FUN FACT! I went dumpster diving for this book!
OK, that’s a lie. I didn’t go dumpster diving for this cookbook (I reserve that for special items like my Velvet Elvis that was literally in a dumpster behind an apartment building in Boston). I found this little gem in a pile of books in my trash room. Apparently one of the new tenants did a little cleaning during their move. The rest of the cookbooks were more recent: low fat/healthy cooking, stuff from Williams-Sonoma, etc. But this one definitely stood out from the rest. It yelled at me, “I’M FROM THE 70s! I’M FROM THE 70s!”
This “stocking the bar” guide also yelled “I’M FROM THE 70s!”
Well that is quite the set up. Can you imagine being able to get that much booze for $200?
Also–I have perused many a cocktail book and I have never–NEVER–seen Punt e Mes let alone sampled it.
Did a quick search–it’s an Italian Vermouth somewhere between sweet vermouth and amaro. Whatever it is, its old advertising is pretty rad.
Here is the Bon Appetit Bloody Mary:
Here are my very sparse notes:
Most aggressive with the hot sauce–a whole 1/6 tsp? WOW.
Used Crystal instead of Tabasco.
I still like more tomato juice. One more ounce would do.
2/5 on the tomato scale
I have no idea what a Velvet Elvis is but I’d like to see yours. I have two pictures of Elvis in my throne room. One is a mirror with a pic of Elvis on it. It was years before any gentleman visitor revealed that they felt as though Elvis was eyeing up their bits and bobs while they were having a pee.
SCORE on the cookbook (and the Velvis)! I subscribed to Bon Appetit on and off for about 30 years — mid1980s-mid2010s — and still have almost all of them. (Why yes, I have no room in the garage for my car. Why do you ask?)
I’m with you on the Bloody Mary — I prefer a higher Blood to Mary ratio as well, but I do like it spicy.
I just got a subscription last year and just renewed. I have made dishes from it. I like it much better than Food & Wine.
What kind of psychopath throws out a Velvet Elvis?!
The cover picture look so warm and cozy though. The guy in that ad was channelling Robert Redford for sure! You’ve been knocking it out of the park lately with your posts, by the way.
Thanks! Well, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands. Ha!
Isn’t it fun how cookbooks can scream the decade when they were created? I’ve gotten Mr. Crocker pretty adept at figuring out cookbook ages based on nothing more than a book’s spine on a crowded thrift store shelf. (Our abilities may be getting rusty by now, though. I miss thrift stores!)
What a great find! Don’t you just love it when someone else’s trash becomes your treasure? Maybe you should have grabbed the Williams-Sonoma one too. In any case, Bloody Marys are, hands down, my family’s favorite cocktail. Except, I don’t think we’ve ever made one from scratch. It’s always been trying out various bottled mixes and then adding our own touches, like extra hot sauce.
I have some Zing Zang in my fridge. It’s iteresting–tastes like steak sauce.