At a dinner party hosted by Don and Betty Draper for Roger and Mona Sterling, Herman “Duck” Phillips, public relations executive Crab Colson, and Crab’s wife Peta, Betty unwittingly proves Don right about the market niche their client, Heineken Beer, should pursue. Days before the dinner, Duck asserts that Heineken wants to “compete at the tap” for the predominantly male market that drinks outside the home. Don sees a different, largely untapped market in affluent housewives, like Betty, who want to play the sophisticated, worldly hostess.
“For women entertaining in the home,” argued Don, “Holland is Paris. They can buy this sophisticated beer and proudly walk it into the kitchen instead of hiding it in the garage.”
The early 1960s was a time of transition in American culinary tastes. The American meat and potatoes dinner was yielding to inspiration from abroad, thanks to a curiosity about more exotic fare inspired by chefs such as Julia Child. This was especially true in the homes of those who aspired to affect a more refined, cultured persona.
When the Drapers and their guests assemble around the dining room table, Betty tells them the night’s dinner is going to take them around the world. There’s gazpacho from Spain, rumaki from Japan (typically chicken livers and water chestnut wrapped in bacon with a soy marinade), lamb from nearby Dutchess County, New York, and egg noodles from Germany, just like her grandmother used to make. She then motions to the buffet and offers wine from France and frosted bottles of Heineken Beer from Holland.
Duck voices his suspicion that Don put her up to buying Heineken to prove his point, but Betty is obviously not in on the joke. Don’s point is made and his reputation for uncanny advertising savvy is proven yet again.
Because they can be paired successfully with virtually any main course, gazpacho and rumaki were exceptionally popular starters in the 1960s. We selected these two features of Betty’s Around the World Dinner for your enjoyment.
This chilled soup of Spanish origin is as close as you can come to sipping a salad. There are countless interpretations of gazpacho, but the most commonly used ingredients are tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and bread crumbs. Gazpacho is a refreshing way to start a meal, especially in the warm-weather months, or it can be eaten alone for lunch or dinner. So emblematic of Spain is gazpacho that Don or Betty would have found it served at the Spanish pavilion had they ventured to the New York World’s Fair in 1964.
Though the dish has its roots in Spain, the word gazpacho is Arabic in origin and means “soaked bread,” according to Larousse Gastronomique (Clarkson Potter, 2001). The Moors brought their culinary influence with them when they invaded Andalusia from North Africa in the Middle Ages, and this included early gazpacho-type recipes that had the characteristics of soup and salad even though tomatoes, a fruit native to the Americas, were unknown to them.
Spanish/Mediterranean dishes such as paella, sangria, and gazpacho were among the international foods gaining popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Simple to prepare, especially with modern appliances such as the blender and food processor, gazpacho was as close as you can get to a hit every time. As Betty clearly knew, it was the perfect way to begin your own Around the World Dinner.
ADAPTED FROM THE BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS NEW COOKBOOK (MEREDITH, 1962)
1 cup finely chopped peeled tomato
1⁄2 cup chopped green pepper
1⁄2 cup finely chopped celery
1⁄2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1⁄4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons snipped parsley
1 teaspoon snipped chives
1 small clove garlic, minced
2–3 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato juice
Caesar Croutons, for serving (see Caesar Croutons)
YIELD: 6 SERVINGS
Though Betty told her guests that rumaki is from Japan, its origins are murky. The word rumaki may derive from the Japanese word harumaki, or spring roll, but its heritage remains ambiguous. Some say this rich appetizer has Polynesian roots, while others insist it was invented by restaurateur Victor Bergeron—better known as Trader Vic—the man behind the California-based chain of popular Polynesian-themed restaurants. Still others attribute rumaki to Trader Vic’s major competitor, Don the Beachcomber, the restaurateur considered the father of the tiki bar and restaurant. Don’s décor and cuisine (strong, rum-based cocktails and Chinese-based food) were loosely inspired by primitive Polynesian tribes. Rumaki appeared on the menu of the Don the Beachcomber Restaurant in Palm Springs as early as 1941. (For more on Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber, see Trader Vic’s Mai Tai.)
Regardless of who invented it, rumaki enjoyed exceptional popularity for decades. In 1958, the legendary food writer Clementine Paddleford (see Palm Springs Chile Rellenos) lauded the rumaki served at the Hotel Lexington's Hawaiian Room in New York. Rumaki was still going strong more than a decade later when, in 1970, newspaper columnist Amy Vanderbilt declared rumaki “a great specialty of the Trader Vic’s restaurants where I always order it.”
Rumaki isn’t in fashion as it once was, but your guests, like Betty’s, are in for a flavorful treat.
ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES COOKBOOK BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE (HARPER & ROW, 1961)
6 chicken livers, cut into 1-inch pieces
18 canned water chestnuts, sliced
9 bacon slices, cut into thirds
9 scallions, sliced thin lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1⁄2 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon curry powder
YIELD: 8–12 SERVINGS