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Кулинарная книга моей прабабушки: Рецепты счастливой жизни. At Home on the Range
От автора "Есть, молиться, любить"!
№1 Amazon Best Seller!
Распаковывая коробку с семейными ценностями, автор Элизабет Гилберт обнаружила в ней старую поваренную книгу, написанную ее прабабушкой. С наслаждением читая пожелтевшие страницы, она поняла, что здесь собраны не просто кулинарные рецепты, но и рецепты счастливой жизни. Теплые, остроумные рассказы прабабушки Джимы возвращают читателя к той эпохе, когда домашний уют и изысканные блюда были для семьи радостью. А мысль о том, что "ничто не может заменить вкусную еду и удобную кровать", - источником вдохновения.
Книги на русском языке #ReadRussia
№1 Amazon Best Seller!
Распаковывая коробку с семейными ценностями, автор Элизабет Гилберт обнаружила в ней старую поваренную книгу, написанную ее прабабушкой. С наслаждением читая пожелтевшие страницы, она поняла, что здесь собраны не просто кулинарные рецепты, но и рецепты счастливой жизни. Теплые, остроумные рассказы прабабушки Джимы возвращают читателя к той эпохе, когда домашний уют и изысканные блюда были для семьи радостью. А мысль о том, что "ничто не может заменить вкусную еду и удобную кровать", - источником вдохновения.
Книги на русском языке #ReadRussia
338 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
March 2, 2012
The first thing you need to know is this book was originally published in 1947. It is being republished by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and great-granddaughter of the author. Her proceeds from this book are being donated to ScholarMatch, which I think is lovely. Now, the fact that this book was published in 1947 is relevant for a number of reasons. The first is that this was shortly after meat rationing for the war. I liked this because there are a lot of recipes for different ways to cook vegetables or stretch meat out as much as possible. We've been trying to cut back on meats in our house, so that's phenomenal. On the other hand, there are also recipes for strange meats, like tripe and calf's brains. This may be for you, but it wasn't for me. The second reason the publication date makes a difference is that it is not written in the style of cookbooks today. I loved this. It's part social commentary, part memoir, and the cooking part is mixed in to the narrative of the rest of it. I actually sat down and read this book cover to cover like a novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm going to give a few phrases from the text to demonstrate why this book is so fabulous.
1. "Allow 1 set of brains- or more, for true addicts- for each serving."
2. "Soak the tripe in cold water for 1 hour, then cover it with fresh water and rub it between your hands just as though scrubbing the bath towel it so much resembles. This is more fun than it sounds."
3. "I regret to say that the toy stove was wrenched from me shortly after this lesson, for after one afternoon alone in its company I was discovered trying to camouflage a badly singed pair of eyebrows with a lead pencil and preferred not to discuss a suspicious scorch on the nursery ceiling."
4. "Spoon Bread is another Southern specialty and I am not sure that the Confederate insistence that only water-ground white corn meal be used in its preparation didn't help precipitate the War Between the States for most "damn Yankees" prefer the yellow."
These are just a few examples of the delightful way this book differs from the strict formula for the modern cookbook. Also, I made the author's Crab Imperial and it was delicious, so as far as the cookbook part goes, it will carry itself even if you don't want to read the whole book through. However, in conclusion, this is also the only cookbook I have ever encountered with chapters on gifts for friends in the hospital and how to select proper kitchenwares. This book is for every woman who ever cooks or wants to.
1. "Allow 1 set of brains- or more, for true addicts- for each serving."
2. "Soak the tripe in cold water for 1 hour, then cover it with fresh water and rub it between your hands just as though scrubbing the bath towel it so much resembles. This is more fun than it sounds."
3. "I regret to say that the toy stove was wrenched from me shortly after this lesson, for after one afternoon alone in its company I was discovered trying to camouflage a badly singed pair of eyebrows with a lead pencil and preferred not to discuss a suspicious scorch on the nursery ceiling."
4. "Spoon Bread is another Southern specialty and I am not sure that the Confederate insistence that only water-ground white corn meal be used in its preparation didn't help precipitate the War Between the States for most "damn Yankees" prefer the yellow."
