Hello everyone! This week I interviewed fellow IG account: @casadedrunkdiva !

1. Tell me a little about yourself:

“I am a classically trained singer living in the Bay Area of California. I teach singing at home and perform regularly (or did before the pandemic) in musical theatre throughout the region. I have always been obsessed with all things vintage. As a child, I loved classic movies of the 40s and designed retro fashion of that era. At 8 years old, I frequently would break into my neighbor’s house, an abandoned house of an elderly lady that had been sent to a nursing home, and rummaged through all her old gowns and hats. Shameful. 
In high school I was a Mod and rode around with various boyfriends on vintage Vespas. I really loved thrifting mini skirts, go-go boots and bright print patterns of 60s fashions. They could easily be found for less than $5 back then!
These days I abstain from committing felonies and since the theatre world has shut down from the pandemic, I turn my vintage neuroses toward vintage and retro cooking and cocktails.  I think food should be fun and funny. I revel as much as anyone in the ridiculous aspic recipes from bygone days: Salmon in aspic, ground ham in aspic… and at the same time I find food trends so fascinating. We’re so grossed out by this stuff but it’s been around for centuries and has only in the last 30 years been deemed “horrifying”. Aspic has been considered a delicacy since the 10th century. I was just looking at a recipe designed by Melissa Clark (@clarkbar) one of the top food columnists for the New York Times. She has published a recipe for banana canapés with peanut butter, chile paste, flaky sea salt. If that had been in a 60s cookbook we would have all gagged. But because it’s Melissa Clark it’s considered chic.”

2. How did you come up with your social media name?

” Honestly it just came to me when I was posting a story and I kept it. I don’t particularly like it even though it’s accurately descriptive so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.”

3. What are your three favorite vintage recipes you made and why?

“I recently made a Warm Potato Salad from the 1967 Better Homes and Gardens “Suppertime” cookbook; a potato salad ringed with frankfurters. The hilarity of it drew me- franks are funny! When I read the article I was sure it was going to be shitty (many vintage recipes are) since it simply called for potatoes cooked in a bacon grease roux with vinegar. But THAT SHIT WAS THE BOMB! I honestly don’t know if I’ve had anything so good. The tanginess of the vinegar with the bacon grease was kill-me-now deliciousness. It haunts me to this day.

The Mai Tai Banana Mold from the 1972 Better Homes and Gardens “Recipes For Entertaining”. It called for a non-alcoholic mai tai but I made it with a real one. I’m all about ring molds and cocktails and this was a perfect marriage with a tiki theme. I believe it had egg whites whipped in that gave it an exquisite light texture as well.

The Redberry Torte from Good Housekeeping’s 1967 Suppertime Cookbook. It almost killed me but in the end I conquered and prevailed. The recipe called for NINE layers of cake batter to be rolled out on the back of a nine inch cake pan – why I do not know- as modern recipes have better techniques for multi layered tortes. But I went with it. The cake layers were basically large thin sugar cookies that easily shattered. They were layered with cherry preserves and whipped cream in between. The texture was like nothing I’ve ever had before. It was downright majestic.

4. What is your favorite decade of food and why?

“I love the gaudiness and absurdity of the recipes of the early 70s. Salvador Dali’s cookbook, “Les Diners de Gala” published in 1973, perfectly illustrates (and exaggerates) the food of that era: champagne sherbet, aphrodisiac cocktails and “Peacock a L’imperiale dressed and surrounded by it’s court”. I also think my earliest memories come from the 70s. There’s more than a faint whiff of nostalgia for me in it’s fashion and food trends. When I was very little, my mother used to put a raw egg in my chocolate milk (I guess she thought it was healthy) and now I see all these recipes for various “nogs” of that era that call for a raw egg in fruit juice and milk combinations.”

5. If you had to make a signature drink for the month of February: What would it be and what would you put in it?

“I’m going to go with my new Cherries Jubilee Cocktail consisting of 151 dark rum, creme de noyaux, kirschwasser and cherry pie filling. I like it for February because there’s this weird trend in fifties food culture of all food things being made of cherries or wood logs for the month of  February in tribute to the myth of Washington chopping down the cherry tree and Lincoln being born in a log cabin. I’m going to be creating a post on what I call Hatchet Cakes and a whole series of flaming cocktails. Who knew February could be so inspiring?”

If you like to learn more about Sarah. This is her contact information:

IG: @casadedrunkdiva Website: https://www.sarahsloan.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahsloanvocalstudio

Thank you so much for the interview!