Rick Rodgers - The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook: More than 100 Retro Recipes for the Modern Cook

W hether youre a child of the Sixties or a child of parents shaped by themwere one of eachthe decade holds a special place in all of our hearts, returning frequently in movies and television series to redominate modern popular culture from dress and dcor to dinner parties. We are referring to the era before the 1967 Summer of Love, the turning point when fashions changed from skinny ties to love beads, and the food on the table morphed from grasshopper pie to whole-wheat brownies (psychedelics optional).

We long for the time when Frank and the Rat Pack romanced us with their crooning, and everyone in the family could sit in front of the television and watch the same show without fear of Mom and Dad blushing. (Joey Heatherton on The Hollywood Palace was about as racy as things got.) The Vietnam War was hardly on anyones radar, and Westerns provided most of the gunfire on TV. It was a time when there was more time; when you couldnt be reached by cell phone, text, or Twitter twenty-four hours a day. The workweek was shorter, weekends were sacred, and everyone was home for dinner.

Which bring us to the food. Just as the Sixties was an era of contradictions, so was its cuisine. Not that many people used that fancy word to describe their cooking! In the Fifties, mothers (for the lady of the house did the cooking while Dad worked) learned to embrace convenience foods, and many a formerly handmade dish was magically prepared with canned soup and frozen vegetables, and this trend carried over into the next decade. But, and this will be on your pop quiz, it was also when Julia Child introduced Americans to the fine art of cooking. She, and other celebrity chefs like James Beard (who had first been on television in 1946), proffered sumptuous recipes with simple instructions that anyone could follow. Julia illuminated the very modern idea that the journey of preparing food was as important and rewarding as eating it. The Sixties were actually the beginning of the gourmet movement in America.

In the Sixties, food wasnt something to just grab and eat on the run. It was a central part of social interaction, of personal and business development. The most important events in life unfurled across the lunch or dinner table. Relationships were made, mended, and mangled over food. Important clients were wooed, soothed, and sometimes lost at restaurants. And enough cannot be said of the Three-Martini Lunch.

The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook is here to joyously celebrate the decades food, from fish sticks to Nesselrode pie. We understand that there may be some of you who still look askance at Sixties cooking. Maybe you remember things floating in gelatin that just didnt belong there. We promise you this: some of these recipes have kitsch value, but there is not one single thing in this book that we have not served to our friends and family with positive results. (Yes, even the canned soup recipes, which many people enjoyed as a walk down memory lane.)

We formally invite you to toss aside your preconceived notions of canned meat and convenience food and discover the scrumptious, sublime culinary heritage of the Sixties. Allow us to reintroduce you to authentic, epicurean delights like beef Wellington, chicken Kiev, and roast leg of lamb with neon-green mint jelly. Enjoy almost-forgotten international sensations (of dubious paternity) like vichyssoise and rumaki. Learn how to make a proper Sixties steak (in the pan, with butter). Of course, well still have some fun with picnic foods and pupu platters (makes us giggle every time). We double dog dare you to find something better than desserts you get to set on fire. And lest we forget, there is a more-than-complete selection of mixed drinks to wrap things up, including lots of tips on how to stir (or shake) up a mean cocktail.

With the recipes at hand, you will be serving supper like a Kennedy (Strawberries Romanoff), in a food coma thanks to childhood favorites (homemade Not-from-a-Box Macaroni and Cheese), and completely win over your aversion to aspic (well, maybe...). There are some dishes here that you will know already, but we strove to create recipes that are the very best versions you will ever have. And you will definitely know how to throw the best Sixties-themed party in your zip code. We promise.

In the interest of historical accuracy, well share how the dishes were prepared in the Sixties (Kitchen Time Machine), but since we know now about the evils of too much processed food (Cheez Whiz, were looking at you...), weve elevated the recipes for the modern palate. Instead of just cracking open a can of tomato soup, well show you how to make it from scratch. Although instant onion soup mix was a staple in Sixties recipes, we chop fresh onions for our onion dip, and choose reduced-sodium broth over salty bouillon cubes, and so on. These are minor tweaks that will let you enjoy your meal all the more. But if you want to whip out the margarine or canned cream of mushroom soup for era authenticity, well tell you when, and how.

And true to the period, well have fun along the way. Ever wonder about the stories behind TV mix or onion soup dip? What made Warhol want to paint Campbells soup cans? Well give you enough food history and trivia to dazzle your diners while they enjoy your midcentury feast.