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67th out of 696 books
—
665 voters
The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book
by
Peg Bracken
26 b&w illus. 288 pp. 6 x 9. Orig. $14.95.
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
February 1st 1988
by Bantam
(first published 1988)
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I actually read the original 1960 edition of the I hate to cook book and thought it was absolutely hysterical. Completely bursting the bubble on the perception that all women love cooking, Peg's snarky comments and recipe instructions (like "light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink" while waiting for a roast to complete) will have you laughing all the way through. The only reason this book didn't get five stars is that shortcut recipes from the year 1960 have not aged well. I don't belie...more
Witty paragraphs and explanations but most recipes sounded disgusting as well as impractical (I don't care if people come over after a movie, I'm not baking them anything that requires any work).
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Sweep Steak 4-6 servings
(so-called because a couple of seasons ago this recipe swept the country.)
2-3 lbs round steak or pot roast
package of onion soup mix
Put the meat on a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to wrap it in. Sprinkle the onion-soup mix on top of it, fold the foil, air...more
-----------------------
Sweep Steak 4-6 servings
(so-called because a couple of seasons ago this recipe swept the country.)
2-3 lbs round steak or pot roast
package of onion soup mix
Put the meat on a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to wrap it in. Sprinkle the onion-soup mix on top of it, fold the foil, air...more
There are two ways you can read this book: 1) from a Feminine Mystique/Women's Room/Mad Men slice of 50's/early 60's kitchen-prison liberation, or 2) an actual cookbook.
1) This was written in 1960, before Betty Friedan's "problem with no name." And its full of subterfuge for the woman who doesn't want to waste her entire afternoon on a meal that's going to be devoured in 15 minutes. The recipes are presented along with some tips and tricks of social engineering - there's a lot of reading-between...more
1) This was written in 1960, before Betty Friedan's "problem with no name." And its full of subterfuge for the woman who doesn't want to waste her entire afternoon on a meal that's going to be devoured in 15 minutes. The recipes are presented along with some tips and tricks of social engineering - there's a lot of reading-between...more
Peg Bracken has been my writing muse for more than 30 years. Her prose is just as good as her recipes, and when I found an old paperback copy of the IHTCB, I grabbed it for a quarter and was immediately hooked. No big time prep here, no fancy ingredients, just straightforward, simple and tasty dishes anyone can make with one whisk tied behind her back. Read it for a laugh, make a dish for dinner, and get ready to smile. Don't miss the Hooten Holler Whisky Cake.. it's the best!
Dying to read this but it's hard to find--I think it may be out of print. The author just died recently, and the NY Times obituary made me fall in love with her. One of the recipes called for "staring sullenly at the sink while smoking a cigarette." Apparently my grandmother loved her cookbooks--I do remember LOTS of gooey casseroles made with canned cream of mushroom soup...But it's her writing I want to enjoy, not so much the food. Although I do enjoy a casserole from time to time...
This is the first cookbook I ever read cover to cover. It is absolutely hilarious, full of advice like "if you happen to have an end of cheese in the fridge, toss that in." Full of anti-Martha tips and tidbits, this is the book that says it's ok if you don't really want to spend all afternoon in the kitchen. (Or if instead of cooking, you'd rather sit on the kitchen floor reading this book and laughing aloud.)
The I Hate to Cook Cookbook is for those of us who really don't enjoy cooking and would rather have nothing do with it -- but we're stuck doing it anyway. The recipes require fairly minimal effort and are truly easy. One is to use a grater on a potato, toss into a pan with meat. Salt, pepper, and then leave it in the oven for a while. Another is combine the ingredients and put in the oven. A huge plus of the recipes is uncomplicated enough that they can be cut down -- try paring a 4-6 serving do...more
This is a great book that I think every kitchen needs. Bracken is humorous and talented in the way she wrote and the recipes she devised. The recipes contain common ingredients that most will have in their kitchen and if not, they are easy to go to the local grocery and buy. The book contains recipes for all occassions and a good variety so that you will not get bored eating the same things over and over. I commute an hour to and from work each day and it seems that when I get home, I spend my t...more
This is a re-release of an old cookbook that my mom had from the 1970s. The author is very witty, so it's fun to read. A favorite recipe from this book was the chocolate cake that you mix entirely in the baking pan - no bowls needed.
To be clear, I do not hate to cook. In fact, I really enjoy cooking and consider it one of the fun/creative/rewarding things in my life. Nevertheless, I read this combination recipe/humor book with great pleasure. It is funny to realize how much food fashion changes with the decades (this cookbook is filled with mid-century recipes involving onion soup mix and cans of cream of mushroom soup), but chuckling at 1960s eating habits is not nearly as funny as Bracken's fabulous prose. The copy I have...more
The Hamodia (Jewish newspaper) printed a
simple chocolate cake recipe from here (no mixing bowl required!) so I requested it at the
library and was quite tickled to learn it was illustrated by the same gentleman, Hilary Knight, who did
Eloise! There weren't many things I would make in here. The ingredients were severely
dated and much of it was even fussier than I ever get. Still I loved the writing and the
image she portrayed of a woman far too interested in other things to want to cook. I have...more
simple chocolate cake recipe from here (no mixing bowl required!) so I requested it at the
library and was quite tickled to learn it was illustrated by the same gentleman, Hilary Knight, who did
Eloise! There weren't many things I would make in here. The ingredients were severely
dated and much of it was even fussier than I ever get. Still I loved the writing and the
image she portrayed of a woman far too interested in other things to want to cook. I have...more
Good, easy recipes. Not just for those who hate to cook - because I love to! The author/cook writes funny commentary inbetween each recipe too. Things like - fast, easy, and easy to double in the event of a larger war. This for a recipe called, "Aunt Henry's (Aunt? Henry?) Eggless Raisinful War Cake." Made it and loved it! With chapters like "Can't We Take Them Out to Dinner? No - Not Always," and, "Stealing from Knowledgeable People - I Seen Her When She Done It But I Never Let On," you can't n...more
Peg is funny, but I wouldn't want to eat anything she concocts!
