No Pattern Required

By RetroRuth

*Note – Our recent contest for the Worst Mid-Century Recipe forced my brain to reluctantly recall the many horrible things we have made on this blog. Eggs Oriental was prominent in those memories. This post was originally published in April 2009, and looking at pictures of it still make me gag!

You know, I don’t consider myself to be the most orderly person. Or the most driven person. I have great ideas, but, like most people, a good majority of them never really pan out.  But here it is, only three weeks into my Mid-Century Menu project, and I have already met my goal of finding a ridiculous recipe that really shouldn’t be made. Mission accomplished.

Huzzah.

This week’s recipe is from the slightly (slightly?!?) disturbing cookbook put out by Heinz Ketchup.

This recipe is bad. Really, really bad. I wonder if I should even finish this post?  It is so horrible that it might disgust all you nice, innocent readers, who only came  out of curiosity to see what I made. It might cause you to never return again.  And then it might cause you to spread the news all over Twitter and Digg, and might cause everyone to recoil in horror if they even read the name of my blog, let alone go and visit it.

The recipe is that bad. Really.

Don’t believe me?  Well, here. Look for yourself.

Eggs Oriental, huh?  You coulda fooled me.  It looks like Eggs in Cream of Mushroom Soup. With ketchup. They could have at least added some soy sauce!

But as always, Hubs was game, so off we went.

Not so bad, right?  Nothing wrong with some prepped ingredients.  Except fooooooooor……

this bowl. Which is all the “seasoning” for this dish. Yum.

The mushrooms and green peppers, happily cooking in a quarter cup (!) of butter. This is a lot of butter. Half that would have sufficed for the small amount of veggies that needed to be cooked.

Far too much butter, browning in the pan.

All the “seasonings” added to the pan. At this point, the mixture started to give off the most noxious smell. If anyone has ever smelled cream of mushroom soup with ketchup in it, it is not a good mix. Not at all.

After adding the egg slices, I turned to Hubs and said, “The eggs better make this magically taste better. Otherwise this is going to be bad.”

Hubs was unusually silent during the cooking, except for an occasional burst of incredulous laughter.

Finished up and plated. All one can really say is….Eww.  I decided to serve it over noodles because…well, it seemed like a sin to serve it over rice. I was already wasting enough ingredients, I wasn’t about to waste some of our good brown rice.

Being perversely enjoyed by Hubs. He couldn’t stop laughing throughout the whole meal. It was truly horrible. The smell was amazingly bad, and every time I took a bite I was shocked by the combination of ketchup and cream soup.  The eggs surprisingly did help, making it edible. But it was far from delicious.

The Verdict: Horrible

As I was sitting there, staring at and smelling this plate of food, I realized that serving bad food is a pretty new thing for me.  I was unhappy, even uncomfortable, with the idea that this was our dinner. That I had made….this thing that tasted horrible. It was a pretty new experience for me.   As an adventurous cook, I have made things in the past that hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but nothing had ever, EVER been this bad.  It was a strange feeling.  I was definitely out of my comfort zone.

I made it through the serving on my plate, but it was a close one.  Hubs ate more, mostly because he had just gone for a long run and was really hungry.  But even he was eventually forced to stop by the smell. The rest hit the trash.

*From the Mid-Century Menu Archive!

JELLIED TONGUES!!

Congrats on great win, Kelly!  It was a tough road picking the winner.  Even tougher than the slices of jellied tongue.

Uhhh…that picture still makes me a little queasy.

Now, once again for your viewing pleasure, here is Tom tasting the winning dish!

Contemplating.

Bravely trying.

Chewing.

Approving? Crazy!

You know, it’s kind of strange that the dish Tom actually gave a thumbs-up to turned out to be the most visually unappetizing.  But I couldn’t choke it down, so there you go.

Oh, if you are curious, the Worst Recipe in Tom’s opinion was the Creamed Eggs in a Corned Beef Crust from Sharon. 

For me it was the Tongue.  All the way.

