Planning meals can show off the cook's creativity  - and a well-planned menu is a joy to the palate. Pamela Harlech

{HISTORY}

Pamela Harlech had an interesting life. Born in America, she was an editor at Vogue magazine in NYC before moving to London where she became the food editor at British Vogue. In the late 1960's she married David Ormsby- Gore, also known as the 5th Baron Harlech. The two newlyweds traveled in social circles that were dizzy with glamour. English aristocrats, British royalty, international socialites and American politicians, including the Kennedy family were counted among their close friends. 

Between her job at Vogue and his career in British politics, while also serving as an Ambassador to the United States, both David and Pamela had their fair share of entertaining responsibilities that involved a wide variety of interesting guests and appetites. All these experiences laid the groundwork for this cookbook Feast Without Fuss which Pamela published in 1977. It includes a thoroughly intriguing roster of international fare influenced by French, Polish, Italian, Meditteranean, Scandinavian and Arabic cuisines combined with American heritage classics. 

Favoring homegrown vegetables, homemade bread, simple ingredients and unique pairings, Feast Without Fuss, is a unique look at cosmopolitan cooking in the 1970s. Elegant but also approachable, many of the recipes included here are from (or were inspired by) Pamela and David's celebrity friend set, which adds an air of 20th-century pop culture and history surrounding British high society. Interesting recipes include Cranberry Ketchup, Hungarian Baked Sprouts, Cinnamon Baked Chicken, Roast Partridge on Toast, Truffled Turkey, Apricot Souffle, Burnt Ice Cream, Apple Tea Bread, Cheese Pudding to name just a few.

(The last photo includes a portrait of Pamela and David along with some of their society friends who also contributed recipes to this book including Jeanette de Rothschild, Lady Jennifer Plunket, Betsey Roosevelt Cushing Whitney, Fleur Cowles, and Lady von Hofmannsthal).

 {SPECIAL FEATURES}

- First Edition, published in 1977

- 399 pages 

- A list of suggested menus,  ideas on cooking for a crowd and helpful recommendations regarding cooking and time constraints are included in the final chapters

- To help make cooking a success for all readers, Pamela also includes a symbol chart detailing the level of difficulty of each recipe 

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. There a few random cooking smudges ona  few pages but overall this cookbook is in very clean and bright condition. Some of the pages have been dog-eared by a previous owner, which always offers fun insight into recipes that were of special interest. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.

{SIZE}

Measures 6.25" inches (width) x 9.50 inches (length) x 1.25" inches (thickness) and weighs just under 2lbs.