Reto Cookbooks - Are You Hungry Tonight?

A couple of weekends ago I was visiting my folks, I had the ultimate lazy Sunday and stayed in my PJs and glutinously watched The Food Network all day, to watch a Nigella Lawson marathon. I am a huge fan of her kitsch wonderfulness and I was in retro overload when she cracked out a recipe from "Elvis' Favourite Recipes, Are You Hungry Tonight?" The recipe she made was a Fried Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich. I think it possibly had a gajillion calories in it, but it did look super yummy!  

I love this recipe book! The cheesy pictures of Elvis surpass all the cheese that is needed for the recipes in this book. My favourite picture has to be Elvis with his guitar with the lady covered in bananas, you just don't get entertainment like that anymore. The last recipe in the book takes up 9 pages! And if you follow those 9 pages you will create The Royal Wedding Cake, this was the cake that was created for Elvis and Priscilla when they got hitched. This is apparently the exact recipe that their wedding cake was made to, so if you have a spare 20 pounds of flour and 500 hungry mouths to feed you could try to recreate this 6 tiered beast. 

Inside this book there were some random recipe cards. I thought the first one was funny, how to make a 'Layered Fruit Salad', the recipe instructions basically tell you to chop fruit up and layer it, then serve. The Lasagne recipe card is fabulously dated, I especially love the bottle of wine in its veneered cover. 

I can't wait to try out some of these recipes! 

Happy Retro Cooking!
Much Love
Kirst

My Rhubarb Chutney Recipe.

It so easy to whip up a batch of chutney! And once you have your first batch in jars you will be hooked on making it. Ed and I went to a Rhubarb Festival a few months ago at Clumber Park. They have a fantastic walled garden there, where they now grow 100+ varieties of rhubarb! So I came home two rather large bunches of the wonderful stalk. I chose two varieties that I thought would be a match made in heaven Victoria and Prince Albert. I decided to make some chutney with my mum in our 4th generation jam kettle. This chutney is best if you can leave it for at least a month. The older it gets the more mature and rounded the flavour becomes. Chutney can last for up to 2 years if unopened but it rarely lasts a few months in this household.

Here is what you need to make this lip smacking condiment. 

900g Rhubarb

900g Sugar (preferably brown or Demerara)

450g Sultanas

1 Pint Vinegar (I prefer cider vinegar to malt)

1 Finely Chopped Onion

2-3 tsps Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 Eating Apples (You could use 1 cooking apple instead)  

Chop up the rhubarb and the apple and the add all the ingredients to the pan and gently bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Then turn the heat down so it comes to a steady simmer and the mixture makes a lilting plopping noise. Leave the pan uncovered and it will probably take at least an hour and a half. Stir occasionally so the mixture doesn't burn. (If you think the bottom of the mixture has started to burn turn the heat down a little and don't scrape the bottom the pan or the whole batch of chutney will taste burnt. When the mixture is thick and glossy (similar to how jam would be), leave it to cool for 15 - 20mins then it is time to decant into warm sterilised jars and add a wax disk on the top before putting the lid on.

It is fine to eat straight away if you want to, but it is best to leave it to mature. The chutney should then be stored somewhere cool and dark. Once you have opened a jar keep it in the fridge. 

This is so tasty that it turns Ed into a hungry beast!

Enjoy x