These are just a few examples of the delightful way this book differs from the strict formula for the modern cookbook. Also, I made the author's Crab Imperial and it was delicious, so as far as the cookbook part goes, it will carry itself even if you don't want to read the whole book through. However, in conclusion, this is also the only cookbook I have ever encountered with chapters on gifts for friends in the hospital and how to select proper kitchenwares. This book is for every woman who ever cooks or wants to.
July 18, 2017
Очень духоподъемное чтение)
October 13, 2012
When you make something meaningful of your life, using it to touch the lives of others, your legacy will long outlast you and you will never quite be dead, as long as people continue to benefit from your memory and your legacy of giving. Elizabeth Gilbert, the well-known author, saw this truth played out in her own great-grandmother's life. Growing up hearing stories about Margaret Potter, it was only when she stumbled upon this cookbook, originally published in 1947, that she was finally able to get an honest glimpse into that remarkable woman's life. Though she struggled with alcoholism and a difficult marriage, Mrs. Potter managed to write a book that reflects just how well she knew how to make those around her feel pampered and loved. Part memoir and part recipe collection, the book reads like the advice of a good friend or a saucy older relative. Mrs. Potter's recollections of her own culinary adventures are off-beat and add a spice to the book and make it stand out among more typical cookbooks. Interesting to note is her espousal of the use of "foreign" ingredients and exotic flavors...in today's cosmopolitan kitchen, that may not seem so strange, but it certainly must have been a novel idea to the housewives reading the book when it was first published! With chapters on topics of how to entertain guests without killing yourself in the kitchen, what to take to make the sickrooms of invalids brighter and how to choose and equip your kitchen appliances, it's just the kind of thing I can imagine mothers giving their daughters to help prepare them for running a family. Written in paragraph form, the recipes are easy to understand and follow and though they're a lot more work-intensive than most modern women-(or men)-on-the-go will have time for every week, most are basic recipes that are good to have on hand for when you have more time to spend in the kitchen (but as a vegetarian, I must say that I skipped quickly over chapters dealing with things like cow's brains and coxcombs...). All in all, a good book for both its entertainment and educational value. I'm glad Ms. Gilbert stumbled upon it and shared it with the rest of us.
October 5, 2021
Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for Eat, Pray, Love, republished her great-grandmother Margaret Yardley Potter's cookbook with a foreward and ten favorite recipes formatted to conform to today's recipe standards. The book includes advice on entertaining, cooking tips, and much more. She intersperses humor along the way. The author seemed to go out of her way to use less popular ingredients such as eel, tripe, kidneys, and such. While I've seen recipes for these in other cookbooks from the era, I usually find more things I consider palatable than in this collection. I think a collection from my own ancestors might look very different. I'm certain regional availability influenced the items in Mrs. Potter's cookbook as the food grown on the farm would have influenced the foods my ancestors prepared and ate. It got old reading the recipes in the original in-line format. I think Ms. Gilbert could have done everyone a favor by updating not just ten recipes but all of them, making it less of a reprint and more of an updated for today's reader edition.
June 21, 2012
I loved this book! If you like to read good books that contain lots of recipes, I think you will love it, too. The old-fashioned recipes are written in "story form" and the author has a wonderful sense of humor - if a sometimes strange taste for food. But at least recipes for things like Brains with Black Butter and Stewed Calf's Head don't send you scurrying to the kitchen intent on wrecking your diet for all time! I do hope to try quite a few of the recipes, however, like Sour Milk Hot Cakes and Celery au Gratin. I will probably just have to purchase this book - did I tell you that I love, love, loved it?
January 29, 2015
What a riot! First off, be forewarned that this cookbook is written in the OLD style, like country newspapers from the 1930s. No glossy photos of finished dishes here. BUT what it DOES have is chatty humor and classy quips; Mz. Potter was full of spice and that's no lie. Some amazing ideas for recipes too. You ever start pan gravy with sour cream? I'd never even _heard_ of that technique, probably why i don't like gravy, obviously i was deprived. As I read it, I was reminded of my grandmother in her kitchen. This book truly is a window to a different time. (and possibly a time with truly far better food...)
August 29, 2012
Perhaps the best book on successful strategies for entertaining I've ever read. Many readers seem not to like it because the recipes are provided in paragraph form, but they are easily followed. In any event, the value of the book, in my opinion, is that it encourages the host to think strategically about what matters in feeding and entertaining guests, not in terms of lists of ingredients. The tone is bright and breezy, altogether a delightful read.
