Family fare as it used to be - in the 1970s

Dec 9 2009 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Family fare as it used to be - in the 1970s

She said: “Cordon Bleu brought out weekly and monthly editions and I collected the full set. My daughters are all grown-up now and good cooks.

“When I was at secondary school all the girls did cookery once a week, a full afternoon. But the boys never did any cookery.

“My husband can’t cook at all. He can just about do bacon and eggs, but struggles to get them ready at the same time.’’

Liz found her copy of Competitive Cookery while packing up her old kitchen in order to have a new one fitted.

Although many of the recipes in Competition Cookery are calorie and fat laden, Liz makes the observation that fewer people had problems with obesity back in 1971 and children were generally slimmer and fitter than they are today.

“I think they used to play outside a lot more and people were just more active,” said Liz.

“Children didn’t sit at home playing computer games.’’

It’s also true that ready meals and snack foods were not quite as plentiful as they are today and most households still sat down to at least one meal a day together – a meal that had been home cooked.

The foodie revolution begun in part by Delia has changed the face of British food. There have never been as many celebrity cooks or cookery books extolling the virtues of every kind of cuisine.

At this time of year there will be many households where the famous Delia Smith’s Christmas is dusted down and consulted. It has sold more than 1.5m copies.

Books like Competitive Cookery hark back to an era of less availability and less affluence and offer an interesting insight into life as it was a generation ago.

As the judges at the time explained: “We have not been able to try all the recipes, but we feel sure the results will be good because they are in regular use in your homes. Those we have tried bear this out and have become firm favourites with us also.”

Check out these sample dishes from Competitive Cookery, they might just hit the spot in cash-restricted 21st century Britain.

York Fingers

(by Mrs G A Charlesworth of Holmfirth) 1st prizewinner and one of Liz Balderstone’s favourites.

1 packet of puff pastry, 6ozs chopped raw bacon, 6ozs grated cheese, mustard.

Divide pastry in half and roll thinly, both halves to the same size.

Spread one half with mustard and cover with bacon and cheese.

Cover with the other pastry half and roll thinly again. Cut into fingers (5ins by 2ins), sprinkle a little cheese on top and bake until golden brown and crisp.

Bake for about 20 minutes at Reg 7. Serve hot.

[Note: Reg 7 or 425°F or 220°C]

Sweetcorn Flan

(by Mrs L Hirst, Skelmanthorpe) runner-up.

4ozs shortcrust pastry, 1 onion, 2 eggs, 3ozs bacon, ¼pint milk, 3 ozs cheese, 7oz tin sweetcorn, 1 tablespoon double dairy cream, salt and pepper.

Line a 7 inch flan ring with pastry. Fry chopped onion and bacon in fat.

Empty tin of corn into basin, add cream, beaten eggs and milk. Add onion and bacon and grated cheese.

Pour into flan case and bake at No 6 or 400 deg for around 40 minutes.

[Note: 400°F or 200°C]

Sausage Crisps

(Mrs M C Guile, Huddersfield)

Take eight slices from a large sliced loaf and trim off all the edges.

Flatten with a rolling pin until quite thin. Spread each slice with a sweet chutney.

Lay a sausage on each slice and roll up tightly.

Brush with melted butter and place on a baking tray in a hot oven until golden brown.

Plaice with Grape and Wine Sauce

(Mrs D H Balderstone, Brighouse)

4 fillets of plaice, 1oz butter, 1oz flour, ¼pint milk, salt and pepper, 4ozs grapes, 1 glass of dry white wine.

Remove skin and pips from grapes. Poach plaice in milk with salt and pepper.

Keep plaice warm. Reserve milk for sauce. Melt butter and stir in flour off the heat.

Return pan to heat and cook gently – don’t allow flour to burn. Stir in milk and blend well. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Add grapes and wine.

Re-heat without boiling. Pour over plaice and serve immediately.