Apologies for being MIA for months and months. I promise, I will be back in the near future to finish revisiting The Bell Jar with you and hopefully moving on to another great novel. In the meantime, I wanted to post a quick, fun, yet useful, tidbit.
Have you ever gotten a stain on your shirt and thought, well now, how on earth am I going go get that out? Well, look no further. I have been there. While walking my dog today, I tried to do a good deed. I picked up a McDonald’s wrapper that was lying in our neighborhood park parking lot to throw away. Unbeknownst to me, the wrapper had a package of honey dipping sauce with it. I ended up slopping honey all over one of the gloves I was wearing. As soon as I got back home, I grabbed a handy little pamphlet I inherited from my Grandma, entitled Housecleaning Hints. It has tons of useful information right at your pre-internet fingertips on how to keep your entire house, including drapes, davenport/sofa fabrics, and apparel clean.
The closest thing to getting honey out on this list is to soak it in boiling water (fruit stains). I used very hot water, and crossed my fingers. For other trouble shooting ideas on stains, give this a gander:
This particular book was put out by Procter & Gamble in 1931. American companies in the early to mid-20th century were known for giving out free publications as a way to corner more of their share of the market. The General Foods Cooperation did it with Jell-O. Calumet and Clabber Girl baking powders had their own free cookbooks. And, have you ever noticed that General Mills always insists you use Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour or Swans Down Cake Flour in every Betty Crocker baking recipe? It’s a not so clever way to make more money.
Procter & Gamble is quite the conglomerate of businesses these days. While items such as Chipso Flakes and Star Washing Powder have long since landed in the graveyard of bygone products, Procter & Gamble’s modern portfolio ranges from Pringles to Mr. Clean to Gain to Tide to Crest toothpaste, not to mention 17 other big names. They really are a force in the American logo landscape.
In the spirit of the nearing the Winter holidays, I am going to switch gears to festive ads. There are so many fantastic ones to choose from. A person could spend two years highlighting them all.
My, oh my! How cool is this ad? It hits the pulse of the times right on the head, and shouts, “Goodbye 1959, Hello 1960!” From the timeless cocktail glasses, to the exquisitely dressed people mixing it up in the background. The gentleman who is the “bartender” looks like he could have tried out for the part of James Bond, he’s so suave.
This ad reminds me of my grandparents’ household bar. They had a basement bar complete with alternating colored shag rug squares adorning the front. Six chrome legged bar stools, with thick marbled padded seat cushions. The kind you see in old movies. It fashioned a sturdy, yet fashionable Formica table top. It was fully stocked with bottles upon bottles of things with strange, foreign sounding names. My little 10-year old self had no clue what they could possible all be used for. That bar was a fixture of atomic cool. A built in masterpiece of mid-century Americana that spoke volumes.
My grandparents were not raging drunks, but they were part of that generation. The generation of this ad. People drank at parties. Hosts made sure they were well stocked with choices to keep their guests happy. Was my grandparents’ house the party house? Were they unique? I don’t think so. Their best friends had nearly the exact same bar in their basement. Drinking was pretty standard in the 50s and 60s. It was just part of the culture.
Here’s another Heublein advertisement from 1963 featuring Robert Goulet:
I was absolutely amazed when I looked into the Heublein company. This was the first I heard of them, yet they were HUGE. So huge they were included in the Nifty 50. What are the Nifty 50 you ask? They were a group of 50 large-cap stocks the New York Stock Exchange deemed most stable. They helped drive the American economy to the bull market of the 70’s. They were considered very safe investments. 1
How can a company that sells pre-made mixed cocktails be so enormously profitable? So profitable that when RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company acquired Heublein in 1982, they paid a whopping 1.2 billion dollars for the company and its holdings.2. That’s 3.9 billion in today’s dollars. Billion!. My head has a hard time wrapping itself around the enormity of this company. They were such a formidable force because they were diverse. They had their fat fingers in multiple markets. They owned brands such as:
A-1 Steak Sauce (1906)
Grey Poupon (1936)
Smirnoff Vodka (1938)
Hamm’s Brewery (1965 sold again in 1973)
Kentucky Fried Chicken (1971)
Hart’s Bakeries (1972)
They held distribution rights for:
Irish Mist Liqueur
Harvey’s Bristol Cream
Don Q Rum
Jose Cuervo
Black & White
Bell’s Whiskey
Lancer’s Wines
Guinness Stout
Bass Ale
Perrier Mineral Water
Rose’s Lime Juice
It is staggering. No wonder they were part of the 50 most desirable stocks of the 60s and 70s.
