More From the Supermarket Cookbook
July 1, 2016
As promised, a few more promising recipes from this book, celebrating the silver jubilee of the supermarket. With the exception of the Sandwich Loaf (an old idea well-worth reviving, although perhaps with more enticing fillings), these other two strike me as worth trying. Those tomatoes, for instance, are a variation on a Pomiane recipe I really love.
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8 Comments
That’s pretty much my Gran’s recipe for fried tomatoes. She used a bit of flour, lots of pepper, milk and always bacon fat. I still make them exactly that way. We eat them with slices of buttered white bread to scoop sauce. Heaven.
I love sandwich loaf! It’s such a classic of its time. I make it with ham salad, egg salad and tuna salad for the fillings. Many recipes go heavy on the cream cheese icing, but if you half back a bit it’s not too rich.
Tomato recipe calls for frying…Pomiane’s does not…his recipe calls for tomatoes to be sliced widthwise, sauteed in a large knob of butter cut side down, cook for 5 minutes puncturing rounded side with a knife in a few places, turn them over and cook for 10 minutes, reverse to cut side up and add scant half cup of heavy cream or creme fraiche, mix with juices. Season to taste. Serve hot with a few torn leaves of mint or basil. Perfection.
Here in Canada, these sandwiches were and are called “party” sandwiches and they would be featured at every bridal or baby shower, every funeral, and every afternoon tea, especially if it was a fund raiser.
Then and now, a few women in a small town would be known as the source of good party sandwiches and they would make quite an adequate living from making them. Someone I know from Winnipeg has such a business; for some reason, they are still very popular among some Jewish communities.
“Church ladies” would also make them for events at their church, and certain members of the congregation would be known to be good at it. The money would go to support their church.
But we would not have put a tuna salad layer in: maybe chicken salad or cucumber, or watercress. Save the tuna salad for another kind of sandwich.
I have a memory of my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary and passing around a big plate of party sandwiches, including roll-ups. I remember having to ditch a pimento cheese and green olive roll-up in a potted plant in the corner of the room. I was almost 7, so this would have been 1952.
Love these little trips down memory lane. Thanks Ruth
Anne: There are actually many different versions of that Pomiane recipe (although I’ve never seen one that suggests basil). I’ve included a couple in the link above.
What strikes me as so odd about the Supermarket Cookbook recipe is that after you flour and fry the tomatoes, you stir them up and then add the cream. Seems contradictory…..
Ditto what Janet says… made it many times. Right, Janet – go way light on the cream cheese frosting. Its really delicious, though, isn’t it.
I still make party loaves with only two fillings; egg salad/chicken salad, ham salad / pimiento cheese & ham salad / chicken salad combos. They’re very festive to serve.
I love those sandwich I usually make them myself I work for a catering company