Pineapple cheese slice

Cooking for a crowd, Parties for 25 people, Australian Women’s Weekly, October 20, 1971.

Desserts for a happy ending: Pineapple cheese slice

Crumb crust: 6oz plain sweet biscuits; 3 oz butter or substitute

Filling: 8oz packaged cream cheese;14 oz can condensed milk; 1 dessertspoon gelatine; 15oz can crushed pineapple; 1/3 cup lemon juice

Crumb crust: Crush biscuits, combine biscuit crumbs and melted butter, blend well. Press over base of greased 7” x 11” lamington tin. Lined with aluminium foil, with foil coming up over the edges, to make it easier to remove slice from tin. Refrigerate until set.

Filling: Cream together cheese and condensed milk until light and smooth. Drain pineapple. Sprinkle gelatine into pineapple juice, stir over low heat until dissolved, cool. Add pineapple juice and lemon juice to cheese mixture, beat well. Stir in drained pineapple. Pour on to prepared crumb crust. Refrigerate until set.

Make 3 of these quantities to serve 25.

For the crumb crust I used ginger nut biscuits, and as you can see I adapted the recipe to fill individual glasses, Anne

Glamour Girl Salad (with pineapple)

From @70sdinnerparty on Instagram

Glamour Girl Salad contributed by Mrs Mark Abilgaard

4 halves Barlett pears; 4 half slices pineapple; 4 small white candles; 8 small round peanuts; ¼ lb cheese; 1 maraschino cherry (I used a cherry tomato); cinnamon red hots (I used cinnamon powder); fruit mayonnaise dressing; 4 lettuce leaves

Place pear in centre of lettuce leaf for girl’s face. Use small peanuts for eyes and strip of cherry for mouth. Tint cheeks with cinnamon candy. Place candle in corner of mouth for cigarette and ½ pineapple ring around chin (small end of pear) for collar. Then put mayonnaise around top of head for hair and grate cheese over the mayonnaise, being careful not to get it on face. Light cigarette and serve at once. Serves 4.

What a great do-it-yourself salad idea for a children's birthday party!!!! Perhaps without the cigarette references!!! Anne 

Advertisement from the 1960s

Such deliciousness from the past!

Happy 10th Birthday Pineapple Princesses !!!

Ann and I recently had a quiet get together to reminisce over the last ten years of being Pineapple Princesses! 

Starting in July 2012 we cooked our way through Ruby Borrowdale’s “Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book” and then kept going! We’re still cooking new pineapple recipes from many different sources – some retro, some contemporary. 

The oldest recipe we used, for Pineapple in Rum, was from Australia’s first cookbook, “The English and Australian Cookery Book” by Edward Abbott published 1864 in London.

We have posted recipes each week over the ten years which has amounted to almost 800 posts including over a thousand recipes. This is definitely your go to pineapple recipe collection!!

To celebrate, Ann cooked us a delicious pineapple salmon curry and maple syrup pineapple upside down cake! Woo hoo!!! Anne

Pineapple Magic: delicious, easy recipes for a family on the go, Golden Circle online, Queensland 2010

Thai Salmon and Pineapple Curry (based on a prawn recipe)

Serves 4

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste; 400ml can coconut milk; 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn; 1 tbsp grated palm sugar; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds; 280g chopped salmon; 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces in Juice, drained; 8 cherry tomatoes, halved; steamed Jasmine rice, to serve; coriander leaves to garnish, optional

1. Add curry paste to a hot frying pan and cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves, palm sugar and fish sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.

2. Add green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the salmon, pineapple and cherry tomatoes and simmer for a further 2 - 3 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.

3. Remove lime leaves and transfer curry to serving bowls. Serve with rice and garnish with coriander if desired.

Red Curry Paste

1 tblspn coriander seeds; 2 tspn cumin seeds; 1 tspn black peppercorns; 2 tspn dries shrimp paste; 1 tspn ground nutmeg; 12 dried or fresh red chillies, rough chopped; 1 cup French shallots, chopped; 2 tblspn oil; 4 stems lemon grass (white part only) finely chopped; 12 small cloves garlic, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander roots, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander stems, chopped; 6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped; 2 tspn grated lime rind; 2 tspn salt; 2 tspn turmeric; 1 tspn paprika

1. Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan constantly.

2. Place the roasted spices and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder and work them until they are finely ground. Wrap the shrimp paste in a small amount of foil and cook under a hot grill for 3 minutes, turning the package twice.

3. Process the ground spices, roasted shrimp paste, nutmeg and chillies in a food processor for 5 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 20 seconds at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula each time, until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Makes approximately 1 cup.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (based on a Margaret Fulton recipe)

Line a cake tin with paper and grease with butter.  Pour in ¾ cup maple syrup. Lay half slices of canned pineapple rings in a circle around the tin on top of the maple syrup.                                                                                                                                                                              60g soft butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 3/8 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup self raising flour and ¼ cup milk

Process the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy, beat in the egg, then pulse the flour and milk alternately until just mixed. 

