Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters the involving and hugely-popular 1968 Exhibit at the Minnesota History Center got us thinking about including a bit of time travel in our National Potluck Month celebrations. In 1968 I had three cookbooks, two toddlers, and one graduate-student husband. We were living in Iowa City, happy in our apartment while the world twirled around us. I hadn't thought much about that year until I saw the 1968 Exhibit and looked at the on-line supporting materials. It was some year -- and what an excuse for a potluck!
Gather your friends, put on the hits of the year -- Jumping Jack Flash, Stormy, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Hey Jude and have a blast from the past as part of your National Potluck Month celebration. You could even combine the potluck with a visit to the exhibit. But you'd better hurry! The 1968 Exhibit runs through February 20, 2012 before it travels to Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. Here's the link for more information: http://www.the1968exhibit.org/about-exhibit
As to food. . . my three cookbooks give a few hints as to what was trending. I had classic red checkerboard covered Betty Crocker for all the basics. Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook for fancy fare. And for the growing interest in international cuisine, The Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking through the Ages with 600 recipes!
As to what we ate. . . well, we had our fair share of grown-in-the-garden meals. The apartment was actually the top floor of an old Victorian house that shared a huge fenced-in yard with another old classic house. Previous owners had put in two apple trees and a grape vine on the fence. Not only could we plant a vegetable garden, we had apples for eating, pies, and sauce -- free for the picking. And grapes for grape jelly.
The neighborhood grocery wasn't open on Sundays. The small store had a full-time butcher and all the meat was on display in the case, not packages. If I went in late on Saturday afternoon -- with the two kids in the stroller -- the meat man would take pity on me and sell me the chuck steak and soup bones he didn't want to carry over until Monday for ten cents a pound! Reduced from thirty cents.
This was back before there were crockpots, so I would cook the soup in my turkey roaster in the oven. That way I didn't have to fret about an open flame cooking for hours when I just might get caught up with kid stuff, or if I accidently nodded off for five minutes. 
I could have chopped the meat up into the soup, but usually I pulled about half of it out to make into other meals. I could grind it up with pickles for sandwich spread, combine some of it with a box of frozen mixed vegetables and put it under mashed potatoes for "shepherd's pie," or toss a head of cabbage into the soup toward the end and then have "New England Boiled Dinner."The soup itself was supper for three nights, rounded out with homemade cinnamon rolls.
It really was groovy eating, great to share with the neighbors downstairs, and a simple way into Potluck Paradise.
Cinnamon Rolls
Note: I've written this recipe with tips for someone who has never worked with yeast dough, so it looks more complicated than it really is.
1/2 cup warm water
1 package instant, quick rise yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
4 to 5 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the filling
1/2 cup butter, more or less
1/2 cup sugar, more or less
2 tablespoons cinnamon, more or less
Make the bread dough by first proofing the yeast. Put the warm water in a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast and tablespoon of sugar. Let stand until the mixture becomes bubbly. This is how you will know the yeast will work to make the bread rise. While the yeast is proofing, put the milk in a small sauce pan and heat until it just comes to a simmer, with little bubbles showing around he edges. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and sugar. Let stand until lukewarm – less than 100 degrees F. If it is any warmer it will kill the yeast. Stir the milk mixture into the yeast. Add the egg and mix well. Begin adding the flour. Stir in 3 cups with a spoon or fork. Then add another 1 cup. At this point you can begin kneading the flour in with your hands, adding more flour if necessary. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Form into a ball and lightly butter the top. Set aside in a warm place to rise until it is double in bulk. This could take as little as one and as much as two hours.
To make the rolls:
Combine the cinnamon and sugar.
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll out to a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches. Spread with about 1/4 cup soft butter and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up tightly from the long side. Pinch the bottom edge firmly into the roll. Slice into 12 rolls, place cut side up in a lightly greased baking pan. Set aside again to rise until double. This will take far less than the first rise, maybe as little as 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and when the rolls are doubled, put in to bake until lightly browned on top. You will know they are done if they sound hollow when you tap them on top. Watch carefully, as the butter and sugar on the roll bottoms does have a tendency to burn.
Additional notes:
If you want rolls with more layers of butter, cinnamon, and sugar, roll the rectangle larger and thinner. You will need more butter and cinnamon sugar, of course, and the bread part of the roll will be thinner when finished, but they are very good that way, too.
This is a lovely bread dough for all kinds of rolls. You can leave out the cinnamon and form the dough into cloverleaf rolls by taking three small balls of dough for each roll and and place them in a muffin pan to bake. For other spiral-type rolls use brown sugar and pecans, or glaze with orange marmalade.
As to kneading in the flour, I’ve discovered it is a good idea to only knead with one hand while the dough is sticky. Then you have a clean hand to scoop out half measuring cups of flour. Once you have all the flour in and a smooth dough. Go at it with both hands. To clean excess sticky dough off your hands, rub them with flour. The dough will flake off nicely and then you can wash up.
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