The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook is a flashback to the days of My Three Sons, Leave it to Beaver, and the Donna Reed Show all wrapped up in a neat bundle with a fun romp through the food of that era. If you wish you had grown up in the 1960s, relish the idea of having a cocktail hour every night or wish it was still appropriate to wear a silk chiffon dress and pearls to go to the grocery store, you will love this book.
As I read through this cookbook, I was instantly transported back in time and loved the feeling of nostalgia that swept over me. I could smell my mother’s pot roast cooking in the oven and remember what it was like when my only worries were homework or what I should wear to school. I ran to the television and went clicking through the channels searching for reruns of Bonanza.
The authors, Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin, have done a remarkable job of unearthing long hidden recipe gems, scouring through hundreds of old cookbooks, magazines and advertisements to find authentic foods and preparations. They bring them to life again and for that I am grateful. It is obvious that this book was written with passion and a wish to preserve memories from their childhoods, when they grew up just a few miles from Manhattan and frequented many of the establishments.
Each recipe is preceded by a description of an episode from Mad Men, setting the scene and explaining how the cocktail, appetizer or entrée were featured in the show. Then they often give us some background on the how the recipe was developed, where it originated, and whenever possible the location of restaurants still in business today. It is wonderful to virtually walk through the streets of New York, imagining all of these places as they were back then.
There are nearly 70 recipes that cover the gamut from cocktails and appetizers to salads, main courses and of desserts. I love the memories they evoke and appreciate the care that has been taken to represent each of them faithfully. Whether you are making Sardi’s Hearts of Palm Salad, Joan’s Stuffed Crown Roast of Pork or Kitty’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, you will be reminded of an America in peacetime.
For lovers of the show, this will be a fun reminder of specific episodes and characters. But if you don’t follow the program, this book’s stories and recipes will keep you entertained for hours and hours. Most of the recipes can be handled by beginning cooks and will be a fantastic jumping off point for those more experienced in the kitchen. There is something for everyone in these pages.
I thought it would be fun to create a dinner party from the book, hoping that you will join me in the kitchen as we whip up some tastes of the past. Why don’t we start with the indispensable Classic Algonquin Cocktail. One of New York’s most prestigious hotels and the site of the infamous “Round Table,” a group of columnists, authors and playwrights that met daily for lunch for 10 years beginning in 1919, the Algonquin still maintains its standard of elegance and charm.
To start off dinner, is there anything more appropriate than the classic Shrimp Cocktail? It was an extravagance at the time and still one of my favorites. The term “cocktail” for this appetizer was named during Prohibition in the 1920s. In the introduction to the recipe, Gelman and Zheutlin explain, “… If you couldn’t drink a cocktail – not legally anyway – you could at least eat one and make good use of your stemware in the process.”
One of the favorite main courses for parties in that era was the pineapple-glazed ham. Salty with a sweet glaze that balances your palate, it is filling and festive. A delicious side dish is Julia Child’s Potatoes au Gratin. Creamy and luscious, this mundane dish can be elevated to cult status by following Julia’s guidance. Add some lightly steamed green vegetables for a balanced meal.
To cap off the dinner, I think it is only fitting that we serve New York’s own, Lindy’s Cherry Cheesecake. Named for the now defunct deli owned by Leo “Lindy” Lindemann, Lindy’s served all the standard corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and other Jewish delicacies, but it was renowned for its cheesecakes, as “integral a part of Gotham culture as Yankee Stadium, Coney Island, Grant’s Tomb, and the Staten Island Ferry.”
There are many versions of this recipe floating around the Internet, but this is said to have been given to Clementine Paddleford, a food writer for the New York Herald Tribune by Lindy himself. New York cheesecake it most often served plain because it is so rich and creamy that it is completely satisfying on its own. But when you want to take things over the top and in this case, mimic a scene from Mad Men, serve it with a fruit topping and people will be clamoring for the recipe.
I recommend you go out and buy this cookbook. It is guaranteed to put you in a good mood and give you ideas for many dinner parties. So go over to your hi-fi, put on a stack of Doris Day and Frank Sinatra records, make the cocktails, don your pearls and pumps, and throw one heck of a fun retro party!
Note: I received a complementary copy of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook for review purposes.
Kitchen Skill: Using a Whole Vanilla Bean in Recipes
Using a whole vanilla bean in your cooking is like serving filet mignon instead of Spam. There is nothing that imparts the floral tones as well as a bean, although vanilla paste comes darn close.
Set the bean on a cutting board and using a small paring knife, draw the tip of the knife down the center of the bean, splitting it into two pieces. Using the back (no sharp) of the blade, scrape both pieces of the bean, collecting the incredible seeds. Use these seeds in place of vanilla extract whenever you want the vanilla to be front and center.
