December 24th 2024.
I went on a quest to find the most unappetizing vintage Christmas recipe from the Chicago Tribune, and my search led me to a dish that resembled the Grinch's furry green appearance - a strange creation known as "Hot Avocado Pie Yule Delight". This peculiar recipe was featured in the December 16, 1964 edition of the newspaper, boasting a combination of canned cream of celery soup, frozen peas, and eggs. It was a reflection of a time when refrigerators were small and fresh ingredients were hard to come by, especially those that were out of season.
But the real novelty of this pie was its top layer, made with avocados - a rare and exotic ingredient that was priced at only 59 cents at the local Jewel store back then. It must have been quite a treat for families in the Midwest almost 60 years ago. With my savory option secured, I set out to find a sweet one as well.
One word caught my eye in an article titled "Your Molded Salad Can Carry Out Christmas Color Scheme" from the December 22, 1953 edition of the Tribune - "simplest". The recipe for Sea Foam Salad only called for four ingredients, with an extra fifth one for the maraschino cherry garnish. I was drawn to this nearly 70-year-old recipe because Tribune reporter Rosemary Fox described it as a "cream cheese, pear, and lime gelatin combination that adds an elegant touch to any buffet table".
And what could be more nostalgic and festive than a Jell-O mold for a classic family Christmas? That is, as long as it doesn't turn out as a wobbly mess. Luckily, these vintage Tribune recipes were surprisingly easy to make, even for someone like me who is not an experienced cook. The only challenge was finding some of the ingredients in modern grocery stores - who even sells pimento strips nowadays? But overall, the recipes turned out just as delicious as they were back in the day.
A fun fact about these recipes is that they were often attributed to a fictional culinary expert known as Mary Meade, which was the pen name used by five food editors of the Tribune from 1930 to 1974. The longest-tenured food editor, Ruth Ellen Church, was also the first wine columnist for the newspaper in 1962. She published recipes and books under her own name as well, and when she retired, so did Mary Meade. But their recipes continue to live on, and I was able to recreate them this week - and so can you.
To get a better idea of how these vintage dishes tasted, I prepared each recipe three times and shared them with different groups of taste-testers - my family, my neighbors, and even a food critic from the Tribune named Louisa Chu. The results were surprising and varied.
My family's verdict? My husband admitted that the still-jiggly avocado pie was surprisingly good, but we both agreed that it needed more time in the oven than the 10 minutes stated in the original recipe. Unfortunately, my 7-year-old son refused to even take a bite. However, when I shared the dishes with my neighbors, the hot avocado pie was a hit among the adults, with one family even asking for the recipe. The kids, on the other hand, preferred the Jell-O mold and were more interested in the toppings from the hot cocoa bar. And thankfully, no one got food poisoning from my cooking!
The Tribune's food critic, Louisa Chu, also had some interesting tasting notes on the hot avocado Yule pie. She described it as less than delightful, with the crust turning out soft and chewy like a dog toy and the avocado flavor getting lost in the salty biscuit dough and the tang of preservatives. However, she had a more favorable opinion of the Jell-O mold, noting its creamy mint flavor and bits of pineapple and canned pear. But she did wish for a more acidic key lime pie instead.
So, are you brave enough to try making and eating these vintage treats? If you do, please drop me a line and send a photo to
[email protected]. I hope you have a happy holiday season filled with delicious food and fond memories.
Now, onto the recipes themselves. The first one is for Sea Foam Salad, which takes about 20 minutes to prepare and serves 8-10 people using an 8-inch star-shaped cake pan. You will need a 15-ounce can of sliced pears, a 3-ounce package of lime gelatin, 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, and maraschino cherries for garnish.
To start, spray a metal pan with canola oil and drain the juice from the pears into a small saucepan. Heat the juice until it boils, then pour it over the lime gelatin in a bowl and stir until it dissolves. Let it cool. In another bowl, mix the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of whipping cream until smooth. Pour the gelatin mixture into the bowl and blend until smooth using a whisk or an electric mixer. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 5 minutes, then fold in the well-drained, diced pears and 1 cup of whipping cream. Pour the mixture into the star-shaped mold and chill until firm. To remove the mold, use a butter knife to loosen around the edges, then soak the bottom of the pan in hot water for 5 seconds. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and quickly flip both over, then gently jiggle the pan to release the mold onto the plate. Garnish with maraschino cherries and serve.
The second recipe is for Avocado Poinsettia Pie, which takes about 20-30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to bake, yielding 8-10 servings. You will need a 16-ounce package of jumbo refrigerated biscuits, 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, a 10.5-ounce can of cream of celery soup, 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil, 1 cup of frozen green peas, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), 1 avocado, 1 lemon, pimento strips for garnish, and salt to taste.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and pat down 6 biscuits to cover the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Slice the remaining biscuits in half lengthwise and place them around the edges of the pie plate to form a scalloped shell. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese into the shell. In a saucepan, heat the soup, basil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and peas. In a separate bowl, combine the lightly beaten eggs with a spoonful of the soup mixture, then pour it into the saucepan and stir. Cook for 3 minutes, then add salt to taste. Pour the mixture into the biscuit shell and bake for 45 minutes, or until the filling is firm and the biscuits are golden brown. While the pie is baking, slice the avocado into halves and then into eighths. Squeeze lemon juice on the avocado and place the pieces on top of the pie in a pinwheel or poinsettia design. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and return the pie to the oven for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Garnish with pimento strips and serve hot. Enjoy!
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