In case you didn’t see it, the Jellied Tongues was mentioned in the Phoenix NewTimes Eater’s Digest Blog.  It was apparently the most digusting recipe they have seen in a while. Score.

Congrats again, Kelly, and thanks to everyone who entered our fun contest!  Over the next few weeks we will be featuring other contest entries that were hilariously weird but weren’t in the Top 4.  So Andrea, Gabrielle, Cassie and Melanie, you had better stay tuned!

By RetroRuth

This is it!!!  And so begins the voting for the Worst Mid-Century Recipe Contest. To bring everyone up to speed, these are the recipes that were submitted by YOU, the readers, for the dubious honor of being crowned the Worst Mid-Century Recipe, and this stunning vintage prize pack:

*Note: Fabulous Conant-Ball Table not included!

There was a flood of responses.  Tom and I sat down with our laptop and a barf bag, and pared the entries down to a lean, disgusting four.

Finalist #1 – Summer Salad Pie From Kathrin (aka Miss Marwood)

Ummm…does this one even need an intro??

A cheese crust, tomato/lemon gelatin filling (of pure evil!), all topped off with tuna salad. Ack. 

This is what Miss Marwood had to say for herself:

*Gak* Thankfully, the little disgusting bits around the side were NOT included in the recipe.  Much to Adriane’s disappointment and my joy.

I hope you find it as disgusting as I do!

Cheers to a fun blog contest!

Best,

Adriane

www.atomiclilly.blogspot.com

Here is a photo of the finished “tower”:

And Tom’s reaction:

I think this was a disappointing one for everyone!

The Verdict: Surprisingly tasteless.  For all the scary trappings of this thing, it wasn’t bad at all.  I mean, it wasn’t great, but we have totally eaten worse. Disaster averted!

To see the whole, gut-churning post, click HERE.

Finalist #3 – Creamed Eggs In Corned Beef Crust from Sharon (aka Charm and Poise)

This one is exciting because it is the only non-gelatin-based dish chosen as a finalist.  And it beat out other gelatin dishes, so you know it has to be gag-tacular.

Here is what Sharon had to say for herself:

I’ve gone a bit out of the box on this one.  It has no aspic in it nor is it made in a mold — two of the best features of a mid-century recipe!  However, this recipe benefits mostly from the photo which is such a clear example of someone being asleep at the cookbook recipe photo wheel that it seems impossible it actually was published.  This sad state of affairs additionally benefits from the fact that it came from Happy Living!  A Guidebook For Brides (1965, 1966, 1970) signaling the fact that some harried, newly married woman might’ve thought it a good idea to serve this to her husband.  And finally, it is a nonsensical recipe that calls for relatively normal ingredients to be combined in an abnormal way to make up a dish that is — from the photo at least — impossible to serve in a nice, neat way. 

 

For your pleasure, then, is Creamed Eggs in a Corned Beef Crust.

 

Cheers!

Sharon (Charm and Poise from Flickr)

 

Here is a picture of the finished “pie”:

And Tom’s reaction:

The Verdict:  Not bad.  Tom ate it.  If you don’t like cream of mushroom soup, don’t try this.  The eggs were totally stupid, but not gag-inducing.  I feel sorry for the poor bride who tried to serve this to company. Yeck.

To see the whole, ridiculous post, click HERE.

Finalist #4 – Jellied Tongues from Kelly (aka EarthaKitsch)

So, this is the entry that has caused the most controversy, from hard-core readers, casual readers, and even my friends and family. It turns out some of you REEEEEEALY like tongue.

But I have to tell all of you, a boiled tongue, before it has been skinned, looks disgusting. 

Here is the finished dish:

Mmmm…meaty. 

Here is Tom’s reaction:

The Verdict:  Tom claimed it was good.  That the tongue just tasted like beef and it was fine with him.  I just couldn’t get it down enough to even taste it, really.  It was chewy.  And that is all I am going to say.

To read the whole, controversial post, click HERE.

