Frankfurter Spectacular

At first I was afraid. I was petrified.

I woke up this morning thinking, "Mimi - today's the day". I was feeling confident, I had some free time, and I knew what had to be done.

It took me a few hours and a couple of extra strong iced coffees to finally muster up the energy. But the next thing I knew, I was at the grocery store buying a pineapple. And a pound of wieners.

That's right, ladies and germs. Today is the day I conquered the Frankfurter Spectacular!!!

You might recall how I brazenly blogged about this ultimate Retro WW goal a few weeks ago. Well, it seems that once you announce a goal to the entire world wide web, there's no turning back. So here we are.

First step: Choose a pineapple. Which of these lucky beauties would become my Retro WW masterpiece?


Second Step: Slice up a pound of wieners and start broiling them. Be sure not to cut the whole way through your wieners. This will all make sense very soon.


Third Step: Cut your pineapple so the core remains in tact. Be sure to reserve the leaves for garnish!

Fourth Step: Stick those slippery wieners into your pineapple core with fancy toothpicks. Admittedly, this step is a little creepy and gruesome. Just make sure no one is watching when you do this.


Final Step: Place your masterpiece on a serving dish surrounded by canned carrots -- and then stand in awe of its beauty. Now stand there some more and clap for yourself. Go ahead. No one else is going to.


I have decided that I will leave the Frankfurter Spectacular on the kitchen counter as a surprise for my husband who has been out golfing all day. When he walks through the door, this is the first thing he will see:


Did I mention this dish makes 2 servings? That's a spectacular amount of frankfurters for just two people! (Well, minus the one frankfurter that I caught my cat gnawing on after he jumped up on the counter when I wasn't looking.) What a perfect Sunday dinner for me and my sweetie... And a spectacular bargain for just under $5.00!

Aren't you glad you that can rest easy tonight with the knowledge that this spectacular recipe exists in the world? And now I can check off yet another challenge from my Retro WW bucket list. BUT--How can I top this one, you ask??

Three words: Fluffy Mackerel Pudding. It's happening. Stay tuned...

Coffwheeeeee!

I'll tell you a secret: We love coffee in the Retro Mimi household.

I'll tell you another juicy little tidbit: Coffee is "legal" in unlimited amounts on the 1972 Retro WW Program. That's right: No limits. Use as desired.

Considering my love of coffee combined with the total freedom to indulge in as much as I desire, you may think I would have already cooked up every imaginable Retro WW recipe containing coffee. In fact... looking back, you may even recall the Coffee Gelatin, The Coffee Bubbler, and the Coffee Toffee. But those were only the beginning, my friends.

Fellow coffee lovers....Please brace yourselves for the magnificent Retro WW Coffee Pops!

These frozen little caffeinated treats made their first appearance in the July 1971 Weight Watchers Magazine and then reappeared in the 1974 Weight Watchers Recipe Cards. So you know they're a winner.

Here's the run down:

Dissolve 2 tablespoons of freeze-dried coffee in 1 quart of boiling water and allow to cool. Add 1/4 cup artificial sweetener and a pinch of saffron. Pour 1/2 cup of the mixture into each of 8 paper cups, and freeze for about 1 hour (or until half frozen).


Insert small sticks into center of each cup and return to freezer until firm. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and tear paper cup away from pop!





Here's my husband excitedly about to take a bite.


My experience with the Coffee Pop was intense. The flavor hit me like a giant wall of crappy coffee. It made my lips chatter and my nostrils sweat. My hair curled up a bit on the ends, and I could swear I heard a faint percolating sound buzzing in my ears. Frankly, it scared me a little.

We didn't finish our Coffee Pops, but a few licks were enough to keep us buzzing well into the night. And I still can't get the taste of horrible coffee out of my mouth.

From now on, I'll be sticking with Starbucks. How do you take your coffee?

Morning Sickness

On those busy mornings when you just don't have time to prepare, chew and swallow your toast, egg, and fruit -- here's a Retro WW solution that whips up in a jiffy and goes down fast & easy.

The trick is keeping it down.

The Blender Breakfast from the March 1970 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine is the perfect breakfast for my busy Sunday. Since we are heading out the door early for lots of Father's Day festivities, I need something I can grab and go. I just don't have time to mess around with all that toasting, and scrambling, and CHEWING today.

So instead of pulling out the toaster and the frying pan -- I just popped the following ingredients into my trusty blender:

1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/2 Cup non-fat Milk
1 Slice Bread
1 Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla

First, let me say: I ran out of Orange Juice and had to use Cranberry. Very bad idea. I do NOT recommend this.

Second let me say: I do NOT recommend this at all. Ever. For the love of God, please don't ever, ever do this.

On one hand--There is the very cool side effect of feeling a little like Rocky Balboa guzzling down raw eggs. But on the other hand, the chunkiness of the bread crumbs and the creepy smell of the thing is enough to make anyone a little nauseous. I took one sip and threw it down the disposal.

I hope you all enjoy your Father's Day. I'll be heading out soon to celebrate with my terrific dad. But first, I think I need to Google the symptoms for Salmonella...

Invasion of the Cucumber Canapes

Can I be honest? I really have no idea why I made these. I just couldn't help myself. It was like some strange force made me do it...

This weekend, I came across a recipe for Cucumber Canapes in the Christmas 1970 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine. These little Hors d'Ouevres looked so freaky and weird, I had to try them. And as luck would have it, there was an extra packet of Knox in the pantry and a cucumber in the fridge -- so I figured, why not?

After dissolving my Knox in a cup of boiling broth, I added some dehydrated onion flakes and vinegar then popped it in the fridge for just enough time to get it "syrupy". At this point-the recipe said to fold in some chopped parley and pimento. I decided to go with basil and tomato to give it more of a Summertime feel.


Next step--I spooned the mixture into a mini-muffin tin and topped each gelatin muffin with a cucumber slice. Then...Popped it back into the fridge for 2 more hours.


The result was an orb-shaped translucent finger food that resembled an alien pod of some sort. In fact, when grouped together--they might remind you of a scene from the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers:


The flavor is zesty and oddly refreshing. The combination of jelly and crunch is mildly unsettling. Wait...Oh no! They seem to be multiplying! They are taking over the planet!


There's nothing to be afraid of. You are part of it now. Just go ahead and keep making more Cucumber Canapes. Resistance is futile.

Something Spectacular

All true WW members have goals. Our goals motivate us. They keep us going. They inspire us.

As a Retro WW Blogger, I have a goal.

And it is spectacular.

My goal is to one day construct the ultimate Retro WW recipe. The one that I dream about every night. The one that graced the cover of Weight Watchers magazine in January 1970:


And also made another appearance in the 1974 WW Recipe Cards:


Yes, the Frankfurter Spectacular is a sight to behold. Allow me to explain. What you are looking at, my friends, is a full pound of weiners wrapped artfully around a pineapple core. It is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen -- While at the same time the most terrifying thing in the world.

One day I will summon up the nerve to create my own Frankfurter Spectacular. And it will blow you all away. It will bring us all to tears. In a word, it will be: SPECTACULAR. Just you wait and see.

Until then, I guess the flying hot dogs and dancing pineapples will continue to haunt my dreams every night.

How about you? What's your goal?

Speaking of spectacular...have you had a chance to check out my recent interview over at the spectacular Inherited Values blog? If you want to learn more about my crazy Retro WW Collection go check it out!