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At Home on the Range
While unpacking boxes of old family books recently, Elizabeth Gilbert rediscovered a dusty, yellowed hardcover called At Home on the Range, originally written by her great-grandmother, Margaret Yardley Potter. Having only been peripherally aware of the volume, Gilbert dug in with some curiosity, and soon found that she had stumbled upon a book far ahead of its time. Part s...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
April 17th 2012
by McSweeney's
(first published April 1st 2012)
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I have always liked to read cookbooks. This book is like a dream come true - a cookbook written as prose. It's hard to believe the woman writing these recipes was from the early part of the 20th century. She was clearly ahead of her time. I especially liked her comment about not liking the Parmeson cheese in the green can. I concur!
I'm already thinking of someone I can give this to as a gift!
I'm already thinking of someone I can give this to as a gift!
This is a fun and whimsical cookbook written by Elizabeth Gilbert's great-grandmother, Margaret Yardley Potter. Potter was ahead of her time in advocating for time-saving recipes, locally sourced ingredients, adventurous ethnic eating (e.g. Italian pizza pie and chicken curry), hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and even women's independence.
Potter begins each chapter with interesting personal anecdotes written in her trademark clever, quipping tone. She also provides fun, practical tips for difficul...more
Potter begins each chapter with interesting personal anecdotes written in her trademark clever, quipping tone. She also provides fun, practical tips for difficul...more
I really love old cookbooks - they're an incredible way to see how women before us lived, how people celebrated, saved money, spent their time. And when you update the recipes with modern notation (as Gilbert does to 10 at the end), these recipes are actually still pretty useful.
The best chapters here were drinks, parties, desert and vegetables. The chapter groupings are unique (what to make for a sick person? for unexpected guests?) and it's obvious Potter was an incredible hostess. She's funny...more
The best chapters here were drinks, parties, desert and vegetables. The chapter groupings are unique (what to make for a sick person? for unexpected guests?) and it's obvious Potter was an incredible hostess. She's funny...more
When you make something meaningful of your life, using it to touch the lives of others, your legacy will long outlast you and you will never quite be dead, as long as people continue to benefit from your memory and your legacy of giving. Elizabeth Gilbert, the well-known author, saw this truth played out in her own great-grandmother's life. Growing up hearing stories about Margaret Potter, it was only when she stumbled upon this cookbook, originally published in 1947, that she was finally able t...more
Jul 19, 2012
Shannon
is currently reading it
After reading a magazine article about this book, I immediately ordered a copy via Amazon.com on my cell phone. My first cell phone purchase. haha
I've had the book for over a month, but last night I decided to look it over. I already knew it was half story and half recipe. Wow. I was sucked in immediatly. It wasn't until much later, when I finally read the book jacket that I realized the author's great granddaughter was Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote Eat, Pray, Love.
I never wanted to read that book...more
I've had the book for over a month, but last night I decided to look it over. I already knew it was half story and half recipe. Wow. I was sucked in immediatly. It wasn't until much later, when I finally read the book jacket that I realized the author's great granddaughter was Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote Eat, Pray, Love.
I never wanted to read that book...more
"Eat, Pray, Love"'s Elizabeth Gilbert presents a long-forgotten cookbook published by her great-grandmother postwar, with foreword and afternotes. As someone who has a small but meaningful collection of cookbooks from the 1910s through the 50s, this book fits right in with a little something extra. The original author is wry, tremendously witty, practical, and fun to read; her great-granddaughter supplies the rest of the story, which makes the original that much more poignant reading.
Economy st...more
Economy st...more
I didn't get a chance to finish this, but I enjoyed the parts I did read. I was a little skeptical at first, since I don't particularly like Elizabeth Gilbert, but her grandmother proves to be hilarious. The recipes were a little difficult to follow (they are written in paragraphs), but they are organized into chapters based on situation, like meals for entertaining on a long weekend at the beach. The delightful part of this book comes from remembering that it was originally published in 1947, w...more
Claiming that a hearty appetite and a good sense of humour were the only requirements for a good cook, At Home on the Range encourages others to employ those same virtues in their own homemaking. Potter learns how to make pizza from an Italian grocer back when international food was scandalous. She plans menus and organizes household chores to free up her time during the summer when guests are likely to drop by and stay for a week. And in the winter months, when colds and flus are making the rou...more
The first thing you need to know is this book was originally published in 1947. It is being republished by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and great-granddaughter of the author. Her proceeds from this book are being donated to ScholarMatch, which I think is lovely. Now, the fact that this book was published in 1947 is relevant for a number of reasons. The first is that this was shortly after meat rationing for the war. I liked this because there are a lot of recipes for different w...more
I loved this book! If you like to read good books that contain lots of recipes, I think you will love it, too. The old-fashioned recipes are written in "story form" and the author has a wonderful sense of humor - if a sometimes strange taste for food. But at least recipes for things like Brains with Black Butter and Stewed Calf's Head don't send you scurrying to the kitchen intent on wrecking your diet for all time! I do hope to try quite a few of the recipes, however, like Sour Milk Hot Cakes a...more
A fun skim. Elizabeth Gilbert's grandma had a humorous, make-it-work spirit. Most of her "recipes" are way too much work, even if you could convince your family to eat them (e.g., kidney stew, calves' brains, fruitcake!!), but they're fascinating. And some, like the pickle and tomato and salad recipes sounded genuinely tasty. The poor woman seemed to deal with an endless stream of surprise dinner guests, which perhaps explains why she tried once to leave her husband or why she eventually died of...more
Perhaps the best book on successful strategies for entertaining I've ever read. Many readers seem not to like it because the recipes are provided in paragraph form, but they are easily followed. In any event, the value of the book, in my opinion, is that it encourages the host to think strategically about what matters in feeding and entertaining guests, not in terms of lists of ingredients. The tone is bright and breezy, altogether a delightful read.