Back to our ad above. It is pure class. That suit, the tie, the dress the woman on the left is wearing. You can almost feel the silkiness of his tie and her sash. Let’s not forget to notice the stylish updo she is sporting. The flourish of his hand, as if he is part bartender, part magician. I’m not sure how they suspended the bottle to show it during mid pour, but it’s pretty darn cool and decidedly on-point.
Last, but not least, check out the wrapping paper on the gift. Can I get a roll? It’s out of this world!
I long for the times of this ad. Not so much for the alcohol and what’s in the bottle, but what the ad is selling. Time. No need to spend time mixing drinks, when you can buy Heublein pre-made cocktails. You can have more time to spend with your friends and guests. For all the conveniences we have in 2024, it seems we have less and less time to entertain and just be with one another. Life moves too fast.
I urge you to unplug, by throwing or attending a party this season. Whatever your season is make the most of it. Take time to be with your friends, neighbors and loved ones. It doesn’t have to be a big gathering. It doesn’t have to break the bank. But take time to sit around drinking your drink of choice (no alcohol necessary) and reconnect with our friends, family and neighbors.
Here’s to the holidays! Let’s truly enjoy every minute we can.
“Just Pour over Ice – Who Knew? – Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project.” Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project – Stories about the People, Traditions, Innovations, and Events That Make up Connecticut’s Rich History., 5 Dec. 2020, connecticuthistory.org/just-pour-over-ice-who-knew/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024. ↩︎
(Crème brûlée with cranberries, lingonberries, prunes, vanilla and orange.)
Day 6/7 – Friday, October 25, 2024
Serves 2
16 hours in total, 90 mins preparation
Crème brûlée is more involved than the other recipes I have thus far posted and has the potential to involve a few non basic kitchen items, but you can get around all that if you choose. I will explain a few shortcuts at the bottom.
Ingredients:
1 handful of dried cranberries 2 dried pitted California prunes 1/2 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon of lingonberry jam 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1 large egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon white granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 2-3 teaspoons brûlée sugar Non-stick cooking spray
Overnight – Place a handful of dried cranberries and 2 dried California prunes in a glass of orange juice. Cover with cellophane and place in fridge to sit overnight. Allow the fruit time to soak up the orange essence. At least 12 hours with the juice should suffice.
Day of – Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove your prunes and cranberries from your glass of orange juice and place in a small saucepan over the stove. Add 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes on low heat, breaking up the fruit as you stir it. Add a tablespoon of lingonberry jam to the saucepan and mix in with the other fruit. Allow to meld together with the heat, stiring as needed until mixture reduces by a 1/3 and no liquid remains and a compote has come together.
Spray two ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Ladle a generous scoop of the fruit compote into the two ramekins, making sure the bottoms are covered. Set aside.
In a clean saucepan, heat heavy cream with a 1/2 teaspoon of white granulated sugar. Heat over medium, whisking constantly until it just reaches the boiling point. Remove from heat.
Quickly separate egg, and place only the yolk into a small mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste to the egg.
Whisk until combined. Add cream and sugar mixture from your saucepan, a little at a time, whisking while you are adding. Make sure to go slow, and be patient. If you add the cream to the egg and vanilla too quickly, it will begin to cook the egg. You don’t want the egg to cook or become solid. After all the cream has been whisked into the egg and vanilla, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
Pour half the cream and egg mixture over the fruit compote of one ramekin. Use the other half for the second ramekin.