So, those are your finalists!!!!  Please vote for the recipe that you think is the WORST Mid-Century Recipe! Voting will close on August 24th at midnight, and the winner will be announced in the August 25th Mid-Century Menu post. Good luck to all of our finalists!

By RetroRuth

Well, this is the end of the line. Absolutely, totally rock bottom.  I asked for the Worst Mid-Century Recipes you guys could throw at me, and I got what I wanted.  Four hilarious and horrible offerings from the world of Mid-Century Cooking. And I think it is pretty fitting that we end this contest with the creepiest recipe of the bunch.

Jellied Tongues.  That’s right.  You read that correctly.  Jellied. Tongues.

Thanks to Kelly, aka EarthaKitsch, for submitting this odd and horrifiying recipe.  And by the way, I hate you now, Kelly. Seriously.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha. No, seriously.

I must admit that I was trying to find any way, any small reason at all why I couldn’t make this thing.  I put off calling around to look for tongue until the last possible minute. I got Kelly’s recipe submission on June 30th. I didn’t call the butcher shop until this Monday. 

“Hello, this is the meat counter.”

“Yeah, umm…hi.”

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Yeah….I’m…ahhhh…looking for tongue.”

“Tongue?”

“Yeah, beef tongue.  Crazy, huh? Well, I am sure you don’t have any, sothanksandI’mjustgonnahangup..”

“Beef tongue?  Oh, yeah. We’ve got it in the freezer. How much to you need?”

“Son of a…”

“What was that?”

“I said, beef. Beef tongue. A whole one. I will pick it up this afternoon.”

So, thanks butchers of Midland for having freaking beef tongue on hand. Thanks a lot.  No weaseling out that way.  And thanks for giving me the unique experience of seeing a beef tongue in a plastic bag, laying on the floor of my car.

When I brought the horrible thing home, I refused to touch it.  So, Tom had to step up and do the prep for the tongue.  Here is the awfulness in photos.  Those of you who are pregnant (I am looking at you, Andrea) might want to avert your eyes now.  I mean it.

Yep, there it is.  One cow tongue.  And brave Tom holding it.

Cramming it in a pot.

God!!!

Okay, everyone take a deep breath because the next one is a screamer.  Ready…inhale…

Yeeeeaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!  Ahhhh! Ahhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhh….God. Look at it, just look. I hope you are happy, Kelly.

Damnit, it’s a tongue!!!!

Then Tom peeled it.  Yes, peeled it.  I didn’t take pictures of that part, because I got so nauseated I had to leave the room.  And don’t mock me for having a weak stomach.  I never claimed I was Farmgirl!

Luckily, after Tom peeled it (gag) and sliced it, it looked more like meat.

And there you have it.  Slices of beef tongue.  With only small amounts of screaming on the side. 

So, after a pep-talk phone call from my mom (“It’s just beef. I ate it as a kid. You eat hot dogs, don’t you?  Just don’t think about it and eat it.”) I was ready to actually touch it. Oh, and make the recipe.  That, too.

Oh, and a side note, Kelly.  This recipe didn’t call for olives at all!!! What the heck are they doing in the photo??  Weirdness.

Well, at least this part is fine.  Especially cause there are no hooves in this gelatin.

Beef stock, onions, vinegar, salt and pepper.  I wasn’t supposed to add the salt and pepper till later, but looking at the tongue slices was still kind of freaking me out and I forgot what I was doing for a second.

Oh, another disturbing photo.  This is the “tongue stock”, better known as “the water we boiled the tongue in”. And THAT my friends, went into the gelatin.

This is all getting a little too “Little House on the Prairie” for me.

Eggs in the pan.  Because what would a MCMenu be without hard-boiled eggs, I ask you?

Soooooo, I touched it.  I had to eventually.  I mean, I can’t be a namby-pamby forever.  And you guys were counting on me to get my butt in gear and get that stupid gelatin made. I can’t disappoint you!

