"Dated" food.

I love food.  Cooking is something I pride myself in.  I watch the cooking channels all the time and am totally in love with the shows that pit one chef against another. 
One of the things I hear quite often is "its rather dated"  or " it looks like something that would have been served at a dinner party 20 or so years ago".  They say this like it's a bad thing!  What happened to the art of cooking?  Yes, portions were out of control in this country in the 50's, 60's and 70's.  Fine dining did consist of some pretty heavy meals.  But I love them.  I love the artistry of them. 

In the 50's the rule was "The fancier the better".  Women spent hours in the kitchen preparing intricate dishes to wow their audience.  We don't do that now.  Who has the time?  Let me tell you, you should do it just once in your life.  It's really a rush.

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/ring-a-lings/d8b45751-4883-42a9-8b92-c3371db845d3/

So I don't bake well, ok so I do but not pie crust!  Look at these beauties!  They take quite a bit of time to make but they are a winning entry from the Pillsbury contest in 1957.
Here is the recipe:

Dough

4

to 4 1/2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour

1/3

cup sugar

2

teaspoons salt

2

teaspoons grated orange peel

2

pkg. active dry yeast

1

cup milk

1/3

cup margarine or butter

2

eggs

Filling

1

cup powdered sugar

1/3

cup margarine or butter, softened

1

cup filberts, pecans or walnuts, ground

Glaze

3

tablespoons sugar

1/4

cup orange juice

• 1 Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, orange peel and yeast; mix well.
• 2 In small saucepan, heat milk and 1/3 cup margarine until very warm (120 to 130°F.). Add warm liquid and eggs to flour mixture; blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in remaining 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour to form a stiff dough. Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F.) until light and doubled in size, 35 to 50 minutes.
• 3 In small bowl, blend powdered sugar and 1/3 cup margarine until smooth. Stir in filberts; set aside. In second small bowl, blend glaze ingredients; cover and set aside.
• 4 Grease 2 large cookie sheets. Stir down dough to remove all air bubbles. On floured surface, roll dough to 22x12-inch rectangle. Spread filling mixture lengthwise over half of dough. Fold dough over filling. Cut crosswise into 1-inch strips; twist each strip 4 to 5 times. To shape rolls, hold folded end of strip down on greased cookie sheet to form center; coil strip around center. Tuck loose end under. Repeat with remaining twisted strips. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.
• 5 Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover dough. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with glaze. Bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets; cool on wire racks. Serve warm.

Whew!  Almost three hours total but look at the results!

I'm inspired to start making a mid century treat at least once a week.  What about you?  When it comes to food, are you daring enough to try to copy a mid century masterpiece?  Domestic Diva's  show 'em what you got!


(recipe from www.pillsbury.com)