In 1796, a self-described orphan named Amelia Simmons published a slim cookbook “calculated for the improvement of the rising generation of Females in America.” Now considered the first American cookbook, “American Cookery” took British cooking methods and applied them to the ingredients of the New World, including cornmeal and squash.
But the book is striking for another reason, too: Simmons’s pumpkin pudding baked in a crust is the ancestor of the classic Thanksgiving pie. And her recipe for roast turkey—a North American bird—suggested stuffing the bird with bread and herbs, and then serving it with cranberry sauce. It was the first time the combination, now so central to this holiday, had been suggested in print.
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Wow...thank you for solidifying my feelings with regard to 'vintage' cookbooks, as well as promotional recipe books. Having spent the last year cleaning out 100+ years of stuff from my parents' house, I have unfortunately parted with some fascinating 'charity' cookbooks from the South, in addition to other 100 yr old hardcover cookbooks (probably my great grandmother's). Then I found my mother's box of old recipe booklets, along with info about a vintage cookbook collection at UMASS Amherst - and then I knew she had been looking into this. I am more and more glad that I have hung onto some of these things, and will look into where to donate (some of) them...that is, once I have a chance to look more closely.