Using a shallow glass dish, begin creating a “bain-marie” or a hot water bath. Fill the glass dish with hot water. Fill only partially. Place the ramekins in the water, allowing hot water to rise to half the height of the outside of the ramekins. See photo.
Place the “bain-marie” with ramekins in your oven once it has reached 300 degrees. Bake on rack that is just a little lower than the middle rack. Bake for 30 minutes. It will be done, when the centers jiggle only ever so slightly. When cool enough, wrap with cellophane and place in your refrigerator to cool for 2 hours.
When ready to serve, sprinkle the top of each with a generous amount of brûlée sugar and torch until evenly caramelized. I have owned a handy Williams Sonoma Butane Torch for many, many years. It still works. It’s basic, but it does the job.
Note – No need to purchase fancy brûlée sugar. You can easily make your own with light brown and granulated white sugar. Take 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar and spread it evenly out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool to room temperature and push through a fine sieve. Mix with 1 cup white granulated sugar and store in an airtight container. It should keep for a few weeks.
Note – If you don’t own a kitchen torch, try until a candle lighter. It might work in a pinch! Just make sure to hover over the sugar to brown it. It’s okay to light it on fire for a brief second, but make sure it doesn’t char.
If you are doing the prune challenge, don’t forget to eat 5 extra prune today, as only two were used in the recipe; half going into each ramekin.
Crack open the top of the brûlée sugar with satisfaction. Smell the aromas as you lift the first bite to your lips. Enjoy with a cup or coffee, your favorite tea of a mug of chocolat chaude (Hot Chocolate)!
We’ve made it to day five and it doesn’t get any more simple than this! Just lovely. The maple syrup infused prunes were a touch of deliciousness. I made this recipe up, but you can tweak it as you see fit. Everyone has their favorite pancake recipe. Go with yours if you like and try the maple infused prunes along side and see how it all comes together. Go crazy!
Ingredients:
6 California Prunes 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup, plus more to top your cakes 1 cup of all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 large egg 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/4 cup pecans, plus more for topping
Heat a 1/4 cup of water on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the water and stir, making a simple syrup. Once the syrup has dissolved, add all six prunes and reduce the heat to low and cover.
Place one leveled cup of all-purpose flour to a medium sized bowl. Add a teaspoon of baking powder to the flour. Whisk lightly, just until mixed. Crack an egg into the flour and powder. Pour 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 3/4 cup buttermilk into the well made by the egg. Mix until batter holds few lumps. Add more buttermilk if batter is too thick for your liking. Pour in 1/4 cup chopped pecans and stir just until combined.
Allow batter to sit and rise for a few minutes.
Give a quick check to your prunes. You want to make sure they are not dissolving into a paste. We want them to remain in tact. If they look like they are breaking down, turn the heat off and remove the pan entirely.
Melt a knob of unsalted butter in a cast iron pan. Pour batter into the pan. If you follow the recipe as written above, batter will be thick and you will need to cook each side longer than you may initially think. Watch for air bubbles to pop on the uncooked side and be patient. Do not flip pancakes over until edges are golden and crispy and several bubbles and appeared. My cook time in total was 4 minutes on each side, as my pancakes were very large. Repeat for remaining pancakes.
Plate your pancakes.
Take a fork and gently remove each maple soaked prune, one by one and place them gently around your pancake. Pour desired amount of syrup on your cakes. Scattered chopped pecans on top. Pour yourself a cup of orange juice, coffee or tea and enjoy!
Note – You can use any sweetener you like to top your pancakes, but try to stick to real maple syrup for the simple syrup to infuse the prunes.
Further Note – A quick substitute for buttermilk when none is on hand. Add a teaspoon of distilled vinegar to a cup of milk. Let stand until bubbles/thicken presents itself.
