The Mid-Century Menu

This is the Halloween cake I made last year with Alex, and it turned out so well that I decided to run it again this year. This is a great quick cake to make for a party or with your little ones. And who doesn’t love an orange candy-flavored cake? The only change I would make would be using butter instead of shortening in the cake and maybe doubling the frosting if you are a frosting lover.   Whew! Well, I have to admit that this Halloween post is more of a treat than a trick, but after the scary gelatin countdown last week, ...

To keep going with our vintage food Halloween countdown, I bring you creepy gelatin. First of all, I just want to put it out there that I am in no way – no way – advocating serving a hideous mid-century gelatin to your party guests this Halloween. Because, come on. It would be ridiculous. I mean, your friends and family come over to your house to have a good time. They come to eat good food. They don’t come over to be guinea pigs. Honestly, some of these aren’t even edible. They are made with crazy ingredient concoctions that just...

To keep the theme of freaky mid-century food going, I bring you the most hilarious cake we’ve ever made here on the blog: Banana Spook Cake. This thing is funny on so many levels, but mostly on the level of bananas sticking out of things. I mean, come on. Who can resist a cake with bananas sticking out of it? And the freakiest thing about this one was that it actually ended up being good! I’ve run this before, and every time someone in the comments suggests ditching the cake mix and pairing the glaze and banana cream with a from...

Happy October! It’s the time for tricks and treats, and your extra-special treat from me is the reposting of these no-knead, no-fry doughnuts. That’s right. Doughnuts that you can mix up in your mixer and bake in your oven. And they aren’t dense and cakey either. These are incredibly light and soft, and while they don’t taste exactly like a fried doughnut, they are about as close as you can get. So enjoy! This week we are celebrating with one of the most traditional of mid-century Halloween Foods: The Homemade Doughnut! And...

This week I felt like making something sparkly and pretty, so I remade this Ginger Ale Salad recipe that I originally tested for Glory Days Magazine. Because what’s more sparkly than a gelatin? This is Ginger Ale Salad! This is a classic salad that introduced the idea of adding carbonated beverages to gelatin salads, which is quite possibly one of the greatest ideas for a sweet gelatin salad since the idea of adding fruit. Though in the books that I’ve read Fannie Farmer is credited with this original idea, this particular...

It’s apple cider time! I think I run this post every year, but this cake is seriously that good and we make it all the time. Since it is apple season here in Michigan and I am breaking out the tested and delicious apple recipes from my collection, I thought I would remind everyone how good and easy this cake really is and I decided to revive it again from the archives. Enjoy! Okay, okay. I know. Apple cider AND desserts two weeks in a row. It’s unheard of here on the Mid-Century Menu, where everything is supposed to be scary all...

This week we are going to cut through the bull and lay it right on the table: I made this vintage aspic because I wanted to see what it tasted like. Because that is what we do here on Mid-Century Menu. That’s it. End of story. Will 7-Up and canned consommé in a gelatin taste good or bad together? This book came from Food From Famous Kitchens, The Brand Names Cook Book from 1961. This is a great one if you want to see what recipes brand test kitchens were putting out but you don’t want to collect a bunch of pamphlets. You can also...

I pulled this week’s recipe from the archives because ’tis the season for yummy fruit here (blackberries, last of the peaches, start of the apples, pears and so on) and pretty much all fruit tastes amazing when served on these waffles. Make sure to smother them with lots of whipped cream and candied ginger!!! This week we were in the mood for waffles! This recipe is out of the Better Homes & Gardens Bread Cookbook from 1963. I got this last year (I believe) and I hadn’t cooked anything out of it, so when Tom was hungry...

Since it’s Labor Day is coming up, it’s time to trot out the old BBQ standbys here on Mid-Century Menu: The loaf of grilled hot dogs, the potato salad with gelatin in it, the spiced lemonade and the chocolate cake made with tomato soup. These are all really good, I swear, and would make a fantastic cook-out meal! Ahh, Labor Day, where everything is last minute. Last minute back-to-school shopping. Last minute gardening. Last minute vacations. But your Labor Day cookout doesn’t need to be last minute. Here on Mid-Century...