Pour or dollop on top of pineapple, smooth top and bake in mod oven until cooked for 30 minutes.

And here are a couple of little tropical beauties from the recent 

                                              Dungog Tea Party Exhibition NSW!!                                           

2 simple pineapple desserts

Nature’s Way: vegetarian cookery in a nutshell, Kay Nelson, Grace Kane and Andrea Brinsmead (illustrator) 1978 Sydney

Fruits: Fruits with Coconut

Serves 6

2 oranges, chopped; 2 large bananas, sliced; 240g/1 cup pineapple wedges; 40g/ ½ cup coconut; mint leaves (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients and mix lightly

Garnish with mint leaves

Fruits: Granny’s Apple Delight

Serves 1

1 Granny Smith apple, diced; 18g/3 tsp crushed pineapple; 1 1/2g/ 1 tsp coconut; 2-3 dates, minced

Combine all ingredients

Chill 30 minutes before serving

Such typical 1970s desserts or breakfasts! So, I decided to photograph them in the one and only pot that I ever threw on a wheel!!!  And that was in 1978! Anne

Pineapple cheese cake

Advanced Cookery, School of Home Science, Department of Technical and Further Education, Sydney 1976

6 servings

Crust: 4 cups rice bubbles (coarsely crushed); 125g shortening – melted; 60g sugar; 1 tsp cinnamon

Method: Crush rice bubbles roughly, add sugar and cinnamon. Add enough shortening to bind crumbs. Line a spring form tin or press into 2 greased 20cm pie dishes and chill.

Filling: 60g gelatine; 1 cup cold water; 2 eggs; 1 tsp salt; ½ cup cream or evaporated milk; 2 cups crushed pineapple, not drained (must be canned or cooked); 500g Philadelphia cream cheese

Method: Soak gelatine in 1 cup water and dissolve. Combine egg yolks, salt, pineapple and cold water and cook over hot water until thickened. Cool slightly and add dissolved gelatine. Chill over ice stirring continually till partially set. Beat the cream cheese and lemon zest to a smooth cream adding the lemon juice gradually. Blend the pineapple mix into the cream cheese gradually. Put aside to set. Lastly fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and whipped cream. Pour into a crumb lined tin. Chill for at least 4 hrs. Top with drained pineapple jelly glaze.

Glaze: 2 tsp gelatine; ½ cup pineapple juice; ½ cup water; 1 tblsp sugar

Method: dissolve gelatine in water, combine sugar, pineapple juice and gelatine. Allow to partially set, pour over top of cake – chill.

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Pork

(Abbreviated from) The Key to Chinese Cooking, written by Irene Kuo, drawings by Carolyn Moy, Australia 1978

Ingredients: 

1/2kg/1 pound boneless loin of pork, cubed; 4 cups of oiI; ¼ cup cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Marinade:

½ tsp salt; 2 tspn light soy sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tblsp water; 1 egg yolk, beaten

Seasonings:

5 tblsp sugar; ½ tsp salt; 4 tblsp distilled white vinegar; 3 tblsp light soy sauce; 2 tblsp dry sherry; 3 tblsp catsup; 1 large clove garlic, lightly crushed and peeled; 1 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tblsp water; 1 tblsp sesame oil; ½ cup water; 1 cup canned pineapple cubes

2 tblsp oil

Method:

Trim excess fat from the pork cubes. Toss in marinade.

Sauce:

Mix the sugar, salt, white vinegar, soy sauce, sherry and catsup in a bowl, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Crush and peel the garlic. Dissolve 1 tblsp cornstach in 3 tblsp water and add 1 tblsp sesame oil, set aside. Measure out ½ cup water and set it aside. Drain the pineapple cubes and set aside.

Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat until hot, then turn heat to medium. Add 2 tblspn oil, swirl, and toss in the garlic, flipping and pressing it in the oil a few times. Then pour in the sauce seasonings slowly as you stir with the back of a spoon in a circular motion until the liquid comes to a boil.

Turn heat low, add the cornstarch mixture, stirring circularly, until the sauce begins to thicken. Then add the water slowly as you stir in circular motions until the sauce is smooth and bubbly. Turn off the heat.

Final cooking:

Heat a wok or large heavy saucepan over high until hot; add 4 cups of oil and heat until it foams a cube of bread snappily, about 350°F/175°C. While the oil is heating, dredge the marinated meat cubes in the cornstarch and flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and drop them into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Lower the heat slightly and continue to fry, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and scoop out the meat with a skimmer or slotted spoon to drain on paper towels for about 1 minute. (If you haven’t made the sauce yet, use this lull to do so). Heat a small amount of this oil in a fry pan, return the pork cubes to the oil and stir fry until crisp and brown.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over low heat; discard the garlic. Turn heat to medium high, add the pineapple cubes, and stir for 30 seconds or so to heat them through. Scoop out the meat from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon, pause over the fry pan to drain, then scatter the cubes into the sauce; turn heat to high and stir in fast, using flipping and turning motions with a spoon or spatula to glaze the meat. Pour immediately into a hot serving dish.

