In the days before the internet, cooking shows had to figure out an easy way for viewers to get a hold of the recipes featured on their programs. There was typically an address that one could write to to obtain the recipes. Alternately, they would leave the ingredient list and instructions up on the screen for some time at some point during the program, so that a quick transcriptionist could hurriedly jot them down. Sometimes, the only option for the viewer was to take notes while watching (my Aunt Doris always watched Julia Child with steno pad and pencil in hand).

This book, Julia Child and Company, was something of a revolution. Printed in 1978, it came out at the very same time as Child's show of the same name began to air. That way, viewers could watch the show at leisure, unworried about catching every nuance of the recipe as they knew they'd have Child's clear and careful written instructions to reference later on. Now, thirty years later, we can't follow along with the series, but we can still utilize the recipes in the book.

It is organized by menu, which is fun in that you can see just how Child would have served a meal (it's not just French food in this volume, she incorporates a variety of cultural favorites). However, if you don't want to recreate an entire show's worth of food, you do have to poke around a bit more to find what you're looking for. If you're a fan of Child and want another opportunity to "hear" her calm, helpful voice in the kitchen, this is a good book to add to your collection.

Just in time for 2008, I'm reviving a Slashfood feature that went fallow sometime last spring. That's right, I'm talking about the venerable Cookbook of the Day! However, I'm adding a twist. In addition to featuring new cookbooks, I'll also be shining the spotlight on an assortment of vintage, kitschy and community cookbooks from my very eclectic collection. And let me tell you, I've got some doozies.

Today's Cookbook of the Day is James Beard's Fireside Cookbook. Written in 1949, it is billed as the "Original basic cook book by America's foremost culinary authority." I think that Joy of Cooking and Fannie Farmer might argue with that particular assertion, but it is does offer a comprehensive assortment of recipes. The best part of this cookbook is the narrative that is interspersed among the many recipes. Beard's voice comes through so strongly in this book that it feels as if he is speaking directly to you.

This volume is currently out of print, but there are a number of used copies available on Amazon.

Not only does Betty Crocker's New Dinners for Two contain a wealth of retro recipes, it also offers some rather unusual advice. Specifically, I am referring to the "Sunset Years Guide", a list of dietary tips found at the back of the book. It starts off well enough, advising people to keep protein as part of their diet, but it then begins to fly in the face of what is now the typical medical advice to people in their "sunset years". In addition to recommending that one avoid high fiber foods, the book suggests that "eating creamed foods, custards, cheeses and ice cream" are good ways to keep calcium intake high. It also selects liver and egg yolks as being excellent sources of nutrients, along with green leafy vegetables and citrus. In fairness, the "guide" concludes by making the recommendation that high fat foods should be substituted for lower fat ones, although it seems as though that might prove difficult with all the egg yolks and ice cream someone in their "sunset years" should be eating.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Looking through older cookbooks is always entertaining. There are almost always lots of interesting illustrations and the recipes themselves even have entertainment value. Betty Crocker’s New Dinner for Two cookbook has some good recipes and some ones whose popularity didn’t last beyond 1964.  The book is geared for anyone who is a "bride, a buisness girl, career wife, or a mother whose children are away from home," so all the recipes serve one or two, with a few large-scale ones thrown in for entertaining purposes. This is the first edition of the book, those subsequent versions were released into the 1980s.

Perfection Salad made me laugh out loud, with a combination of pickles, pimento, celery and cabbage, suspended in lemon-flavored gelatin and served with mayonnaise. I wasn’t tempted by that one. Peanut Crunch Slaw and Tuna and Chips Casserole were not likely to make my mouth water, either. Strawberry Shortcake, Ham and au Gratin Potatoes and Grapefruit and Avocado Salad all sounded fine, though, and I think that I might even be persuaded to try the Pineapple Marshmallow cream.

  

Has your baking bug bit? Here's one way: take a peek in a vintage cookbook, especially one like Amy's beautiful Fleishmann's pamphlet. It makes me just want to head to the kitchen and bury my fingers in flower, butter, sugar and lots and lots of cinnamon. On my schedule for tonight's late-night baking fix: either orange-lemon bundt cake or toasted hazelnut cake from Patricia Wells' Trattoria (I'm in love with Patricia today). Hmm...

Are you inspired to bake in this gray, drizzly, cold days?