October 7, 2012
I have always liked to read cookbooks. This book is like a dream come true - a cookbook written as prose. It's hard to believe the woman writing these recipes was from the early part of the 20th century. She was clearly ahead of her time. I especially liked her comment about not liking the Parmeson cheese in the green can. I concur!
I'm already thinking of someone I can give this to as a gift!
I'm already thinking of someone I can give this to as a gift!
July 29, 2012
I read this book cover to cover. I loooooved the author's voice and sass, I loved how the recipes expect you to know how to cook, and I love how forward-thinking this cook was in 1947. I got this from the library but I'll be buying it as soon as I have to return it. I have the cruller dough chilling in the fridge now. :)
January 26, 2014
A fun, cute, quick read, with some witty recipes. I love "vintage" cooking books like this--they give me a good feel for how cooking used to be (at least for a certain income level.) It's very much like "Little Heathens", if you read that, at least in the cooking parts of that book.
October 31, 2019
Особливих очікувань від книжки не було - Гілберт як авторка мене ще до Кулінарної книги не дуже вразила. Мені була потрібна # 22 книжка, в якій багато описів смакоти, і я її знайшла. Що порадувало - кілька рецептів, включаючи рецепт хліба, я собі виписала, отже час, витрачений на читання книжки, марним не був. Загальне враження від прочитання: ну таке. В передмові пишеться, що книжка не втратила своєї актуальності. Я так не думаю. В передмові пишеться про дотепний гумор. Я його не знайшла. Мова жива і читати книжку не нудно, але історії прабабусі Джиммі не дуже цікаві, щоб викликати захоплення. Більше того, у мене ці історії викликали певне здивування: якщо до мене без попередження припруться гості, то я точно не стану годувати їх вечерею, хіба що вони принесуть їжу із собою - тоді я її розігрію і сервірую. Але робити із себе супер-господиню, нашвидко готувати вечерю, щоб тільки мої гості НЕ ПОДУМАЛИ, що я погана господиня... Ні, це не про мене. Так, я не люблю гостей без попередження.
August 30, 2022
Mostly cookbook written by her great-grandmother who was amusing. I kept a few recipes, but left those using parts of a calf’s head…
October 20, 2018
This book was originally published by Potter in 1947 and may be the second cookbook I’ve ever read from cover-to-cover (the other, Mildred O. Knopf’s Memoirs of a Cook). Often, I’ll casually peruse the contents, checking out the ingredients of a particular recipe, to see if I might like to prepare it. But At Home on the Range is no ordinary cookbook. The author seems to create a story with each recipe. Even its presentation on the page defies modern conventions where one lists the ingredients above and directions below. No, Potter’s entire recipe is frequently a delightful but informative narrative, giving one the most minute detail about how to prepare it. Here is a notable example:
I’ve prepared perhaps a half a dozen different recipes for chicken cacciatore (my late Italian uncle informed me cacciatore means “of the hunter,” intimating a certain flexibility of contents), but I find this one fascinating. First, Potter uses different phraseology, “dusted with flour,” instead of perhaps the more common “dredged;” she specifies “fish out the chicken,” instead of “remove the chicken”; “pass the Romano or Parmesan cheese” instead of “sprinkle with,” subtly indicating that cheese is an option. “Buttered boiled spaghetti,” however, sounds a bit redundant to today’s ear. Second, Potter departs from most cacciatore recipes by preparing the sauce separately and then pouring it over the chicken; most directions require one to add all ingredients following the browning of the chicken (usually with garlic and onion). And finally, her recipe is baked in the oven instead of simmering in a skillet or Dutch oven.
Overall, Potter’s directions are exacting yet flexible, her opinions strong, so much so that I shall have to try this one, too, just to see how it tastes—not to mention the other two dozen recipes I’ve marked with Post-It arrows! McSweeney’s has recreated the original end papers and added engaging chapter fonts, as well as pert little illustrations, giving the book its historical and artistic due. If you love to cook AND read, you’ll love this book.
CHICKEN CACCIATORE is made for six with 2 three-pound frying chickens cut up, dusted with flour, salt and pepper, and browned in ½ cup of olive oil. Fish out the chicken, put the pieces in a casserole, and add to the oil a chopped garlic clove, 1 cup of chopped onions, and an optional pinch of sweet basil and rosemary. When the onions are soft, pour in 1 can of tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Let this simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over the chickens, cover tightly, and cook in a 350° oven for 45 minutes. Serve it with buttered boiled spaghetti, and pass the grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (51).
