Originally published the week of June 22, 1998.
All content copyright by Worldwide Recipes.

This appetizer was popularized by Vic Bergeron via his famous chain of Trader Vic's restaurants and gained widespread popularity in the 1950s. I have had people who swear they hate chicken livers tell me that these are delicious. The original recipe called for deep frying, but this baked version eliminates at least some of the fat.

Rumaki

12 chicken livers
12 to 15 slices of bacon, cut in half crosswise
2 (500 ml) cups soy sauce
1 Tbs (15 ml) chopped fresh ginger (optional)
1 small can (8 oz., 227 g) sliced water chestnuts, drained
About 1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine the chicken livers, the soy sauce, the bacon slices, and the optional ginger in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Drain off and discard the soy sauce and cut each chicken liver in half (or smaller if needed to make a bite-sized piece). Dip each slice of bacon in the brown sugar, lightly coating both sides. Place the bacon on a flat work surface and place a slice of water chestnut in the center. Place a piece of chicken liver on top of this. Fold both ends of the bacon over the top of the chicken liver and secure all with a toothpick. Bake on a wire rack placed over a shallow baking pan (to catch the drippings) in a preheated 400F (200C) oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Serve immediately. Makes 24 to 30 appetizers.

You might have thought that Vichyssoise was a French dish, and so did I. Actually, its roots are French but it was created about 1917 at the New York Ritz-Carlton Hotel by Chef Louis Diat. Chef Diat modeled it after a leek and potato soup his mother used to serve when he was growing up in a town near Vichy, France.

Cream Vichyssoise Glacée

4 leeks, white part
1 medium onion
4 Tbs (60 ml) sweet butter
5 medium potatoes
1 qt (1 L) water or chicken broth
1 Tbs (15 ml) salt
2 cups (500 ml) milk
2 cups (500 ml) medium cream
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

Finely slice the white parts of the leeks and the onion, and brown very lightly in the sweet butter, then add the potatoes, also sliced finely. Add the water or broth and salt. Boil from 35 to 40 minutes. Crush and rub through a fine strainer. Return to fire and add the milk and medium cream. Season to taste and bring to a boil. Cool and then rub through a very fine strainer. When soup is cold add the heavy cream. Chill thoroughly before serving. Finely chopped chives may be added before serving. Serves 8.

There are two versions of how this dish got its name. The one I had heard is that the crimson color of the beets is also the official school color of Harvard University, hence the name. The other version has to do with an English pub named Harwood's, where this recipe supposedly originated. According to the story, a Russian immigrant opened a restaurant in Boston under the same name and began serving their signature beets. Due to his flawed English, the dish sounded more like "Harvard beets" than "Harwood's beets," and the name stuck. No matter how you pronounce it, Harvard beets are a 20th century American classic.

Harvard Beets

2 lbs (900 g) medium-sized beets, tops removed
1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar
2 Tbs (30 ml) cornstarch (cornflour)
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1/4 tsp (1 ml) freshly ground pepper
1 cup (250 ml) cider vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice

Boil the beets in lightly salted water for 40 to 45 minutes, until tender. Drain and allow to cool. Peel and trim the ends, then cut into thin slices. In a saucepan mix the remaining ingredients and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and becomes clear, about 5 minutes. Add the beets to the pan and turn gently in the sauce to coat them. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 5 to 10 minutes, until the beets are heated through. Serves 6 to 8.

There appear to be as many recipes for Swiss Steak as there are cookbooks printed un the USA. This recipe (with some minor modification by me) first appeared in the 1934 "The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book" by John MacPherson, who was a famous radio chef of the time.

The Mystery Chef's Swiss Steak

2 lbs (1 kg) round, flank, or sirloin steak (any less than premium cut will do, as long as it's about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) thick)
1 small can tomatoes
3 Tbs (45 ml) olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 (250 ml) cup water
1/2 cup (125 ml) flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Coat the steak with as much flour as will adhere. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and brown the steak on both sides. Place the steak in a large ovenproof baking pan with a lid. (Some cooks prefer to wrap the steak and remaining ingredients in aluminum foil.) Add the cup of water to the skillet you browned the steak in and dissolve all the brown bits in the skillet. Add this liquid to the baking dish with the steak, along with the other ingredients. Cover and cook on top of the stove over low heat for 2 hours. Or bake in a 325F (160C) oven for 2 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

20th Century American Classics week continues with this recipe out of my family vault. My mother was given this recipe by a friend, who I believe cut it out of a newspaper back in the 1940s, or thereabouts. I have no idea why it's called Cheese Freeze, because it never goes in the freezer. It's basically a quick and easy cheesecake, but there is something about this particular version that is absolutely mouth-watering.

Cheese Freeze

For the crust:
20 Graham crackers (or 1½ cups (375 ml) Graham cracker crumbs)
4 Tbs (60 ml) butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar

For the filling:
1 lb. (450 g) cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

For the topping:
1 pint (500 ml) sour cream
1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

Crush the Graham crackers and mix with butter and sugar. Press into a greased 8-inch (20 cm) square pan. Combine the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla and blend until thoroughly mixed. Pour into the crust and bake 35 minutes at 350F (180C). Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the topping, pour over the cooled pie, and bake an additional 10 minutes.