The Fireside Cook Book: The Classic Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert

The Fireside Cook book: The Classic Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert

Is there anyone on your list who is inclined to appreciate the unbelievably, gorgeously kitschy? Or even just the unbelievably gorgeous? Because this cookbook, in addition to being one of the tried-and-true, seminal works of American cooking, a book that popularized the idea that red-blooded American men could (and should) know their way around a kitchen, is also the most beautifully illustrated cookbook I have ever seen. Not to undervalue the actual content of the Fireside Cook Book, but the visual component is overwhelming: Heralded at its publication as "the most lavishly produced American cookbook to date," it has illustrations by husband-and-wife team Alice and Martin Provensen on nearly every page. Their artistic style is the height of stylized 1950s modernism, an extravaganza of wasp-waisted housewives, cooking utensils, Eskimos, anthropomorphic animals having tea parties, white-hatted chefs, policemen, chickens, the mind-bending "vegetable-man," and much, much more. It's simply stunning. And it's also a great and famous cookbook. James Beard has long been recognized as the dean of American cooking, and this is the book that elevated him to those giddy heights. Subtitled The Classic Guide to Fine Cooking for the Beginner and Expert, this cookbook is far-reaching in scope and includes a glossary of culinary terms, descriptions of techniques, recipes and variations, and suggested menus, as well as a very useful discussion of wines and cocktails. It is a testament to Beard's prowess that he manages to get so much essential information into a mere 300 pages. A timeless classic and an excellent gift.