Betty Crocker’s Dinner in a Dish, published in 1965.  While I generally skip cookbooks from the 1960′s, this one was to cool to pass up!  Overall the illustrations are okay, definitely not as cool as 1950′s style, but they have their own unique look and there are some fun ones in here. The food photography is really what caught my eye—decent photography yet a little cheesy.

The “Dinner in a dish” is about making one-dish dinners, since they are the perfect party fare. They are “easy to assemble at your leisure, well in advance of the dinner hour, it streamlines preparation and simplifies service—and this is the secret of relaxed and gracious entertaining. What’s more, it solves the harried hostess’s problem of timing.”

Well, this seems like an obvious choice if you are planning a glamorous sit-down dinner, an-formal buffet party, or a crowd-size club or church gathering—wouldn’t you agree?

And for the recipes, well, who can argue with Betty Crocker?  I mean, you could argue with Betty Crocker, but really, what is the point?  She’ll outsmart you, and out-cook you every time!

In this classic cookbook you will find one-dish recipes for Mai Kai Chicken, Lobster Elegante, Majestic Stuffed Chops, Parsley Rice-Ham Squares, Beef Bourguignonne, Sombrero Pie, Homespun Meat Pie, English Steak and Kidney Pie and many other international delights.

Wait, did I just say English Steak and Kidney Pie?  Yes, indeed I did!  Hmm… we may want to check in with The Bewildered Brit to see if that is a real English dish since he did inform us that no one in the UK knows of the London Broil. So maybe the English Steak and Kidney Pie is yet another example of wacky American humor, poking fun at our allies over in the UK?  Well… I kind of fear it is a real English dish… the recipe does say it is the most popular item on the menu at the famous London chophouse, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Wait, that sounds like a joke too! Hang on… it is real.

But I digress… Betty Crocker’s Dinner in a Dish is fantastic vintage cookbook… if you can get your hands on a copy, I recommend it!  Now I’m off to see if I make a recipe out of this cookbook.  Hmm… no cans of creamed soup in my cupboards, or canned mushrooms.  Well, we’ll see what I can come up with.