Needing a break from the sweet stuff, I decided to try my hand at making risotto with prunes. I would not call myself an outstanding chef by any stretch. I say this, for any self respecting chef will tell you, it’s not a true risotto without saffron. Since I don’t have saffron and I can’t leave the house to get any, this shall suffice.
Ingredients:
6 pitted California Prunes 1/4 cup of minced onion 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter Dash of garlic powder 1 cup chicken stock, plus 1/2 cup more on hand 2/3 cup dry Arborio rice 1/4 cup dry white wine Stream of heavy cream Shredded Asiago cheese
Take 6 pitted California prunes and place them in a small bowl. Pour a 1/4 cup of white wine over the prunes to help them moisten. I used River Road Uncorked Chardonnay, as it’s what I had available. Any dry white wine will do. Feel free to just use water, if you want to skip the alcohol.
While the prunes are plumping, dice a 1/4 onion, finely. Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a sturdy pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and sauté until translucent.
Add 2/3 cup dry arborio rice. I used Vigo, but any arborio rice will suffice. Stir the rice, along with the butter and onion until the rice turns a golden brown color. Sprinkle garlic powder (to your liking) and stir.
Add the prunes and wine to the pan of rice. Stir.
Pour half the chicken stock into the pan, just enough to cover. Keep heat at low to medium temperature, just enough to cook the rice, but not so much that it will boil the liquid off too quickly. You want the rice to slowly absorb the stock. The key to a decent risotto is patience. Keep an eye on the rice. Add more chicken stock as necessary to keep the rice covered, but not flooded with liquid. Cook for at least 20 minutes, added more stock and stirring as needed. (Note – I ended up cooking my rice for about 25 minutes and adding more stock than I had initially planned, as I was not confident the rice was cooked. It’s a bit like the chip and dip game! That’s why it is a good idea to have extra stock at the ready.)
Once the rice is cooked. Slowly stir in a stream of cream until the rice turns a paler color. Plate your cooked rice. I chose to grate fresh asiago cheese on top for a little salty treat. Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, any of these would work well.
The verdict? What a shock. I truly adored this dish. I know I must sound like a broken record. Every dish I have made has surprised me. Yet, most of the dishes so far were sweet dishes. Dishes that can take prunes and highlight their natural sugars. I thought the pairing of chicken stock and prunes would not go well. Pork and beef maybe, as prunes tend to bit hearty and evoke a meaty quality to them, but chicken? My theory is, prunes are a bit of a chameleon – taking on the flavors of ingredients around them.
With regard to the promise of feeling less sluggish and having more energy, per the vintage California Prune Grower’s Ad, I’m not there yet. Having this health bug to weigh me down doesn’t help and isn’t really great timing to see if prunes help with this or not. Nevertheless, we march on.
This is one dish I will make again. If you dare to try your hand at creamy chicken risotto with California prunes, tweak it, make it your own. Feel free to comment on things you changed. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to make a good dish great!
Still feeling under the weather, dear reader. So, with that in mind, I whipped up a really quick and easy snack. All you need are three ingredients for this one.
Take 6 California Prunes (pitted) and put them in a small bowl. Pour red wine over the prunes, just until covered. I used Martin’s Pickup Shriaz, because it’s what I had on hand. Any red wine will do. Cover the bowl with food grade wrap to keep the air from drying the prunes out. Soak for at least 12 hours. I started the soaking process before I went to bed. My prunes had been soaking for around 16 hours.
When you get hungry and want a treat, drain the remaining wine off your prunes. Place a scoop of your favorite ice cream in a dish and add the prunes on top. I used Tillamook’s Waffle Cone Swirl Ice Cream, as, again, it’s what I had in the freezer. (Disclaimer – I don’t actually eat ice cream much at all. Maybe twice a year. It was another house inhabitant’s ice cream.)
I had hoped originally to recreate Franks’ Amazing Prunes and Mascarpone Dessert, the recipe for which you can find at Something New For Dinner’s website. I believe very much in using what you have. We did not have mascarpone cheese, nor did we have mint. Thus was born, the concoction above.