More tongue and eggs, and then the gelatin.

By the way, my whole kitchen smelled like cooking tongue.  It was almost enough to bring the gags back.

Whew.  Done. 

Sweet Jesus.

“Are you ready, Babe?”

“Yeah,” he stretched his neck and shook out his shoulders, like he was getting ready to lift something. “I can do this.”

“Well??!!?”

“It’s fine.  Tastes like beef.  But the combination of meat and gelatin still just isn’t right.”

I still balked. “I don’t want to do this.  Don’t make me.”

“Come on, you have to.”

“No!! No, I don’t want to!”

“Just a little bite.  Here, just this little one.”

I took it gingerly from the fork.  Chewed, and ran for the sink.

Tom was laughing. “What do you think?”

*Gak*

It took a whole glass of milk to get the taste out of my mouth.  And yes, I realize the irony of washing down cow tongue with cow’s milk.   But at that point I didn’t care, I just wanted it down.  It was just so…chewy.  I couldn’t do it, especially with the picture of the cooked tongue in my mind.

The Verdict:  Tom claimed it was good.  That the tongue just tasted like beef and it was fine with him.  I just couldn’t get it down enough to even taste it, really.  It was chewy.  And that is all I am going to say.

He ate two whole servings. Two!!!!  I am agog.

So, that is the last finalist for the Mid-Century Menu!!! Whew!!!! Thank god that is over.  Come back next week to see some of the runners-up, and to start the voting on which recipe was the Worst. 

I think I am going to go lie down for awhile.

By RetroRuth

Holy Cow!  The Worst Mid-Century Recipe Contest marches onward, and there are plenty of horrible recipes still to choose from. 

Finalist #3 is a peach of a recipe from Sharon, aka Charm and Poise on Flickr, and the curator of the hilariously horrible group Gee, That Food Looks Terrible.  Though her submitted recipe has blessedly few ingredients (and no gelatin), this baby is still a horror to behold. Sharon writes:

Cheers!

Sharon (Charm and Poise from Flickr)

You people are all sadists!  What is the matter with you??  Look at this thing. Disgusting.  And you expect me to make it, and then cram it down Tom’s throat!?!?  Well, let me tell you something!

It will be my pleasure.

I know what you are thinking. Where are the hard-boiled eggs? Where??

They were still in their little egg cooker.  Not quite done yet!

Hooray! Dog food!

Dog food with an egg on it!

This looks disgusting, but was actually pretty fun to pat into the pan.  The downside: Smelly corned beef hands. Yuck.

Mmmm…canned!

A whole lotta eggs, here.

And then….someone threw up on them.

The cooked crust looked pretty much like the raw one.

Filled with barf.

And, the reveal!!!

Good thing there is that sliced egg garnish.  Really saves it from looking disgusting, let me tell you.

Okay, Sharon. Your suspicion is confirmed.  The “filling” does NOT stay on the crust when served, and the dish is IMPOSSIBLE to serve neatly.

Gak.

The moment you have all been waiting for.

Down the hatch.

“Is it horrible????”

“Nah, not that bad.  The texture in the center is gross, but it doesn’t taste bad at all. Salty, but not bad.”

I took my own bite.  The only thing I could think of was…unecessary.  I mean really. The sliced eggs in the center were ridiculous.  They were slimey when covered with soup and added nothing taste-wise.  Couldn’t there have been green beens, or broccoli or carrots or SOMETHING in the center BESIDES eggs???? Blah.

But other than that, it was edible.  It just looked like barf on raw meat.

The Verdict:  Not bad.  Tom ate it.  If you don’t like cream of mushroom soup, don’t try this.  The eggs were totally stupid, but not gag-inducing.  I feel sorry for the poor bride who tried to serve this to company. Yeck.

But, true to form, Tom ate almost the whole thing. So it wasn’t that bad!

Thanks for the hilarious recipe, Sharon!  Stay tuned for Finalist #4 next week!

