After a long hiatus, welcome back to another week of food from behind the scenes of Astronauts Wives Club!!! This is Part I of Episode 10, another episode jam-packed with vintage food that is going to be split into two posts. This week we have gelatin, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and some Toas-Tite grilled cheese sandwiches!
I am happy to bring you some close-ups of this food courtesy of food stylist Emily Marshall, who worked like crazy to make sure that the food from Astronauts Wives Club was the most mid-century it could be!
Launch Party At Betty’s House
There is much want in my heart for those turquoise salad servers!!!!
And more pictures, because I love the sets!
Blue Gelatin Mold
A tropical treat, and packed with pineapple!
As discussed in past posts, blue gelatin wasn’t around then but this could have been made with various blue colored drinks or food dye. Emily said this was basically table-filler, but that a lot of the crew connected with its weirdness.
Did you notice that Emily used a vintage Tupperware mold? Love it!
Candy Dish
More table filler – but it is lovely! I have several vintage recipes for cookies and cakes that use those orange slices. I’m going to have to dig those out and give them a try!
Cheese Ball
You can’t say “no” to a cheese ball, especially when it is looking at you with its big, goofy olive eye.
If you would like a great cheese ball recipe, check out my family’s recipe (which also turns out is a Kraft recipe)!
Chili And Bread
A classic! Emily said that the cheese garnish probably will not work in real life, but since her food is all cold she was able to pull this off. I think it looks great!
Emily’s used canned chili, but here is a chili recipe I found in the Union Carbide Employee’s 20th Anniversary Cookbook from 1968.
Cookie Plate
Emily confessed that these are just store-bought cookies to make her life easier, but she said she wanted to pick out period authentic cookies. She settled on the cut-outs and the checkerboard cookies with classic Rice Krispie Treats in the center.
Here are some delicious Checkerboard Cookies and Sour Cream Cut-Outs from The Cookie Book from the Culinary Arts Institute, 1941. Feel free to sub part butter for the shortening in the Checkerboards. I usually do!
Deviled Eggs
What’s a mid-century party without deviled eggs? I previously posted a recipe for these in the Episode 2 post!
Cheese Plate
This fruit and cheese plate is inspired by the cover of the Good Housekeeping Holiday Cookbook. Emily said she searched for a vase like the one they have on the cover, but to no avail. She ended up using the dish as her second choice, but actually ended up really loving it.
Green Bean Casserole
Another classic buffet staple. This one was purchased from Honeybaked Ham, but you can easily whip this one up at home.
Molded Potato Salad with Crab Dip
This lovely thing is inspired by the Molded Potato Salad that we tested out here on the blog! Emily tinted this one yellow. It definitely catches the eye!
The recipe is originally from the Better Homes & Gardens Salad Book from 1958.
Mini Pigs In Blankets
These were just a riff on a recipe Emily made for a previous party, but I did find a recipe for these guys in the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook! However, Emily did NOT use Vienna Sausages, but cut hot dogs.
Coconut Party Cake
This gorgeous cake was actually baked by the local Rouse’s bakery per Emily’s specifications, but she was inspired by this ad from 1951:
Mixed with this lovely ad that showed a Technicolor pink cake:
And in case you weren’t convinced yet that you need coconut cake right this minute, here is yet another coconut cake with a recipe! This cake is from Here Are The Cakes America Loves from 1950.
Pot Roast
This is a roast purchased premaded from Honeybaked Ham, but if you want to try your hand at a vintage recipe, here is the Pot Roast recipe from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook!
Strawberry Gelatin Salad
Emily said this salad was a special request from their showrunner, who grew up eating it! Here is a recipe from A Book of Favorite Recipes from Thumb Area Foster Grandparents, 1968.
Roast Turkey With Dressing
Another dish that Emily purchased from Honeybaked, but here is a recipe for roast turkey with celery dressing from the Farm Journal Country Cookbook from 1959.
Toas-Tite Grilled Cheese and Tater Tots
This is one of Emily’s favorite dishes from this line up. In fact, she said she just wants to bury her face in it! These fun little sandwiches are made with vintage Toas-Tite sandwich makers. What’s a Toas-Tite? Probably the coolest little round sandwich maker ever! And if you don’t have a vintage one – never fear! They are being meticulously reproduced today. Check out the Toas-Tite website to check out the models available and read more about it.
And if you use coupon code FS-15B, you can get free shipping from their online store. (It is an affiliate code, so feel free to use it or not, but the free shipping is pretty awesome.) Stay tuned for more fun Toas-Tite creations and a review coming up soon in our regular blog line-up!
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Now that is a lovely cake!
Aaaaaand here’s Emily!!!
How cute is this??? Seriously. And I am loving all the Harvest Gold and Avocado Green!
And if you want to whip up your own cake, here is a recipe from Carnation’s Family Favorites, 1956. This is my go-to Pineapple Upside Down Cake!
Here is a cake made with this recipe. Not as pretty as Emily’s, but it still was delicious!
Whew, so that wraps up Part I of Episode 10! A big thanks to Emily Marshall, who was so generous in sharing all her awesomely styled food pictures.
Sadly, the next behind the scenes post will be the final one for Astronaut Wives Club, but you can still re-read our whole series of posts in the archives!
Yay! So happy to see the continuation of this series of posts.
I love the wooden candy dish, I have a bunch like that from Hawaii from the 50’s. I also now want to make a coconut cake!
I want that candy dish! Also, I have a white hobnail dish very similar to the on one the cover of the BH&G cookbook.
I think I’ve got a vintage Toas-Tite (or something very similar) somewhere around here, that belonged to my grandmother. She used to make me sandwiches in it when I was really little.
Wooden candy dish looks like monkeypod-wood ware still sometimes available at yard sales or in thrift shops. Don’t see much sold new these days.
Tater Tots were invented in 1953 but didn’t catch on until the price was raised (main ingredient is potato scraps from making frozen fries, so they were cheap at first because Ore-Ida was thrilled to be making any profit from them). I think they’d caught on by the period that the show is set in.
That blue gelatin mold caught my eye for obvious reasons, but also because I grew up with that Corelle pattern! In fact, my folks still use those dishes daily, and they still look brand spankin’ new.
Love this series of posts! In addition to the great recipes in vintage cookbooks, I’ve found some of the best illustrations of the mid century. What a great job Emily has done for that show…thank you so much for sharing the behind the scenes!
Love seeing the last of the posts since I watched the whole series. I have that Tupperware jello mold along with another oldie. Still use them!
That cheese ball really looks good; I’m definitely going to make one for New Year’s Eve!
Your posting about the Toas-Tite still being made reminded me of another product you might want to check out–the Atom Pop corn popper. Apparently it’s been made since 1952, it looks like a flying saucer, the carton it comes in is priceless, and it actually makes great popcorn! I bought one myself a few months back and it still makes me smile just to look at the thing. http://atompoppopper.com/popper_info3.html
This is great! Now I’m going to buy an Atom Pop popper. Thanks for sharing it.
This is perfect! I am always on the lookout for reproduction things to try. Thank you!
these photos bring a nostalgic tear to my eyes, I see many of the same plates, bowls, decorations used by my mother, and yes, my Dad worked for NASA back then in the Astronaut Management Office, if only I could get him to write a book!
The cup and saucer with the small diamond argyle pattern used in one episode caught my eye. My mom had that pattern and it’s long gone. Anyone know the name of that pattern?!
Will there be a part 2 to this post? Or is this the end of astronaut wives recipes? Say it ain’t so!
I’m also still hoping and praying for an Episode 10, part 2 post!!! Please and thank you! 🙂