I figured we’d start scary. This is the first recipe I’m highlighting from the A Year’s Worth of Dinners (1971) book. It’s called a Frank-and-Burger Loaf. “Frankly”, one thing I’ve noticed about the 1970’s from this book is that they apparently loved their hot dogs (and liver, and tongue, and gelatin, but that’s another post!).
Here we are instructed to basically make a meatloaf, surrounded by bread, with hotdogs and sweet pickles embedded in the middle of it. So when it’s sliced, you have these cute little circles where the franks and pickles are!
OK, let me admit up front that I do not like hotdogs period. But even if I substitute in my mind sausage or something else edible, I can’t really wrap my mind around the purpose in having the franks and gerkins embedded in the meat. For flavor? For color?
The idea of meatloaf encased in bread I can see. And the actual meat mixture doesn’t seem that odd–pretty typical for a meatloaf. Except for something I’d bet you don’t find in many cookbooks today, the 1/8 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate. Can you even buy MSG in the grocery store these days?
Finally, there’s the rest of the menu for this lovely Saturday dinner. What does one eat with this lovely loaf? Why, tomato-olive aspic, on a bed of chicory, of course! They don’t provide a recipe for the aspic, so I did a little googling and found this one for you, from the same period. But if it’s a little fancy for you, here’s a simpler version.
Now, I’m sure you’ll be making this for yourself, so here’s a scan of the recipe. >>
To save a copy, just click the picture to the right to enlarge. Then right click to save image.
As an added bonus, you get a Friday’s Menu and recipe too… Pantry Tuna Scallop!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our first foray into the pop cuisine of the 1971… Stay tuned for more interesting recipes — the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Are you brave enough to try this? If you do, we want to see photos! (If this one doesn’t float your boat, but you’d like play along, email me and I’ll send you several classic 70s recipes to choose from!)
