I spend most of my days creating content. Whether it’s recipes, blogs, videos or podcasts, there is a voracious appetite for new food content. I am often consumed with finding new ideas and predicting the next food trend. What’s new? What’s next? Those are always the questions.
As I brainstormed this Lookbook, I asked a different question: what did we leave behind? I collect cookbooks – I even covered the Teaching Kitchen walls with pages from my mother’s collection. I’ve always been intrigued with why some recipes don’t stand the test of time – because so many of them should!
Vintage food covers quite a bit of history—and some of the dishes should be left behind (aspic, anyone?) But some are not just nostalgic. They are intriguing, delicious and so very comforting.
From Crown Roast of Pork to Baked Alaska, the recipes you’ll find in these pages offer a glimpse into the past plus a new, modern approach to the ingredients and methods. Retro but renewed. Refreshed and re-dated. A glow up, for sure.
This lookbook is also an entertaining guidebook (complete with a Spotify playlist) for bringing back dinner parties, cocktail hour and tree-trimming soirees. After the last two years, I am ready to haul out the fancy dishes, dust off the cocktail glasses and dine with a houseful of guests.
Here’s to a look back – and a look forward. What’s old is new again. Happy Holidays!