I’ve prepared perhaps a half a dozen different recipes for chicken cacciatore (my late Italian uncle informed me cacciatore means “of the hunter,” intimating a certain flexibility of contents), but I find this one fascinating. First, Potter uses different phraseology, “dusted with flour,” instead of perhaps the more common “dredged;” she specifies “fish out the chicken,” instead of “remove the chicken”; “pass the Romano or Parmesan cheese” instead of “sprinkle with,” subtly indicating that cheese is an option. “Buttered boiled spaghetti,” however, sounds a bit redundant to today’s ear. Second, Potter departs from most cacciatore recipes by preparing the sauce separately and then pouring it over the chicken; most directions require one to add all ingredients following the browning of the chicken (usually with garlic and onion). And finally, her recipe is baked in the oven instead of simmering in a skillet or Dutch oven.
Overall, Potter’s directions are exacting yet flexible, her opinions strong, so much so that I shall have to try this one, too, just to see how it tastes—not to mention the other two dozen recipes I’ve marked with Post-It arrows! McSweeney’s has recreated the original end papers and added engaging chapter fonts, as well as pert little illustrations, giving the book its historical and artistic due. If you love to cook AND read, you’ll love this book.
September 2, 2012
This was a very interesting work of culinary history. Potter was very much ahead of her time, with an interest in seeking out the cuisines of of cultures. The recipes are written in a descriptive way, rather than in the way modern cookbooks list the ingredients and then the instructions. The text was full of amusing quips. I have not tried any of the recipes yet, though I'm not sure how many things I would actually cook--I don't eat read meat. Some of the side dishes did look very interesting.
Read
January 31, 2023Pull quotes/notes
"My pretty young sister, the second guest of honor, arrived at the house, bag and baggage, about six o'clock, listened with heartfelt sympathy to my tale of woe, swore she would be in there pitching as soon as she was dressed, then retired to her room, plugged in her electric vibrator and phft! every light in the house went out and, what's more, stayed out all evening." (27)
"Asterisked items* should be put in refrigerator, covered. Karated items^ may be leftovers." (33) I know this means items with a karat, but I can't help but read that as karate-d
"Once, after my purchases had been tied in the usual knobby newspaper bundle, she darted into her kitchen and reappeared with a piece of warm, brownish red pastry on a bright plate.
'Eata,' she beamed, 'Good for you
and dat new bambino.' The first mouthful left dull, run-of-the-mill food without appeal forever, and I learned then never to scorn an odd-appearing dish: What I had been tempted with was ITALIAN TOMATO PIE, or PIZZA, and when I acquired the recipe we ate it frequently to increasing parental disapproval." (60) ITALIAN TOMATO PIE
"Meanwhile the children clambered happily around the rocky pools below, returning at all-too-frequent intervals to show their apathetic parents some fresh treasure in the way of a dead crab or an equally odoriferous shell. Suddenly, after a welcome silence there came loud shouts of 'Mother! Come quick,' and I bumped in panic down the rocks to the water's edge, certain that my darlings were being attacked by a herd of hungry octopi, at least." (62)
"Sew it up in cheesecloth or any clean cloth, even a piece of Daddy's discarded shirt will do. Wrap the fish loosely and sew the material together with coarse thread and big stitches. Put it on a rack in a fish boiler or any big pot that will let it stretch out full length. Cover with boiling water, add 1 sliced onion, salt and pepper, and let it simmer 30 minutes. At this point you will feel that you are working on an ex-member of the Ku Klux Klan and no one will blame you." (78)
"Everyone knows that cucumbers are the correct accompaniment for fish" (88) they...they do?
