A brilliant novelist once told me, "I believe there is more satisfaction in being a good cook than in being a good writer. When you are a success you know it surely and immediately." If this book can help you to the kind of success a great writer envies it will succeed in its purpose. Virginia Pasley (from the Forward)

{HISTORY}

Virginia Pasley (1905-1986) had one of those totally adventurous lives that make you understand how eating a meal in her style or in her company would be a completely interesting experience. Born in Chicago to a big family interested in big feasts, she learned about the joy of food early on. When she began a newspaper journalism career after college she began eating out at city restaurants, ordering new types of food she had never eaten in her childhood. Travel was also on the docket as part of her job requirement and through her trips both domestic and international she learned about the cuisines of the world and the kitchens they came from.  When she met her husband, a fellow writer and food lover, he introduced her to other avenues of epicurean delights that he favored and that they then came to enjoy together. 

The author of several well-known cookbooks including two beloved bestselling favorites on Christmas cookies and candy making, Virginia published In Celebration of Food in 1974. Packed full of wonderful stories from her life of cooking, eating, and entertaining, it is written according to the months of the year. And because it was the 1970s, a time when American home cooks were experimenting with sophisticated flavors and techniques, it represents a diverse range of en vogue recipes from around the world that any jet setter, like Virginia, would enjoy.

One of the most fun parts of this cookbook, in particular, is Virginia's list of suggested menus for all of life's little festivities. Whether you are cooking for carolers at Christmas time, making snacks for committee volunteers, celebrating something specific like Chicago Fire Day, a Labor Day Fish Down South, or your kid sister's birthday, or you are enjoying a light summer lunch after a game of tennis or hosting a cheers-filled wine tasting party, Virginia knows how to compile complimentary seasonal foods and flavors for a memorable meal. Not only does she paint these situations into little story vignettes, but the food she pairs with the activity is both appropriate and appealing. Fun to read like a novel, this book is far more than just instructional. It offers an enchanting glimpse into life of one woman's relationship to food, adventure, and good memories.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- First edition, 1974 publication

- 44 pages

- Original dust jacket

- Interesting recipes include Green Bean and Potato Soup, Saltimbocca, Main Course Crepes, Cheese Souffle, Carrots with Honey, Mint and Cheese, Orange Walnut Pound Cake, Persian Butter Cookies, Lemon-Milk Sherbert, Creme Brulee, Joe Cake, Chicken Baked in Vermouth and many more

 {CONDITION}

In wonderful vintage condition.Very clean and bright throughout with no cooking spots or stains. The dust jacket is fully intact but a little chippy along the top edge and there is a black marker line through the bottom pages of the book near the spine. The spine itself is tight and all pages are intact.

{SIZE}

Measures 9.5" inches (length) x 6.25" inches (width) x 1.5" inch (thickness)