Search Results: Cooking from Crooked House Books & Paper

Mount Vernon, New York: Peter Pauper Press, 1956. Hardcover. Very Good Minus/Very Good Minus. McCrea, Ruth. Pictorial paper covered boards in matching dust jacket, 12mo, 61 pages, two color decorations by Ruth McCrea. Some dark spots in front and rear endpapers, inked inscription in front endpaper; lightly worn dust jacket with some discoloration on rear and faded patches on front panel, now in protective mylar cover. Nothing says mid century like Peter Pauper Press. A fun collection of fairly simple recipes that would have been considered pretty fancy in the 1950s along with some great dinner party staples.

Mount Vernon, New York: Peter Pauper Press, 1961. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. McCrea, Ruth. Pictorial paper covered boards in matching dust jacket, 12mo, 61 pages, two color decorations by Ruth McCrea. Boards show a bit of wear at extremities, price clipped dust jacket with a few small edge tears and small chip out of rear at bottom spine corner. Nothing says mid century like Peter Pauper Press. A fun collection of quick, and sometimes unusual recipes, like the cornflake omelet found on page 13.

Albertina Kerr Centers for Children, 1984. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. Plastic comb binding, grey card covers, 9" tall, 166 pp. + index. Laid in is an envelope labeled by hand "Menus" which contains 22 menus from Albertina's from the mid-1980s. Albertina Kerr Center has been in Portland, Oregon for over a century, devoted to caring and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health challenges, and other social barriers. At the time of this cookbook, they had a public restaurant, staffed almost entirely by volunteers. "The image created by Albertina's is that of serving a delicious three-course luncheon in a gracious private home. Emphasis is on serving fresh produce in season, and that which is Oregon grown." The envelope of menus is a very nice addition to this copy.

New York: G. & C. Carwill, 1872. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Full purple cloth binding with gilt lettering & decoration to front cover, yellow clay-coated endpapers, 7-1/8" x 5-1/4", 123 pp. Fading to purple dye at spine and edges of boards, most notable at rear cover, else a lovely copy. Text in English & French.

London: Collins, 1960. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Brown cloth with gilt titles on spine, 8vo, 816 pages, decorations throughout by John Leigh-Pemberton; A well kept copy; price clipped dust jacket is creased in places. This book, "epitomises a lifetime of gastronomic endeavour and is edited with wit, wisdom, and not a little of the salty common sense of a Frenchman who has tasted most things in his life and has retained a palate sensitive to fine wine and food, appreciative of good and tolerant of most".

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good Plus. Full gray cloth, small 4to, 172 pages, illustrations by the author. Dust jacket rubbed, smudged and edge worn with some light soiling on rear, sunned spine, now in protective mylar cover. A fascinating collection of recipes from all over the world, gathered by the author in her extensive travels as the wife of a French diplomat.

Portland, Oregon: Artists Repertory Theatre. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. Undated, probably mid-1970s. Contributions by various actors, directors, crew & critics in the Portland theatre scene. Each recipe has a bio of the contributor--if you've ever read actor bio's in theatre programs, you'll know that the majority of the biographies are quite fun to read. Several of the recipes are jokes themselves; this is a very fun book to read.

London: William Heinemann, 1922. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. Full brown cloth with black lettering and rules to front board and spine, bottom edge untrimmed, 8-3/4" x 6", 308 pp., 4 black & white plate illustrations. Mild slant, light wear to edges. Very good condition. A fascinating look at all aspects of English innkeeping, from legal matters to cookery. The author seems to have a few particular passions, one of which is salad, and he provides his opinions on ingredients and preparation "not included in the ordinary Cookery Books." (pp. 72-74) Idiosyncrasies aside, his chapter on catering (which "include wines, spirits, cigars, cigarettes, minerals, liqueurs, and cordials") is a valuable cookbook in itself, yet his chapters on staff management, buying of inventory, and bars are all of interest to cookery enthusiasts.

Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1969. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First edition stated; brown cloth backed in yellow cloth, 8vo, 308 pages, illustrated. Previous owner's bookplate in front endpaper, yellowed glue residue in rear endpaper; shelf worn dust jacket with creases and chipping at spine ends, dust jacket in mylar cover. Turkish food embraces an infinite variety of fish and meats, casseroles, unusual vegetables and fruits, and fantastic desserts.

Viking Press, 1951. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition, first printing. Full blue cloth with white & black lettering and decoration, 8-1/4" x 5-1/2", 148 pp. Edgewear to boards, light stain to rear board. Gift plate "With best wishes to French's on the opening of Oregon for sale of liquor by the drink." from White Rock Bottle Co. in Portland. Measure 15 (1952) allowed liquor to be sold in Oregon by the drink, ending one of the last effects of Prohibition in the state. In addition to the cocktail recipes, there are introductory essays on the history of various drinks.

Ward Ritchie Press, 1963. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 16mo - over 5. Small hardcover in pictorial cloth, 6 x 6 inches, 140 pages; boards are clean and square, blank presentation labels on both sides of front free endpaper, occasional spots of light soiling in first few pages, otherwise internally clean and bright with sound binding. From the introduction: A Handbook containing many recipes for Curries as prepared throughout the World; also, for the making of Chutneys, Bhurtas, and other Diverse Things that go with the serving of Curry.

