For a hit of instant 70s nostalgia, nothing can beat devilled eggs, although cheese straws and pigs in blankets might give them a run for their money. Flares optional...
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A feast of slightly guilty pleasures this week – I already knew my capacity for crumbly cheese straws and savoury pigs in blankets was fairly boundless, but my passion for Bronwyn Wolfe's pungent onion dip came as a bit of a surprise, even to me.
But my favourite was the colourful devilled eggs – both delicious and fabulously retro – and all the rage in the US, apparently. Very Betty Draper.
*Stuffed and devilled eggs*
A recipe from the 1970s, when entertaining was cool and these little eggs were served at parties alongside mushroom vol-au-vents, cheese straws and cheese and pineapple hedgehogs. The eggs were always the favourites, and there were never any left. Enjoy with a glass of Pomagne, Babycham or a Snowball.
Ruth Joseph and Sarah Nathan, Cardiff, Veggischmooze.blogspot.com
Makes 24 (12 of each)
For the stuffed eggs
*6 eggs*
*4 tsp light mayonnaise*
*2 tsp organic capers, finely chopped *
*10g watercress, finely chopped, plus more for decoration *
For the devilled eggs
*6 eggs*
*4 tsp light mayonnaise*
*Pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of Tabasco*
* *
*1 tsp paprika*
*2-3 black olives, finely chopped*
*1 *Put all the eggs in cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and put in cold water, cracking each egg to make sure the water has penetrated the shells. Change the water so the eggs sit in clean cold water, which prevents a green edge. Roll on a surface to crack the shells further, then peel.
*2 *Cut them carefully in half. Scoop the yolks into two bowls – six in each – and place the whites on a serving dish. Combine the remaining ingredients from the first recipe with the first lot of yolks and the ingredients from the second recipe with the second bowl. Mash both well until smooth.
*3 *Either spoon the mixtures back intothe whites or use a piping bag and pretty shaped nozzle. Decorate with parsley sprigs – curly of course – or watercress leavesand arrange crisp lettuce and tomato flowers around the edge of the plate. The 1970s on a plate.
*French onion dip*
Party food in Australia in the 1980s was extraordinary. Dense chunks of celery filled with blue Castello cheese white sliced bread – with the crusts cut off – buttered with Kraft cheese spread with a spear of tinned asparagus laid corner to corner across the centre, before being rolled and secured with a toothpick; tiny frankfurters boiled to bursting with a bowl of ketchupfor dipping... But my favourite undoubtedlyFrench onion dip. It was only ever made for parties, and believing as I did that the onions were indeed French made it seem very sophisticated and exotic. Best made a few hours ahead to give the flavours time to meld.
Bronwyn Wolfe, London
Makes 300ml
*50g packet French onion soup mix*
*300ml sour cream*
*2 spring onions, green part only, for garnish*
*200g Ritz crackers, for dipping*
*1* Tip the powdered soup mix into an attractive bowl, add the sour cream and mix well. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
*2 *Slice the spring onions into very thin rings and scatter across the top of the dip. Put the bowl into the centre of a large plate and surround with circles of Ritz crackers so people can help themselves.
*Corn dogs*
As kids, we were allowed deep-fried foods only on rare occasions. At friends' birthday parties, corn dogs were always the first of the snacks to go – favoured by both kids and adults alike. They are easy and quick to make, and a foolproof must-have for the coming party season!
TwinnyDip via GuardianWitness
Makes 20
For the batter
*150g polenta (cornmeal)*
*125g plain flour*
*50g sugar*
*20g baking powder*
*½ tsp paprika powder*
*1 egg*
*225ml whole milk*
*75g grated mozzarella or other mild cheese*
*10 frankfurter sausages, halved*
*Vegetable oil, for deep frying*
*1 *Soak 20 wooden skewers in cold water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixingbowl.
*2 *In a separate bowl, beat the egg and mix in the milk and the cheese. Add the liquid mixture to the dry one and stir until you've created a thick batter.
*3 *Fill a large saucepan a third full of oil. Heat until a bit of batter dropped in sizzles and floats. Or use a deep fatfryer.
