For Something So Primal, Food Can Be Such an Incredibly Dated Thing

The quantity of cookbooks that come through Roundabout Books is overwhelming! Few of them make it to the shelves. Like many people, I understand the appeal of a good cookbook; the thought that "If I just had the right cookbook, this* would be so much easier." I think you can replace the word "cookbook" with just about any other self-helpy type of book and that would explain the Personal Growth Genre's popularity. However, like most of these books, I don't think this book is going to make your life easier. Especially if this picture is any indication of the expectations Betty has for you:

The menu consists of:

• Whole Barbecued Turkey
• Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Tossed Salad with Cauliflowerets (That is how they spelled it)
• Poppy Seed Rolls
• Chocolate Butter-Mallow Cake
• Milk (Gross. Grown people should not drink milk with meals. It's not really a beverage, people.)
• Coffee

Obviously that menu makes for a relaxing Saturday afternoon for the hostess.** To add to her pleasure, she should also hand-paint*** each guests name on their coffee mug.

All of these things qualified Betty Crocker's Outdoor Cook Book for our blog, However, there is one truly nice part of this book. The cookbook was heavy illustrated by New Yorker illustrator Tom Funk. And, you can tell from these two wonderful examples of his work, that Mr. Funk knew what we would be saying about this book 50 years later:

Read on!
Margaret

*Life.
** You know this menu wasn't brought to you by a man, or a sane woman either.
*** Had Sharpies been invented in 1961??