By RetroRuth

Ohhhhhh, baby.  Check this out! This week we have excitement, mayhem, craziness and canned salmon! In gelatin! Seriously!

The finalist for this week’s menu is really something else.  I got this horrifying recipe from Adriane L., who wrote:

I’m submitting the most disgusting mid-century recipe I have ever come across…  I LOVE the cook book it came from, which is literally crammed full of disgusting dishes involving gelatin and canned meat.  But this one is by far the worst.  This cookbook dates from the late 50′s and was re-printed in the early 60′s.  I included a scan of the cover.

I hope you find it as disgusting as I do!

Cheers to a fun blog contest!

Best,

Adriane

www.atomiclilly.blogspot.com

Well, Cheers to you too, Adriane.  Also….dang.  And gag.  And some other disgusting reactions. You know, I hate two things quite a bit. Fish and gelatin.  And this dish some how magically brings them both together to be totally disgusting.

And for some reason, those cucumber slices look like eyes.  Does anyone else see that?

The innocent ingredients.

Holy bloomin’ gelatin, Batman!

Does anyone else think this looks like tinkle in a bowl?  Anyone?

“No, no, no, don’t worry. It’s lemon.”

Maaaaybe I shouldn’t have used my gel coloring on this. Whew.

The second round.

See??? Tinkle.

Also, I didn’t have an impressive enormous mold like they do, so we are going to have to settle for a shorter one.

The second layer.  Very….scummy.

Unmolded.  Oh dear God!

The unspeakable cross-section.

Ummm…yum??

Down the hatch!!

“This tastes like a whole lot of nothing.”

I closed my eyes, and took a bite.  For a gut-wrenching moment, I waited for the terrible taste to register. And then I waited another moment. And another moment.  I cracked my eye open, and started to chew. Nothing.  It tasted like nothing, just like the brave man said it would.

Well, not nothing.  I mean, I could taste a canned pea, a bit of salmon, and some green pepper, but they just tasted like themselves. Another cautious bite yielded the same result. Whew!

The Verdict: Surprisingly tasteless.  For all the scary trappings of this thing, it wasn’t bad at all.  I mean, it wasn’t great, but we have totally eaten worse. Disaster averted!

Thanks, Adriane!  I am glad to report that this did not kill us!

Come back next week to see the next finalist in our Worst Recipe Contest.  It is going to be truly a terrible experience!

By RetroRuth

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Mid-Century Aficionados of All Ages!  Let me present to you the first Finalist for the Worst Mid-Century Menu Contest: Miss Marwood and her horrible Summer Salad Pie!

*Muted cheering. Some gagging*

I know, I know.  I said I wasn’t going to start the contest until August, but I got so excited by all of the horribly awesome entries we received, that Tom and I got right to it and picked the Four Finalists.  And since they were already picked, it was only natural that I would want to make the vile, wicked things as soon as possible.  To get them out of the way. And make Tom eat them.

So, here is the very first one! This disgusting little pie comes courtesy of Kathrin, aka Miss Marwood, who sent along this helpful little intro:

Dear Ruth,

Hope you enjoy

Really, Kathrin? Really??? After sending me this, you still wish for my well-being and happiness?  After looking at this unholy creation, I tend to doubt that!

Off to the oven! 

Meanwhile, the scared veggies prepared to meet the evil filling:

Hmm…not too shabby! And it actually smelled good!

Meanwhile….

Ahh! No, stop!  It’s hideous!

Oh god! Please have mercy!

“Neva!”  *A lemon-tomato evil laugh*

*Sniff* Those poor, little veggies.  Never even had a chance!

It’s tuna-salad time!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha!

The tomato garnishes, to make it that much better.  You KNOW those are going to miraculously make it taste better. Somehow.

The first, gooey slice. 

Wow, I am actually gagging a little bit while I am typing this.

Tom, The Man With The Iron Stomach.

“So…how awful is it? Really?”

“It’s pretty bizarre.  Not horrible, just really weird.”

