For those of us seriously missing our weekly doses of Mad Men, we don’t have to look far to remedy our longing.While the new season of Mad Men doesn’t start until March 16, (the Friday of spring break for those of you wanting to mark your calendars), there is nothing stopping you from enjoying a Mad Men-themed night in your very own home!
As I catch up on old episodes on Netflix, the fashion is certainly worth mentioning, but I can’t help but think of the culinary culture of that era. The 1960s was one of the most important decades in modern American food. Particularly, the upper-middle class (i.e. the ad men of Sterling Cooper and their wives) was obsessed and fascinated with anything and everything that was foreign, exotic, new, exciting. This decade saw the rise of popularity in Asian foods, but also the development of some American classics that only seem foreign.
Swedish meatballs, one of Betty Draper’s specialties, were first made in the ‘60s, putting a new and interesting twist on traditional Italian meatballs. While there isn’t any proof indicating that this dish is, in fact, from Sweden, just the name made 1960s housewives excited—what hard-working husband wouldn’t love a sophisticated dish from Sweden?!
This past weekend, I went to a date function as Peggy Olson while my date slicked back his hair and went as Don Draper. I continued my Mad Men-themed weekend when I made Swedish meatballs on Sunday. For the recipe, I went to my favorite Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The recipe is relatively easy to follow, but for those of you intimidated by cooking at home, I’ll break it down. (If you’re really not confident in the kitchen, try the Swedish meatballs from Lean Cuisine! Everyone knows how to use a microwave, and they’re still delicious!)
What You’ll Need:
1 beaten egg
¼ cup of milk
¾ cup of bread crumbs (or, approximately 1 slice of bread put in a blender)
½ cup of finely chopped onion
¼ cup of fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice
8 ounces of ground beef
8 ounces of ground pork
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of instant beef bouillon granules
2 cups of milk
To start, mix the beaten egg and ¼ a cup of milk. Add the bread crumbs, onion, parsley, ¼ a teaspoon of pepper, and the allspice. Mix all this together before adding in the beef and the pork. Mix this whole concoction together, may I recommend using your hands. Make sure they’re clean though! From this bowl, you’re going to want to make about 30 meatballs, each one about the size of a golf ball.
Put a pan on the stove. Melt the butter in the bottom. Put it on medium heat and start adding the meatballs. Probably about 10 at a time, depending on their size. You’ll have to keep moving them around to make sure they brown evenly all the way around. Once all the meatballs are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon or a set of tongs and place them on folded-over paper towels to sop up the extra grease.
Once all the meatballs have been removed, add the flour and bouillon granules into the pan with the drippings left over from cooking the meatballs. Stir around until the flour starts to make a sauce of sorts. Slowly stir in the other 2 cups of milk. Let all this simmer together until thick and bubbly. Add the meatballs back into this sauce and mix around until they’re all heated through. Pour the meatballs and the sauce over a big bowl of pasta and ENJOY!
See now that wasn’t so hard. Sprinkle with some green herb of some sort to look extra sophisticated.
Now for the 21-year-old readers, a simple drink recipe that would be JUST to Don Draper’s liking: Mint Juleps!
What You’ll Need:
Bourbon whiskey (i.e. Maker’s Mark)
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
Fresh mint
At least 3 hours before you plan on making your drinks, you’re gonna want to make a mint-infused simple syrup. Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. Pour the 2 cups of sugar and the two cups of water into a pot on the stove. Let boil, and be sure to keep stirring to keep the sugar from burning. When the sugar starts to melt into the water, add a handful of mint leaves and keep stirring. The bigger the leaves, the better, because you’re going to have to fish them out later. Once the concoction you have is completely clear, take it off the heat and pour it into a big, heat-proof bowl. Put it in the fridge and let it cool for a few hours. When you take it out, use a slotted spoon to remove the mint leaves that are floating around in there.
When it comes time to make your drinks, combine 1 part of this simple syrup with 2 parts bourbon (about 1 shot glass of the simple syrup with about 2 shot glasses of the bourbon) in a cup with ice. Fill the cup the rest of the way up with soda water, and top with a mint leaf! You’ll look and feel just like Don and the gang!