*4 *Skewer the sausages and dip them into the batter until well coated. Deep‑fry the corn dogs for about 3 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Serve with mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, or other dips.
*Tomato jelly rings*
This comes from a fearsome tome of 1970s cooking that everyone in my family has: 1000 Freezer Recipes. It's become a joke in my family that whenever you move into your first home you get one of these as a gift and you have to make at least four of the recipes for your first housewarming.
Heasgarnich, Glasgow
Makes 1 small jelly
*1 x 400g tin of tomatoes*
*1 tbsp tomato puree*
*4 tbsp dry white wine*
*Juice of ½ lemon*
*1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed*
*6 peppercorns*
*1 bay leaf*
*1 tsp sugar*
*15g gelatine (or 2 sheets)*
*Watercress and French dressing, to serve*
*1 *Put the tomatoes in a pan with all the ingredients except the gelatine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the peppercorns and the bay leaf and rub the mixture through a sieve.
*2 *Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over 4 tbsp water, leave for 5 minutes until "spongy" (shudder) then heat gently until dissolved. Strain into the tomato pulp and stir well to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour into a lightly oiled 600ml ring mould.
*3 *Chill in the fridge until set and pray that it doesn't gain sentience in the interim. To serve, remove from the mould, then "fill the centre with watercress and serve with French dressing, handed separately".
*Spicy pigs in blankets*
Perfect party food; intensely savoury, a little sweet and very moreish. Quite irresistible. If you don't have all these spices, replace them with an equal quantity of mixed spice or garam masala. It does the trick just as well. Serve with salsa, a spicy sour cream dip or a creamy mustard one.
MarmadukeScarlet via GuardianWitness
Makes 32 pigs
*1 tsp ground cinnamon*
*1 tsp ground ginger*
*1 tsp ground nutmeg*
*½ tsp ground allspice*
*32 cocktail sausages or chipolatas*
*16 rashers smoked streaky bacon*
For the spiced honey dressing
*4 tbsp runny honey*
*2 tbsp spirit of your choice (I used kirsch, but you could use brandy, rum or whisky)*
*1-2 tsp Tabasco*
*1 *Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Mix the spices together and lightly dust the sausages.
*2 *Use the back of a knife or a pair of scissors to stretch each bacon rasher out. Cut each in half to create two long thin strips of bacon, and roll each piece around a separate sausage. Place on a lightly greased baking tray.
*3 *Gently heat the honey in a small pan, before adding your booze of choice and Tabasco. Stir well to combine. Pour over the pigs in blankets, making sure that all are well coated.
*4 *Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until lightly browned, basting occasionally and turning at least once. Can be served hot or cold.
*Cheese straws*
I defy anyone to come up with a more retro party recipe than this one, which comes from the 1927 Radiation Cookery Book. It came to me from my good friend Jane Edwards, whose grandmother first made it in the 1930s. It still goes down a storm at any type of party and continues to please all ages. The cayenne pepper gives the straws a hot after-kick. They are very moreish; sometimes I double the ingredients.
The cayenne pepper gives the straws a hot after-kick. They are totally moreish so you may want to double the ingredients if you agree.
Diane Kitchen, Ilkley
Makes about 25
*110g plain flour*
*½ tsp cayenne pepper*
*75g red Leicester, finely grated*
*50g butter*
*1 egg yolk*
*1 *Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, and line a baking tray. Sieve the flour and cayenne pepper into a large bowl and mix in the cheese.
*2 *Cut the butter up into small pieces, add to the flour and cheese mixture and rub in to a breadcrumb texture. Beat the egg yolk and add to the mixture, then bring together into a dough.
*3 *Roll out about 5mm thick and cut into thin strips (I cut them into 1cm wide strips and then cut in half again) in any length you like. Use the leftovers to make a ring to put the straws into when you serve them up.* *Bake for about 20 minutes.
*Send us your ideas *
For your chance to be crowned Guardian home cook of the year, send us your ideas for POSH NIBBLES.
Recipes will appear on 7 December.
Email your recipe suggestions to recipes@theguardian.com or upload your recipes and images to theguardian.com/witness by noon on *Wednesday 27 November. *
Please include your name, address and phone number (conditions apply) Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
• We continue the party mood next theme with POSH NIBBLES. Send us your ideas...
A feast of slightly guilty pleasures this week – I already knew my capacity for crumbly cheese straws and savoury pigs in blankets was fairly boundless, but my passion for Bronwyn Wolfe's pungent onion dip came as a bit of a surprise, even to me.
But my favourite was the colourful devilled eggs – both delicious and fabulously retro – and all the rage in the US, apparently. Very Betty Draper.
*Stuffed and devilled eggs*
A recipe from the 1970s, when entertaining was cool and these little eggs were served at parties alongside mushroom vol-au-vents, cheese straws and cheese and pineapple hedgehogs. The eggs were always the favourites, and there were never any left. Enjoy with a glass of Pomagne, Babycham or a Snowball.
Ruth Joseph and Sarah Nathan, Cardiff, Veggischmooze.blogspot.com
Makes 24 (12 of each)
For the stuffed eggs
*6 eggs*
*4 tsp light mayonnaise*
*2 tsp organic capers, finely chopped *
*10g watercress, finely chopped, plus more for decoration *
For the devilled eggs
*6 eggs*
*4 tsp light mayonnaise*
*Pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of Tabasco*
* *
*1 tsp paprika*
*2-3 black olives, finely chopped*
*1 *Put all the eggs in cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and put in cold water, cracking each egg to make sure the water has penetrated the shells. Change the water so the eggs sit in clean cold water, which prevents a green edge. Roll on a surface to crack the shells further, then peel.
*2 *Cut them carefully in half. Scoop the yolks into two bowls – six in each – and place the whites on a serving dish. Combine the remaining ingredients from the first recipe with the first lot of yolks and the ingredients from the second recipe with the second bowl. Mash both well until smooth.
*3 *Either spoon the mixtures back intothe whites or use a piping bag and pretty shaped nozzle. Decorate with parsley sprigs – curly of course – or watercress leavesand arrange crisp lettuce and tomato flowers around the edge of the plate. The 1970s on a plate.
*French onion dip*
Party food in Australia in the 1980s was extraordinary. Dense chunks of celery filled with blue Castello cheese white sliced bread – with the crusts cut off – buttered with Kraft cheese spread with a spear of tinned asparagus laid corner to corner across the centre, before being rolled and secured with a toothpick; tiny frankfurters boiled to bursting with a bowl of ketchupfor dipping... But my favourite undoubtedlyFrench onion dip. It was only ever made for parties, and believing as I did that the onions were indeed French made it seem very sophisticated and exotic. Best made a few hours ahead to give the flavours time to meld.
Bronwyn Wolfe, London
Makes 300ml
*50g packet French onion soup mix*
*300ml sour cream*
*2 spring onions, green part only, for garnish*
*200g Ritz crackers, for dipping*
*1* Tip the powdered soup mix into an attractive bowl, add the sour cream and mix well. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
*2 *Slice the spring onions into very thin rings and scatter across the top of the dip. Put the bowl into the centre of a large plate and surround with circles of Ritz crackers so people can help themselves.
*Corn dogs*
As kids, we were allowed deep-fried foods only on rare occasions. At friends' birthday parties, corn dogs were always the first of the snacks to go – favoured by both kids and adults alike. They are easy and quick to make, and a foolproof must-have for the coming party season!
TwinnyDip via GuardianWitness
Makes 20
For the batter
*150g polenta (cornmeal)*
*125g plain flour*
*50g sugar*
*20g baking powder*
*½ tsp paprika powder*
*1 egg*
*225ml whole milk*
*75g grated mozzarella or other mild cheese*
*10 frankfurter sausages, halved*
*Vegetable oil, for deep frying*
*1 *Soak 20 wooden skewers in cold water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixingbowl.
*2 *In a separate bowl, beat the egg and mix in the milk and the cheese. Add the liquid mixture to the dry one and stir until you've created a thick batter.
*3 *Fill a large saucepan a third full of oil. Heat until a bit of batter dropped in sizzles and floats. Or use a deep fatfryer.
*4 *Skewer the sausages and dip them into the batter until well coated. Deep‑fry the corn dogs for about 3 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Serve with mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, or other dips.
*Tomato jelly rings*
This comes from a fearsome tome of 1970s cooking that everyone in my family has: 1000 Freezer Recipes. It's become a joke in my family that whenever you move into your first home you get one of these as a gift and you have to make at least four of the recipes for your first housewarming.
Heasgarnich, Glasgow
Makes 1 small jelly
*1 x 400g tin of tomatoes*
*1 tbsp tomato puree*
*4 tbsp dry white wine*
*Juice of ½ lemon*
*1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed*
*6 peppercorns*
*1 bay leaf*
*1 tsp sugar*
*15g gelatine (or 2 sheets)*
*Watercress and French dressing, to serve*
*1 *Put the tomatoes in a pan with all the ingredients except the gelatine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the peppercorns and the bay leaf and rub the mixture through a sieve.
*2 *Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over 4 tbsp water, leave for 5 minutes until "spongy" (shudder) then heat gently until dissolved. Strain into the tomato pulp and stir well to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour into a lightly oiled 600ml ring mould.
*3 *Chill in the fridge until set and pray that it doesn't gain sentience in the interim. To serve, remove from the mould, then "fill the centre with watercress and serve with French dressing, handed separately".
*Spicy pigs in blankets*
Perfect party food; intensely savoury, a little sweet and very moreish. Quite irresistible. If you don't have all these spices, replace them with an equal quantity of mixed spice or garam masala. It does the trick just as well. Serve with salsa, a spicy sour cream dip or a creamy mustard one.
MarmadukeScarlet via GuardianWitness
Makes 32 pigs
*1 tsp ground cinnamon*
*1 tsp ground ginger*
*1 tsp ground nutmeg*
*½ tsp ground allspice*
*32 cocktail sausages or chipolatas*
*16 rashers smoked streaky bacon*
For the spiced honey dressing
*4 tbsp runny honey*
*2 tbsp spirit of your choice (I used kirsch, but you could use brandy, rum or whisky)*
*1-2 tsp Tabasco*
*1 *Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Mix the spices together and lightly dust the sausages.
*2 *Use the back of a knife or a pair of scissors to stretch each bacon rasher out. Cut each in half to create two long thin strips of bacon, and roll each piece around a separate sausage. Place on a lightly greased baking tray.
*3 *Gently heat the honey in a small pan, before adding your booze of choice and Tabasco. Stir well to combine. Pour over the pigs in blankets, making sure that all are well coated.
*4 *Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until lightly browned, basting occasionally and turning at least once. Can be served hot or cold.
*Cheese straws*
I defy anyone to come up with a more retro party recipe than this one, which comes from the 1927 Radiation Cookery Book. It came to me from my good friend Jane Edwards, whose grandmother first made it in the 1930s. It still goes down a storm at any type of party and continues to please all ages. The cayenne pepper gives the straws a hot after-kick. They are very moreish; sometimes I double the ingredients.
The cayenne pepper gives the straws a hot after-kick. They are totally moreish so you may want to double the ingredients if you agree.
Diane Kitchen, Ilkley
Makes about 25
*110g plain flour*
*½ tsp cayenne pepper*
*75g red Leicester, finely grated*
*50g butter*
*1 egg yolk*
*1 *Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, and line a baking tray. Sieve the flour and cayenne pepper into a large bowl and mix in the cheese.
*2 *Cut the butter up into small pieces, add to the flour and cheese mixture and rub in to a breadcrumb texture. Beat the egg yolk and add to the mixture, then bring together into a dough.
*3 *Roll out about 5mm thick and cut into thin strips (I cut them into 1cm wide strips and then cut in half again) in any length you like. Use the leftovers to make a ring to put the straws into when you serve them up.* *Bake for about 20 minutes.
*Send us your ideas *
For your chance to be crowned Guardian home cook of the year, send us your ideas for POSH NIBBLES.
Recipes will appear on 7 December.
Email your recipe suggestions to recipes@theguardian.com or upload your recipes and images to theguardian.com/witness by noon on *Wednesday 27 November. *
Please include your name, address and phone number (conditions apply) Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.