For not being an ice cream aficionado, I enjoyed this very much.
As for the star of the show, the drunken prunes, they were insanely moist, plump and delectable. Even with this terrible cold, I enjoyed them tremendously. The tide of my impression of prunes is turning toward a favorable one.
For those of you who choose to not indulge in sprits, you can try soaking these in nonalcoholic wine, or plain old grape juice overnight. I am guessing they will plump up just as nicely.
One change I would make is, if I could have chosen a different ice cream it would have been the good old fashioned New York Vanilla. Tillamook is great, but Kemps New York Vanilla would do for me. Why New York vanilla you ask? I like eggs. They add body. Other vanillas often don’t have egg in their finished product.1
As for myself, I am crossing my fingers, the little bit of alcohol might help me get rid of this bug sooner, as I would love to make a few more involved dishes with prunes to display.
A quick disclaimer. I am under the weather pretty badly today. I was trying to decide if I would continue with my adventure into the world of prunes this week. I chose to forge forward, but given my low energy, I thought I would do a simple, quick recipe.
Stewed prunes do not sound good. Actually, they sound God awful. But, these were surprisingly fantastic! I cannot say how pleased I was at the outcome. I made this recipe up by riffing off instructions for stewed prunes I found in my Grandma’s old cookbook, “The American Woman’s Cook Book” from 1948.1 The steps to make this snack are quite simple.
Pour 1/2 cup of water into a small saucepan. Add 6 prunes to the water and bring to a boil. Add a sprinkling of vanilla sugar and one whole star anise. After a hard boil is achieved, turn heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Then remove from heat. Let stand for another 20 minutes to cool and blossom. Enjoy!
The star anise and vanilla sugar are optional. Technically, you can make stewed prunes with just prunes and water. I used the vanilla sugar and star anise to jazz it up.
These stewed prunes were simple and quick to make. They turned out plump, moist and delicious. I would make these again. They were hands down better than dried prunes.
What other additives would be good in stewed prunes? Maybe cinnamon and orange? If you have any ideas, please share them with me. I plan to make stewed prunes again this week.
Hopefully, I will have more energy tomorrow and can make something a bit more involved. Stay tuned dear reader!
Home, Delineator, and Ruth Berolzheimer. The American Woman’s Cook Book. Garden City Publishing, 1948. ↩︎
Lunch today was a variation of Flourishing Foodie’s Stewed Prunes with Oatmeal. I made some alterations right off the bat. I wanted to be very easy on the stomach, so I decided to just cut the prunes up and add them to the oats as they were cooking. I opted to use old fashioned oats instead of instant, as old fashioned oats stick with a body a bit longer. I cooked 1/2 a cup of old fashioned oats in 1 cup of water. Then I added 6 diced California Prunes (Sunsweet Pitted Prunes). Six actually seemed like a generous amount of prunes. But, I wanted to consume what the vintage ad suggested. I tapped in a dash of ground cinnamon.
While the oatmeal was cooking, I snacked on the almonds the recipe suggested adding. As I had already eaten my fair share by the time the oatmeal was nearing done, so I omitted adding almonds. I considered using the orange slices, but the oranges I had on hand did not look the best, so I skipped those too.
Once the prunes softened and the oatmeal was fully cooked, I added about a tablespoon of honey. I finished the oatmeal, by added a splash of oat milk to cream it up. I enjoyed the oatmeal with a cup of coffee and cup of Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt for more protein.
All in all, I found the addition of prunes to be pleasant. Reminiscent of a cross between dates and raisins. I may try this oatmeal again this week, but with more of a nutty, salty appeal to it.
Time will tell if those six prunes will give me more energy. It can’t hurt to have more potassium in your diet. One serving of prunes also contains:
Vintage Advertisement of the Week – September 19, 2024
Seventeen Magazine – November 1948
Talk about traumatic! Marketing executives of the 1940’s were keen on throwing shade anywhere and everywhere they could get it to land and this ad has a whole lot of shade.
