recipes Archives - Awful Library Books

Meat for Dinner (Again!)

April 11, 2023 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 20 comments

Famous Brands
Meat Cookbook
Brand Name Publishing
1985

I don’t know how many more of these tasty recipes I can manage. They are everywhere on our site. The problem with hanging on to old cookbooks in a regular collection is that the photography or illustrations aren’t really helping the recipes.

Cookbooks and recipes go in and out of fashion. Vintage cookbooks are definitely an interesting collectable, but modern library collections really need to see if these items meet the library mission. If you have space and budget, you can hang onto a few of your oldies but goodies or maybe make a display. Pass your retro collections off to good homes.

Mormon Meat

December 5, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 16 comments

Favorite Mormon Recipes
Meats Edition Including Seafoods and Poultry
2000 Favorite Recipes
Montgomery Second Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
1966

Submitter: While weeding the cookbook section, I spied this sad spiral bound book being held together with a prayer. There is one thing I hate about cookbooks and that is a lack of pictures. In the case of this book- there were about 4 black and white photos in total for all 380+ pages. Incidentally there were no secret Jello recipes from Joseph Smith.

Holly: The Frankfurter-Kraut Noodle Ring, pictured below, reminds me of a dish my Polish family makes called haluski. We don’t Jello mold it, though. Missed opportunity.

Just No Gelatine!

June 2, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 20 comments

The Knox Gelatine Cookbook
Rutledge Books, Inc, Knox Gelatine, Inc
1977

Submitter: Just in time for those summer gelatine/Jello salads – who wouldn’t want calico corn relish, creamy cranberry relish, or a zesty seafood appetizer in gelatine? The pictures just make my…mouth water would not be the right phrase. This one is off to the sale cart.

Holly: That corn thing looks disgusting, and I’ll eat just about anything! What was the obsession with gelatine in the 70s?? Especially paired with weird things like fish.

Mary: Jell-o-type products should only be used with fruit cocktail and maybe some whipping cream, if you want to be fancy. Even reading a recipe of one of these “savories” makes me gag.

Brace yourselves for Dairy

March 7, 2022 Holly You Ate What? 16 comments

300 Tasty, Healthful Dairy Dishes
Culinary Arts Institute
1940

Submitter: Hold onto your stomachs for this one. Just when you think you have found everyone of these items for the series, another mystery stained volume appears like a zombie crawling out of a hefty bag. I hope this won’t spoil anyone’s lunch!

Holly: Instant recognition after the an egg cookbook. Dairy is so 1940.

Mary: Thank God this is in black and white. I think if we saw the Green Pea Ring recipe all decked out in a pea color, it could cause some kind of trauma.

Avocado Trauma

March 22, 2021 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 20 comments

The Avocado Cookbook
Bauer and Logerman
1967

I can’t decide if the pictures in black and white are a good thing or a bad thing. Especially after seeing the color photos. I am a big fan of avocados! I like them cut up plain and will add them to sandwiches, salads, etc. Take a look at these recipes. The guacamole recipe given sounds awful. I guess they were looking for a no texture type of “dip”. The other stuff is okay, but the photos make it look worse than it probably is. Also, when was guacamole pronounced with silent g?

I am also going to have to give a thumbs down to the Dipsy Doodle Dip. Step away from the mayo and cream cheese people!

Jell-o Rides Again

February 23, 2021 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 23 comments

Joys of Jell-o Gelatin
General Foods Corporation
1981

We haven’t posted a Jell-o book in ages. As a Midwesterner, I can appreciate the sophistication of Jell-o cuisine. My mom would put marshmallows and fruit cocktail in ours. (Our family lived on the edge.) This book kicks Jell-o to the next level with the multi-colored layers on the front cover. Pretty darn sexy, right?

Hostess Helps and Recipes

February 9, 2021 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 16 comments

Betty Crocker’s Hostess Cookbook
General Mills
1973

I know that COVID-19 puts a damper on any kind of entertaining, but just in case you are preparing for that day when we are all healthy, Betty Crocker has you covered. This book truly has some retro recipes I am sure you can’t wait to get started. A couple of my favorites: Olive Surprise Roast, Jellied Watercress Soup, Tomato Aspic Mold, the list just goes on and on.
Bonus! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, you can feast on all things pink. Your loved one will surely appreciate the effort.

Decorative Eats

July 23, 2020 Mary Kelly You Ate What? 13 comments

Cookie Craft
No-Bake Designs for Edible Party Decorations and Favors
Williams and Williams
1977

I am not a big fan of when food looks like something that isn’t food. I can appreciate some of the artistry, but no for a snack. This book is more about using common store bought cookies or crackers to be some of the foundations. Not a bad idea. In fact, I had a pastry chef do a cupcake decorating programs for some teens and the ideas were similar. The kids started with a plain cupcake and used candy, fruit roll-ups, and other products to make some really cute cupcakes. The teens loved the class.

This book probably does a pretty decent job for what was available in the 1970s. The black and white pictures and cookie/cracker choice don’t sound that appetizing. The chef I had do the class was miles ahead of this book, because the creations were actually delicious. Yes, the “art” is edible, but I don’t think that was the point. This was more about food as decoration rather than for eating.