2/13/2010

1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
Cookbook and Schedule of Events


1980 Olympic Games in Moscow Cookbook and Schedule of Events
(Favorite Recipes of Prospective U.S. Participants)


This handy volume was put out by the United States Olympic Committee in 1979. It includes a brief history of the Olympic Games, a schedule of events for 1980, and recipes contributed by 'prospective' U.S. Olympic athletes. Supposedly, the first winner of the earliest recorded Olympic competitions (in 776 B.C.) was a cook named Coroebus of Elis. A cook! So why not a cookbook of recipes favored by Olympic athletes?


Unlike many cookbooks, which are organized according to type of recipe (Meat, Fish, Salad, Dessert, etc.), this book is organized according to Olympic event. For instance, the first chapter is "Archery" and includes recipes contributed by American archers. So if you want to eat like an archer (or a boxer, or a gymnast, etc.) might have back in 1980, this is the book for you.


Each chapter's title page includes the days and time that the event will (did) take place, the names of the athletes who contributed recipes for that chapter, and a brief Olympic history of that particular sport.





Among the recipes that caught my eye:


Peanut Butter Omelet
contributed by James Edward Kennedy of Knoxville Tennessee. Event: Diving


Goulash A La Sarah Jones
contributed by Robert Cragg of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Event: Diving

New England Codfish Balls contributed by Gregg Stone of Cambridge Massachusetts. Event: Rowing

Watergate Salad contributed by Mary Phyl Dwight of Manhattan Kansas. Event: Team Handball

Watergate Cake contributed by Wilfredo Leiva, Jr. of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Event: Freestyle and Greco Roman Wrestling

and my favorite recipe in this book:
Crunchy Peanut-Stuffed Hotdogs
contributed by Linda "Chick" Lillis of Chicago, Illinois. Event: Team Handball



Alas, the United States ultimately led a boycott against the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow (to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan) and none of these athletes got to compete for a medal in Moscow that year. However, some of them did compete in the alternate Olympic Boycott Games held that year in Philadelphia.


If you feel an urge to try the
Crunchy Peanut-Stuffed Hotdogs recipe, please post your review to the comment section! :)



1980 Olympic Games in Moscow: Cookbook and schedule of events : favorite recipes of prospective U.S. participants

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