[.ca] Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus: A Collection ... (ISBN 0965433315)

From Amazon.com:
First printed in 1911, Rufus Estes's Good Things to Eat is the work of a former slave and the first African American chef to write--let alone publish--a cookbook. Estes rose in life to become a chef to two presidents, European royalty, Pullman Private Car travelers, and late-19th-century celebrities such as "Bet-a-Million" Gates. His cookbook, reissued in facsimile with the addition of 56 period images, is a remarkable window; through it we can view the food of an era, the fine and everyday cooking (the two overlap) of its time. Readers interested in American history, culinary and otherwise, and in encountering one of its singular personalities will embrace the book. Here Estes shares some of his 600 evocative dishes, the labor, he notes, of years: Chicken Timbales, Celery and Nut Salad, Tomato Soup (three kinds, one prepared with corned-beef stock), Rechauffé of Finnan Haddie, Boston Baked Beans, Lamb Curry, and Creamed Spaghetti (the pasta in a white sauce). There are stuffing recipes for duck, rabbit, fish, goose, pig, and turkey, two of which, clearly designed for Estes's carriage trade, contain truffles. A chapter on bread specialties includes recipes for Rye Breakfast Cakes, Graham Bread, Oriental Oatmeal Bread (inexplicably named, as its only "exotic" ingredient is molasses), Quick Muffins in Rings, and, simply, dearly,"A Pan of Rolls." This everyday breakfast item, to be started the night before, contains sugar, lard, and butter. The sweets chapters--there are three--reveal the vast range of early 20th-century "dainties" and include Baltimore Cake (two versions), Snippodoodles (thin, cinnamon-flavored cookies), Crullers, Cranberry Sherbet, and Maple Parfait. While written in the abbreviated style typical of the time, the recipes could be made by cooks with the kitchen experience Estes justifiably assumed of his audience. This is a lovely, instructive, and, considering the history of it author, moving book--a vivid look at a near but totally vanished American past. --Arthur Boehm

A Wonderful Little Gem:
Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable. D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

A Wonderful Little Gem:
Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable. D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

A Wonderful Little Gem:
Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable. D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

A Splendid Little Package:
"Their \oAfrican American men at the turn of the century\c history is largely forgotten today, which is why 'Good Things To Eat As Suggested by Rufus,' lovingly reprinted by Howling at the Moon Press, is so important . . . The 1999 version includes not only a facsimile edition of the original but period photographs as well. It's a splendid little package."

"A Treasure Of A Book":
This book is "a remarkable accomplishment" and "Mushrooms in cream is one of "Good Things to Eat" in the cookbook by Rufus Estes" Other recipes include Trianon salad, Baltimore Ice Cream, Orange Sauce (for puddings or ice cream), cress sandwiches.