Cavalcade of Food: Late-Winter Whimsy

It's above freezing in Michigan once again, and Kevin shows us his newly redecorated dispay windows, full of colorful kitchen appliances and nostalgia, not to mention the elephant next door. BTW, it's sunny and 80 degrees here in Texas.

-----

Cavalcade: Autumn Window Displays

Kevin celebrates the return of the fall season with crock pots, stoves, and miscellaneous pots and pans in the earth tones that were so popular when he and I were young.  Which is all very nice and decorative, but there's also a truckload of damn autumn leaves strewn everywhere.  I'm glad I'm not the one who will have to pick them up!

(Leaf raking was never my favorite chore.)

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Stove Swap

Kevin and Ralph along with their friend Todd replace a range in the kitchen corner of the Cavalcade private museum.  Kevin likes to do this every so often; his place is full of dozens of old stoves and other appliances.  Check out the wonderful sliders they use this time to eliminate the strain of lifting the ranges with a dolly - wow, how easy that is.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: No-Bake Noodle Doodles

Kevin shows how to make a quick, simple chocolate-and-butterscotch snack with a nifty improvised double boiler:

The peanuts are too crunchy for me at this late age, but I wonder if I can persuade M.P. to come up with a softer version.  I have to tell you all that he made a chocolate pie for dessert last Sunday, and it is out-of-this-world delicious!  Like going to chocolate heaven.  You never had anything better in your mouth.  Trust me.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Summer Display and Cool Cocktail

Kevin shows off his new summertime display windows at his appliance museum in Croswell, Michigan.

Bonus:  Kevin shows how to make his idea of a classic Cuba Libre - i. e., rum and Coke:

 

This is actually your Head Trucker's favorite drink, on those very rare occasions when I have a cocktail nowadays.  But I ask for a Captain and Coke on the rocks, no lime.  Simple and delicious.

 -----

Cavalcade of Food: Vintage Kitchen Tools

When I was a teenager, my mom had a kitchen with blue Formica counters and coppertone appliances, similar to the ones above.  The cabinets were knotty pine.  She put yellow gingham curtains in the kitchen window, which I realize now was just the right homey touch; she had a knack for that sort of thing.
See the entire 1957 American Kitchens catalog here.

Your Head Trucker is taking a break from political blogging to clear his head.  It's better for me to tend to our quiet life in this little bungalow instead of repeating all the outrage and uproar of the big world outside, which I can do nothing about.

In this video, Kevin shows and tells us about a wide range of kitchen gadgets, most of which I remember from my mother's and grandmother's kitchens.  The camera work is a bit wobbly, but it's all fascinating if you enjoy cooking.

 

Bonus: Here's an array of useful gadgets from the 1940 Sears catalog, the rest of which you can browse through yourself at Catalogs & Wishbooks, a wonderful website full of more than 300 old catalogs from various mail-order stores.

N.B. - for equivalent prices in today's money, multiply by about 20.  See Measuring Worth for more conversion factors.

Click to enlarge.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Skillet Roast Chicken

Remembering the sidewalk cafes of Paris, Kevin shows us how to do poulet roti in a skillet, so easy and so tasty:

Your Head Trucker says it's a good thing Kevin removed the fat from those chicken thighs, or the pan would have been overflowing in the oven, and made one hell of a mess.  And you'd probably spill some of that hot fat on the floor, getting it out of the oven.  

A deep skillet like this one would be a better choice.  We have one and use it for all kinds of things in and atop the stove - it's like a dutch oven with a skillet handle.  Super convenient.  Weight, 10 lbs.  No, I don't get a kickback from the Lodge company, I'm just telling you.

And either way you go, if you don't want to eat burnt chicken skin, you could cover the pan with a lid for the first 15-20 minutes, then uncover it for the rest of the time.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Vintage Percolators

Appetizer: For us folks of a certain age, this happy little tune has always been stuck in our heads:

 

Main course:  Kevin shows off his huge collection of coffee pots in his private museum up in Michigan.  He also demonstrates how to use them.

I think I or someone in my extended family owned all or most of those at some point across the decades.  What a trip to see them all together.  There's actually nothing wrong with percolators except that the Mr. Coffee machine is slightly less messy to empty and refill.  And you see can at a glance how much coffee is left in the pot.

But I miss the perka-perka sound!

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Winter 2025 Window Displays

THAT album cover, which Kevin displays in today's video, was mighty damn risque in 1965, and put Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on the map.  I well recall the straight boys all lost their minds over this Playboy-style photo.

