A Quick Summer Meal, 1941-Style
JUMP TO RECIPE
I am so blessed to have had deep connections with all of my grandparents as well as two of my great-grandparents. Besides having the good guidance of my parents, I also had direct instruction from several family members who lived during World War II. This is a blessing for which I am deeply thankful.
But with all the upbringing I had, no one ever warned me about the most important thing that plagues adults every single day of their lives—that annoying, relentless question: “What’s for dinner?”
Summertime Kitchen Blues
During the summer months, planning meals can be especially tedious. When the temperature soars, nobody wants to be standing by a stove or oven. Nobody even wants to be in the kitchen! Summer pursuits—the novel that has been patiently waiting all winter, gardening or getting out in nature—are calling.
Homemakers in the 1940s were also interested in all those things but they still had to deal with the dinner question. They had fewer convenience foods and more labor-intensive food preparation. They made the rounds to the butcher, baker and green-grocer. No Crock Pot® or Instant Pot® or YouTube. Finding suggestions in magazines must have been helpful, if only to spark creativity.
Magazine Menus
Woman’s Home Companion catered to these homemakers, including a variety of recipes and monthly menu ideas in each issue. The June 1941 edition offered four substantial meat recipes with entire menus planned around them—including a special section on shopping for the meats. One thing they did have that we have lost, is the local butcher.
Reading through the “Short Order Dinners” selection was a bit winsome. I could read it knowing what they could not have imagined, that Pearl Harbor would be brutally attacked in six months and they would be plunged into war. June 1941 would be their last summer of casual dinners, in a country at peace, for the next several years.
I decided to try the Beef Pinwheels menu, altering it only to replace the side of cole slaw with a slice of fresh tomato from the garden. The 1940s short order dinner is certainly different from the 2024 version! The menu I chose required some advance planning so, although it was quick, it made me thankful for modern kitchen appliances and one-pot meals. There was not a casserole in sight among the offerings from 1941.
I purchased canned vegetable juice and horseradish sauce. I prepared the beef pinwheels and cherry whip ahead of time. It only took 15 minutes to get the pinwheels ready, using some leftover mashed potatoes and a can of peas. Cole slaw would have taken a few minutes without a food processor or bagged cole slaw mix, but would likely have been made in a small quantity and no cooking required. It only took me a minute to slice a tomato instead. The asparagus cooks very quickly.
Vintage Desserts
The cherry whip was also quick—only 10 minutes hands-on but I did have to check the fridge a few times to whip it at the right consistency.
Speaking of the cherry whip, who knew you could turn one little box of fruit gelatin into eight large servings of dessert? I had to really search for an authentic recipe for this. Apparently, the homemakers of 1941 all knew exactly what a gelatin whip was. I kept finding recipes for cherry fluff, which is an altogether different, much heavier dessert. Many thanks to the person who published a recipe for Cherry Whip as given by the makers of Jell-O®. I have included the link below in case you would like to see images of the original 1936 pamphlet. This kind of dessert would have been a recent memory for many who had survived the Great Depression. It is a light, delicate and refreshing summer dessert.
Because the magazine says the entire meal can be made in 25 minutes, store-bought sponge cake may have been available. There are a number of sponge cake recipes in wartime-era cookbooks so it may have simply been a common thing to have had on hand. Once the war started, sponge cakes would be harder to make in some parts of the world due to the large number of eggs needed. I finally found a 1943 version that makes nine to 12 servings with only three eggs. It was very quick to make—I managed to pull the ingredients together and have it ready to bake by the time the pinwheels came out of the broiler. It baked during dinner and was ready in time for dessert.
Hungry for More
The meal was a wonderful change from the usual quick recipes calling for cream of chicken soup or diced tomatoes. The buttered mashed potatoes transformed into something magical under the broiler. The meat was more tender and subtly flavored than a meatloaf. I would definitely make it again. I was thankful for the dishwasher afterward—homemakers in the 1940s must have taken dinner dishes in stride—but the cleanup was not terrible, especially for a complete meal.
What was amazing was that it was so simple, made with a handful of basic foods, and practically nothing for the recycling bin. It might have taken a few more minutes of actual prep time but was about as quick as a modern meal in the end with more individual components. The experience of planning and preparing the meal was a pleasant experience in itself, and left me wanting to try more 1940s menus. We might have lost more than the local butcher!
Beef Pinwheels
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients except potatoes and peas; roll with rolling pin between two pieces of waxed paper to form rectangular sheet approximately 6 by 12 inches and 1/2-inch thick.
- Remove top waxed paper and spread 1 1/2 cups seasoned mashed potatoes (may be leftover) on crosswise half of meat.
- Spread other half with mashed peas (canned, quick-frozen or fresh), seasoned with salt, pepper and minced onion.
- Roll meat firmly like jelly roll; wrap in waxed paper, chill several hours. (This preparation may be done as long in advance as 24 hours if roll is kept in refrigerator.)
- When ready to cook cut with sharp knife into six 1-inch slices; place on preheated broiler 3 to 4 inches below source of heat; brush with melted butter; broil slowly 12 minutes, turn; brush again with butter and broil 12 minutes on other side.
Cherry Whip
Ingredients
Instructions
- Dissolve Jell-O® in warm water. Chill until cold and syrupy.
- Place in bowl of cracked ice or ice water and whip with rotary egg beater [or electric mixer] until fluffy and thick like whipped cream.
- Pile lightly in sherbet glasses. Top with a cherry. Chill until firm.
References
Kirk, Dorothy and Home Service Center, “Short Order Dinners with Four Delicious New Meat Ideas.” Woman’s Home Companion. Springfield, OH: Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, June 1941, pp. 54-55.
Haxworth Wallace, Lily and Rumford Chemical Works. Rumford Complete Cook Book. Norwood, MA: Norwood Press. 1943, p. 131.
Molded Memories, “Strawberry Jell-O® Whip, 1936" May 20, 2020.
“How abundant are the good things that You have stored up for those who fear You, that You bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in You.”
Psalm 31:19