Alexandra’s Mum, Jill's Pineapple Meringue

Our lovely friend Alexandra wrote this recipe into her first collection, when she left home in the 1980s.

Pineapple Meringue

Small tin crushed pineapple; ½ cup sugar; ½ cup milk; 1 dessertspn custard powder; 2 egg yolks

2 egg whites, beaten; 2 dessertsp sugar – beat; cinnamon

My additions: 

Combine first group of ingredients in a small saucepan, simmer until the custard is thick. Pour into a greased pie dish. Let cool. 

Beat egg whites until stiff, add the sugar (some people add a pinch of cream of tartar too), beat some more. Pour or pipe onto custard, sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon. 

Bake at 180°C for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden, Anne

Hawaiian (pineapple) rice salad

From Unusual Coleslaw with thanks:  http://unusualcoleslaw.blogspot.com/2020/10/hawaiian-rice-salad.html

Hawaiian Rice Salad

Toss together: 2 cups cooked rice (I used brown rice and quinoa), 1/2 cup Tongala mayonnaise or french dressing, 1 cup grated cheese, 1/2 cup grated carrot, 1/4 cup pineapple pieces (I used fresh)

Source: contributed by Shirley Rohrlach in Blyth Recipe Book: Favourite Tested Recipes of the Blyth Trinity Lutheran Ladies Guild (Blyth Womens Guild, 1972), p.18.

Sadly Tongala dairy in Victoria is no more: https://www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au/news/2019/09/26/794340/nestle-to-shut-vic-factory

Thanks for the fabulous dish Alexandra ! Anne

Rabbit with Sweet & Sour Sauce

http://unusualcoleslaw.blogspot.com/

Source: Well Tried Barossa Recipes (Tanunda: St John's Lutheran Ladies Guild; reprint 2000 of 2nd edition 1975 [1st edn 1974]), p.17.

Rabbit with Sweet & Sour Sauce

1&1/2 lbs rabbit pieces (without bone), 1 tbspn lard or butter, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tbspns cornflour, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 cup pineapple juice, 3/4 cup sliced green pepper, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped spring onion, 1 small can pineapple pieces, freshly cooked rice, 1 dspn soy sauce.

Method: Cut rabbit flesh into pieces about 2" long & 1/2" wide. Brown them lightly in hot lard or butter, stirring well. Add the water, cover & simmer until rabbit is tender. Stir occasionally, as there is very little liquid. Combine brown sugar, cornflour, vinegar, pineapple juice & Soy sauce in a bowl, & stir until smooth. Place into a saucepan & stir over a medium heat, until the mixture boils & thickens. Pour over the rabbit pieces. Cover & simmer for about 5-6 mins, then add pineapple pieces, onion, green pepper & celery, & cook for a further 5-6 mins. The vegetables should remain crisp. Serve at once with freshly cooked rice & a little extra Soy sauce if desired.

Source: Well Tried Barossa Recipes (Tanunda: St John's Lutheran Ladies Guild; reprint 2000 of 2nd edition 1975 [1st edn 1974]), p.17.

Creative kids love pineapple!

Vivi and Max are an essential ingredient of the Pineapple Princesses children's team ! 

Young Children's Mix and Fix Cook Book, over 55 tasty, nutritious easy-to-make recipes, recipes originally appeared in Humpty Dumpty's Magazine 1975 New York

Cookies, Candies, Desserts and Snacks: Fruit Kabobs

“Good snacks! Handy too – just pass a plateful, no forks or spoons needed!”

What you need: 8 maraschino cherries; 8 pineapple chunks; 8 miniature marshmallows; 8 toothpicks

How to fix:                                                                                                                

1  For each toothpick, stick on one maraschino cherry, one pineapple chunk and one miniature marshmallow (like stringing beads)       

2  Eat with your fingers. Please don’t chew the toothpick! This makes 2 servings.

Max loves his Hawaiian pineapple souvenir!

Thanks for helping, they were delicious!

Always delicious, grilled pineapple

Barbecue Cooking by Babette Hayes 1970  Australia.

Grilled Pineapple

To accompany meat or poultry, peel the pineapple, cut into 2cm-thick slices. If the pineapple is large, cut the slices in half. Grill until golden on both sides.

Donna's birthday treat for Jesse

The Only Cookbook You'll Ever Need, Zoë Camrass 1977 London

Grilled pineapple with rum

Serves 4 to 6

1 ripe pineapple; 4 to 6 tblsp Jamaican rum; 4 tblsp soft brown sugar; 1 pint (575ml) good quality vanilla ice-cream

Preheat the grill to moderate.

Cut the pineapple in half lengthways. Scoop out the flesh and cut into small cubes. Toss the flesh with the rum and return to the shells. Cover the leaves with foil.

Put the pineapple halves in the grill pan, sprinkle with the sugar and cook under the grill until the sugar has melted.

If the pineapple is too near the heat, the rum may ignite, but the flames will soon subside if the grill pan is lowered.

Remove the foil and serve at once with the ice-cream.

And, for a totally delicious breakfast ...

... grilled pineapple with French Toast