Bring out the Jello Molds!

Jane George

How to Have an Affair 

Cheeky in tone, and full of PG-13 innuendo, this slim cookbook is divided into chapters including “The Dish that Ran Away with the Spoon,” “How to Shower with a Man,” and “Never on Monday.”  The recipes included are traditional, and divided into menus, such as one that suggests beef burgundy, served with barley pilaf, cold artichokes, and strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. 

TX731.G46 1978 

Choral Pepper

Zodiac Parties 

“This is the only known system by which you can present each of your friends, no matter how many they number, as a special guest of honor, with a total of only twelve parties a year” promises this guide, which lays out the idea way to celebrate an attendee with a party menu and theme meant to speak to their zodiac sign. 

TX715.P4653 1965 

Debbie and Stephen Cornwell

Cooking in the Nude 

The idea is novel, the recipes—broccoli in lemon sauce, Caesar salad, coq au vin--are not. 

TX715.C66 1981 

Leona Woodring Smith

The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery 

The recipes are organized by flower, and include teas, glazes, jellies, muffins, and more. 

TX814.5.F5S64 1973 

Dorothy Malone

Cook Book for Brides 

The author states that the book is for a newly married woman who didn’t learn to cook growing up, and the lessons—how to cook means and vegetables, grocery shopping tips, how to use popular wedding gifts like pressure cookers, are useful, even if the packaging in antiquated. 

TX715.M2597 1947 

Elise Landauer Meyer

You Can Be a Better Cook Than Mama Ever Was 

The timing and tone of this cookbook is notable—the introduction challenges the reader that with the wealth of kitchen technology and the growth of supermarkets, they have everything they need to be a great cook at their disposal, even if they don’t have a maid available, as their mother likely did. 

TX715.M622 1968