The cutest cookbook ever written

I'm delighted to share with you the best news in cookbook publishing for a very long time indeed! Random house is re-publishing the odiously forgotten Mud Pies & Other Recipes, from Marjorie Winslow, with original illustrations from Erik Blegvad. I myself own the first 1961 edition (on the picture), and it's one of my favorite books ever.

The author details no less than 42 recipes to cook in and from the garden, with staples like mud pies a la mud, and the never to be forgotten dandelion soufflé, a recipe which needs the most light hand for the utmost delicate results.

The recipes are always clear and easy to follow, with hardly more than ten lines per recipe, a simplicity only met in the best French cookbooks like la Cuisine de Mapie or the Ginette Mathiot. You can tell by reading them that the author really knows her subject, and has a long and full experience of cooking for dolls. Everybody knows how such a public is difficult to content, but believe me, it is impossible to do better.

My favorite recipe is the fried water. It's a bit on the heavy side, but with such a dish you can feed the dollies AND the flowers. As a mom and a gardener, I can't but appreciate a double duty that will save me a lot of work.

Join us in celebrating forgotten times when cooking was a game, with this delightful vintage book with exquisite illustrations. You can pre order here. I sincerely hope that it will be a great success. Unfortunately it was never translated in French, and I do regret it, because I would make the gift of this chef d'oeuvre to every little girl I know, as a very necessary complement to their culinary education. Please Random House, do translate!

Sample from the book:

Fried water

Melt one ice cube in a skillet by placing it in the sun. When melted, add 1 cup water and sauté slowly — until water is transparent. Serve small portions, because this dish is rich as well as mouth-watering.

Brilliant!

Mud Pies and Other Recipes, Marjorie Winslow and Erik Blegvad, published by Random House, ISBN: 978-1-59017-368-8 (1-59017-368-6) On Sale: October 5, 2010 Price: $15.95