The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (5 page)

2.
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and dust it with cornstarch. Place a wonton in front of you, with the points facing north, south, east, and west. Brush the edges with a little egg white. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the lower half of the wonton. Fold the north tip over to meet the south tip, and press the open sides closed. Press the filling in the wonton to spread and flatten it slightly. Fold the east and west tips to meet in the center of the wonton and seal them together with a dab of egg white. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining filling and wontons. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 2 hours.

3.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag.

4.
Pour enough oil into a deep, heavy saucepan to fill halfway up the sides. Heat over high heat to 350°F on a
deep-frying thermometer. In batches without crowding, add the wontons and deep-fry, turning the wontons as needed, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a wire spider or a slotted spoon, transfer the wontons to the brown paper-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining wontons.

5.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm with the hot mustard and duck sauce.

Talking Tiki

Tiki culture, a romanticized mix of Polynesian and Pacific Rim food and tropical décor took all of America by storm when soldiers stationed overseas returned from World War II. Spurred by the national success of tiki-themed restaurants Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s, by the time Hawaii became the fiftieth state in 1959, it was in full luau.

Even when home parties in the Sixties didn’t have a full-on tiki theme, tiki elements were usually included at the beginning with bamboo-decorated bars, tropical drinks like Mai Tais, cocktail umbrellas, and pupu platters.

Tiki culture was eventually eclipsed by rock and roll and disco, but enjoyed a renaissance in the late 1990s with the advent of Pacific Rim fusion cooking and SpongeBob SquarePants, a guy who really appreciated all things Tiki.

MILESTONES IN MIDCENTURY TIKI CULTURE

1958
—
South Pacific
bows at the movie box office.

1961
—
Blue Hawaii
, the first of Elvis’s three Hawaii movies opens.

1962
—
Girls Girls Girls!
starring Elvis and shot in Hawaii opens.

1963
—The Enchanted Tiki Room opens at Disneyland.

1964
—
Gilligan’s Island
debuts on CBS.

1965
—Hawaiian pop singer Don Ho releases his first album.

1966
—
Elvis’s Paradise, Hawaiian Style
opens.

1968
—
Hawaii Five-O
debuts on CBS.

DEVILED EGGS

MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVINGS

Deviled eggs should have a little kick to them—just how devilishly hot is determined by how hard you shake the hot pepper sauce bottle. Make deviled eggs for an alfresco picnic, as cocktail party fare, or to start off a holiday supper with relatives. To keep your hard-boiled eggs from acquiring that unattractive grey-green ring around the yolks, avoid overcooking. In fact, our method for hard-boiled eggs skips the boiling altogether. Personalize your deviled eggs with garnishes of chopped olives or pimiento, or a sprinkle of minced fresh parsley or chives.

1 dozen large eggs ½ cup mayonnaise

1 scallion, white and green parts, minced

1 small celery rib, minced

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce, or more to taste

Salt

Paprika, preferably hot paprika, for garnish

1.
Place the eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs by ½ inch. Bring to a simmer (the pot will be filled with small bubbles) over high heat. Remove from the heat and cover. Let stand for 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a bowl of iced water. Let stand until the eggs are chilled, about 20 minutes.

2.
Crack and peel the eggs. Cut each egg in half lengthwise. Remove the egg yolks and reserve the whites. Rub the egg yolks with a rubber spatula through a coarse wire sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise, scallion, and celery. Add the hot red pepper sauce. Season with salt, and more hot sauce, if desired.

3.
Transfer the yolk mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch-wide fluted pastry tip. Pipe the mixture into the egg whites. (You can also simply spoon the mixture into the whites. Or transfer the yolk mixture into a plastic storage bag, snip off one corner of the bag, and use as an impromptu pastry bag.) Arrange the eggs, filled sides up, in a shallow dish. Sprinkle with the paprika. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. (The eggs can be made up to 2 days ahead.) Serve chilled.

SWEET AND TANGY MEATBALLS

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

These betcha-can’t-eat-just-one cocktail meatballs belong firmly in the era of convenience foods, and try as we might, we haven’t come up with a better sauce. The sauce will also coat 2 pounds of miniature smoked cocktail sausages, cooked under a broiler for a few minutes until sizzling. And we know lots of folks who buy frozen meatballs at a wholesale club and mix them into the sauce for the easiest hors d’oeuvres ever.

Vegetable oil for the baking sheet

1 pound ground round beef

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (whirl sliced bread in a blender)

1 large egg, beaten

¼ cup minced onion

2 tablespoons milk

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup ketchup-style chili sauce

¾ cup grape jelly

½ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

Wooden toothpicks, for serving

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and oil the foil.

2.
Mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion, milk, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl (your hands work best). Shape into 36 small meatballs. Arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes. Drain off any fat. (The meatballs can be made, cooled, and stored in a plastic bag, up to 2 days ahead.)

3.
Meanwhile, bring the chili sauce, grape jelly, and hot red pepper sauce to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring often, until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4.
Transfer the meatballs and sauce to a chafing dish (or fondue pot), to keep warm during serving. Serve warm, with wooden toothpicks to spear the meatballs.

Food A Go-Go

In the Sixties, newfound wealth, mobility, and the desire for cosmopolitan food drove people to dine out more than ever before. The “exotic” choices of the day? French, Italian, and Japanese restaurants.

You can still visit some of the most popular restaurants of the day that opened in the 1960s and still serve up plenty of atmosphere and delicious entrees, including:

- La Grenouille, New York

- The Monocle, Washington DC

- Dan Tana’s, Los Angeles

- Maxim’s, Chicago

Chain Meal

A few of today’s reigning national chain restaurants also got their start in the Sixties, and are still going strong: