Holiday Countdown: Old Fashioned Menus

December is almost here, and I've been looking through all my cookbooks, trying to decide menus and baked items to give as gifts this year. I came across two menu suggestions from 1933, and thought it would be interesting to see how tastes have changed. I'm also sharing some of the recipes below the menus. Both are from the 1933 edition of Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking. Many of the recipes for similar dishes can be found on OFL in the recipe section: http://oldfashionedliving.com/recipes.html .

Christmas Dinner No. 1

Broiled Grapefruit

Olives, Celery

Roast Turkey

Oyster Dressing

Cranberry Relish

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Butter Brussels Sprouts

Harvard Beets

Swedish Tea Bread

Sunshine Salad

Ambrosia

Fruit Cake

Coffee

Candied Orange Peel

Candied Grapefruit Peel

Christmas Dinner No. 2

Tomato Juice

Roast Loin of Pork

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Baked Winter Squash

Buttered Greens

Spoon Cornbread

Waldorf Salad

Mince Pie

Hard Sauce

Coffee

Oyster Dressing

3 1/2 quart coarse bread crumbs

1 tsp. each salt and poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1/4 pound butter

3/4 finely chopped celery

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped oysters

Measure crumbs. Add salt, poultry seasoning and pepper, and toss well. Melt butter in saucepan, add celery and onion and saute until onions are softened, then stir in oysters. Pour over bread crumbs and mix lightly with a fork. Stuff lightly in to turkey. Enough for a 12 pound bird.

Sunshine Salad

1 package lemon-flavored gelatin

1 1/4 cups hot water

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

9 ounces crushed pineapple

1 cup grated raw carrot

lettuce or romaine

mayonnaise

Dissolve gelatin by stirring into the hot water. Add vinegar and salt, stirring to mix well, and chill until mixture becomes syrupy. Add the crushed pineapple with it's juice and the raw carrot. Pour mixture into a 4 cup mold that has been rinsed with cold water, and chill until firm. Unmold onto chilled serving plate. Surround with lettuce and serve with mayonnaise. 5 servings.

Mustard Greens and Spinach With Bacon

2 pounds fresh, tender mustard greens

1/4 pound bacon

1 quart boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper to taste

1/2 pound spinach

Wash mustard greens very thoroughly, trimming off roots and tough stems; trim and wash spinach. Put mustard greens into pan with bacon, add water, cover and boil gently for 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and put spinach into pan, pressing down well. Again cover and cook until spinach is tender, from 10 -15 minutes. More water may be added as needed, but amount of pot liquor should be just right to serve greens when they are done. Serve piping hot.