Thanksgiving Feed - A&P Coffee (1940)

I never connected A&P with Eight O'Clock Coffee for some reason. I mean, now that I think about it, the only place I ever saw the brand was in A&P, but for some reason I never figured it as a store brand. I guess that's a mark of good marketing.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Ann Page Mayonnaise and Salad Dressing

I can't be sure, but I believe Ann Page was the A&P store brand of mayonnaise and salad dressing back in the 1950's. I find ads for it, all associated with the store chain, but nothing about it outside A&P. Obviously it was the discount brand, but still.

The photography is typical 50's, it makes even the most appetizing look disgusting. I do find it interesting that this is an ad for both mayonnaise and salad dressing, but every recipe suggestion is for salad dressing alone. Anyway, good for the leftovers that'll be piling up after the holiday! You don't want a turkey on rye without the mayo, that just wouldn't be right.

A&P's Hot Crossed Buns

I've touched on A&P before, but this ad captured my attention. It's the first ad I've seen for a product produced by A&P's in-house bakeries. Hot cross buns are a sweet roll, sometimes made with raisins or currents and decorated with a 'cross' of icing across their tops. Traditionally they are eaten during Lent between Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. I always wonder what a shrove was, guess I'll never know.

The ad itself is a pretty typical piece of 1940's photography. The rolls have been decorated with shoestrings and they're being served with chum tartlets. Nothing says the Lenten season has arrived like a good chum tart. Mmm, good!

The Grinch is Serving...

This year I thought I'd drop in on my Yuletide role model, the Grinch. Throughout December we'll be checking old Grincy-pooh's cupboard to see what the green fellow is serving his guests. And one thing's for sure, no Christmas banquet of doom is complete without an opening course of coffee and fruitcake! Yes, it sets the festive mood and gets that indigestion going early!