"Even the thought of these last two recipes is followed by none of the pangs of hunger or mouthwatering anticipation that has come with writing the directions for cooking the other vegetables, so just let's say, 'carrots can be cooked and eaten, but why?' and leave them to those nursery pals and garden scourges, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter." (92)
"Little youngsters, bless them, love lots of little presents and a dollar's worth from Woolworth's, wrapped separately and arranged in a box like a Jack Horner Pie, gives the young invalid much to look forward to. Tag each string or ribbon with the hour or day in which it is to be pulled (perhaps after medicine) and the mother's or nurse's blessings will rain on your head." (151) this is such a cute idea
"...curry makes one of the finest buffet suppers there is, and I've never found anyone who didn't enjoy its exotic flavor. Made with chicken, it is expensive, but cooked veal or pork can be used to eke out the bird, and cooked or canned shrimps are just as tasty." (169) chicken...more expensive than veal??? Times, they have a-changed
"I never prepare rice without remembering my first experience with that expanding grain. I had promised my just-married husband his favorite stewed chicken and rice and, making the usual stop at his club before dinner, such was his pride in my cooking that every time he boasted of his coming meal he felt forced to invite one more hungry bachelor to share it. As each phone call announced an extra guest I made more gravy and lightheartedly measured out another cupful of rice, then filled what seemed an adequate pot with water and started cooking it. Soon to my shocked surprise I was frantically hurling the cereal into bigger and bigger containers with more and more water, and, I don't wonder now that roars of laughter greeted the hysterical bride who was discovered wringing her hands while gazing with wide-eyed horror at a large dishpan heaped full of boiled rice." (175)
"Wash and pick over 1 quart of big white pea beans and soak them overnight in three times their quantity of water. Next morning drain the beans, cover them with fresh water, and simmer slowly until a few picked up in a spoon will burst their skins when you blow gently on them. A remarkable direction, I grant, but the only satisfactory method." (178)
"Put on the lid and bake in a very slow oven (275°)" (178) so a slow oven is cooler, which means hot ovens are fast? I guess that makes a kind of sense
"The necessity of clearing the grimy walls of their camouflage of pictures didn't leave rooms that looked at all prepared for entertaining, and out-of-town friends were due for a suddenly announced but long-awaited visit. Unconcerned, we presented each guest after dinner with a large package of colored crayons and allowed them to satisfy the wicked urge that we all have to deface a blank surface. Even next morning's early rising to forestall the paperhanger's crew and erase some of the more realistic efforts couldn't spoil the memory of twelve supposedly grown-up, settled people having a completely uninhibited and uproarious evening." (188) I kind of want to do this
"My pretty young sister, the second guest of honor, arrived at the house, bag and baggage, about six o'clock, listened with heartfelt sympathy to my tale of woe, swore she would be in there pitching as soon as she was dressed, then retired to her room, plugged in her electric vibrator and phft! every light in the house went out and, what's more, stayed out all evening." (27)
"Asterisked items* should be put in refrigerator, covered. Karated items^ may be leftovers." (33) I know this means items with a karat, but I can't help but read that as karate-d
"Once, after my purchases had been tied in the usual knobby newspaper bundle, she darted into her kitchen and reappeared with a piece of warm, brownish red pastry on a bright plate.
'Eata,' she beamed, 'Good for you
and dat new bambino.' The first mouthful left dull, run-of-the-mill food without appeal forever, and I learned then never to scorn an odd-appearing dish: What I had been tempted with was ITALIAN TOMATO PIE, or PIZZA, and when I acquired the recipe we ate it frequently to increasing parental disapproval." (60) ITALIAN TOMATO PIE
"Meanwhile the children clambered happily around the rocky pools below, returning at all-too-frequent intervals to show their apathetic parents some fresh treasure in the way of a dead crab or an equally odoriferous shell. Suddenly, after a welcome silence there came loud shouts of 'Mother! Come quick,' and I bumped in panic down the rocks to the water's edge, certain that my darlings were being attacked by a herd of hungry octopi, at least." (62)
"Sew it up in cheesecloth or any clean cloth, even a piece of Daddy's discarded shirt will do. Wrap the fish loosely and sew the material together with coarse thread and big stitches. Put it on a rack in a fish boiler or any big pot that will let it stretch out full length. Cover with boiling water, add 1 sliced onion, salt and pepper, and let it simmer 30 minutes. At this point you will feel that you are working on an ex-member of the Ku Klux Klan and no one will blame you." (78)
"Everyone knows that cucumbers are the correct accompaniment for fish" (88) they...they do?