- 2-1/4 oz rye whiskey, preferably top-shelf small-batch whiskey
- 3/4 oz vermouth
- 3/4 oz pineapple juice
- Lemon twist, for garnish
- Pour whiskey, vermouth, and pineapple juice in a cocktail shaker and shake.
- Strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
- Yield: 1 cocktail
- 36 medium-large shrimp
- 1 thick slice lemon
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 1 peeled onion
- 3 to 4 peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt
- For the Cocktail Sauce
- 3/4 cup chili sauce
- 2 to 3 tbsp horseradish
- 2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp grated onion
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Few drops of Tabasco sauce
- Finely chopped celery, optional
- Lettuce, for serving, optional
- Prepare the Shrimp: Shrimp may be shelled and cleaned before or after cooking, by peeling off the shell, rinsing off any grit, and removing the black vein down the back. Leave shrimp tails intact.
- Pour enough water to cover the shrimp in a saucepan. Add lemon, parsley, onion, peppercorns, and salt. Bring to a boil and add the shrimp. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size, until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Do not overcook. Drain and chill shrimp until ready to serve.
- Make Cocktail Sauce: Combine all cocktail sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix and refrigerate.
- To serve as individual appetizers, mix shrimp with finely chopped celery (if desired) and serve in lettuce-lined sherbet glasses. For a party snack, fill a large bowl with crushed ice and center with a small bowl of cocktail sauce; arrange shrimp over ice. Top with finely diced celery (if desired). Serve with wooden picks for dipping shrimp into sauce.
- 1 ham
- 1 cup pineapple juice, or reserved juice from pineapple can (see below)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 (15 oz) can pineapple slices
- Maraschino cherries, optional
- Cook ham according to instructions on the package. Remove ham from the oven 45 minutes before it is done cooking and remove the rind. Score ham, if you wish, by cutting it in long diagonal slashes in one direction and then crossing those cuts with diagonal slashes in the opposite direction to create a diamond pattern. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
- Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, and mustard in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened and clear. Spread on ham. Use toothpicks to fasten pineapple slices to the ham, and place maraschino cherries inside the pineapple rings. Return to oven for 20 minutes, or until pineapple is glazed.
- Place fully cooked ham on a serving platter and let rest for 15 minutes before carving into thin slices.
- Yield: 1 ham; number of servings depends on size of ham
- 2 tbsp butter, plus 1 tbsp for top
- 1 cup minced onions
- 1/2 lb raw potatoes (about 2 to 3 large), peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups whipping cream, half-and-half, cream, or milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
- Place butter in a skillet and melt over low heat. Cook onions slowly in butter for 5 minutes or so, until tender but not browned.
- Warm your oven to 375 F then put potatoes into boiling salted water. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes and drain them after.
- Butt a 3 to 4 cup baking dish. Spread half the potatoes in the bottom and then the cooked onion and, finally, the remaining potatoes.
- Beat egg with whipping cream, and add salt and pepper. Stir. Pour eggs and cream over the potatoes and shake the dish to send the liquid to the bottom.
- Sprinkle on the cheese. Dot with extra butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the upper third of oven until top is nicely browned.
- For the Cookie Crust
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp grated lemon peel
- Pinch of vanilla bean seeds (scraped from inside of vanilla bean; see Kitchen Skill below) or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup butter
- For the Cheese Filling
- 2-1/2 lb cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1-3/4 cups sugar
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tsp grated orange peel
- 1-1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
- Pinch of vanilla bean seeds (scraped from inside of vanilla bean; see Kitchen Skill below) or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- For the Topping
- 1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
- Make the Crust: Combine flour, sugar, lemon peel, and vanilla. Make a well in the center and add egg yolk and butter. Work together quickly with hands until well blended. Wrap in waxed paper and chill thoroughly in refrigerator, about an hour.
- Make the Cheese Filling: In the large bowl of a mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange and lemon peel, and vanilla. Add whole eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, stirring lightly after each addition. Stir in the cream.
- Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide dough in half. Roll one half on a floured board until 1/8-inch thick. Place over oiled or buttered bottom of a 9-inch springform cake pan. Trim excess dough. Reassemble pan and butter or oil the sides. Bake bottom of crust at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until a light golden color. Cool. Increase oven temperature to 475°F.
- Butter or oil interior sides of springform cake pan and place over baked crust base. Press remaining dough against the sides of the pan. Fill form with cheese mixture and bake at 475°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking for 1 hour. Let the cake cool for at least 2 hours.
- When cool, spoon cherry pie filling over top of cake. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving. Remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Thank You!
