Dear Constant Reader,
Today is Memorial Day, when many people usually have a barbecue or potluck to celebrate the start of summer.* That’s not going to happen so much this year. I’m going to make a few canapés and hors d’oeuvres for two to enjoy in the backyard with some cocktails. This recipe takes me back to my childhood.
When I first had these tasty bites, they were made by Mary Browne, a friend of my parents. Mary was a great hostess and many of her dishes that guests praised highly were simpler than you might think**. This was one of them. It’s so simple, there isn’t even really a recipe.
You need 
cocktail rye, chopped onion, mayonnaise, and Swiss cheese.
Spread some mayo on a slice of the bread. Sprinkle it with chopped onion. Top it with a piece of cheese the same size as the bread and stick the whole thing under the broiler until the cheese bubbles. That’s it!
Serve them piping hot. Something magical happens when you heat everything up. Even if you think you don’t like mayonnaise or raw onion, you might like these.
You can, of course, use any kind of bread you have, but cut an average-sized slice into quarters. Similarly, use any kind of sliced or shredded cheese you like. No onion? Any allium will do (but go light if you’re using garlic). I’ve seen variants on this that add seasoning the mayo or add other ingredients (like crumbled bacon!) to the onion, but I’m kind of a purist.
I think I’m also going to make a few Bedroll Specials and some White Bean Dip to have with crudité. Are you making anything special today?
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
* I have nothing against a holiday weekend celebrating the start of summer; I just wish it wasn’t the day we are supposed to honor our military dead.
**The exception was her amazing angel biscuits. She even gave me the recipe and I couldn’t get it right.
Threading elastic (or whatever) through things with a bobby pin of some kind is 1000x easier than using a stupid safety pin..
I couldn’t review the book without making something. The “wonderful” vintage dessert Fudge Batter Pudding had the note “If you try any of my vintage recipes…try this bad boy!” So I did. You make a simple chocolate sauce that goes in the bottom of a baking pan, then you spoon a chocolate batter on top and bake. The result is a sort of brownie with a fudgy sauce underneath it. The cake part is on the dry side (it has no eggs and only a smidge of butter and milk), so it needs the sauce. When we had it cold the next day, a little cream poured over was a nice addition. It was easy to make and can be whipped up from pantry staples, so I’ll call it a win.
If you’re going to take your gloves off with your teeth, prep your glove before you go onstage by loosening each fingertip.
I loved that it had a compartment for lip rouge as well as one for powder and even had traces of the makeup inside! It’s an Elgin American, a popular compact manufacturer in the early 20th century, but other than that, I don’t know anything about its history.
There is a divot in the lid of the powder container, which I suspect held a powder puff. None of my powder puffs are the right size or shape, so I made a new one. I used a rectangle of cotton quilt batting and covered it with white satin. I wanted some white or pink velveteen for the puff part, but I didn’t have any. I took a drugstore powder puff and dismembered it for the velvety fabric. It was barely enough to cover my square of cotton. I ended up gluing some narrow ribbon over the edge to seal it. It’s not my best work, but we do what we can under the circumstances.
A pill bottle makes a great, secure container for transporting pins and needles.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 