McCall's Casserole Cookbook w. Beef Pie, Boston Baked Beans, Lamb Moussaka & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: McCall's Casserole Cookbook (illustrations by Joyce Mazur Slan 

Publication Details: Advance Publishers, 1965

This week's installment looks at a cookbook that reflects the good, the bad and the very bad of its time almost in equal measure.

McCall's Casserole Cookbook is full of many classic, timeless recipes for casseroles and savory pies. Some of these never go out of style and are especially great at this time of year as they are often the ultimate comfort food and some of the best of North American home cooking.

Others are hilariously dated. While "Hot-Dog-And-Macaroni Casserole" and "Hot-Dog-And-Eggplant Casserole' spring to mind, four recipes that we have included here are, believe it or not, even less appetizing!

But the rest are terrific and with many, many recipes we have not included as well as entire sections devoted to casserole bread making and dessert casseroles, among other things, this one is well worth seeking out.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Two solid recipes and then...."Luncheon-Meat Casserole"!!!

All these are...ummm..."special". The thought of Tongue Casserole is, well...

The Reuben Dog!

Behold...the Reuben Dog!

Today I want to share one of my favourite ways to jazz up a grilled hot dog or sausage -- the Reuben Dog.

That's right -- the classic deli sandwich translated to hot dog perfection!

First, grill up your favourite hot dog. This idea works best with traditional ballpark style all-beef hot dogs or similarly tasting sausages.

Meanwhile take a slice or two of Swiss cheese and lay it down like a bed in your hot dog bun.

Put the grilled dog on top of the cheese. Then top the dog with a bed of sauerkraut. Add some fresh ground black pepper (to taste) onto the sauerkraut and then top with some Thousand Islands dressing.

I like a lot of the dressing!

Finally, add whatever fixin's suit your fancy. I try to keep it close to the sandwich so I normally only add some mustard and maybe a few onions. But, of course, the sky is the limit.

Enjoy on the patio with some beer and baseball.

Glorious stuff!

Hot Dog Creole

I don't know about you, but nothing brings to mind Creole cuisine and culture like chopped up hot dogs on a bed of macaroni.

If you ever have any folks from Louisiana over this is sure to remind them of home!
The fancy side salad of sliced iceberg lettuce and a few olives must not be forgotten.

Why use real onions when you can use instant?