The Plain Sailing Cook Book
A Collection of Simple Recipes for Beginners in Cookery
Little is known about American cookbook author Susanna Shanklin Browne, but her motives for writing The Plain Sailing Cook Book are clearly stated in the preface; her inspiration was to write what she believed in 1922 was the first cookbook “successfully adapted to the needs of the person who has never before attempted to cook.” The contents include “the simpler every-day dishes that make up the staple menu of the average American family.” The book’s stated “aim is to provide ‘plain sailing’ for the wholly inexperienced mariner in culinary waters.”
The author expresses empathy for beginner cooks and explains recipes “in such a way as to leave no possible room for doubt or misunderstanding on any point.” “In preparing and arranging each recipe,” she continues, “I have tried to keep continually in mind the person who has never before cooked anything.”
“I have tried to leave nothing to the imagination, nothing to be guessed at, nothing to be decided from previous experience. In a word, I have tried to do as I would be done by, if I were the user of the book instead of the author,” she concludes.
Note: A product of its time, The Plain Sailing Cook Book assumes the reader is “the average housewife” cooking for two. But recipes may be multiplied for larger families, and beginner cooks of all genders and marital statuses will benefit from these basic lessons in cooking.
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929. It was adapted by the Observatory from a version produced by Wikisource contributors.
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- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Introduction
- Equipment and Supplies
- General Kitchen Necessities
- Preparing and Mixing Utensils
- Cooking Utensils
- Staple Supplies
- Handling the Recipe
- Directions for Measuring
- Regulating the Heat
- A Few Definitions
- Some Useful Suggestions
- Recipes
- Soups
- Fish
- Meats
- Poultry
- Vegetables
- Salads and Salad Dressings
- Pastry
- Puddings
- Cakes, Cookies, Etc.
- Ice Cream and Ices
- Hot Beverages
- Cereals
- Eggs
- Hot Breads and Griddle-Cakes
- Fruits
- White Sauces
- Index
- About This Digital Edition
