I just found a funny item on the history of food fads, by some people who are historians by way of collecting funny or outright odd recipes.

Here's the item. Australia's evolving palate

• What receipes, fads in their time but perhaps unpopular now, would you still occasionally use?
• Do you have a favourite fad dish, to enjoy or to make?

Cheese fondue and lemon butter recipes are there, if you would like to try.

Excerpt from article:

I still enjoy a cheese fondue occasionally.

Banoffee Pie is another one (I make the toffee bit with evaporated milk which is supposed to be unsuitable).

Lemon meringues were all the rage in the 70s (I used to think they were dead sophisticated and I still like a well made one... horribly elusive now)

The fad for sun-dried tomatoes dampened down rather than died, they make a marvellous addition to the kitchen cupboard as an emergency addition to a sandwich when you're running low on the fresh stuff. A strange fad as they aren't something I ever ate in Spain (�oras - dried capsicum peppers - are the norm, although I do once remember seeing a sheet out in the noon sun covered in drying tomatoes. I also remember the flies.) I'm not sure who in the Mediterranean is supposed to eat large quantities of them.


We got the Japanese equivalent of the fondue set as wedding present - it's a big cast iron thing that lets you make takoyaki balls. Making takoyaki at home was a fad in Japan a couple of decades ago. When I can find the right recipe you can bet I'll be making these into part of the Chez LapLap repertoire.

There's a trend that comes and goes for making okonomiyaki for friends, it took me a few years of failed rubbery attempts using a number of flawed recipes before I finally hit paydirt, but I'm not going to let go of this one. One of the best recipes you can make in 10-15 minutes.

I'm not sure what food fads there've been in Spain (it's the song and dance crazes that stick indelibly - here's the latest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku34NOwoij0 the joke wears very thin very quickly ). I remember in the late 80s/early 90s there was a time when little flecks of truffle seemed to be added to everything. It's been about 4 years since I spent any significant time in Alicante, on my last visit I noticed a massive boom in Kebap takeaways. Flavoured crisps are also growing in popularity. I look forward to the upcoming obesity data with great interest.

There are some food fads I still love

I still cook a lot with balsamic vinegar - I love the flavour it adds.
Deep fried cheese with jelly - increasingly hard to find but it tastes good

OTOH, I'm glad lamb shank seems to have had its day.

And I actually have a fondue set - I bought it for an attempt on shabu-shabu (yes, the spelling is likely wrong) and I'm actually going to attempt my first ever fondue tomorrow night

LapLap, that's quite a collection.

I think takoyaki (fried & baked octopus) is what we tried from a local, established Japanese restaurant, Sapporo at Crows Nest (their fun food product at the annual food fair). A good retro dish. Memorable.

You're on a good thing; Chez LapLap will do well. Stick to it.

I'm expecting to serve you okonomiyaki in the not too distant future. Perhaps with a snowball to follow (advocaat and lemonade - very popular in the late 70s/80s) as part of a Picnic on Primrose Hill.
If you're really lucky, I might cobble together some more retro 'food fad' goodies, like vol-au-vents, a stuffed loaf, and a cheese and pineapple hedgehog.

Nope!
(I've ordered a couple of books by Tokiko Suzuki, I'll send you shabu-shabu recipes when I receive them)

That would be good - I do have one, which worked fairly well. The problem is getting the quality of beef, but I now have access to some rather good butchers, which might help

Don't forget prawn cocktail and black forest gateau for your party!

(why is it we remember the 1970s fad food best? I'm sure the 1980s was just as faddy... )

Speaking of beef...

Fortunately we have no worries about BSE - but back to the subject.

IF you are OK eating beef, I see nothing wrong with Beef Wellington mentioned in the article.

A baker friend made a terrific one for dinner in Dublin.
Like some cocktails LapLap mentions, it may have been faddish.
Done right, still a classic.

As long as we avoid tinned pinepple jam.

Speaking of pineapple, as a kid I loved Pineapple Donuts.

There seems to have been a fetish with pineapple generally - the aforementioned cheese and pineapple hedgehogs and I always think pineapple on gammon is nothing to do with taste and everything to do with sudden availability of tropical fruit.

Agree on Beef Wellington - I've had several formal dinners at the Palace of Westminster (sorry, one needs to name drop occasionally ) and it's a staple there. If done well, it can be terrific

Remember raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing about 10 years ago?

"Banoffee Pie"
My kids love Banoffee Pie, they first had it in London and they beg me to make it.

Pink peppercorns have had their 15 minutes, I believe.

Goodness yes. Even though I like the idea of it, I've never worked out what it's actually good for. (I mean raspberry vinegar - obviously a vinaigrette is for salads)

The vinaigrette works well with bitter field greens.

The vinegar works well in reduction sauces, like a bordelaise or veloute, for duck or goose.



Bon appetit!

I cook with balsamic vinegar a lot and love it. Marinate a few pieces of chicken in balsamic vinegar and some olive oil and sear it, you've got some tasty chicken. ^

The big food fad (at least in Southern Ca) is Pork Belly. It's now on just about every restaurant menu. The restaurant critics swoon over pork belly whenever they review a restaurant. I tasted some recently. I didn't think it was anything special. Kind of tasted like brisket.