This was my mother's favorite cookbook and after Mom passed away it sat unopened on my bookshelf. I've read it, tryng to unlock my mom's inner cook only to discover, she didn't have one. She hated cooking and I hated her cooking--bland boring, same old thing every night. "We don't fill up on bread. . ." Maybe it's best not to dredge those memories up. This book is definitely for women who don't like to cook and my mom fit that category. Most of the recipes include meat and at least one can or pa...more
I actually read the 1960 I Hate to Cook Book with the awesome Hilary Knight illustrations! The recipes may not have aged well but her commentary is still hysterically funny. For example: "Facts must be faced. Vegetables simply don't taste as good as most other things do." I love that she was defiant and unapologetic about not liking or wanting to cook at a time when many women were still feeling judged by their ability to cook, clean, and “keep house”.
Mar 22, 2008
Roniq
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in Cookbooks, Cooking Nostalgia, 1960
I got this at the thrift store for .99 cents ions ago and I used it more when I ate more meat but I just can't part with this little treasure, it even smells old!!! Recipes include Hootenholler Whisky Cake, Pretty Tomato dressing, Let 'er Buck, Skid Road Stroganoff, and Elevator Lady Spice Cookies. I believe Peg Bracken the author passed away last year.
This book is filled with language like "When the kids raise cain about eating those carrots.......
I love the chapter headings in this book too....more
This book is filled with language like "When the kids raise cain about eating those carrots.......
I love the chapter headings in this book too....more
The earlier edition of this book got me through the first couple years of marriage without poisoning my husband or guests. These are non gourmet meals for sure, but will feed a couple or a crowd with pleasing food that doesn't kill them.
I enjoyed using this book very much.
Then, he took over the cooking.
I enjoyed using this book very much.
Then, he took over the cooking.
This is more of a Novel to read, than a cookbook. It does contain recipes, true. It does contain items of "I hate cooking" trivia, and it does contain amusing anecdotes. But ... I would hesitate to actually call it a cookbook.
Plus, even though I've read it, I am an acceptable cook, and I haven't tried any of the recipes.
Plus, even though I've read it, I am an acceptable cook, and I haven't tried any of the recipes.
I was 12 or 13 when I discovered this book, and I was hooked! Bracken has such a sharp sense of humor that it's one of the few cookbooks you can read cover-to-cover. The skid row stroganoff is pretty good, but most of the recipes themselves haven't aged well.
Nov 01, 2009
Valerie
added it
My mother had a copy of this book, though she loved to cook (hated housework, but loved to cook). I took it down just out of curiousity. Can't say I read any of the recipes, but the interlarded snippets were very funny.
I read this when it was released originally in 1960, and enjoyed it very much. Bracken's sense of humor is excellent and the recipes work out nicely, too. Great little book for the beginning cook, too.
Jun 09, 2011
Max Knickerbocker
added it
Really Really cute! Very witty....will definitely keep you laughing!
Awesome recipes too. Great gift for someone who hates to cook or even someone who enjoys it.
Awesome recipes too. Great gift for someone who hates to cook or even someone who enjoys it.
I actually love to cook, and I love to read and I love a sense of humour.
This book satisfies all of the above and then some.
This book satisfies all of the above and then some.
Simple recipes for those who want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. A fun book.
Great cook book! Although I still haven't cooked any of the recipes....
A cook book that's hilarious to read. Not exactly gourmet cuisine, though...
This is a fun book to read, although as something of a "foodie" her reliance on "cream of X soup" means that many of the recipes are not what I'd choose to make these days! Still- they do look reasonably tasty and pretty easy, and if one does not have a snobbish refusal of cream of X soup, I can see it being a very useful resource. I would have adored it 15 years ago, when I was actively mothering, for example.
And it is lots of fun to read!
And it is lots of fun to read!
Love her. Love her books. 'Nuff said.
Some good some not.
The earlier edition of this book got me through the first couple years of marriage without poisoning my husband or guests. These are non gourmet meals for sure, but will feed a couple or a crowd with pleasing food that doesn't kill them.
I enjoyed using this book very much.
Then, he took over the cooking.
I enjoyed using this book very much.
Then, he took over the cooking.
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“Facts must be faced. Vegetables simply don't taste as good as most other things do.”
—
8 people liked it
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Jul 29, 2010 04:32pm