We have lots and lots of food this week from behind the scenes of Astronauts Wives Club!!! Episode 4 was a particularly food-heavy episode (yay!), so I am just going to be dropping in a couple of recipes and inspiration material here and there rather then for each and every photo. Mostly we are just going to be admiring Emily’s excellent styling!
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! So, let’s dig in!
Junior League Gala
We are getting fancy first, with some GREAT shots of some lovely pink-and-green-styled party food.
Salmon Mold
Seriously. This guy. I can’t even.
I love these fish molds, especially because they were everywhere in the 1960’s. Complete with the olive eye. This isn’t exactly the recipe that is show here, but here is a tuna mold from a Kraft pamphlet that is one of my most favorite vintage food photos ever.
Meringue Cups
Party Loaf
If the Salmon Mold is my favorite, the sandwich loaf is a close second. I have recipes for party sandwiches frosted like cakes that date back to the early 1930’s, but the sandwich loaf really gained popularity in the 1950’s and peaked in the late 1960’s.
We’ve made these a couple of times for the blog because…I love them. But my favorite test was the Yule Sandwich Log.
Yes!
Shrimp and Olives
Small Salmon Mold
Trifle
Launch Party
This launch party was lovely, epic and trembling with gelatin.
Tomato Aspic Mold
I’ve read lots of claims that Perfection Salad was the most famous mid-century aspic mold, but I am betting the Tomato Aspic Mold was made the most often. If you want to try one that is actually pretty good (it tastes like jellied shrimp cocktail) check out Linda’s Aspic Mold.
Banana Pudding
Blue Gelatin Mold
This is gorgeous. It looks like a variation of the The Green Stuff recipe from two weeks ago.
And yes, there was no blue Jell-O then. But there were many colorings, flavorings and powders that could have been used to make it blue. Personally, I am hoping it is blue Curacao, and that it is a Blue Hawaiian flavored gelatin. Yum.
Deviled Eggs
Making Frankfurter Toasties
Frankfurter Toasties
These are adorable. Here is the vintage ad where Emily got the inspiration for these.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Another classic! I really like the meringue on this one. Here is a Magic Lemon Pie ad from Emily’s inspiration board on Pinterest.
Meatloaf Muffins
Apparently, these muffins were edible! Emily used her mom’s recipe! She writes:
These are the #meatloafcupcakes that were featured so prominently in episode 4 of #AstronautWivesClub God bless @elc719 for making them look so delicious! And the stubbing out of the cigarette! Love! It was totally her idea to do that. Anyway – just about any #meatloaf can become a #cupcake – even the vegetarian kind. Just don’t use the wrappers like I did. The edges get crispier without it.
Potluck Table
Spaghetti-O Casserole
Spam ‘N Limas
Another great one from a vintage ad!
Louise’s Lunch
BBQ Jell-O Salad
Emily writes:
This is it, folks. My gateway drug, my #favoriterecipe of all time, the single dish I’ve always wanted to make but could never bring myself to. I give you, the #BarbecueJelloSalad from the Joys of Jello cookbook. Yes, you read that: Jello cubes flavored to taste like #bbq – I combined them with hard boiled eggs and cherry tomatoes, but the original #vintagerecipe calls for baby shrimp and grapefruit wedges! This brought horror, joy, and surprise to the cast and cr…ew alike. It’s in the scene where a few of the girls are serving themselves cold cuts at Louise Shephard’s house – you don’t really see the bbq cubes in the show, but I KNOW THEY’RE THERE. Sometimes in life you just do things to satisfy yourself.
This BBQ salad is hilarious, and it is nice to see it in the salad form, since we were dared into making it in pie form. Which turned out…not so good. Anyway, here is the original recipe!
Texas BBQ
Not much to say about these, except they look really good!
Ahh…comfort food.
BBQ Table
Boiled Peanuts
Lots of Desserts!
Crown Jewel Mold!
I love this dessert!
Whew! We made it! A big thanks to Emily Marshall, who was so generous in sharing all her awesomely styled food pictures! And if you like this and want to see more, make sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm on ABC to watch more of Emily’s food in Astronaut Wives Club, and come back next week when we showcase food from Episode 5!
My great aunt used to make Crown Jewel Dessert but she called it Broken Glass Pie way back in the early 70s. My mom makes it now and it’s still a family favorite! We don’t use molds. Ours just goes in a 9×13 pan with a spoon!
I’ve got an old Jello cookbook from the “60s with both the
Bar-b-que jello salad and the Crown Jewel Dessert.
The Ribbon Salad is the flashy go-to jello for Christmas-loved by the whole family. Takes time to make but worth it.
You forgot the Chocolate Crinkles Betty Grissom offered (or maybe that was the prior episode). I make Chocolate Crinkles all the time. They are yummy! The Betty Crocker Cooky Book, a 1963 cookbook that was recently reprinted, has a fantastic recipe for them. I don’t know what I would do without my Cooky Book!
I have a query about the party loaf- I’m not from the US and it wasn’t as big a thing here. Did people eat the slice with their fingers? A fork? A knife and fork?
The toasties remind me of this, one of my all-time favorite videos…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYq69Ek_SAY
The recipe of course is from Betty Crocker.
http://timetravelkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/hot-dog-cheesies-and-vegetable-soup.html
I have a friend who does catering, and all of her parties are of vintage food. If the sandwich loaf (which is what she calls it) is frosted, it’s served with a fork. If it is unfrosted, she serves it as finger sandwiches. No fork, just a plate. Great for standup parties.
Thank you- I’ve been wondering for ages!
Do with know what that thing with blue frosting and cherries is?
I sure get a kick out of seeing these crazy ’60s foods “live and in living color” on the show & here. When I look through my vintage magazines I’d laugh at many of the concoctions the magazine editors came up with. Growing up in the ’60s I can only remember there was always jello, some in molds, but most in tupperware bowls. Definitely meals always had a stack of white bread on a plate. We never went to someone’s house (relatives, friends) to visit without bringing a bakery or store bought coffee cake.
Awesome! She made the BBQ salad I sent you! How cool to see it in all of its jiggly glory!
So many creative dishes, how great that we get to see them without having to pause and rewind the show.
This was the episode with the “cucumber milk” right? I have been scouring the internet (off and on) since it aired to find out just WHAT that is. All google gives me are facial recipes. Not quite the food I was looking for, google. I’m still not sure I’d want to drink it, but I at least want to know what it is! Any clues?
Hmm, the frosted sandwich and the shrimp w/olives actually sound really nice 🙂