WWII Ration Recipes: A Halloween Menu
Frankfurters broiled with cheese and bacon, Hot Potato Salad, and a Chocolate Cake roll filled with ice cream... This menu is an all around winner!
Hello and welcome to my new free and paid subscribers! I’m so thrilled you’re here!
No spooky, sketchy recipes for this post! I’ve been digging around to find the best recipe to share with you this month and came across this menu in a new-to-me ration cookbook. I just had to share the entire menu with you instead of our regular single recipe, because it all looks so good.
Even though this is labeled as a “hot weather dish”, I have seen many references to frankfurters, ice cream, and salads in wartime Halloween menus. Frankfurters (hot dogs) and ice cream are especially considered “classics” in 1940s October celebrations.
Let’s take a closer look at this menu:
Frankfurters:
Hot dogs sandwiched with cheese, wrapped in bacon and then broiled??? What have I been doing all of this time with boring, old hot dogs? I’m seriously questioning.
Hot Potato Salad:
After my first encounter with wartime Hot Potato Salad 10 years ago, I have been a huge fan ever since. More bacon = more amazing. This is a vinegar-based recipe with a splodge of sour cream. If you haven’t tried this style of potato salad, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! (I’ve taken my wartime Hot Potato Salad to pot lucks several times and it’s always hugely popular, if that says anything!)
Combination Vegetable Salad:
This is a nice, flexible fresh salad. May I recommend whipping up your own French Dressing? It’s tangy and refreshing, not anything like that sickly sweet stuff they sell at the store. Here’s the 1944 recipe I like to use!
Chocolate Cake Roll:
Cake rolls can feel daunting, especially if you’ve never tried making one before. I think this cake would be worth the effort though, especially since it’s filled with vanilla ice cream (which theoretically could be any smooth ice cream - take your pick!) Watch some videos on YouTube to get comfortable with the technique and then give it a go. I think you’d seriously impress friends and family with this awesome dessert.
Happy Halloween, Everyone!
This is so cool! Most of the “hot” potato salads I know that have vinegar/bacon/etc. go by the name “German Potato Salad”. Obviously that name would’ve been a problem at the time. I’d be curious to know if it was intentionally changed because of the war, became known as German later, or is a whole different thing altogether!