I love old cookbooks. I have too many cookbooks, just as I have too many of almost any type of book. I have a small paperback cookbook from the 1890s that was my great grandmother's. It was a promotional item for a store in Waukesha, Wisc., and I keep thinking I should scan it or transcribe it.

IIRC, he didn't do either. He just brought them out to the dumpsters to emphasize how much food had been thrown away the night before because of their incompetence.

That's good to know. I guess I jumped too quickly. Maybe I'll check it out again.

I've also got one from the late '40s called "The American Hostess Cookbook" where various "society" ladies contributed recipes. Typical blurb about a contributor:

Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Young Gorham, Keuka Park, N. Y., wife of Donald R. Gorham, Professor of Psychology, Keuka College, attended Western State Teacher's College. She is a member of the D.A.R, and is interested in Church work and Music. Her hobbies are collecting Old Glass and Travel. Mrs. Gorham has two daughters, Ann aged 8 and Susan 6. She is a Baptist and a Republican.

There are a few more famous names scattered in here, including Miss Lillian Hellman, who contributed a recipe for New Orleans Chicken Gumbo.

Yikes. There's a recipe in here for "Winter Gumbo" that starts with "1 can chicken gumbo soup." (Contributed by Mrs. Bess Hirsh Kahn of Little Rock, Arkansas.)

Kat, yeah it sucks, but we got in today anyway and I started all the calls to the insurance for pre-certification stuff.

That is going to be very rough going between 2 hospitals. Any chance Noah could move if he is doing well?

Whoa.

Mrs. Jimmie Carmack Gibson, Douglas, Georgia, is the wife of John S. Gibson, lawyer and member of congress, 1941-1947. She received her education at Georgia State Woman's College, majoring in Home Economics. ... She likes most of all to entertain, informally. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson and Baptists and Democrats, not New Dealers. They are avid believers in the old Southern traditions and true Democracy.

I'm definitely going to have to finish transcribing our former housemate's German-descended mother's recipe collection. Lots of nummy stuff.

She got it from some store in Greenwich Village or Chelsea (forgot exactly where) that specializes in old cookbooks. I keep meaning to ask her exactly where the store is, but I fear for my paycheck if I found it.

I know that store! Not in the sense of knowing it's name or exact address, but I have been in there more than once. (My subconscious, being well aware of the states of both my bank account and available bookshelf-space, has refused to commit this information to memory in order to protect me from myself.)

[eta: NPR story about Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks.]

[eta2: Bonnie Slotnick's website]

butterflocken

Nothing to say. Just had to see that word again.

"Butterflocken" sounds like something that the Swedish Chef uses when cooking.

Bork bork bork now foor de butterflocken!

That Scripture Cake in the cookbook in Jess's link is awesome.

I found some recipes in my American Hostess Cookbook from Mrs. J. Strom Thurmond. (A pecan pie which looks pretty much like every other pecan pie recipe I've ever seen, and "Frozen Fruit Charlotte" wich is 2 1/2 cups milk, 3 egg yolks, and 1/2 cup sugar mixed together, stir in 3 T geletine which has been soaking in cold water, cool, stir in 3 beaten egg whites, 1 cup cream, whipped, and 2 cups mixed fruit. Put in freezer, serve with whipped cream. That recipe scares me.)