my unsophisticated palate revealed
Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, Volumes 1 and 2
This set of 12 books has been with me most of my life, on the shelf with Mom's vast collection of cookbooks, and now on mine. It's a useful reference tool and a fun trip into the past. I'm reading through them again somewhat thoroughly and have found some retro gems like Charlotte Russe in the "Cake Cookbook" and a serviceable Sauerbraten recipe in the "Beef Cookbook." I could tell that the Tourtiere recipe was the one Mom always used for Christmas Eve pork pie by the crusty splatters on the page - yum!
However, things really fell apart at the "American Cookbook," where the recipes for the dishes famous in each state are listed along with a short bio. Naturally, New Hampshire gets the culinary shaft. It's true that New Hampshire is not famous for it's native cuisine, but get these:
Old-time Salt-Pork Soup with Dumplings Ugh!
Red Flannel Hash Ok, this is a tasty one that I'm proud of
Fried Tripe Come on, man!
Hashed Turnips mashed with 1/4 cup of bacon drippings. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
We made out ok on the desserts, with
Cinnamon Raisin Buns, Maple Custard, Blueberry Upside-down Cake and Newton Sugar Squares (whatever they are).
But as bad as the Fried tripe sounds, nothing compares to the raw deal that Arkansas gets. It starts out with yummy fried catfish, broiled trout, braised quails, barbecued spareribs, corn dodgers, ozark and persimmon puddings - they get dashed on the rocks of Roast Opossum with Yams
I couldn't get past the preparation:
Then things get really ugly in the B's when I got to "Brains." This one took my breath away.
Even though I've never been a fan of euphemisms like "he passed away" preferring "he died;" I think I would have felt better about something like "Sweetbread Fritters" in this case.
I'll review Volumes 3 and 4 after I recover.
This set of 12 books has been with me most of my life, on the shelf with Mom's vast collection of cookbooks, and now on mine. It's a useful reference tool and a fun trip into the past. I'm reading through them again somewhat thoroughly and have found some retro gems like Charlotte Russe in the "Cake Cookbook" and a serviceable Sauerbraten recipe in the "Beef Cookbook." I could tell that the Tourtiere recipe was the one Mom always used for Christmas Eve pork pie by the crusty splatters on the page - yum!
However, things really fell apart at the "American Cookbook," where the recipes for the dishes famous in each state are listed along with a short bio. Naturally, New Hampshire gets the culinary shaft. It's true that New Hampshire is not famous for it's native cuisine, but get these:
Old-time Salt-Pork Soup with Dumplings Ugh!
Red Flannel Hash Ok, this is a tasty one that I'm proud of
Fried Tripe Come on, man!
Hashed Turnips mashed with 1/4 cup of bacon drippings. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
We made out ok on the desserts, with
Cinnamon Raisin Buns, Maple Custard, Blueberry Upside-down Cake and Newton Sugar Squares (whatever they are).
But as bad as the Fried tripe sounds, nothing compares to the raw deal that Arkansas gets. It starts out with yummy fried catfish, broiled trout, braised quails, barbecued spareribs, corn dodgers, ozark and persimmon puddings - they get dashed on the rocks of Roast Opossum with Yams
I couldn't get past the preparation:
Then things get really ugly in the B's when I got to "Brains." This one took my breath away.
Even though I've never been a fan of euphemisms like "he passed away" preferring "he died;" I think I would have felt better about something like "Sweetbread Fritters" in this case.
I'll review Volumes 3 and 4 after I recover.
Labels: cookbooks, lame humor
2 Comments:
Wow, my mom had these books too--I haven't thought about them for years! Seeing the covers was quite a jolt. I can't recall her ever using them, though, and judging by the recipes you've posted I can understand why. They must have been relegated to the "display" library... I wonder if she still has them somewhere.
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