Mar-Apr2016_Final-FlipBook

the Seafood issue

Retro Revisited by Suzette Norris

R etro seafood appetizers like the ones my grandmother made in her curved, copper fish mold are back. Classic shrimp molds are the star of the show. You can order one from Rouses, or you can find recipes online or from a classic Junior League cookbook like Talk About Good, River Road Recipes, Recipe Jubilee or Jambalaya. Look for the ones that go light on the gelatin to avoid the jiggly-jello texture. And using cream of mushroom soup instead of tomato will take care of that hot pink color. Liz Williams, president and director of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, said the popularity of shrimp molds — or really any type of molded recipe— is part of a resurgence of campy southern ladies’ food such as pimento cheese, deviled eggs and cheese straws that remind us of what our grandmothers used to serve. “Molds come in many different shapes and sizes — metal, ceramic, glass — and have been popular for a long time because they serve as a sort of touchstone to the past,” she said.The popularity of shaped foods may also be connected with the return of gelatin via popular semi-frozen desserts such as Bavarian creams, semifreddos and the classic Charlotte Russe, an impressive dessert once the mainstay of lavish Victorian feasts. Gels and molded aspics have a long history of appearing at elegant affairs. “They were considered specialty foods because they required refrigeration, which was out of reach for most people during the 19 th century,” Williams said. “They also involved labor-intensive techniques, like boiling pigs feet, to remove the gelatin.” As refrigeration in the home became widespread in the 1940s this specialty food was in reach of home cooks and became wildly popular. “You could find molded dishes at ladies luncheons and bridge parties — especially in the South because in the summer you could offer something cool and refreshing,” Williams said.

mouth and a black olive for the eye. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s molded cocktails, main courses and desserts appeared all over the place. Trees made out of shrimp or cocktail weenies sat alongside the popular 7-Up Salad (lemon Jell-O, 7-Up soda, crushed pineapple and miniature marshmallows). Standard cookbooks of the era, like the 1964 edition of Joy of Cooking , devoted entire sections to savory gelatin salads. Jell-O introduced savory flavors like celery, mixed vegetable and “Italian salad” during the 1960s. A 1977 issue of Bon Appétit magazine featured a shrimp-filled Bloody Mary aspic with remoulade sauce — the sky seemed to be the limit. A growing fondness for “lady southerness” today is likely behind the more toned-down, modern versions of molded foods appearing at parties and special meals. “I’m not sure aspics will ever be popular again, but I bet you could make a fabulous one if you started with fresh tomatoes,” Williams said. And daube glacé, a rich meaty aspic, is delicious served on a cracker or po’boys. Junior League cookbooks across the South offer many different recipes that would be fun to serve today. And don’t forget about hogshead cheese, which is a type of aspic after all. “I remember when the Saints were winning, hogshead cheeses were molded into the shape of a fleur-de-lis,” she said. “Everyone has to serve hogshead cheese at a Saints party.” (Look for more on hogshead cheeses in our next issue.)

Lena Richard, the first African- American woman to have her own television show (which aired on WDSU from 1947 to 1949) had a well-loved recipe called “Scaled Fish,” a molded dish made with redfish, gelatin and seasoning. According to a 1940 newspaper article,Richard used alternating green and black olives to make the fish scales, a slice of pimento for the

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY MARCH | APRIL 2016

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