Albany, Oregon: Press of F.K. Churchill, 1910. Soft cover. Fair. Softcover, textured paper covers printed in black, 8-7/8" x 5-7/8", advertisements to first 3 and last 14 leaves. Paper over spine mostly gone, cover partially detached, though the text binding is firm; pages edges worn, cooking soil & splatter to several pages; pencil corrections/alterations to several recipes. Fair condition. Most recipes have the contributor's name; advertisements include a photo of the Broders Market building and two ads for female physicians (both osteopaths). The recipe for "Potato Chocolate Cake" is particularly intriguing to me; it uses 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of mashed potatoes, and 4 eggs (the previous owner changed the ingredient "2-3 cup of butter" to "1/2 cup"). Also of note is the 'joke' recipe in this book: "Scripture Cake." This recipe includes "2 cups of Nahum iii-12, 2 cups of 1 Samuel xxx-12" etc. with instructions like "follow Solomon's prescription for making a good boy, Proverbs xxiii-14." The… Read More

n.p: n.p, 1910. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover, white oilcloth boards with black lettering to front board, 8-5/8" x 5-3/4", [8 pp. ads], 161 pp., [7 pp. ads]. Some soiling to boards, a few recipes corrected or altered in pencil, one cookie recipe crossed out, corner of two leaves torn off with no text loss. Good condition. Although I'm curious to try the "Beer Soup," the "Nasturtium and Cream Cheese Salad" is the winner for me, using both the leaves and petals, although the directions call for cottage cheese and mayonnaise dressing rather than cream cheese. In Wisconsin, the nasturtium is an annual.

Chicago, Illinois: The Ladies Aid Society of St. Paul's English Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1916. Soft cover. Good. Paperback, front cover design by "CB" (not credited within), 8-1/2" x 5-5/8", 137 pp. + blank leaves for notes. Some wear and creasing to wraps, a few pencil markings to text, generally clean and solid. Good condition. Generally, a traditional community cookbook with contributor names after recipes, and an emphasis on sweets! On page 72, however, we see "Chinese Cook's Recipe for Pop-Overs" contributed by Sing Lee. Certainly, a racist joke of the era rather than an indication of Chinese-American inclusion in this church, it starts with "You takee him 1 egg, 1 lit cup milk..." and after putting the pop-over in the oven, "Now you mind you business. No likee woman run look at him all time." Although authors like Paul Lawrence Dunbar would use dialect as a form of subversion, the dialect in this recipe comes from the vaudeville circuit, where "key words and phrases [let] the audience… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1959. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition stated; pictorial cloth, 8vo, 619,xxi,[3] pages, occasional small decorative illustrations. Previous owner's bookplate in front endpaper, faded water spots to top edge of text block; dust jacket with clear tape reinforcement to inside edges of spine ends, lightly toned spine with small and faint water spot. More than 600 easy to follow recipes intended for the modern family of the day. Each chapter opens with a letter from the author to her daughter, exploring the wonderful world of food, offering advice and sharing memories.

Grants Pass, OR: The Women of Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1910. Hardcover. Good. Oilcloth over card covers, black lettering on front cover, 8-5/8" x 6", 184 pp., ad copy at header and footer to most pages, some larger display ads, contributor's names to most recipes. Rubbing and soiling to covers, wear and some fraying to oilcloth at edges, pages with some use but generally clean, solid binding. Good condition. Although most recipes are from residents of Grants Pass, other contributors from Massachusetts to California sent in recipes. The most surprising chapter heading is "Mushrooms and Tamales" which has a grand total of 1 recipe for tamales. A fair number of the bread and baked goods call specifically for Dement's flour, which had locations in Eureka, California and Walla Walla, Washington. There is a round stamp of the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park inside the front cover. Built for the 1894 World's Fair, it was run by Makoto Hagiwara for 30 years. After his death, his daughter and… Read More

Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1956. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Siu Lan Loh. Decorative paper covered boards with red titles, 8vo, 196 pages, illustrated with drawings by Siu Lan Loh. Ownership inscription in front free endpaper; edgeworn dust jacket with chipping at extremities, now in protective mylar cover. Authentic and diverse cookbook emphasizing making do with ingredients on hand, but reflecting the growing availability of Chinese ingredients in America at the time. Includes a section on recipes using Chinese ingredients such as "tree fungus." The authors spend several pages instructing the American cook on how to avoid overcooking vegetables, and do not include chop suey in their recipes. Contains an account of the painstaking process of recovering traditional recipes from memory.

New York: Random House, 1950. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First printing stated; large 8vo in gold cloth, 309 pages, color photographs. Boards very lightly rubbed with a bit of wear at extremities, previous owner's bookplate and penciled note in front endpapers, internally clean and sound; tattered dust jacket with old tape repairs at edges, spine sunned; faintly musty. "...how to be as carefree and gay as your guests, yet serve them gourmet food that would make any woman's reputation as a hostess" Great example of mid century style and popular foods. Organized by season. Strong French influence.

Portland, Oregon: Piedmont Presbyterian Church, 1952. Soft cover. Very Good. Plastic comb binding, blue alligator-skin textured paper covers, 9" tall, 85 pp. Owner has written purchase date etc. in pencil, and another hand has written "1952" in ink on title page, under Afternoon Mother's Club: I would believe that date based on the ads which still have alphanumeric phone numbers. The Piedmont Presbyterian Church was built in 1915 in an architectural style not well-suited to Oregon's weather; nevertheless, it has remained largely intact, with the addition of elevators in 2016. The contributors of the recipes are printed after each. The book retains a distinct PNW flavor, with a hefty percentage of Salmon recipes in the seafood section, along with a very intriguing dish I haven't seen before: Clam and Pork Sausage Meat Loaf.

Portland, Oregon: Crooked House Books & Paper, 2022. 1st Edition. Soft cover. New. Combination cocktail book, holiday keepsake, and bookseller's catalog of vintage cocktail books. Enjoy!