Comments on: The Cookbooks of the Past are Another Country

By: JoJoKaffe

JoJoKaffe — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:28:53 +0000

I totally concur on the old cook books. My grandmother was a lunch lady and then a caterer. And her mother was a cook at a fraternity house in the 20s. The cook books from both are as much family history as a peering glass into another era.
The hand edits, comments and evaluations are almost like a diary.
Instructions such as ‘a walnut sized piece of butter’ and ‘heat and maintain the stove at a medium heat’ are lovely and thought provoking.

By: Twistie

Twistie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:00:37 +0000

Sunflowery, the Frankfurter Spectacular will now haunt my nightmares until my dying day.

Seriously, everyone, go check out these horrors! They amaze me…and I lived through the time when these things might have been seriously served!

Azulitos, one of the great treasures nobody else wanted when we were emptying the family homestead was my mother’s copy of the Date Bait Cookbook, a hilarious little tome of kitchen wisdom from the 50′s all about how to snag a guy by being handy with a pound of hamburger and such. I’ve seen The I Hate to Cook Book. One day I may need to investigate further…or send a copy to Plumcake who is clearly far more handy with a cocktail than I am! Hmmm…perhaps next Bastille Day….

By: azulitos

azulitos — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:46:02 +0000

I have a copy of “The I Hate to Cook Book” that my Mom received as a gift in the 60′s. The names of the book’s chapter alone make me crack up: “Desserts, or People are Too Fat Anyway.” or “Children parties, or they only came for the ballons anyway.” Witty writing for recipes that will get any modern woman out of the kitchen and sipping away dry martinis.

By: Twistie

Twistie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:18:40 +0000

Margo, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll have to try it, too.

Synnimin, I am such a fan of the Gallery of Regrettable Food! It’s a wondrous site filled with marvels.

Amber, that wasn’t the same store…but I’ll definitely be visiting the Book Loft virtually! Thanks for the link. The one I found was a tiny little hole in the wall tucked at the back of the tourist stuff. I wish I could remember what it was called, but my purchases were put in a recycled Payless bag and the receipt is not customized. I should have asked for a business card.

Mr. Henry, that casserole sounds gloriously bizarre! Is now a good time to mention that while perusing my book yesterday I ran across instructions for making your hard-boiled egg resemble an apple?

Mr. Twistie once came home from a flea market with a foot-high stack of booklets and pamphlets on cooking from the 40′s and 50′s. I can’t tell you how I adored him for bringing home such treasures! Gloriously fussy sandwiches, obscene uses of gelatin, vegetables boiled far beyond their ability to be anything but tasteless mush…and every once in a while, a great idea lurks in the corners.

Tuppence, I know that squirrel is still eaten in some places, and would be delighted to give it a try should I ever find myself in one of those places. The unusual thing for today is that a cookbook expected to have a national rather than regional audience included recipes for squirrel. If I’m ever out your way, I’d be thrilled to give small but tasty animals a try.

By: Sunflowery

Sunflowery — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:22:33 +0000

I do think Mr Henry (with his undeniable refinement and fabulous appreciation for gourmet fare) and the rest of the generally discerning Manolosphere readers will appreciate the following links – recipes from the ’70′s as dreamt up by the talented ladies over at Weight Watchers.

Enticing creations such as the ‘Fluffy Mackerel Pudding http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/fluffymackpudding.html

OR a ‘Budget Best Bet’ such as the ‘Frankfurter Spectacular’ http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/spectacular.html
are culinary masterpieces you simply cannot find these days. Where has all the refinement gone???

A more alarming conglomeration of recipes will be hard to find, I think. And Synammin- Lileks is a hoot, and one of my favorite timewaster links at work :)

By: Tuppence

Tuppence — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:57:23 +0000

Squirrel is still eaten in some parts of the country, including, um, where I am. I actually know when squirrel season is and always try to get my Dh out there. Small but tasty animals.

By: Mr. Henry

Mr. Henry — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:01:13 +0000

Early in their courtship, Mr. and Mrs. Henry spent the night at a B & B in Pine Plains, New York. Each bedroom held an assortment of women’s magazines from the 1940′s and 50′s. Although the fashions were hugely entertaining, the recipes were eye-poppingly weird.

One that remains uppermost in mind was a hot dog and hamburger casserole made with mayonnaise and topped with crumbled potato chips.

By: Amber

Amber — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:21:00 +0000

http://www.bookloftsolvang.com/

The bookstore might have been The Book Loft. And I’m sorry if you get this sort of reply twice. My initial comment didn’t show up on the page for some reason.

By: Synnamin

Synnamin — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:46:49 +0000

You have, of course, seen LILEKS excellent website, The Gallery of Regrettable Food?? Glorious, full-color scans of old cookbooks, annotated in such a way as to make you require a plastic-covered chair.

By: Margo

Margo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:31:30 +0000

” it might give me a good idea for say adding a bit of melon flavoring to my ginger beer”

It made me think that melon balls, or, more likely in my house, melon cubes, would be excellent with a sprinkling of finely chopped crystalized ginger.