, 

Your Head Trucker spends a lot of time revisiting past eras, so I can relate to Kevin's interests in old recipes, appliances, furniture, and decor.  And what a collection of stuff he has in his private museum up in Croswell, Michigan!  So many things we or our parents used to own, but which in the course of time have slipped out of our hands.  Certainly brings back memories.

I don't necessarily share all of Kevin's interests in these antiques, but I do admire his presevationist spirit - and am astonished at all the energy he puts into redoing these big window displays throughout the year.  The latest items all have to do with music from the late 50s and early 60s.  Enjoy.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Pizza in a Box

Note to my truckbuddies:  I can't keep up with all the bad news.  You know the country is going over a cliff, and no one can stop it for now.  I'm staying sane by posting lighter topics until further notice.

Who else remembers Chef Boyardee pizza?  M.P. and I both have fond memories of making pizza at home when we were teenagers.  Kevin shows how it's done.

 

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Cooking Up Christmas Joy

Kevin and Ralph get the Cavalcade storefront windows in Croswell, Michigan, all decked out for the holidays with Christmas trees and vintage appliances.

-----

Welcome Autumn!

Kevin at Cavalcade of Food shows off his newly redecorated show windows for auntumn.  I'm posting this especially for M.P., since it's his favorite season, and he's already started the vibe with an orange tablecloth and orange candles for our Sunday dinner this past weekend.  He'll add more decorations as the weeks go by, culminating with Thanksgiving dinner, his favorite meal of all.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Visit to the Rambler Ranch 1960s House

Samantha and her Flair

Ralph and Kevin from Cavalcade of Food visit the Rambler Ranch House in Colorado, full of groovy 1960s decor, furniture, and appliances.  Ralph also bakes a Mexican Wedding Cake in a 1964 Frigidare Flair oven just like the one in Samantha's kitchen on Bewitched - remember?  The recipe is in the video description.

Your Head Trucker remembers that 1960s stuff very well, although it's not my favorite period, aesthetically or otherwise.  And I don't know about other parts of the country, but shag carpeting was not a thing in the Deep South until the 1970s.  But it's a fun fantasy for the owner and his visitors, and maybe for you, too, if you don't mind some shaky camera work.  Enjoy.

P.S. - Your Head Trucker used to have a recipe for that cake.  It was delicious, and a big hit at get-togethers.  I'll have to dig through my old cookbooks and see if I can find it again.

-----

Cavalcade of Food: German Chocolate Cake

For our Sunday dinner yesterday, M.P. made some down-home favorites:  breaded steak fingers, mashed potatoes, gravy, fried okra, ranch beans flavored with a little bbq sauce, and garlic toast.  Mmm-mmm good!  Dessert was M.P.'s famous Tres Leches Cake from last week, still sweet and cold and luscious.  Unfortunately, we have no pics to show you all because . . . well, the Pork Boys are just too old keep up with all the technology.  Maybe we'll take pics next time.

Meanwhile, from Cavalcade of Food, Kevin shows how to make a scrumptious German chocolate cake - and along the way, explains why it has nothing to do with Germany.  (It got started right here in Texas - who knew?)

-----

Cavalcade of Food: Green Onion Dip

Spring is here and Ralph is back!  He's behind the camera as Kevin shows how to make a tasty Green Onion Dip with cream cheese and lemon juice, using a vintage Sunbeam food processor.  Looks yummy - think I will see if I can get M.P. to try this recipe.

P.S. - In case you missed it, you can catch a glimpse of the elusive Ralph in the video I posted last week, beginning in the Diner Museum here.  I don't know these fellows personally, but they seem like great guys.

-----

Cavalcade of Food # 428 - Walkthrough

In anticipation of a visit by a class of 2nd-graders, Kevin takes us on a walkthrough of the fabulous Cavalcade collection, including the typewriter section.  Ah, sweet memories of life B. C. (before computers)!

 

BTW, I agree with everything Kevin says at the start about cursive writing.

Bonus: From a few years ago, Kevin and Ralph cook up some yankee fried chicken on the back porch:

----

Christmas Windows

Kevin, the proprietor of Cavalcade of Food, shows off his Christmas window displays at his private museum of vintage appliances and kitchenware up in Croswell, Michigan:

 

Bonus: In another recent video, Kevin shows and tells how to make delicious-looking peanut butter chocolate chip muffins:

-----