“All these recipes are useful—which cannot be said for much of what appears in print. Cookbooks are useful mainly to spur the brain, by reminding a cook that she hasn’t served veal in a long time.” You and I might find quite a few nits to pick in the above statement, but it’s a fine example of midcentury food writing.
That’s one reason to grab a copy of Elsie Lee’s 2nd Easy Gourmet Cookbook. The other is the recipes. There are quite a few “unexpected combinations” which turn out well, including this recipe which I’ll paraphrase for Rara Ovis (p. 98):
Start with a boneless leg of lamb—the chunks wrapped in twine in the butcher case are ideal—and 8-12 peeled cloves of garlic. Slice each clove lengthwise into 3 or 4 slivers, then poke holes all over the roast with a paring knife and insert a garlic sliver into each. Season ½ c flour with salt and pepper then rub it into the surface of the roast and place on a rack in a roasting pan in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Now, mix 2 c strong black coffee and 1 c red wine and pour 1 c of this over the roast. Continue to cook for 40 minutes more (so 60 minutes total), basting and adding more coffee/wine as necessary every five minutes. (Elsie Lee suggests you recruit your guests to join you in the kitchen when you do this.) Remove the roast for the oven and rest 20 minutes. Slice thin for serving and offer the pan juices (which you might decide to reduce and deglaze) separately in a gravy boat.
If you look up Elsie Lee on Amazon, you’ll find quite a few paperback romantic potboilers. She was a busy lady. You won’t find “1st Easy Gourmet Cookbook” or “Easy Gourmet Cookbook” which long made me suspect the “2nd” was a marketing gimmick. But turns out it is called “Easy Gourmet Cooking” and I recently acquired a copy. I don’t recommend that one. Its goal is to prepare classic dishes in 30 minutes or less, which she does through the use of a number of canned items and prepared seasonings. But 2nd Easy Gourmet Cookbook is well worth a read, and an affordable used copy is easy to find on Amazon. Check it out.
