Kitchen Garden Forum

The Prawn Cocktail Years by Bareham and Hopkinson is an excellent book, but relatively expensive and not so easy to find new these days. Even the updated version on Kindle costs £12.99.

Obviously prawn cocktail is the first to come to mind. I don't care if it's retro, I like it and any time I've served it, whether as a starter or scaled down as a canape, most people like it too! The traditional way is good but you can 'modernise' it too if you want. Westi has a good idea (posted in Christmas menus) and I plan to experiment with Bloody Mary and 'Mexican' versions too.

Coquilles St Jacques is another retro one. I'm planning to make that over the Christmas period, although some supermarkets are selling ready-made versions. (Scallop gratin)
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/d ... st-jacques

Nothing wrong with retro if it tastes good and people like it.

Can’t beat a nice prawn cocktail. I’m rather partial to onion, pineapple and cheese on a stick too lol (showing my age).

Beef Stroganoff was the go to meal in the 1960's when trying to impress the latest girlfriend.Curries were of three varieties only:-Hot,Hotter and Hottest!!And don't forget the infamous "Chicken in a Basket".

Does anyone remember Heinz Toast Toppers? They were part of my staple diet when I was a student. I liked the bacon and mushroom version. I spotted a can a few years back and I had to have it for nostalgia's sake. Yuk! They were awful. Apparently they were discontinued in 2015.

There's a recipe in Prue Leith's "Bliss on Toast" for mushrooms cream and parsley - upmarket Toast Toppers. I quite fancy it, but I'll add a splash of Madeira wine to mine.

My fav was always Vesta dried meals, my favourite being the one where you did crunchy noodles to top it. I've not seen them anywhere except a few years ago in an oriental shop, along with all the nice fresh veg, sauces & noodles which was a little weird.

Vesta packet curries were part of my student survival kit. Kept indefinitely and could be turned into something resembling food quite quickly. A better curry was to be had from the Students' Union snack bar for 80p, but the beer that was somehow needed to wash it down made it more expensive.

It appears 'A' still sells them & I think I might have to buy some & time travel back. Certainly gone up in price £3.99 per pack!

I think that it is not worth its money.

Welcome to the forum jonny1932!

I got caught up in the nostalgia quite forgetting the only bit I liked was the puffed up noodles & the sauce. I don't think reading the back of the packet would offer any reassurance now days either!