It's always a very good thing when friends pick things up for you while they are thrift store shopping because they know you would like it. A friend of mine picked up this wonderful Betty Crocker's Party Book printed in 1960 at our Goodwill here in Myrtle Beach. She knew it would be perfect for me. The book boasts of "more than 500 recipes, menus, and how-to-do-it tips for festive occasions the year round". It's been so much fun browsing the ideas in the book. Some tips are laughable in today's society, but overall it's an enjoyable read. I want to share with you some of their holiday tips. How about celebrating Washington's birthday and incorporating cherries and hatchets (which are apparently symbols of George Washington) into the food? Sound intense? It's more like make a cherry pie with pastry hatchet cut-outs for decoration on top. Or even hatchet shaped biscuits and cookies.
For the Fourth of July, I could relate to the time line for preparing food that they shared. There was a section on what foods could be prepared ahead of time, and what should be saved till picnic time. For decorations of the festive day, they suggested using blue oilcloth as a tablecloth and red bandanas of varying sizes as napkins. I would love to incorporate their idea of using tin or enamel picnic dishes for the day.
Remember hearing of, or perhaps even tasting your Grandma's jello salads? A recipe from the Thanksgiving menu called the "Harvest Gold Salad" is a jello salad with the suggestion you serve it on lettuce and top with mayonnaise. I do love how the illustrations on the pages lend so much character to the book. Some of the decorating tips in the book for Thanksgiving, are "choosing an interesting small container - a china pitcher, a low cut-glass bowl, even an antique iron mortar (part of the set grandmother used to grind spices). Then arrange shiny fresh fruits and/or vegetables, gourds, or ears of corn in it. Add flowers or leaves, real or artificial. Let your imagination be your guide".
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