Recipes from the October 1962 Family Circle Magazine

The October 1962 Family Circle Magazine recipe sections included roasts, meat pies and seasonal baking.

"Apples and spice make these desserts nice." Pictured is an Apple Crown Cake, Apple-Snow Souffle, a Banbury Apple Tart, and an Apple Cobbler Pie.

The Apple-Snow Souffle is "fluffy light and refreshing with a now-and-then bite of apple--and it unmolds beautifully."
Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Coat a 4-cup mold with butter; dust lightly with sugar; tap out excess.
2. Saute 2 cups of sliced, pared and cored apples in 1/2 stick of butter, stirring often, for about 20 mins or until golden but not mushy. Set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour and a dash of salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in 2/3 cup of milk slowly, stirring, and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Cook, stirring, until it reaches a boil. Cool.
4. Beat 3 egg whites until they form peaks.
5. Beat 3 egg yolks, gradually adding 3 tablespoons of sugar. Blend in cooled sauce, then apples. Fold in beaten egg whites.
6. Pour into mold. Set mold in baking pan filled with water and place on oven shelf. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes,, or until puffed and firm and in the center when touched.
7. Remove mold from pan of water. Let stand, away from drafts, until cool, about 15 minutes, and it will hold its shape when turned out.
8. Loosen edge with knife; cover with serving plate; turn mold upside down on the plate and lift off. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Grenadine syrup over and ut into wedges.

Roasts were a special dinner in my household. This magazine offers 5 roast recipes making 10 meals. It also included meat pies, like the Continental Veal pie in the photograph below. Other meat pies included Beef and Kidney, Canadian Pork Pie, Crisscross Chicken Pie, and Clam Digger's pie.

Here is the recipe for the unusual Clam Digger's Pie:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Prepare a package of pie crust mix, or make your own, to create two 12" rounds to fit into a 9" pie plate. Place one crust in the pie plate.
2. Drain two 11 ounce cans of minced clams reserving 2/3 cup of the liquid in a bowl. Add the clams, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup unsalted soda cracker crumbs, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Spoon into shell and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.
3. Roll out other pie crust and cover pie. Cut slits to let steam escape. Trim overhang to 1/2" and fold under flush with rim and flute.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30 minutes, or until golden.

Carolina Rice advertising photograph

They caught the dreaded bacon-snitcher in the act! Bacon has had a revival today.

What would be served for "casual get-togethers" in 1962? One menu plan included Sea-food Lasagna, Savory Green Beans and Romaine-cucumber salad, a fruit and cheese tray, bread sticks, and Expresso with lemon peel. Sounds healthy enough.

Here is the recipe for
Seafood Lasagna
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cook a 1/2 pound of lasagna noodles in boiling water with olive oil added to prevent sticking. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water.
2. Thaw 2 cans of frozen condensed cream of shrimp soup in a large saucepan, stirring. Stir in 2 7-ounce cans of king crab meat. Heat until bubbly.
3. Blend 1 pound of cottage cheese and 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese with 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 beaten egg, 2 tsps of basil, 1 tsp of salt and 1/3 tsp of pepper.
4. Lightly oil a 13"x 9"x 2" baking dish and line with a layer of noodles. Top with half of cheese mixture, another layer of noodles, and all of the crab sauce. Arrange four sliced ripe tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with 2 tsps of sugar. (Casserole can be chilled for later use at this point, just let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first.)
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; Sprinkle with 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese and bake 45 minutes longer, or until crusty brown. Cool for 15 minutes and cut into 8 servings.

Here are some of today's versions of Seafood Lasagna:

Cooking Light's Seafood Lasagna uses canned crabmeat and fresh shrimp, low fat cottage cheese, and no-cook lasagna noodles. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/seafood-lasagna

The New York Times version uses fresh seafood and half-and-half. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/474-seafood-lasagna

Stoneyfield uses Greek yogurt and adds lobster and has less fat. http://www.stonyfield.com/recipes/seafood-lasagna

And Eating Well has an even lower fat version with almost no cheese. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/seafood_lasagna_lasagna_di_pesce.html

Food Focus in 1962

Food ads predominate the color ads in the May 1962 Family Circle.This one with Daddy pouring Catsup for his daughter is adorable. I notice the celery and carrots on the plate. Better choice than the chips we would add today.

Margarine, or oleo, had become necessary during the war. How do you keep consumers buying it after butter is more available?

  What's for lunch? Soup and sandwich of course.

Dairy was prompted for all meals, including desert.

 Breakfast might use Prem or Treet if you don't buy Spam.

For those cooking from scratch the recipes included:

Golden Rice Bowl

Cook 1 cup rice, following directions. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine and 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice over; toss lightly with a fork; cool to room temperature. Fold in 1 cup sliced celery; 1 can mandarin-orange segments, drained; 1 green onion, sliced; and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Serve as is--no need to heat or chill. 6 Servings.

Sweet-Potato Packs

Scrub and dry 6 medium size sweet potatoes. Rub with shortening or salad oil; wrap tightly in squares of foil. Cook on grill, turning often, 1 hour, or until soft when pressed between fingers. (Protect fingers with a pot holder.) Make a criss-cross in top through foil, then squeeze potato firmly at both ends; fold foil back to form a serving dish. Top each potato wit a thick pat of butter or margarine.

Double Pear Salad

1 small head of lettuce broken into bite-size pieces, about 3 cups

1 sliced banana

1 small avocado pared and diced

1 can, about 1 pound, pear halves drained and diced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons vinegar

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Combine lettuce, bananas, avocados, and pears in salad bowl. Blend mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar until smooth. Pour over lettuce and fruits, toss; sprinkle blue cheese over.

A pretty poodle enjoys a lovely dinner setting.

Coloring gray hair, losing weight, and clean toilets were sources of anxiety.