I took a bite.  He was right.  It didn’t taste disgusting, but it definitely wasn’t right at all. The cheese crust was actually good, as was the tuna salad, but the gelatin was from a different planet.  If it wouldn’t have been sweet, it wouldn’t have actually been that bad of a dish.  But the sweetness of the jello just sliced through your mouth at the wrong time, making it taste completely inappropriate.  It kind of tasted like tuna salad on a cheese cracker that has been covered with ketchup.  Not nice.

I chewed thoughtfully.  “But I think this is the best tomato gelatin we have made yet.” More chewing. ” And I can’t believe I just said that sentence.”

Tom snorted. “Tell me about it.”

The Verdict:  Unnatural.  The cheese crust and the tuna salad was a great combo.  In fact, I would actually suggest making the crust and putting a tuna or chicken salad in it.  It was good together.  But the gelatin…BLARGH.  Way, way too sweet to be paired with olives. Gross. Gross. Gross.

Thanks, Miss Marwood!  Be sure to come back next week, when we will be featuring Finalist #2 in the Contest!

By RetroRuth

Okay, okay, first things first. Before we get to the corn/hot dog mess, I have to ask: Have you entered our Mid-Century Menu Worst Recipe contest yet? No?  Then you should!!! The deadline for entry is TOMORROW at midnight! Email your entry to me at ruth@nopatternrequired.com .  The prize, besides getting to watch Tom choke down your submission, is a fantastic vintage Pyrex casserole crammed with goodies.  I love it!  Send us the most disgusting thing you can find!

Okay, now on with the show.

This week Tom and I are cooking from Good Housekeeping’s Clock Watchers, a rather strange book that boasts recipes for pantry and shortcut foods to make dinner prep faster.  Think…Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee. Except scarier. 

We picked up this book in St. Germain, Wisconsin at a local thrift store.  It was Tom’s way of bribing me to camp in the rain.  That and a double-scoop ice cream cone with two different flavors of ice cream.  Yeah, I’m easy. So what??

Anyway, this book was published in 1967 by Good Housekeeping, and is really scary.  You can just tell by looking at the cover.  The onion slices poking out of that bun just scream, “We are disgusting! Don’t eat us!” 

So we picked out some winners, if I do say so myself.

I hate it when they split the recipes onto two different pages. Gah!

Anyway, our course was clear, and we were off!

No, your eyes don’t deceive you.  That is Miracle Whip in there.  I assume that is what the recipe meant by “cooked salad dressing”.  Someone tell me I am wrong. Please!

First, the corn pancakes with hot dog sauce. Just so you know, the only thing that got me through this was one word. Corndog. I was hoping this might just be alright.

I just skipped right to the finished white sauce, cheese melted in and hot dogs added.  How many times can you watch me make white sauce?

Corn pancakes, made from a mix.

Aaaaand, the moment the meal is ruined.  Adding Miracle Whip to the hot dog sauce.

Buwa-ha ha ha ha, oh my god. Have  you ever seen anything so gross? Gah!

But you have to wait to see Tom eat it.  First we have to make some weird pie.

Look at that terrible crust!!! Man, I need to do a better job. Maybe if I started cooking BEFORE 9 at night…maybe…

The pie, trying to hide in the fridge.

Okay, now we can make Tom eat the pancakes!

The disgusted recoil.  I love it!

“The texture and taste of this sauce is absolutely disgusting.’

“Oh, it can’t be that bad.”  I took a bite.  He was right.  The texture of the sauce was off and tasting disgustingly like hot Miracle Whip. The hot dogs and corn pancakes weren’t actually that bad of a combo, but the sauce made it disgusting. I choked down most of my first serving, and then gave up.  I buttered some of the un-hotdogged pancakes, drowned them in maple syrup and watched Tom heroically eat almost the entire meal.

The Verdict: Gross. The pancakes and hot dogs MAY have been okay, but the hot Miracle Whip put it over the edge into disgusting country. Do NOT try this at home, kids.

