A terrible tragedy when she was a teenager altered Fannie Farmer's life forever. But instead of tragedy begetting tragedy, it turned out to be the saving grace of a 16-year-old girl who would grow into the strong, intelligent, and educated woman responsible for teaching America how to cook in the 1800s.

Credited with establishing our current U.S. measurement guide in regards to ingredients, Fannie Farmer (1857-1915) was always interested in the science aspect of cooking along with preparing good meals. She also understood the importance of precision when it came to sharing recipes with other home cooks at a time when recipes weren't all that exacting in their technique. A pat of butter, a good size egg, a pinch of salt.... that's how recipe directions were given up until Fannie splashed onto the scene. How much butter is a pat? What is considered a good size egg? How much exactly is a pinch of salt? Those were the questions Fannie wanted to address so that recipes would turn out to be delicious every time for every cook who made them. That attention to detail and accuracy also paved the way for her focus on the importance of sanitary kitchens, good nutrition, and special diets for the sick. 

She published her first cookbook, The Boston Cooking School Cookbook in 1896. No one thought it was going to shatter any publishing records or even attract much attention. But 122 years later her cookbook is still in print, simply known as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, a fundamental guide to cooking that was so valuable to the early 20th-century food scene that it was simply referred as Fannie Farmer's cookbook. 

In 1905, Fannie published her fourth cookbook - What to Have For Dinner: Containing Menus with  Recipes for their Preparation containing a bevy of suggested menus for the entire year including holidays, company, warm weather, and emergency dinners.  In 1914, it was republished again under a new title - A Book of Good Dinner's for My Friend: or "What to Have for Dinner."  And again 1972, it was published again under the title Fannie Farmer's Book of Good Dinners. Despite all those title changes, the book was reprinted each time with its original 1905 content - proving again and again how beloved and valuable and relevant Fannie's recipes were to the culinary world no matter what the decade.  

This edition is the 1972 version and contains beautiful page designs and quotes about food and cooking and homekeeping at the start of each menu. Like all of Fannie's cookbooks, this one is a steadfast companion in the kitchen. It's not only a time capsule of how we used to eat (especially those large formal meals) but also it remains a source of inspiration for how we eat and enjoy food together today. 

- 197 edition, 259 pages not including a detailed index and 13 blank pages for notes in the back

 - Interesting recipes include Corn Fritters, Dinner Braids, Mushrooms Under Glass, Moulded Cheese with Bar-Le-Duc Strawberries, Watermelon with Sherry Dressing, Squash Patties, Marshmellow Pudding, Farina Cups with Currant Jelly, Cauliflower Vol-Au-Vent, Health Food Bread with Dates and many more!

- Since this cookbook was first published in the 1900s, it does contain a few references in some recipes to cooking over a fire or for delicacies we don't often eat today - like calf's head, brains, and tongue - but 90% of this cookbook contains instructions that are easy to follow in our modern kitchens today and are made up of easy to source, everyday ingredients.