The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook: More than 100 Retro Recipes for the Modern Cook by Rick Rodgers

The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook: More than 100 Retro Recipes for the Modern Cook Reviews

• 
  Sherri

  This was such a fun, nostalgic cookbook to read through. Most of us either have had or continue to make many of these originating pre-1967 when the summer of love turned the latter half of the 60's. This is from a time period where people dressed to go out to a restaurant or friends to dine or have drinks. When ashtrays were a normal accessory and now to hold toothpicks for hor dourves.
  
  Culture, convenience foods, restaurant, and manufacture tidbits and history were interesting. So grab a menu or theme to plan your next binge of Mad Men, a Polynesian fad with Gilligan's Island or Elvis' Blue Hawaii.
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  Sallee

  Having grown up in the sixties some of these recipes are old friends, gone but not forgotten. There are a few that I think I will try. The Kitchen Time Machine addition is great and brings the recipe up to today's speed. I have been looking for a creamed spinach recipe that tastes like the one my mother made. I'm going to try the one in the book and see how it turns out. I remember my older married sister and her husband getting dressed up and going to someone's house for cocktail parties. Nowadays it is hard to believe that we would buy a fancy dress just to go to a friend's house for drinks and snacks. People don't dress up anymore even for major holidays. We've lost some of the ambiance of those special holiday occasions.
• 
  Evanston Public Library

  Do you long to dig into a large dish of mac and cheese (homemade, of course)? Do you dream that some hostess will serve those wonderful piggies in a blanket at the next party you attend? Were you the mom who'd whip up a tuna noodle casserole once a week to give the kids a stick-to-their ribs dinner? Were you the lucky kid who had a mom like that? If you answered yes to any one of those, you are probably going to get a kick out of this retro cookbook that offers favorites of the sixties accompanied by small portions of historic culinary lore about their origins.
  
  The authors introduce the recipes with a treatise on the era itself: what was in fashion on our bodies and on our dining room tables (think Danish modern, skinny ties, and the first appearance of love beads), what music was on the stereo, how to mix a cocktail that Don Draper would drink, and such entertaining tips like don't forget to put out those cut crystal ashtrays (though the authors suggest they hold toothpicks instead of, well, butts and ashes). One word of caution: the luscious photos and even the recipes themselves are so evocative, almost Proustian, that this is not a book to peruse if you're even the least bit hungry.
  
  Barbara L., Reader's Services
  
• 
  Jessi

  I have a feeling that a lot of home cooks already have many of these recipes in their repertoires (or at least, in a cookbook somewhere in your house.) Cocktail meatballs, chicken divan, and other classics are featured here. However, the book's value, for me, anyway, lies in its party-planning tips. For example, the author points out that slow cookers were not invented until the 1970s, so if you were wanting to throw a fun 60s party, you'd have to find another way to keep your food warm (hello, chafing dishes!) I enjoyed these parts of the book. As for the recipes, well, I already have my own versions of the foods featured here. I'm not necessarily looking to make a change in those areas. But I did think the book was a pretty fun read nonetheless.
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  Tracy Tibbels

  Some fun recipes in here--mostly fun to look at/through different things that were hip back then and to think about recreating them today. Something I found interesting is that Jon Hamm is quoted as pointing out that the glass sizes in bars (and offices?) these days are much bigger than the glass sizes Don Draper would have drank out of in the 60's..... and the fact that he wasn't drinking real bourbon on film, but tea or water with food coloring. Portion sizes were much smaller in the 60's, as well. I'm inspired to look for dinnerware from the 60's, to help me reduce my family's portion-sizes without them really noticing the difference.
• 
  Kara

  
  Perfect for someone trying to recreate 60’s cuisine – and settings – in a modern kitchen. My favorite parts were the history behind different recipes, and I would have liked to have seen more of that, especially if they could have included some historical documents of advertisements or cookbooks rather than the few pictures included of the re-created dishes.
  
  Excellent way to learn how to cook like a Mad Man, but could have used more history.
  
• 
  Carolyn Page

  Completely mad...mod, I mean. It picks out the good stuff from all those 60's cookbooks that were stuffed with a hodge podge of classics, cool stuff, and gross concoctions that somehow made it past the editor.
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  Terri Lynn

  I loved this cookbook of recipes from the 1960's. I grew up in the 1960's (ages 1-10) and this brings back some tasty memories. I have to try a bunch of these.
• 
  Lynnda

  A trip down memory lane
  
  Oh, the memories! The recipes are great, but the memories are greater. If you grew up in the 60’s you’ll love this book.
• 
  Michelle Finazzo

  I love sixties kitsch, so this was a wonderful cookbook for me. The book is great for anyone planning a sixties themed party or anyone who longs to live on the set of Mad Men. It has menu suggestions based on the type of party, music suggestions and details for the hostess extraordinaire. I already made both the Pimiento and Walnut Cheese Ball and the Shrimp Cocktail with Bloody Mary Sauce and both were quite good. I was even inspired to whip up a Tom Collins, although not something I would normally drink, it hit the spot. I am looking forward to trying quite a few more recipes from this book. I really enjoyed the inclusion of party planning tips, food history (including the "Kitchen Time Machine"), sixties factoids, and pop culture references.
• 
  AnnieM

  A good book to capture the feel of the 1960s cooking without the feeling of "gross, what's in that?"
  
  There are some great staples of the time with easy recipes. Some are even made slightly healthier, let's be honest how healthy can you make creamed corn.
  
  It's not good enough to buy, but good enough to copy some for later.
• 
  Kim

  updated versions of popular foods and drinks from the sixties; interesting mix of recipes but could have used more photos
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  Kim

  This is o.k., and for nostalgia pretty good, but I'm either glad I am not still eating some of these dishes or we are still making them the same way now in my family. Good trivia bits.
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  Meg Dean

  This book is kitschy & fun :c) The perfect thing for someone like me who is obsessed with the 50's & 60's :c)
• 
  Renee

  read for nostalgia.
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  Rita

  have even bookmarked a few recipes to try!
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  Julie Feighery

  A funny, quick read if you enjoy browsing cookbooks. Food in the 60s was definitely interesting.
• 
  Susan

  This takes me back to my childhood.