The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (8 page)

A pupu platter (a bowl with compartments for the separate appetizers) is another item that is easy to find online and will add some Sixties sass to your party. The platter usually has a hole in the center to hold a small hibachi grill, but none of our recipes require tableside cooking (although you could use the hibachi to briefly reheat the food).

If you don’t have an “official” pupu platter (a wooden bowl), there are many compartmentalized appetizer servers that would still do the trick. In
the
exception to the each-hors-d’oeuvre-gets-its-own-tray rule, everything on the pupu platter should be served together, usually around a large pineapple, an assortment of tiki statues, or a small hibachi grill.

Pupu Platter: From top right, Spam and Pineapple Kebobs (
page 45
); Crab Rangoon (
page 22
); Coconut Shrimp (
page 43
); Rumaki-a-Rama (
page 39
); and Flower Drum Song Barbecue Ribs (
page 36
).

SHRIMP COCKTAIL WITH BLOODY MARY SAUCE

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

When is a shrimp cocktail not just a shrimp cocktail? When it has a shot of vodka in the sauce. Like many other dishes, this recipe is not an invention of the Sixties, but it seemed to reach its apogee during the era, perhaps as more people found middle-class affluence and dined out more often. For a wow factor, use the largest shrimp you can afford, at least 16 to 21 to a pound, or even larger.

BLOODY MARY COCKTAIL SAUCE

1¼ cups ketchup-style chili sauce

1 small celery rib with leaves, minced

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon vodka

A few dashes of hot red pepper sauce

SHRIMP COCKTAIL

1 small onion, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

30 jumbo or very large shrimp (about 1½ pounds), unpeeled

1.
To make the cocktail sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate to blend the flavors, at least 2 hours or overnight.

2.
Bring 1 quart water, with the onion, lemon, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaf to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn opaque and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel and devein the shrimp. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. (The shrimp can be prepared up to 1 day ahead.)

3.
For each serving, hook 5 shrimp in a circle around the edge of a martini glass, tails facing out. Spoon about ¼ cup of the sauce into the center of each glass. Serve chilled.

COCONUT SHRIMP WITH HOT CHINESE MUSTARD AND DUCK SAUCE

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Like crab Rangoon, there is only one way golden brown coconut shrimp can be made: deep-fried. In the Sixties, these would require a trip to a health food store or Chinatown to get unsweetened desiccated coconut; thankfully today, it’s much more widely available. A word of warning: don’t try to use sweetened flaked coconut as its sugary coating burns quickly in hot oil.

HOT CHINESE MUSTARD

½ cup mustard powder, such as Colman’s

⅓ cup boiling water, as needed

COCONUT SHRIMP

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking power

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup club soda

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1¼cups desiccated coconut

Duck Sauce, for dipping

1.
To make the hot mustard, put mustard powder in a small bowl and whisk. Whisk in enough boiling water to give the desired consistency. Let stand, uncovered, for at least 1 hour before serving. (The mustard can be made up to 5 days ahead, refrigerated in a covered container.)

2.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and egg together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the club soda. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Line a second baking sheet with a brown paper bag.

4.
Pour enough oil into a deep, heavy saucepan to fill halfway up the sides. Heat over high heat to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer.

5.
Spread the coconut on a plate. One at a time, hold a shrimp by the tail and dip into the batter, letting the excess batter drip into the bowl. Roll the shrimp in the coconut to coat, and place on the waxed paper-lined baking sheet.

6.
In batches without crowding, add the shrimp and deep-fry until golden brown, about 2¼ minutes. Using a wire spider or a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the brown paper-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining shrimp.

7.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm with the hot mustard and duck sauce.

Fearless Frying

Deep-frying is just that—frying food in a couple of inches of hot oil. You are not doing anyone any favors—you, the food, or your guests—by using less oil than required. Wimping out and cooking in a shallow pool of oil is a sure way of getting oily, soggy food. Be generous with the oil, and follow the tips below, and you will be rewarded with the crispy, crunchy stuff that is worth ruining your diet over.

• Use a heavy pot with a capacity of at least 5 quarts.

• Don’t save the used oil for another frying session. Let it cool, place in a covered container, and put in the garbage. (Unless you have a vegetable oil recycling station nearby.)

• Fill the pot with at least 1 quart of oil. Generic vegetable oil is reasonably priced and fine for deep-frying.

• Use a deep-frying thermometer to gauge the heat. Never let the temperature get about 400°F, the point where the oil will start to smoke and change flavor.

• A wide-meshed wire spider (available at kitchenware stores and online) is a great tool for removing the food from the oil because it encourages rapid drainage. A slotted spoon is an okay second choice.

• Brown paper bags are better for draining fried foods than paper towels.

SPAM AND PINEAPPLE KEBABS

MAKES 32 KEBABS

You didn’t think that we were going to skip Spam, did you? It was on practically every pantry shelf in the Sixties, ready to be turned into a quick meal. We fondly remember lunches of grilled Spam sandwiches, or as a special treat, an entire can studded with cloves and baked with mustard. Spam is beloved in Hawaii, where it gained popularity as an AP commodity, so it is only appropriate that it shows up on a pupu platter every now and then.

1 (12-ounce) can Spam, drained

1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks in heavy syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

32 small wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained

1.
Cut the Spam into 32 pieces about 1-inch square. Drain the pineapple and reserve 1 tablespoon of the syrup. Mix the syrup and soy sauce in a small bowl.

2.
Skewer the 2 Spam pieces and 1 pineapple chunk on each skewer. (The kebabs can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.)