Oh – were you waiting to see Tom eat that weird pie?? Oh, silly me, I forgot to mention that I will be posting photos of Tom trying the pie tomorrow on our Facebook page!  You had better be there to see the action! Oh, and friend us too, for cripes sake!  We are starting to look kinda pathetic!

By RetroRuth

Happy Wednesday!  I hope that your holiday weekends were all fantastic.  Mine…was wet. Very wet.  Tom and I drove to see my parents and drop off little Clark (one of the last of the foster kittens) with them, and afterwards did some camping in the UP.  Ugh.  I should say, got rained on in a tent in the UP. Good lord, the weather sucked.  In any case, since we were going to be gone over the time I usually make the MCMenu, I decided I was going to have to make something portable for this week.  And I choose: Cupcakes!

Of course, these cupcakes couldn’t be “normal” cupcakes, because it is the Mid-Century Menu, and everything on here is a little crazy, so I picked the cupcakes that were a little crazy as well. Mince Meat Cupcakes from the None Such Mince Meat Recipes For Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, to be exact.  You may remember this fun book from the Mince Meat Ham Loaf, which could only be choked down with ketchup.  I was hoping these cupcakes would at least be marginally better! Because ketchup has never improved the taste of a cupcake. Never.

Not too bad, right?  At least they look pretty cute.  And I like that tablecloth.

I decided to use a cake mix because…well…it was cheaper. And easier.

Thank goodness for a simple recipe!  These went together really quickly, and I was happy because I was frantically trying to remember all the stuff that I might  possibly need for the UP.  Like bug-spray. And bear-spray.

Tom, in the middle of driving 10 hours, posing with a baked cupcake. They actually smelled kind of good.

“So, how is it?”

“Pretty good.  It tastes like a white cupcake with raisins in it.”

I took a bite, and it tasted pretty much just like that.  It would have been better in a spice cupcake, I think, but it was still good.

The Verdict: Good.  Maybe use a spice cake mix or make a spice cake instead, but otherwise not too bad.  If you like mince meat, of course.  

Don’t forget to enter the Mid-Century Menu worst recipe contest!!!!  You have until July 15th to email us your recipe submission!

By RetroRuth

Well, I think this contest has been inevitable, don’t you?  Only a matter of time until we sent out this request: Tom and I want to hear from you guys, and we want the most creative, bizzare, weird, nasty, ugly, retch-inducing recipe you have.

In short, we are looking for the Worst Mid-Century Recipe.

And what will we give you for all your searching and questing?  Why, a vintage Pyrex casserole dish overflowing with goodies, that’s what!

Pretty slick, huh?  The grand prize winner of this fab contest with receive a vintage, covered Pyrex dish, a smocked yellow gingham apron, a kick-butt oven mitt,  three vintage cookbooks used on the Mid-Century Menu AND a vintage Tupperware cake and pie server.  All to help you make the best Mid-Century Cook you can be!

Awesome.

So, what are the rules to this contest??? Very simple: Send us your weirdest Mid-Century Recipes!  We are looking for things that just aren’t right, combinations that make you go, “What the…?”, and just the all out gross-out factor.  Hideous, wrong pictures of dishes are a bonus, but not required. Gelatin dishes are especially welcome.

The recipes should be from the time frame of 1930-1980, and scans of recipes are preferred, but clear photos will do in a pinch. Email them to ruth@nopatternrequired.com by July 15th at midnight. Tom and I will choose the craziest four and actually make them, choking them down and rating them as best we can.  But the actual results will be up to you, brave readers! You will then vote for the one out of the four recipes that deserves the title of Worst Mid-Century Recipe!

Whew! 

I hope Tom’s stomach is excited, because I know I am! Once again, submit your recipe to ruth@nopatternrequired.com by July 15th at Midnight.  And pimp this contest out to your friends, family, FB followers and blog readers.  I want everyone to know about this baby, because I want to find the WORST that’s out there.

Can’t wait to see what you guys have got for us!