A snack for the weekend

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Grönsaker och rotfrukter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

I don't know what it is about white asparagus but it looks a bit more... perverse than it's green relative. But maybe that's just my imagination running away with me.

It's Friday night, let's celebrate with a stuffed melon!

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: God mat att bjuda på " Hemmets Journal AB, 1980

We made it yet another week, didn't we? Let's reward ourselves. Stuffed melon and champagne for EVERYONE! (The melon is stuffed with grapes. I know how much you all love grapes).

Aspic of the week!

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Grönsaker och rotfrukter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

It's the clown of the Aspic-world.

How about some mid-week inspiration?

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Fisk och skaldjur " Hemmets Journal AB, 1980

Fish fingers. Who doesn't love fish fingers? They have, unlike many of the other dishes featured on this blog (yes, I'm talking about you, fish turbans in grape sauce!) survived into the instagram-age. Celebrity chefs may have tried to give you a make-over, fish finger, but I still prefer you in a frozen multi-pack. Fried and eaten between two slices of white break. Or, if this cook book is anything to go  by, with a mussel sauce and a spoonful of capers. 

A Tuesday treat

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: God mat att bjuda på " Hemmets Journal AB, 1980

Feeling fed up with the working week already? The stress of work and the post-holiday blues getting you down? Can you feel the darkness creeping ever closer as the before warm summer nights fade away into obscurity and the chill of autumn approaches ever faster?
When you feel like giving up and hiding away from the world underneath your duvet, DON'T!
Light a candle, set the table (using decorative sprigs of pine). Relax, breathe and serve up a baked pâté. You could even instagram it if you'd like (#powerofpâté).

"Here's looking at you, kid."

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Fisk och skaldjur" Hemmets Journal AB, 1980

Please note the straight gaze from the upper crab.
Note it, and remember it.
IN YOUR NIGHTMARES!
(or am I the only person with an irrational fear of crabs?)

Monday Aspic

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

To be honest I am a bit jealous of the 80's chef. It seems to be that life was simpler then, you don't have to source organic truffles soaked in Suri Cruise's tears to impress your dinner guests. You did't have to go on shows like 'Come dine with me' and make a fool out of yourself in order to prove that you knew your way around the kitchen. All you had to do was master the noble art of gelatin and have a slightly pedantic streak (you don't want those cauliflower florets to set in far too abstract patterns).

Taste versus looks

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Förrätter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

I'm sure this pâté/lettuce leaf/jelly cube combo has a great personality.

Jelly makes everything pretty

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

Chicken in jelly. Don't even dare to mention cat food.

Who doesn't love a starter which could traumatize children?

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

I give you crab with white asparagus.

Further decorative tips

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

When sprucing up a glistening mystery pâté nothing adds a natural sophistication such as the mini-gherkin! The noble gherkin really deserves a chapter all to itself (all in due time) but in the case of this dish it is playing second fiddle to the moist, moist pâté. Please note decorative grapes in the background. Honestly, you can never go wrong with grapes.

Baked grapes in a white wine sauce

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

As if we needed further proof of the refinement and the pure joy of the grape! You might think that the grape should be kept as an ornamental snack on the cheese board but NO. One might want to bake it and eat it with a white wine sauce (which is, as we all know, MADE FROM GRAPES. DOUBLE THE FUN!)

Aspic-tastic!

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

Nothing says 'fancy' as a shellfish aspic. The aspic hasn't had a notable presence on the modern dining table, personally I can't see why. It's highly instragramable. The shine, the wobble, the SEE-THROUGHNESS OF IT ALL. Simply glorious.

The art of setting a table

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

The avocados, the set-up, the ROSE. This dinner table has every intention of being the highlight of a VERY sophisticated shindig. 

Avocado bonanza

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Förrätter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

It's a thing of beauty.

The prawn cocktail

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Förrätter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

I would not hesitate to claim that without the prawn cocktail the political and economic crisis of the 70s could have escalated far beyond Tatcherism, strikes and bellbottoms. Prawn cocktail of the week is a delightful combination with pineapple.

Where would we be without grapes?

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Festmat" Hemmets Journal AB, 1982

Aaaah... the humble grape. Where would we be without it? We would be left helpless when picking out what to bring loved ones spending time in hospital. Our cheeseboards would appear naked and deserted.
And you would never be able to cook this delicious looking dish.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: fish-turbans in a grape sauce.

Welcome to food limbo, where the dishes that never became instagram-firendly dwell.

From: "Kokboksklubben God Mat: Förrätter" Hemmets Journal AB, 1983

There is a dusty pile of cookbooks in most people's houses. The cookbooks published before the days of instagram, facebook and blogs. Dishes which were fashionable before the habit of photographing your food before you eat it and then posting it online for your friend's to envy became a completely acceptable past time. Dishes, which used to be the height of sophistication, now carelessly tossed aside for Asian-Italian fusions, organic bread baked by Swedish milk maidens and "so hot right now" breeds of lemons began their online domination.
Some people may consider these dishes food hell. I would like to say they're in food limbo.
And, to be honest, who doesn't love the idea of a avocado/prawn combo?