Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Stuffed Burger Bundles, Hot Deviled Potatoes, Blender Pots de Creme

Jiffy Cooking [1967]

Photoon2010-08-17at1729.jpg picture by seshet27

I think this may be my favorite cookbook. Such an assortment of oddities that take very little time! [Edit: Husband says, "That is not your favorite cookbook!" "What? What is my favorite cookbook then?" "I don't know, but NOT THAT ONE. PLEASE NOT THAT ONE."]

Menu
Stuffed Burger Bundles
Hot Deviled Potato or Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Cranberry Star Mold
Lemon Sauced Cake or Blender Potes de Creme
Coffee Milk



Stuffed Burger Bundles
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 pound ground beef
1 10 1/2 ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon catsup

Prepare stuffing according to package directions. Combine evaporated milk and meat; divide in 5 patties. On waxed paper, pat each to 6-inch circle. Put 1/4 cup stuffing in center of 1 1/2 quart casserole.



Combine remaining ingredients; pour over meat. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 5 servings.






Hot Deviled Potatoes
Packaged instant mashed potatoes (enough for 4 servings)
1/2 cup dairy sour cream [as opposed to...?]
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Heat sour cream (do not boil). Add mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar; stir to blend. Mix into hot potatoes with onion. Immediately turn into 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Heat in a 350 degree oven about 10 minutes. Makes 5 servings.

Green Beans
Oops. I knew I was forgetting something.


Cranberry Star Mold [Dang it! I forgot two things. I can't think where my mind is these days.]




Blender Pots de Creme
1 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1/2 cup hot milk
1 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups drained finely crushed ice
1 cup whipping cream

Add 1/4 cup cold water, gelatin, and coffee to blender container. Cover; blend few seconds on low speed. Add milk; blend till gelatin is dissolved. Add chocolate, sugar, dash salt, and vanilla; cover; blend just till smooth. Add yolks and ice; blend till smooth. While blender is running, add cream. Blend 20 seconds or till it begins to thicken. Pour into 5 or 6 small sherbets. Chill 10 minutes. Serves 5 or 6.


Verdict:

Stuffed Burger Bundles: Oh, lawsie. Please check out that raw picture above. Yes. It... looks a bit grim. "But wait!" you say, "What about my heart's desire to have a close-up picture of the finished product suitable for conversion to a desktop background?" I hear you, dear readers, I hear you.



With that stunning visual, the taste was... fine. Not good, no, not good at all, but... adequate? Salty, greasy, and offensive to the eye, but not too bad. Perhaps with another sauce, this would be slightly above adequate. It does need a sauce, though, just to help conceal the ugliness. It looks like corporeal despair. Or you could just serve it under a paper bag. Or in the dark!

Hot Deviled Potatoes: Weirdly acrid. It shouldn't taste like it does, and yet it manages. I thought they were unpleasant but reasonably edible, Husband called this an abomination and looked very very sad. Maybe... maybe with real potatoes?

Cranberry Star Mold: I'll make it some other time! It looks pretty okay, it involves cranberry sauce and ginger ale. And this meal needs something colorful. Well, a color other than brown.

Blender Pots de Creme: I left out the coffee, so my opinion may not be 100% reliable. It's weird stuff though. The chocolate isn't melted at any point, so it is like mousse with teeny bits of gritty chocolate, like jello-y chocolate chip ice cream. The first bite doesn't seem quite right, but it grows on you after a few. Then after a few more, it doesn't taste quite right again. So confusing.

15 comments:

Kristin said...

LOL!!! Stuffed Burger Bundles is one of my sweethearts most favorite meals! :)

Kathleen said...

Try the potatoes with real potatoes. I like them mashed with sour cream and green onions and a little garlic. Delicious! Fake potatoes will always be nasty, no matter how you try to dress them up.

Nonna said...

Brave, brave Jana and family !

Ewwww...that close up looks like the stomach contents on a CSI episode but probably the burgers are o.k. with a lot of ketchup. My Mom actually had a series of these books but they are now in an L.A. trash dump...where they belong !!!

Jana said...

Well, it IS meat + bread, so it has that going for it.

I also like mashed potatoes with sour cream, as long as they are, you know, potatoes. Instead of potato pearls.

Jana said...

Cookbooks! In a dump! Say it isn't so! :'0

Lisa said...

What is on the cover of that cookbook?! It *looks* like sausages with lemons and hard-boiled egg slices.

Jana said...

So close!

Saucy Franks
1 pound frankfurters (8 to 10)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped green pepper

Score franks in corkscrew fashion. In skillet, brown franks lightly in butter. Add remaining ingredients except green pepper. Simmer covered about 10 minutes. Add green pepper and cook covered 5 minutes longer. Serve over hot cooked noodles or over buns. Serves 4 to 5.

J.W. said...

Oh, wow...I think brave is an understatement on this one.

Except for the cranberry mold...I grew up in a serious jello dessert culture, and that one looks pretty tame and pleasant.

Jana said...

Hey, I understand. I LIKE carrots in Jello.

RetroRuth said...

Whooo! What a menu! Those burgers look noxious. I love it!

Jana said...

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

My mother in-law gave us this cookbook. I love to read through it and look at the pics!!

Anonymous said...

Jana--just found your blog through Retro Recipe Attempts.
I like it.
I am doing a similar thing over at my blog--although I'm strictly 70s.
I hope you'll stop by sometime and check it out.

Jana said...

Fabulous! I'm always happy to find historic food blogs. Into the links page you go!

Jana said...

Anonymous- A cookbook that is just read is only half enjoyed! Try out something, be brave! You never know what you'll end up with.