The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook

May 28, 2012
Smartly timed to coincide with the new season of AMC's Mad Men, this compilation of retro recipes from Rodgers (Thanksgiving 101) and Maclean (coauthor, Fabulicious!) covers all the requisite dishes for â60s-style entertaining, including Piggies in Blankets, a rumaki that suggests substituting pineapple or dates for those averse to chicken liver, a tomato and shrimp aspic, and Chicken à la King. But rather than use the ubiquitous prepackaged fare of the 60s, Rodgers and Maclean eschew canned foods and encourage cooks to start from scratch for everything from a Southern Caramel Cake to green beans in mushroom sauce. Whether or not entertainers are up to the task probably depends on intentâis the goal a great meatloaf, or might the daiquiri lime and gelatin mold dessert be meant primarily as kitsch? Nevertheless, the book's real cachet comes from its collection of retro cocktails, strangely tucked into the book's last chapter. Folks will delight in pitch-perfect renditions of a classic Manhattan, Mai Tai, and Bloody Mary, as well as a Brandy Alexander, Grasshopper, and Tom Collinsâiconic beverages that often get short shrift in favor of martinis. Even if readers never attempt the ambitious Beef Wellington or Tip Toe Inn's Lattice-Topped Cherry Cheesecake, Rodgers and Maclean provide plenty of fun food ideas. Photos.