I have to admit I could probably cook better as a teenager in the early Seventies than I can now!
I enjoyed it back then.
My dishes comprised of basically a few easy things.
Steak Canadienne - these were super thin slices of unknown meat that required as much frying as a gnat [not that I ever fried gnats]. After a second's cooking they were ready! I slapped them on buttered bread and away we went! Yum.
Crispy Pancakes - wow! I loved these folded envelopes of joy. Filled with genius concoctions, my favourite was chicken and mushroom, which went perfectly with the shallow fried breadcrumb pocket. No need to garnish them. Just plate up and scoff!
Tomato Omelette - my own take on a classic, I would make a plain omelette first. Then I would cook a few tomatoes in a pan and mash them up. This scarlet mixture was then poured over the omelette, which was folded over for the final touch. Add salt. Serve!
Egg Bread - known to posher folk as French Toast - these were slices of white bread dipped into beaten eggs and shallow fried. Depending on taste you could fry for longer to give the egg a tan. I preferred a lighter hue and sometimes I even sprinkled on some sugar! Wow!
Bread and Milk - the nectar of paupers, I defy anyone to not love this on first tasting. Basically buttered white bread was cubed and chucked into a pan of milk. Sugar was added and brought to the boil. Simmered for a bit, the milky posset was served hot in a bowl. Oh my God! Delicious! Known to others as Pobs I think.
Before I describe my signature teenage dish there are a couple of notable mentions:
Vesta Chow Mein and Vesta Beef Curry; I could rustle these up faster than Hong Kong Phooey; Deep Fried Chicken Balls - these were small spheres of deep fried battered chicken and truly scrumptious. Easy. Now extinct.
OK, the big one, my Fifth Concerto.
Imagine. A Saturday afternoon in 1974. My folks are out. A couple of hairy mates arrive. Heavy rock is blasting on the music centre, Budgie, Rush, Zep. Relaxing in denim and ready to feed I serve these hungry headbangers a veritable steaming feast.
Chicken and Mushroom Pie [from the chest freezer], home made deep-fried chips done to a T, marrowfat peas and a final swirl of my special meaty gravy made with my own roux [but I didn't know it was called that back then!] and your friendly neighbourhood Bisto.
Glasses of Vimto or Tizer and voila! Saturday afternoon's made in Heaven!
What did you cook when you were young readers?
Didn't cook at all, Mum wouldn't have let anyone interfere with her kitchen even if I'd wanted to and I was in the last year at school where only girls did cookery!
ReplyDeleteNo boys allowed! Not like now. It's called Food Tech these days Kev
DeleteI was pretty good at Toasted Cheese Sandwiches.I got more efficient at them when I got a Hamilton Beach sandwich press as a Christmas gift.Cooked both sides at once,no need to flip.Canned soup was a natural pairing and easy enough to cook.Sometime in the late seventies,Ramen noodle soup packs were introduced to mainstream America,and became another good option.
ReplyDeleteYou got a sandwich 🥪 maker for Xmas! Way to go Brian. I love your American cooking. Not sure if I've had ramen noodles.
DeleteI wasn't allowed to cook, Woodsy. That was mum's department. Although I did become the dish washing machine at times. I also doubled as the TV remote, long before TV remotes became automated and battery operated :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha. I checked chuckled at that Tone. The remote! I was Mum's backscratcher too.
DeleteChecked? Typo. Chuckled.
ReplyDelete