Retro Challenge

I am a member of a foodie forum called Violet's Pantry. I have met some lovely friends there and it is wonderful to chat to other foodies. Vi gave us all a challenge to come up with a retro recipe. This had me pondering for quite a long time. So what is retro? How retro should I be? Do I eat any retro food.

With regard to food I think that retro refers to something that is considered to be old fashioned or not popular or trendy at the moment. However there does seem to be a growing trend for all things retro and this includes food as well.

Getting back to the task I really wasn't sure what to cook. I was thinking about all the things my mum and gran used to make. There is a whole variety of different things and it took me ages to decided. I started off thinking I would make a retro dessert and was almost tempted to make a lemon meringue pie or a trifle. This wouldn't be something new for me as they are things that I do make occasionally. I decided to make something completely different and chose a recipe that I had never made before. After much deliberation I decided to make coq au vin.

This was something that my mum used to make and it reminded me of meals with my family sat around the big table in my parents kitchen. I used to help my mum in the kitchen and can remember waiting for my dad to come home. He was a lorry driver so wasn't always home every day and we used to get so excited when we came home after being away for a couple of days. My sister and I always thought we were so grown up having this as there was some wine in it. Little did we know then that the actual alcohol had evaporated.

The recipe was very easy to prepare but did take a while to cook. It is something that is just all bunged together in a dish and then put in the oven. An hour or so later you have the most amazing meal. The husband and I really enjoyed this and will definately have it again. The recipe I used was from the UKTV Food site and you can find the link here - http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/512004 I will have to ask my mum for her recipe and see if it is as yummy as I remember.