The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (18 page)

Around the World Dinner

Here is a recreation of the infamous dinner on the TV series
Mad Men
, an exemplary case of Sixties culture in today’s lifestyle.

Daiquiris (
page 188
)

Rumaki-a-rama (
page 39
)*

Blender Gazpacho (
page 58
)

Leg of Lamb with Gravy and Mint Jelly (
page 94
)

Grandmother’s Noodles with Sour Cream and Poppy Seeds (
page 133
)

Green beans sautéed with butter and almonds

Buttermilk Dinner Rolls (
page 142
)

Heineken beer

French Burgundy (California pinot noir is a good substitute.)

Cherries Jubiliee (
page 173
)

Coffee and tea

Assorted liqueurs

*Betty mentions this as part of her seated dinner, but it is strictly finger food.

CD PLAYLIST

Ultra-Lounge,
Bachelor Pad Royale

Cocktail Mix,
Martini Madness

Esquivel,
Infinity in Sound, Vol. 1–2

MISS. ROASTER CHICKEN

MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS

One of the most famous (and highly enjoyable) episodes of Julia Child’s groundbreaking television show
The French Chef
is “To Roast a Chicken” from Season 1 in 1963. In it, Julia opens the show behind a line of headless poultry, introducing viewers to “the Chicken Sisters” before shimmying to her own theme music. She laments, “We’re always boiling and broiling and grilling and baking and braising and barbecuing chicken, but what’s ever happened to the roast chicken?” Julia elevated many a Sunday dinner when she taught her viewers how to prepare “Miss Roaster.” The hilarious clip (Julia pretends the uncooked bird has won a beauty pageant and sings out its measurements: “14-15-14!”) is well worth looking up online. The chicken—plump and juicy with a nice, golden brown burnished skin—is even worthier.

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), giblets discarded

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, cut in half

3 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut lengthwise into halves

3 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.

2.
Rub the outside of the chicken with the butter. Season the chicken, inside and out, with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stuff the onion in the body cavity.

3.
Place the chicken, breast down, in a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove the pan with the chicken from the stove. Turn the chicken on its back. Baste with the pan juices. Add the potatoes and carrots around the chicken on the rack, and stir to coat with the pan juices. Return to the oven and continue baking, stirring the vegetables after 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast without touching a bone reads 165°F, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl, season with salt and pepper, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

4.
Carve the chicken and let the chicken meat fall into the collected juices in the platter. Serve the chicken hot, with the vegetables.

POTATO CHIP BAKED CHICKEN

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Many recipe books from the Sixties were really clever sales pitches published by food manufacturers hoping to convince cooks to use their products in new, exciting, and profit-rising ways. The “Heinz Home Economics Department” suggested spicing up frozen spinach with ⅔cup of their tomato ketchup. Basting a duck in 7Up would “take away any ‘gamey’ taste” (so promised the soda maker). One nontraditional suggestion we heartily endorse is the marriage of potato chips and chicken. The salty crushed chips are a wonderful coating for baked poultry. You can also use barbecue-flavored chips, but then don’t season the batter.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups (6 ounces) finely crushed potato chips (see Note)

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 serving pieces, skin removed and giblets discarded

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly oil a 15-by-10-inch baking dish.

2.
Combine the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and pepper in a shallow dish. Spread the potato chips in another dish. Roll each piece of chicken in the butter mixture and then coat with the potato chips, patting the chips on to help them adhere. Place in the baking dish. Drizzle any of the remaining butter mixture on top of the chicken.

3.
Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a chicken breast half reads 170°F, about 50 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

NOTE
:
To crush the potato chips, transfer them to a large plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin.

SOULFUL FRIED CHICKEN

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

In the past, fried chicken required very few ingredients, and we think it is the better for it. Except for the residents of New Orleans, midcentury Southerners viewed most spices with suspicion; they would not recognize today’s fired-up birds. One very important thing to remember is the size of the chicken. Only recently has the average chicken been bred to proportions resembling a Coupe de Ville. These huge birds are not suited for frying, as the crust burns by the time the pieces cook through. You can find properly sized small birds at natural food stores and some supermarkets.

1 quart buttermilk

¼ cup plus ¾ teaspoons salt, divided

1 (3½-pound) chicken, giblets discarded, cut into 2 each wings, drumsticks, thighs, and breast halves, with each breast half cut crosswise to make a total of 10 chicken pieces

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying (see Note)

1.
Whisk the buttermilk and ¼ cup of salt together in a large, deep nonreactive bowl to dissolve the salt. Add the chicken and submerge in the buttermilk mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 and up to 4 hours.

2.
Mix the flour, baking powder, the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, and the pepper together in a large bowl. One piece at a time, remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture, shaking off the excess liquid, and roll in the flour mixture. Transfer to a baking sheet. Let the coated chicken stand at room temperature to set the coating, about 15 minutes.

3.
Pour oil into a heavy-bottomed large skillet (preferably cast iron) to come about halfway up the sides. Heat over high heat until the oil is shimmering or reads 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Add the breast pieces to the skillet and cook over high heat until the undersides are golden, about 3 minutes. Cover the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook, uncovered, turning occasionally, until the chicken is crisp and golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a piece reads 165°F, about 7 minutes longer. (Remove the chicken from the oil to test.) During frying, adjust the heat as needed so bubbles are active around the perimeter of the chicken, but the chicken isn’t cooking too rapidly. Transfer to a wire cake rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the dark meat chicken pieces. Serve warm.

NOTE
:
If you wish, substitute up to one-half of the vegetable oil with an equal amount of lard or bacon fat.

Soul Food

In a nod to soul music—the combination of gospel and R&B—“soul food” was christened in the Sixties to denote the culinary traditions of African American culture. While every region has its own soulful specialties, soul food is at its essence warm, comforting family food.