My dear friend Susan Kelley, the creator of What Kate Wore, lost her mother, Barbara Cartier Kelley, in March.
I was honored to be among the small group of mourners at her funeral mass, which would have drawn a packed house had pandemic restrictions been lifted, given her mother’s remarkable life.
Not long after, Susan texted me and asked if I would like some of her mother’s cookbooks. Of course, I immediately said yes, and expected to receive perhaps two or three volumes.
Instead, Susan arrived for lunch bearing two big tote bags, loaded with volumes. I’ve been unpacking them over the past few weeks, and marveling at the treasures inside.
Recipes from an avid party giver
The first book that caught my eye was a 1946 edition of The Joy Of Cooking, in nearly mint condition. We weren’t a Joy of Cooking household or a Mastering The Art Of French Cooking household, for that matter.
My mother relied on The Boston Cooking School cookbook from Fannie Farmer, as well as the trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook, in its ringed binder, that I still own.
Somehow, I never wound up with a later edition of the Joy of Cooking, either, so it has been a revelation to leaf through its hundreds of recipes for everything under the sun.
Since it dates to the year after the end of World War 2, I imagine that many new brides got this edition as shower and wedding presents, and as they were setting up households. It must have been fun to contemplate what they could cook when rationing was over.
While I was in the cake section, a hand-written recipe fluttered into my lap — something that happened repeatedly as I went through Mrs. Kelley’s culinary library.
Like many of our mothers, Mrs. Kelley traded recipes with many of her friends, some written out in longhand.
According to Susan, Mrs. Kelley was an avid party giver, as was my mother. And this recipe for Cheese Cookies sounds like something ideal for nibbles with cocktails. It’s certainly easy enough to whip together.
A 1950s entertaining guide
Speaking of drinks and nibbles, Mrs. Kelley’s collection included another unexpected find. Tucked away at the bottom of one bag was a well-used copy of Let’s Have A Party, a pocket-sized recipe book from the Ladies Home Journal.
From what I can surmise, it was published in 1959, and contains quick hors d’oeuvre recipes published in the LHJ that can be served at cocktail parties and as appetizers.
You truly cannot judge this book by its cover. Outside, it has that over processed color and questionable food presentation that’s ubiquitous in publications from the 1950s (my mother’s vintage Betty Crocker Cookbook has the same appearance).
But, inside was a series of delightful illustrations that seemed straight from an episode of Mad Men or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. (I’m going to post more of them in my Instagram Stories.)
One of the recipes was a revelation. More than half a century before it became trendy, it seems like The Ladies Home Journal was teaching its readers to make avocado toast. This one dates to 1954.
I’m tempted to invite friends over and only serve recipes from Let’s Have A Party. Meanwhile, if you see one, snap it up and enjoy its lively art.
The mystery of Mystery Cake
Mrs. Kelley also was a fan of Craig Claiborne, the long-time food critic at the New York Times, and seeing his books made me smile.
My mother was also a Craig Claiborne fan, and I’ve cooked his recipe for chicken in a mustard sauce more times than I can tell you.
But, some of the dishes in these books haven’t survived as culinary trends. The 1946 Joy of Cooking contains a recipe called “Mystery Cake,” which I’d never heard of, and probably for good reason.
It starts off well. Mystery Cake is “suited to the needs of numerous allergic friends, as it contains neither milk, eggs nor butter.” In other words, plant-based before we even used the term.
Here’s what it does have: sugar, shortening, flour, nuts, raisins, spices, and to bind it all together, a can of tomato soup. After baking, the cookbook says, cover it with white icing.
I think I’ll stick to cheese cookies.
Thank you again, Susan, for sharing your mother’s culinary life with me. I’m definitely planning to put her recipes into my repertoire, and will think of her every time I make them.
A Giveaway For CulinaryWoman Community Members
For our latest book giveaway, I’m offering a copy of World Travel: An Irreverant Guide, by Anthony Bourdain and Laura Woolever.
Tony had a wide-ranging group of fans who have kept his memory very much alive. He’s the subject of a new documentary, Roadrunner, and this book is an ideal place to go next when you’ve seen it.
World Travel has tips and commentary for the many destinations that Tony visited for his many television series. There are also remembrances of him from friends and colleagues.
Now that it is becoming safer to travel, it’s the type of book that can help you can your next destinations. Or if you aren’t ready to venture out, you can read about the places you’ve been and dream about visiting.
This is a publisher’s galley, so it’s in paperback. Along with the book, you’ll receive some fun CulinaryWoman swag.
Members of the CulinaryWoman Community — paid subscribers and Founding Members — are automatically entered in the drawing.
If you’d like to enter, simply upgrade to a paid subscription, and I will add you to the pool. There’s a button to click at the bottom of this newsletter, or you can go here.
A New Newsletter from Dorie Greenspan
My culinary fairy godmother Dorie Greenspan has a new newsletter that you might enjoy. XOXO Dorie, accompanied by Nibbles, arrives twice a week on Tuesday and Friday.
You can sign up for it on Facebook, its digital home, or directly from her at this link.
Dorie promises it will be a twice weekly dinner party. I can pretty much guarantee she won’t be serving Mystery Cake.
Watermelon Sugar — And Duck — And Harissa
Watermelon is starting to show up in farmer’s markets and supermarkets, and numerous restaurants are putting watermelon and feta salad on their menus.
But you can move far beyond cliched combinations, as I wrote for The Takeout two summers ago.
Alon Shaya, the New Orleans-based chef who will soon open his latest restaurant, Miss River, recommends livening it up with harissa, the North African spice whose base includes chili pepper paste, roasted red peppers and herbs.
Another New Orleans take comes from Mary B. Sonnier, owner of the beloved Gabrielle Restaurant.
Her chef-husband Greg offers watermelon salad with fried duck, a takeoff on the fried chicken that served by other restaurant in Gabrielle’s neighborhood.
By the way, the Sonniers’ daughter Gabby just brought home her baby, Marigold, who came early, but now is blooming. Congratulations to the Sonniers!
You can read all these recipes and more in my article, and apologies for the Harry Styles ear worm. (But, isn’t he just full of talent?)
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I’ve been having so much fun posting videos to Tik Tok. I’ll admit that I’m a rookie at being a Tocker, but there are lively food and literature communities there, and I’m determined to get the hang of it. You can find me on there @culinarywoman.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram @michelinemaynard, which has been such a great source of information from folks in the culinary world.
You can email me at culinarywoman at gmail dot com.
Thanks, and please stay healthy. Get vaccinated and get your friends and loved ones to get vaccinated. The pandemic isn’t over yet.
See you next week!