"Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook," General Mills, Inc.
This was a Christmas present from my mother several years ago. It's an exact reprint of the 1950 edition, mostly put together for entertainment and amusement purposes - even the foreword states that, given changing tastes and understanding of food safety, they don't necessarily recommend actually using the recipes as written. It is bright red and shiny and spiral-bound, and full of colorful and vivid pictures. My mom got it for me because she knows that I love collecting interesting and unusual cookbooks, and while I've looked through it for amusement's sake, I haven't used it yet.
But the project is what it is, and that means using everything. And while most of the book revolves around ideas and advice for table service and garnishes, and general how-to on cooking various cuts of meat, there are actual recipes in there. I narrowed my search down to the "Supper Dishes" section, and, just out of sheer amusement and curiosity, wound up making "Brer Rabbit With Corn," which was apparently their version of an American take on Welsh Rarebit - meaning that green pepper, tomatoes, and corn were stirred into the cheese sauce.
It was unusual, and quick, and... did I mention unusual? It made a decent late-night supper, I'll give it that. And there was actual spice to it, unlike most older recipes. And now that I have used this book, it can go back to the historical shelf, where I will never be tempted to make "Rum Tum Tiddy" or Eggs A La Goldenrod or Ham Mousse.....
"Creative Recipes With Bisquick," Betty Crocker
It occurs to me that Mrs. Crocker is responsible for most of the old and/or questionable cookbooks in my collection. This is a shiny checkout lane booklet, and I have no idea where it came from. I know I didn't buy it, but neither my husband nor I recall either of our mothers passing it down to us either. I'm pretty sure it came from his side of the family, but I couldn't swear to it.
This is just a more recent edition of the other Bisquick cookbook I have, and it has a lot of the same recipes. It does also have some different stuff, though, and it's in much better shape. And I have enough of a fondness for Bisquick as one of the staples of my grad school years that I can't bring myself to get rid of either of them.
So, in the interests of not repeating recipes, and of getting more veggies in our diet, we made Impossible Vegetable Pie. The impossible pies are, more or less, crustless quiches, and this one was mostly bisquick, eggs, cheddar cheese, broccoli, onion, and bell pepper. And it wasn't too bad. If I made it again I'd pre-cook the onion and pepper, but as Generic Staple Food, it was okay. Not anything I'd serve to guests, but it was edible. Which is about what I expect from Bisquick. I don't keep the books because they're stellar, I admit.
"Curtains Up At Sardi's," Vincent Sardi, Jr. and Helen Bryson
I have been saving this book since the start of the project, as a reward and a challenge, and I figured at this point I had earned the chance to use it. This was one of the best discoveries of the project - it's been on my shelf for over a decade, since I got it as a hand-me-down from my grandfather when he gave up cooking and food, and I never even looked at it. I just stuck it on a shelf among a bunch of other old books, not realizing what it was.
What it is, in fact, is a hardcover, first edition, autographed copy of the cookbook for Sardi's restaurant. And it is amazing. Old, from 1957, but somehow instead of being the canned and gelatinized food that Betty Crocker tends to espouse, it is full of classy, complicated, fascinating dishes, most of which involve half a dozen sauces, stocks, and steps. It is amazing.
It is also full of recipes that aren't quite practical for everyday dinners, but I wound up finding a couple that looked both good and reasonable. Ultimately, we decided to make Emince of Chicken Creole en Cocotte with Buttered Egg Noodles, which was chicken cooked in Creole Sauce, thickened with Brown Sauce, and served over egg noodles. Which, of course, meant making both the Creole Sauce (onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and stock) and the Brown Sauce from scratch. Complicated, challenging, and incredibly, amazingly tasty. It was work, and it was worth it, and I can't wait to come up with an excuse to serve a fancy dinner and make something from this book again....
This was a Christmas present from my mother several years ago. It's an exact reprint of the 1950 edition, mostly put together for entertainment and amusement purposes - even the foreword states that, given changing tastes and understanding of food safety, they don't necessarily recommend actually using the recipes as written. It is bright red and shiny and spiral-bound, and full of colorful and vivid pictures. My mom got it for me because she knows that I love collecting interesting and unusual cookbooks, and while I've looked through it for amusement's sake, I haven't used it yet.
But the project is what it is, and that means using everything. And while most of the book revolves around ideas and advice for table service and garnishes, and general how-to on cooking various cuts of meat, there are actual recipes in there. I narrowed my search down to the "Supper Dishes" section, and, just out of sheer amusement and curiosity, wound up making "Brer Rabbit With Corn," which was apparently their version of an American take on Welsh Rarebit - meaning that green pepper, tomatoes, and corn were stirred into the cheese sauce.
It was unusual, and quick, and... did I mention unusual? It made a decent late-night supper, I'll give it that. And there was actual spice to it, unlike most older recipes. And now that I have used this book, it can go back to the historical shelf, where I will never be tempted to make "Rum Tum Tiddy" or Eggs A La Goldenrod or Ham Mousse.....
"Creative Recipes With Bisquick," Betty Crocker
It occurs to me that Mrs. Crocker is responsible for most of the old and/or questionable cookbooks in my collection. This is a shiny checkout lane booklet, and I have no idea where it came from. I know I didn't buy it, but neither my husband nor I recall either of our mothers passing it down to us either. I'm pretty sure it came from his side of the family, but I couldn't swear to it.
This is just a more recent edition of the other Bisquick cookbook I have, and it has a lot of the same recipes. It does also have some different stuff, though, and it's in much better shape. And I have enough of a fondness for Bisquick as one of the staples of my grad school years that I can't bring myself to get rid of either of them.
So, in the interests of not repeating recipes, and of getting more veggies in our diet, we made Impossible Vegetable Pie. The impossible pies are, more or less, crustless quiches, and this one was mostly bisquick, eggs, cheddar cheese, broccoli, onion, and bell pepper. And it wasn't too bad. If I made it again I'd pre-cook the onion and pepper, but as Generic Staple Food, it was okay. Not anything I'd serve to guests, but it was edible. Which is about what I expect from Bisquick. I don't keep the books because they're stellar, I admit.
"Curtains Up At Sardi's," Vincent Sardi, Jr. and Helen Bryson
I have been saving this book since the start of the project, as a reward and a challenge, and I figured at this point I had earned the chance to use it. This was one of the best discoveries of the project - it's been on my shelf for over a decade, since I got it as a hand-me-down from my grandfather when he gave up cooking and food, and I never even looked at it. I just stuck it on a shelf among a bunch of other old books, not realizing what it was.
What it is, in fact, is a hardcover, first edition, autographed copy of the cookbook for Sardi's restaurant. And it is amazing. Old, from 1957, but somehow instead of being the canned and gelatinized food that Betty Crocker tends to espouse, it is full of classy, complicated, fascinating dishes, most of which involve half a dozen sauces, stocks, and steps. It is amazing.
It is also full of recipes that aren't quite practical for everyday dinners, but I wound up finding a couple that looked both good and reasonable. Ultimately, we decided to make Emince of Chicken Creole en Cocotte with Buttered Egg Noodles, which was chicken cooked in Creole Sauce, thickened with Brown Sauce, and served over egg noodles. Which, of course, meant making both the Creole Sauce (onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and stock) and the Brown Sauce from scratch. Complicated, challenging, and incredibly, amazingly tasty. It was work, and it was worth it, and I can't wait to come up with an excuse to serve a fancy dinner and make something from this book again....