Ghost of Christmas Past


Above: Salton Hotray Model H-928 automatic food warmer, "never been used", "$5.00"

I found this in my basement last night while I was looking for something else. Its stained and yellowing box was resealed with packing tape I recognized from two moves ago. The "never been used" and "$5.00" stickers marked it as a yard sale find. It had indeed never been used - when I pulled it out, the cord was still bound with a matching twistie. The sans serif font and self-important prose on the packaging and leaflet are vintage 70s. The handles are real wood, which is to say, they actually used to be TREES. You don't see that too much anymore.

My guess is that Alice's mother bought this for us early in our marriage. And before that, it had been somebody's Christmas present.

So I plugged it in. It worked. I brought it to a party last night and left it plugged in for hours with a casserole on it. And it worked. Actually its "low" setting is a little too warm, but I can live with that.

2 comments:

  1. The wedding present predecessor to the Crock Pot and hot air popcorn popper. Those are really useful for potluck gatherings, especially for dishes like meatballs that will congeal if they cool.
    That's a pretty fancy one. It looks like the round element in the corner will handle a coffee maker carafe.

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  2. I love retro kitchen items. I actually love retro anything and the holidays make me particularly nostalgic. We have a retro fondue set, in 1970s burnt orange, that I bought at a second-hand store. Only ever used it once, but I'll have to remember to drag it out for some melted cheese to go with our wine.

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