is. Dessert, yet reasonably healthy. As for that pineapple salad, it definitely seem more like a dessert. 😉
Hi Deanna – I recently came across vintage recipes on Pinterest and found your blog and this post. I really enjoyed it and may even give it a try. I love doing themed meal weeks and this would be a good one. I’ve done international foods week, southern style week, and an Indiana classics week (we are from Indiana). Just wanted to say thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for more theme menus – 1940s, Depression-Era, vegan, 1960s and more. 🙂
Sense you altered the dishes by adding extra seasonings etc. You did NOT make 50s dinners!
It depends on your region and ethnicity. I was born in the early 60s to a mother who was half Greek and half Mexican and I grew up on the French/Spanish Gulf Coast. Our dinners had a lot of seasoning. In addition to seafood with Creole seasoning, my mother would frequent the MiddleEastern grocery for their seasonings and cheeses. She had no qualms about venturing into a run down grocery in a sketchy neighborhood because someone told her they had non-Anglo cuts of meat. We not only had wine with every meal, but many of her recipes contained liquor.
That’s a good point. And fortunately these were the people who finally taught the rest of us to season our food. Thank goodness!
I know this post is old, however I loved it!
My grandmother passed that cookbook down to me before she passed and she had some handwritten recipes in there.
What I loved most about that book, it teaches you how to meal plan for the family and your husband’s lunch! I thought that was so helpful as a new wife. I also found it interesting that back in those times, people were having trouble putting on weight. They had tips from how to grow a small garden to adding bulk to meals to add weight. WOW. A sign of the times.
I think I will try out some recipes from there. Oh thank you for the thousand island recipe, we are having a big Mac salad this week and I totally forgot to get the dressing.
I’m so happy you found this post and enjoyed it. Aren’t those old handwritten recipes a treasure? My aunt gave me a recipe box with lots of handwritten recipe cards in it when I got married over 38 years ago. What a lovely gift.
Since you enjoyed this post I think you’ll also enjoy this week’s posts. I’m doing 1940s week here on the blog all week. Later today the menu post will be up and it is all taken from 1940s menu plans and recipes. I hope you enjoy it!
In answer to your question from 2017, I have no idea. I’ve always taken them out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight. It’s still my favorite cranberry “dish”. I think the salads with the canned fruit were a way of keeping fruit in their diet during the winter. Canned peaches and pineapple were the only “canned” fruit available when I was a kid, and I don’t remember frozen fruit that we didn’t freeze ourselves being available. Even when I was a kid, Lemons were prevalent in the winter, and just 1 kind of orange. I remember us going to Florida in the late fall one year, and Daddy literally filling up our trunk with various citrus fruit from a place on the side of the road. Then us taking it to family and friends as Christmas presents that year.
I’m only a few years younger but like you, I don’t recall frozen fruits other than cardboard packages of frozen strawberries. We did have canned fruit often – pears, peaches, pineapple, apricots and fruit cocktail. Being in Southern California we likely had access to a wider variety of fresh produce more of the year than in many other parts of the country. I always loved fresh fruit and Mom would buy it when I asked but she doesn’t like fruit that well so opening a can was good enough for her.
Around here we don’t really count iceberg salad (which you seem to have used) as lettuce. Iceberg salad is void of any nutritional value whatsoever, unlike really green leafy salads. The greener, the better – and the tastier. That way even the old salad ideas make sense.
I prefer other types of lettuce, too, but iceberg was the usual choice in the 50s. In fact, that was generally true in the 60s and 70 as well. I don’t recall seeing much of any other type when I was growing up.
Just found your site from pinterest and enjoying reading some of the blog articles…especially the ones on house dresses. I have been buying some maxi dresses from places such as free people and starting to wear them. I have always worn jeans, but find myself not wanting to get dressed and wearing my nightgown, sometimes all day ,which makes me feel a bit guilty. Just want to be comfy now. So I’m with the “housedress” program” I need to add aprons now, as I cook a lot.
Regarding the 50’s food, love your ideas. Those were the years I grew up in. My mother always made salads of iceberg with a pear or slice of pineapple, some mayo and grated cheese such as american or cheddar. It was common then, I think. I made an upside down cake today with peaches and raspberries. I shared some with our 80 something neighbor, he was excited and said he had not had upside down cake in a long long time. I do not use sugar, used monkfruit brown instead, no one seems to notice.
Thank you for your comments. I feel like I was really ahead of the game by switching to maxi dresses a few years ago. It’s truly like wearing nightgown so I haven’t been tempted to not get dressed each day.
My husband’s mother served something similar to what you describe except with Miracle Whip. I remember trying desperately to eat it politely when she served it to us when we were dating. I’m so not into Miracle Whip – ha!
I was born in the mid-50s. Our family was a very traditional Southern family: my father worked at the airplane factory (when they weren’t laying off), my mother stayed at home and cooked 7 days a week, sewed our clothes, hung everything out on the line to dry and then ironed it all. It wasn’t unusual at all – all the families i my neighborhood were like that. Or nearly all. One mother was actually an engineer who worked on the space program. Anyway, house dresses were the norm; we didn’t use a tablecloth or place-mats except was at holidays, but the table was set for every meal and nothing was ever served out of the pan it was cooked in.
Every supper or Sunday dinner consisted of the main dish, potatoes, a couple of vegetable side dishes, salad of some kind and bread and butter. Occasionally dessert (which was always homemade). Mama didn’t exactly have a heavy hand with the spices, but she disliked bland and used seasoning, herbs and spices. The chocolate mayonnaise cake was her favorite one to make, She also made cookies, pies, cobblers, donuts and once in awhile, jello.
She cooked a full breakfast for my father every morning; I’d only eat cereal.as teach
Despite having heart trouble and having me at the age of 40, she did all of that as well as teaching Sunday School and working as an election judge. She was an amazing and fine Christian mother and lived to 95.
It was wonderful.
I apologize for the typos. I should’ve proof-read it.
No worries. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this. Your mom sounds like an amazing woman!
Enjoyed reading about your 50’s week menu’s!the Swiss Steak is something g my Mother use to fix because my hi
Us and and I both loved it… don’t know why I have never fixed it. Also, the pineapple salad she always fixed and was my favorite salad … so I fix it as well. However, we always added a banana to ours and nuts! She used to make the salad look like a candle wit the banana and the cherry on top… we also mixed the miracle whip with the juice from the pineapple! Thanks for the suggestions !
Glad it brought back memories. The Swiss Steak is such an easy dinner. Whenever I see round steak, I like to put one in the freezer for this.