"Even the thought of these last two recipes is followed by none of the pangs of hunger or mouthwatering anticipation that has come with writing the directions for cooking the other vegetables, so just let's say, 'carrots can be cooked and eaten, but why?' and leave them to those nursery pals and garden scourges, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter." (92)
"Little youngsters, bless them, love lots of little presents and a dollar's worth from Woolworth's, wrapped separately and arranged in a box like a Jack Horner Pie, gives the young invalid much to look forward to. Tag each string or ribbon with the hour or day in which it is to be pulled (perhaps after medicine) and the mother's or nurse's blessings will rain on your head." (151) this is such a cute idea
"...curry makes one of the finest buffet suppers there is, and I've never found anyone who didn't enjoy its exotic flavor. Made with chicken, it is expensive, but cooked veal or pork can be used to eke out the bird, and cooked or canned shrimps are just as tasty." (169) chicken...more expensive than veal??? Times, they have a-changed
"I never prepare rice without remembering my first experience with that expanding grain. I had promised my just-married husband his favorite stewed chicken and rice and, making the usual stop at his club before dinner, such was his pride in my cooking that every time he boasted of his coming meal he felt forced to invite one more hungry bachelor to share it. As each phone call announced an extra guest I made more gravy and lightheartedly measured out another cupful of rice, then filled what seemed an adequate pot with water and started cooking it. Soon to my shocked surprise I was frantically hurling the cereal into bigger and bigger containers with more and more water, and, I don't wonder now that roars of laughter greeted the hysterical bride who was discovered wringing her hands while gazing with wide-eyed horror at a large dishpan heaped full of boiled rice." (175)
"Wash and pick over 1 quart of big white pea beans and soak them overnight in three times their quantity of water. Next morning drain the beans, cover them with fresh water, and simmer slowly until a few picked up in a spoon will burst their skins when you blow gently on them. A remarkable direction, I grant, but the only satisfactory method." (178)
"Put on the lid and bake in a very slow oven (275°)" (178) so a slow oven is cooler, which means hot ovens are fast? I guess that makes a kind of sense
"The necessity of clearing the grimy walls of their camouflage of pictures didn't leave rooms that looked at all prepared for entertaining, and out-of-town friends were due for a suddenly announced but long-awaited visit. Unconcerned, we presented each guest after dinner with a large package of colored crayons and allowed them to satisfy the wicked urge that we all have to deface a blank surface. Even next morning's early rising to forestall the paperhanger's crew and erase some of the more realistic efforts couldn't spoil the memory of twelve supposedly grown-up, settled people having a completely uninhibited and uproarious evening." (188) I kind of want to do this
April 23, 2020
I am still clueless as to why didn't Elizabeth Gilbert edit this into a proper, modern cookbook!
Margaret Yardley Potter was definitely unique in how she said things and how she cooked. This book was a revelation, mostly because:
1. Whoever says that the Americans don't have a cuisine or that all American cuisine is immigrant brought will encounter numerous reasons to realize that that's not true. The true American kitchen is the one Yardley Potter cooked; cheap, accessible, non-pretentious, yet very tempting and delicious. I never thought about trying lamb kidneys but now I'm really open to it.
2. The recipes are authentic. Julia Childs should take a step back as she's a mere imitator of French recipes. These are original recipes, picked from street vendors, old folks, remote towns and improved to suit a family and a party by the home cook who should've been America's it lady in the kitchen.
3. Some recipes can be difficult to make nowadays in the age of casseroles and 15 minute meals. But at the same time, let's not forget that modern means and tools can also speed up the process.
4. Versatility is the defining word in American cuisine. The tomatoes and the buillionn are the saints, while humble cuts of meat are the prophets. Even so, at times, I felt like I'm living in an episode of Andrew Zimmern's Weird foods America.
5. All in all, with all the modern cooking methods, varied tools and machinery from a modern kitchen how workable are Margaret Yardley Potter's recipes? A re-edit into cookbook would be a great way to honor this lady who lived such a full and delicios life.
Margaret Yardley Potter was definitely unique in how she said things and how she cooked. This book was a revelation, mostly because:
1. Whoever says that the Americans don't have a cuisine or that all American cuisine is immigrant brought will encounter numerous reasons to realize that that's not true. The true American kitchen is the one Yardley Potter cooked; cheap, accessible, non-pretentious, yet very tempting and delicious. I never thought about trying lamb kidneys but now I'm really open to it.
