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My Cookbook Inventory

Not that this is terribly surprising, but I am a cookbook collector.  Of course, I've had to exercise enormous restraints when it comes to cookbook purchases, because I am also the antithesis of a packrat...and if I'm not using something, I'm quite likely to give it away or pitch it.

But, I found this little gem at a garage sale today that I could hardly pass up.  It definitely appealed to the kitschy in me.

Pub. Date: 1950
Yes, indeed.  That does read "Creative Cooking for Cottage Cheese".  My husband expressed his amazement to me that such a cookbook could exist.  Fabulous recipes include: Blushing Pink Chip Dip, Cottage Cheese Straws, Up North Salmon Supper, Pinwheel Meat Roll, Spinach Pudding, Frozen Fruit Cheese Salad, Cottage Tuna Mousse, and Peach Snowballs.

I know, right!?  Good thing our family loves cottage cheese - because we'll be trying some of these dandies on the dinner table this summer.

This puts me in mind to inventory all my cookbooks.  And why not do it for you?  I'll take things slow, I promise.

Pub. Date: 1958
Continuing on this nostalgic 1950's-era thread I've seemed to begin, here's another throwback I own.  -------------------------->
Oh yes, the ubiquitous Better Homes and Gardens Special Publications.  

This tome is devoted to salads...not the lettuce-laden concoctions we know today, but recipes that instead include: Cranberry-Tokay Salad, Melon Polka-dot Mold, Fruited Ribbon Loaf, Pineapple in Emerald Wreath, Peppy Beet Salad, Perfection Salad, Cheese-Aspic Peaks...and MANY MORE!

Pub. Date: 1978
Hark, the 1970's!  A time when many, many women were working outside the home, earning their own money, exercising their Constitutional rights, etc, etc.  Too bad the cookbook industry hadn't quite caught up with the Feminist Movement.  To be equal, this next cookbook should have marketed towards American People, as opposed to American Woman.    I suppose it's terribly ironic then, that I rely totally on this cookbook for a really good Creamed Sausage Gravy recipe.  Of particular note is a AWFULLY graphic picture of the Barbecued Short Ribs recipe...I am reminded of a gory horror movie scene.  To this book's credit, most of the recipes are comprised of ingredients I've heard of and happen to have in my stores.  You can't say that about many cookbooks today.

Pub. Date: 1976
To round out the "Kitsch" collection, let's bring things up to modern times.  And no cookbook evokes that nostalgic sense of cutting-edge technology than this little guy right here ------------------->
Why pay scads of money for a trip to Mount Everest or the Australian outback or Delaware when you can have an adventure in your very own kitchen??  That's the angle Montgomery Ward was going for, I guess.  This comprehensive cookbook contains a confusing Table of Contents - in alphabetical order.  That explains why after browsing "Appetizers", "Beverages", "Breads/Sandwiches", "Cereal/Rice/Pasta", and "Cheese and Eggs", I am all of a sudden thrust into "Defrosting and Reheating".

This cookbook is a bit more liberal with the ingredient list (one recipe for "Avocado Voisin" consisting of eighteen items leads me to three questions:  1.) what is a voisin?  and 2.) why are salt and white pepper listed twice? and 3.) what exactly does chef mean when s/he says 'few grains of salt and white pepper'?)  Of particular interest is the "Cheese and Eggs" section - since I'd like to cut back on cereal spending, maybe I'll need to consult this section for breakfast ideas.

And that's all I've got for the Nostalgic Section.  Hope you enjoyed it.

P.S. - This is just a small sample of my library.  Just you wait.

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