A calendar of dinners, with 615 recipes

About this book

"A calendar of dinners, with 615 recipes by Marion Harris Neil is a cookbook written in the early 20th century. It combines a promotional introduction to Crisco with domestic-science instruction and a large, organized collection of recipes culminating in a calendar of dinners. The focus is on practical, economical home cookery using vegetable shortening to improve digestibility, flavor, and consistency. Readers can expect broad guidance plus hundreds of dishes spanning soups, meats, breads, cakes, and more.

The opening of the work lays out contents and an extensive index, then delivers a long, persuasive introduction to Crisco: its digestibility, high smoke point, neutral flavor, economy, sanitary manufacture, reusability, suitability for children, and kosher compliance, along with a plain-language explanation of hydrogenation. It follows with “Things to Remember,” practical tips for substituting Crisco for butter or lard, and thorough primers for young cooks on choosing meats, fish, vegetables, and eggs. Next come clear descriptions of cooking methods—roasting, boiling, baking, stewing, broiling, frying (with exact timing tests for deep-fat frying), steaming, braising—plus time tables and carving instructions. The excerpt then begins the recipe section with soups, starting from stock-making basics and offering initial recipes such as asparagus, cheese, cream of tomato, and fish soups.