Have you ever eaten rye crackers? They are rather bland. In the world of manufactured snacks, they are at best forgettable and only as good as what you dressed them up with. It’s reminiscent of the 1980’s rice cake diet fad. Anybody remember that? I digress. If I had to guess, I would say they were so successful for two reasons; 1) Scandinavian Americans adored the crackers, and 2) Ry-Krisp’s diet campaign.
A Brief History of Ry-Krisp
Ry-Krisp was founded by Arvid and Erik Peterson, brothers who immigrated to the United States from Sweden in the 1800’s. They brought with them a recipe for knackerbrod. Knackerbrod was a 19th century Scandinavian staple. It was made twice a year, had no yeast and kept an incredibly long shelf life. Best known as being a digestive biscuit, it was baked with a hole in the middle so it could be stored on a long rod for the best drying practices.1
The Peterson brothers settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a veritable hub for Scandinavian immigration during the mid to late 1800’s.2 A few key historical highlights of the company:
1904
Peterson Brothers open up a bakery on Lyndale Avenue, Minneapolis, MN.
1913
The Peterson Brothers sell to a local investment group, changing the name of the company to Ry-Krisp.
1926
Ralston Purina (of dog food fame) buys out Ry-Krisp and markets it as a health food. 3
2013
Conagra acquires Ry-Krisp, shutters factory in Minneapolis two year later and production of the cracker ceases.
The Petersons and their vision for a marketable rye cracker fit right in with Minneapolis of the late 1800’s. Minnesota, especially Minneapolis, was a center of flour mill activity. It was home to Gold Medal Flour/General Mills4, Pillsbury Flour5, and Malt O Meal (Northfield, MN, n/k/a Post Consumer Brands)6. It was big business back in the day and still is. Here is a photograph from 1949 taken of one of the machines that helped make the Ry-Krisp cracker.7 I wonder how the paste made it from this machine to cracker form. It’s too bad footage of the entire process doesn’t exist.
Premade or convenience foods helped liberate the modern woman of the late 1940’s and 1950’s.8 The rye cracker also grew in popularity throughout the United States (rye being a staple grain in not just Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, but much of Northern and Eastern Europe). I can see why Ry-Krisp lasted for over a century.
Due to its long shelf life and convenience, Ry-Krisp really got around. Salad with Ry-Krisp while you travel down the tracks in luxury?
A fun look at a recreation of a menu based off the old Pennsylvania Railroad menus. Check out the luncheon offerings. The New York Public Library Archives have some other fun glimpses into past
The Untapped Teen Market
Convenience aside, the teen market executives hung their shingle solely on two words, “loneliness” and “diet”. Magazines like Seventeen and Calling All Girls are littered with ads that preyed on a young girl’s doubts toward her body size and being ostracized because of it.
Here are some other examples of how marketing sharks sunk their blood thirsty teeth into a young girl’s confidence:
Ry-Krisp Ad, Widely Circulated 1948
Calling All Girls – July 1947
Through the Looking Glass
I’ve got a 1945 copy of “Through the Looking Glass” a 1,500 calorie diet for teenage girls coming in the mail. I’ll share tidbits in the coming months. The advertisement from which I purchased the pamphlet says it calls for a 1,500 calorie limit for 16 year old girls who want to lose weight the Ry-Krisp way. While it might be doable, suggesting a diet to a person, teenager or not, should be up to the medical professionals, not the Mad Men of the snack world. It’s a dangerous line to walk, but advertisers do it all the time.
The common themes in all of the teenage Ry-Krisp ads above are cruel and insidious. Flat out telling a young girl she will be alone because she is “overweight” and needs to reduce her body by eating their product is nothing new, but it is the way they are so in the reader’s face about it. Marketing these days is bad enough, but I’m not sure I’ve seen ads from the 2020’s as bad as these Ry-Krisp ones.
Back to the question above. Can a fat girl find love? I think we all know the answer to that. Yes, yes, they can, with or without the help of rye crackers.
Tidbits and Timemachines 