2. The recipes are authentic. Julia Childs should take a step back as she's a mere imitator of French recipes. These are original recipes, picked from street vendors, old folks, remote towns and improved to suit a family and a party by the home cook who should've been America's it lady in the kitchen.
3. Some recipes can be difficult to make nowadays in the age of casseroles and 15 minute meals. But at the same time, let's not forget that modern means and tools can also speed up the process.
4. Versatility is the defining word in American cuisine. The tomatoes and the buillionn are the saints, while humble cuts of meat are the prophets. Even so, at times, I felt like I'm living in an episode of Andrew Zimmern's Weird foods America.
5. All in all, with all the modern cooking methods, varied tools and machinery from a modern kitchen how workable are Margaret Yardley Potter's recipes? A re-edit into cookbook would be a great way to honor this lady who lived such a full and delicios life.
November 17, 2019
„Mic dejun cu mare plăcere
Data viitoare când vreți să invitați iar cei mai buni prieteni la cină, răzgândiți-vă și veți vedea cu cât entuziasm acceptă o invitație la un mic dejun de duminică „în capot”. Ora potrivită e undeva între zece și unsprezece, fiindcă așa, toată lumea, inclusiv gazda, are timp să doarmă un pic mai mult, ca în week-end, fără să încurce posibilele planuri pentru după-amiază. Cei veniți din alt oraș și nefericiții care sunt nevoiți să locuiască la hotel, se bucură să ia parte la atmosfera de duminică în familie, iar dacă mai și comandați ziarul de la ei din oraș, livrat împreună cu al vostru, vă vor copleși cu recunoștința.
Nu uitați să pregătiți cafea din plin pentru momentele acelea minunat de relaxate când, sătui și înconjurați de ceața fumului de țigară, cu toții stau în spatele baricadei de pagini sportive și de umor ale ziarelor și cer a doua și chiar a treia cană, pe care în diminețile agitate din restul săptămânii n-au avut timp s-o savureze după voia inimii.”
Data viitoare când vreți să invitați iar cei mai buni prieteni la cină, răzgândiți-vă și veți vedea cu cât entuziasm acceptă o invitație la un mic dejun de duminică „în capot”. Ora potrivită e undeva între zece și unsprezece, fiindcă așa, toată lumea, inclusiv gazda, are timp să doarmă un pic mai mult, ca în week-end, fără să încurce posibilele planuri pentru după-amiază. Cei veniți din alt oraș și nefericiții care sunt nevoiți să locuiască la hotel, se bucură să ia parte la atmosfera de duminică în familie, iar dacă mai și comandați ziarul de la ei din oraș, livrat împreună cu al vostru, vă vor copleși cu recunoștința.
Nu uitați să pregătiți cafea din plin pentru momentele acelea minunat de relaxate când, sătui și înconjurați de ceața fumului de țigară, cu toții stau în spatele baricadei de pagini sportive și de umor ale ziarelor și cer a doua și chiar a treia cană, pe care în diminețile agitate din restul săptămânii n-au avut timp s-o savureze după voia inimii.”
January 2, 2025
A conversational cook book. I bought this at a charity shop and was intrigued. Learning this was written by Elizabeth Gilbert's grandmother intrigued me to see any ancestral link to Elizabeth's quick wit and writing abilities.
Whilst this book IS witty and it is nice to take a peak into the life of Elizabeth's ancestor through food and cooking, the endless rambling chatter grated on me-- it feels like she writes as though she speaks and I imagined her hosting her own cooking show with this kind of narration but it doesn't work in this book sadly. I can see why, when it was originally published, that it didn't do well. There are golden nuggets of humour hidden within the verbal diarrhea and I did skip the text talking about how to cook the recipies as I found that part exceedingly dull.
I'm just the wrong audience, I'm sure there are people out there who enjoy this kind of writing style AND have a love of old fashioned recipes and cooking.
Whilst this book IS witty and it is nice to take a peak into the life of Elizabeth's ancestor through food and cooking, the endless rambling chatter grated on me-- it feels like she writes as though she speaks and I imagined her hosting her own cooking show with this kind of narration but it doesn't work in this book sadly. I can see why, when it was originally published, that it didn't do well. There are golden nuggets of humour hidden within the verbal diarrhea and I did skip the text talking about how to cook the recipies as I found that part exceedingly dull.