This was a very interesting work of culinary history. Potter was very much ahead of her time, with an interest in seeking out the cuisines of of cultures. The recipes are written in a descriptive way, rather than in the way modern cookbooks list the ingredients and then the instructions. The text was full of amusing quips. I have not tried any of the recipes yet, though I'm not sure how many things I would actually cook--I don't eat read meat. Some of the side dishes did look very interesting.
This book is a hoot! Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, came across her great-grandmother's cookbook/journal and has published it. Great-grandmother was quite the character and quite the drinker. I enjoyed the book and copied down a couple of recipes. However, I did skip the sections on eel, tripe, kidney, and calf's brains--definitely not my thing. I'm practically a vegetarian for Pete's sake!
Oh, this is such a wonderful book to just flip through a bit. I didn't study the recipes all that much but this is much more than a cookbook. It's a wonderful peek into life with no easy electric ovens and how this woman managed to cook and entertain so ambitiously without the modern conveniences we are used to. And even better, this woman has a wonderful sense of humor and seems like such a special person! What a fun, impressive ancestor to have in your family!
If I had discovered this in a box of my relative's writing, I would have tried to get it published too. It's so chatty and lovely in the way cookbooks often were, full of advice. The recipes are not the star here. It is the woman behind them - and the very nice book design too! I am buying it for my own cookbook shelves.
A quirky little cookbook from days long gone by. It's charming (it's published by McSweeney's and the cover & book design are perfect) and sweet and a good look at one woman's interesting life and the food that makes her happy. While the some of the recipes and ingredients are dated and a bit wacky, I enjoyed the long-form write ups. 3.5 stars.
very enjoyable! love her voice, which forces you to even read the recipes so you don't miss anything. it's a funny mix of an old-fashioned sensibility with a contemporary bite.
and for the eat pray love haters, all proceeds go to benefit scholarmatch, one of 826 valencia's great projects.
and for the eat pray love haters, all proceeds go to benefit scholarmatch, one of 826 valencia's great projects.
I read this book cover to cover. I loooooved the author's voice and sass, I loved how the recipes expect you to know how to cook, and I love how forward-thinking this cook was in 1947. I got this from the library but I'll be buying it as soon as I have to return it. I have the cruller dough chilling in the fridge now. :)
Elizabeth Gilbert says that her great grandmother is a combination of MFK Fisher and Julia Child--I'd have to agree. More prose than recipes, but more recipes than memoir, this book is funny and a great look at life and food on the East Coast during and after WWII.
This was a fun book even though I would never make most of the recipes. I want one of my meat eating friends to try some of them though, for curiosity's sake. The Quick Tea Cookies are indeed quick, and a good basic recipe to elaborate and experiment on.
A nice nostalgic read that will make you so very glad you don't have to cook the way that they did back in the day. So many of these recipes would be beyond my skill, but she explains them as though anyone could make them. Nice intro by Elizabeth Gilbert.
This is an adorable book. It's not structured as a typical cookbook, except for 10 recipes at the end. The rest is narrative, and it provides a very amusing look at days gone by and "gracious living."
I'm not sure how much out of this cookbook I'd actually cook, but the history and personality on the pages are really amazing.
I don't think I'll use it for the recipes, but I like Potter's voice and the information you got about the past.
The best parts - reading about cooking brains, kidneys etc
Sep 20, 2012
Rachel
marked it as to-read
I'm halfway through and liking, but shelving it to get to other things in higher priority for upcoming travels.
Enojoyed this book. Sometimes it was easy to remember it was written a long time ago, other times, not so much.
There is a section on strange foods that includes organ meat. Recipes like that are hard to find.
There is a section on strange foods that includes organ meat. Recipes like that are hard to find.
A cookbook that reads more like a memoir, I really enjoyed this book. The stories associated with the recipes are worth the time to read.
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“The sticky heaps of jellied marshmallows and tinted fruit that appear on too many tables should be shudderingly avoided along with their sickeningly sweet mayonnaise but my POTATO SALAD is something quite different.”
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1 person liked it
“You will find this to be a more oniony soup than the usual kind but, as the cross old lady said when a stranger told her that her slip was showing, "I like it that way.”
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1 person liked it
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Jun 28, 2012 06:11am