The best thing to happen during the Holly Ball (aside from the majesty of Shrimp Sputnik ’18 and the fact that it was just a damn good party), was that I received a wonderful Christmas present from my dear friends, Dan and Jon–A set of the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery (1966).
Woman’s Day actually still exists–unlike a lot of the other magazines that have gone the way of the Dodo.
It’s mom stuff. And how to lose weight. And rekindle your marriage. And look great at 50. Whatever.
But here is the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery:
Dudes. This shit is heavy. Not just because it’s a 12 book set. It’s 12 volumes of recipes AND food knowledge. Thanks to volume 11, I now know what a syllabub is and I can give you at least 4 different tongue menus.
But anyhoo! I selected Sausage-Apple Bake because I had some apple hickory sausage (from Strohmer’s Meat Shack) in the freezer and 2 giant sweet potatoes from my Imperfect Produce box.
I AM NOT GETTING PAID FOR THIS (but if the kind people at Imperfect Produce would like to give me some free produce/publicity I wouldn’t mind it) but let me say that I love this service.
You get the surplus/ugly produce that you do from some other services, but with this one you do have a day or so to go and, based on availability, have some say on what arrives in your box. It’s great. Because there are only so many sweet potatoes that one woman can eat. And butternut squash.
I had a lot of butternut squash, so I added it to the recipe.
OK, I admit, this is not the most attractive dish. But it wasn’t bad, and it used up a lot of food I already had in the house. Which I like. I haaaaaate wasting food.
Thank you again to Dan and Jon for the most excellent hostess gift. I think that one of my 2019 goals should be to cook one dish from each volume this year.
One down! Eleven more to go!
Also, if you are interested in giving Imperfect Produce a whirl, click on Cabbage Head below to get $10 off your first box.
I have this set 🙂 Came from the supermarket back when, one volume at a time. Both informative & good recipes. I recommend the Lamb Chops with Apples & Potatoes (Vol 7, p. 1034). I like to add a layer of fresh green beans. If you are short an apple, adding applesauce works well.
I love lamb chops. I’ll have to look it up! Thanks!
I have lamb chops and apples at home. This may have to go on the to-do list!