I've spent the past few days scanning through this latest Betty Crocker book. It makes me never want to host a party because after reading it, I have done everything wrong when I have people over to my house for entertainment. I thought what I was doing worked and people left happy. Oh how wrong I was!
Thank you Betty Crocker for the inferiority complex. Most of the tabs were RED for agitation. The best way to post about this one is to give "her" interpretation of how a party should be held and what I think of it. In the end, we'll see who is right! Maybe I'm just a simpleton from NW Indiana. I accept it. I'm proud of it!
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Betty Crocker's Guide to Easy Entertaining, 1959. What amuses me about this title is there's so much stress in the Betty Crocker world of entertaining, there's no way to enjoy the guests. The dash makes me think it was an afterthought. |
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This picture just sucks. I see what it's trying to depict, but really it's going into the racially asinine pictures and cartoons of the 1950s. |
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One of the few actual food pictures in here. A shrimp de Johnge. Okay, getting back to the text. |
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Classy idea for a midnight supper! Hamburgers already in buns in a 13X9 pyrex dish and cheeses that have been out for hours. |
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EVERY hostess should have a stocked teacart with emergency foods that are cooked and plated in case something goes wrong! |
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"Flaming chicken". Seems legit. |
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A shrimp curry is certainly a curry if there are cans of condensed soup and a couple teaspoons of curry powder added to it. |
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Scales of a song can be now "apple, pear, chicken, potatoes, pineapple, dynamite, grapes, canteloupe" Second verse, same as the first. |
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Yes! No! Dilute the bouillon, hold the clam juice , lemon. Better yet, I'll have a water. |
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Why make it so complicated? Just grab the first seat and get ready to eat something. It doesn't have to be this big of a PITA! |
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If I didn't know this was a "Gay Nineties Charlotte Russe", I would have thought it was what the bathroom looked like when my son was toilet training. |
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Something tells me if there was a picture involved, this recipe would not sell books. |
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Uhh, don't go through the trouble of making that for my soup. I'd prefer Saltines over something more novel. |
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Broaden your horizons, Betty. The world is full of people who do not love chicken. And the preparation methods of the 1950s makes me question how safe it would be considered. |
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This is just lame. Maybe it's a stab at being funny, but it's really coming off as annoying. |
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Cottage cheese in lasagna is just disgusting. A nice red sauce, meat, noodles, gooey cheese, and clots of white. It should have never happened. Perhaps cottage was cheaper than ricotta. But it just should have never happened. |
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I'm thinking I will never host a smorgasbord. |
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Ugh! From whom? The husband who is trying to be polite and getting the green beans in sour cream out of sight? |
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That's right. I am stopping it right there. How many people really like taking their kids to a matinee on a Saturday? |
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Would you prefer this jellied chicken loaf? Or: |
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A loaf such a green color that my 2011 purchased scanner can't catch right? Decisions, decisions. |
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Really Betty? Was this macabre necessary? Does this poor chicken need to be crying over one of her babies being cracked and cooked? |
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Well this says a lot for the host and his wife. Why can't he sack up and say something to the guy? He's the host so it's his party. |
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Screw your cute little slogan. This book was obnoxious! This book took me three days to tab and all day to scan. |
What is funny about this book is that it was at Half Price Books, reprinted and shrink wrapped. Now I am tempted to go there to see what is in it.
Until next time!!
Holy God. I HAVE this cookbook,it was my grandmother's!! My 13-yr old daughter and I were looking thru it for some laughs, and googling the bizarre "Charlotte Russe" dessert led us to your post. You are hilarious. I should mention that my grandmother actually had check marks in the book (by what I can only imagine were favorite or successful recipes) including, but not limited to, the cottage cheese lasagne and a tragic appetizer made with canned clams and cream cheese. As you can imagine, my daughter had some super legit questions: What's this about people changing into "gayer" clothes?, and Why was gelatin so popular in these decades?!? Um, anything with Jell-O or made in a 'mold' was considered "fancy" pretty much thru the 70's, I told her, although it defies explanation to this day. Anyway, I love that you took the time to lay all these pages out & make us laugh even harder.
ReplyDeleteI also have a series of my grandmother's Gram Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet!) cookbooks that are a hoot in their own right, and you've motivated me to prowl garage sales & Goodwill for more. Cheers!
Nice post!! I did best arrangements for 4th July and threw a party at LA venue. Planned few games for the entertainment. Also prepared luscious buffet. Everyone enjoyed the event and liked my arrangement ideas too.
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