Good Saturday afternoon! It is bright and sunny and warm in SW Virginia today.
When I was little, I used to love to pull my mother's 1953 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook out and look at the pages! (Yep, I was a weird kid!). I remember asking her if she would make me all of the candy on the candy page. She took one look, laughed and said NO WAY! I really don't think my mom ever made anything out of this cookbook. She didn't like to cook and made the same things each week. Though she was a good cook. Just not very adventurous. I also remember showing the pages to my Grandma and Aunt Clara, both who looked at them and laughed and said NO WAY! I finally took the pages out of the cookbook and pasted them in a scrapbook I had in my room. Of course, that is long gone. I have my mom's cookbook and several years ago I found another one just like it at an auction and was thrilled to see the candy pages in there.
You see why I like this page. Isn't it magical and beautiful?
So I was telling Yngwie about how I wanted someone to make me all the candy on the page and he said, why don't you try it yourself? Why indeed??? So I set to work at 8:30 this morning and by 1:30 this afternoon this is what I had..
Pretty close!!! I didn't make the cherry trees because the candied cherries were very expensive and we don't like them. I substituted red Christmas balls in Santa cups.
Petit Fours- I know why you never see these any more, they are the devil to make! What a mess! Popcorn balls. Mine didn't want to hold together very well so I wrapped them in plastic wrap. I think there is a problem with my candy thermometer and even though I boiled my sugar to temperature, it never would harden up properly. Fondant stuffed dates, marshmallow-nut puffs and divinity. Just like the photo I used candy store fillers, candy cremes, gum drops and ribbon candy.
My vintage tablecloth and 1950's Santa and sleight centerpiece complete the look. Do you see those little Santa figures in the background? They are supposed to spell NOEL but I purposely spelled LEON to see how long it would take my family to spot it. It's been up three weeks and they haven't noticed it yet! LOL!
What a fun day I had recreating 1953!
I took yesterday off from work and hit three estate sales! I got some great items. Photos to come later!
Have a great rest of the weekend!
Blessings
Linda
12 comments:
Wow! I am so proud of you! What a fun project! My favorite cookbook was the Betty Crocker kids cookbook. I used to make things from it all the time. I hadn't thought about it in years...thank you for bringing back a "sweet" memory. Yours looked even yummier than the original! =D
Oh I'm sooo inspired! And you did great! I can see why you coveted those beautiful pages when you were little! I'm so glad that you took the plunge and did it yourself! Now, dig in!
LEON!!! So funny!
Erica :)
You did good Linda I too loved looking at those books in fact still have my original one from 1961. I wore out my Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook but found another on Ebay to replace it. Somethings NEVER go out of style and that is goodies like you are making here.
That is remarkable! All by yourself or did he help???? I'm always amazed what a production the holiday treats become, the Norwegian goodies require two sets of hands and I make Mr. Wonderful help me!
How beautiful is that display! Love that ribbon candy. Such a gorgeous magical tablescape.
I am impressed - excellent job!
What a fun project, Linda! Great job! My guys wouldn't notice the "leon" either. Too funny! ♥
My aunt did the same thing...divinity...yum. Chocolate covered cherries...I ate my weight in them. Fudge and more...I remember her BHG books very well..smiles..Renee
My aunt did the same thing...divinity...yum. Chocolate covered cherries...I ate my weight in them. Fudge and more...I remember her BHG books very well..smiles..Renee
It is magical. I love that you've wanted to do that for years and you did it! I would love to do something like that-bring out the old vintage cookbooks!
Wow! I am so impressed! It looks just like the picture! I still use the old recipes, favorites from cookbooks that were around in my childhood. They are the best!
Oh My Stars! I love that you did that! Too cute and I think you did a great job and it looks lovely on your table. Retro Fun!
Merry Christmas
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