I'm just the wrong audience, I'm sure there are people out there who enjoy this kind of writing style AND have a love of old fashioned recipes and cooking.
June 6, 2017
presented by Elizabeth Gilbert, (Eat, Pray, Love)
self published in l947 by Gilbert's great grandmother, Potter, This recipe book is one of the few I've read that is published in complete narrative style. (At the end Gilbert, reprints (rearranging as ingredients, process format) the family's favorite 10.))
That appended attempt to make the book more like a recipe book was the only modernization done by Gilbert. She left several cultural references unedited.
The obvious downward economical spiral of Potter and her desire to entertain lead her to be a "cook - the pig from head to toe" user of all parts of animal fowl and fish and a scavenger for edible plants.
self published in l947 by Gilbert's great grandmother, Potter, This recipe book is one of the few I've read that is published in complete narrative style. (At the end Gilbert, reprints (rearranging as ingredients, process format) the family's favorite 10.))
That appended attempt to make the book more like a recipe book was the only modernization done by Gilbert. She left several cultural references unedited.
The obvious downward economical spiral of Potter and her desire to entertain lead her to be a "cook - the pig from head to toe" user of all parts of animal fowl and fish and a scavenger for edible plants.
July 7, 2017
The author is charming and before her time, though I wouldn't agree with the blurb on the back of the book that called her recipes practical (they're not). They're a wonderful slice of her life and how things used to be. And hilariously, she had a page about trying to make leftover bits and bobs over for dinner parties that is the formula for the TV show Chopped, fifty years early. Her bit about spending money on good aprons rather than gowns given the amount of time spent in each was particularly fun, but there are jewels through the entire volume. It is eminently quotable. If she lived today, she'd be a combination of Samantha Bee and Deb Perelman.
October 13, 2024
A conversational cook book. Who knew? It did make for interesting reading, though I did skip most of the actual recipes. I’m never going to make kidney pie, after all. Most of the recipes were intended for large family groups and parties, so wouldn’t translate to my situation either. But it was fun to read about Margaret Yardley’s opinion of how a well kept kitchen should look, what supplies to keep on hand, and how much rum to pour over a fruit cake in the weeks it sits in your pantry. It was like listening to Julia Child and Martha Stewart combined, but kinder. Interesting read.
November 1, 2017
What I liked. The heritage and connection between generations. The historical perspective. Reading the types of recipes for eel, calf brains, mock terrapin. Definitely east coast oriented. Insight into the decades of 1920-40s America.
What I didn’t like. The recipe format which was written like a paragraph, not a recipe. Recipes blended together. I didn’t try any of the recipes. Not that I originally wanted to but as I read through the pages I felt zero interest or temptation.
What I didn’t like. The recipe format which was written like a paragraph, not a recipe. Recipes blended together. I didn’t try any of the recipes. Not that I originally wanted to but as I read through the pages I felt zero interest or temptation.
November 7, 2022
Very charming original manuscript by the great-grandmother of beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert. Mrs. Potter was a briskly witty writer and a real force in the kitchen. As I read I thought she seems like a forerunner of domestic humor writers in the vein of Peg Bracken and Jean Kerr. This little cookbook is well worth perusing, if not reading from cover to cover or actually cooking from. It is very dated now, but that is part of its charm.
April 20, 2020
Love the stories of Margaret's grandmother & mother & her own stretching from the early 1900's thru the forties. The recipes, not so sure of, will have to try a few out, minus the lard & bacon fat (& the eels & other interesting things they ate!) Maybe just start off with her biscuits & good 'ol fashioned custard for my mom.
August 10, 2017
I thought this would be interesting because of the time frame and like the idea of memoir and recipes. However, I could not relate to this family nor the menus and recipes. More than half way through I through in the towel and moved on to something more relavent.
February 28, 2019
This is no ordinary cookbook as author of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Elizabeth Gilbert republishes her Great Grandmother’s original recipes from 1947 in humorous prose. An intriguing glimpse into an era past and a multi generational love for cooking.
October 15, 2017
Actual Rating 2,5 Stars
December 6, 2018
2/3 cookbook, 1/3 mid-century manners and social commentary. A fun read in short segments!
December 26, 2018
Really interesting liked Ohiladelphia connection, loved description of discovering pizza
July 2, 2019
Рецепты надо проверить) а книга с юмором и отличным настроением!
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