The Well-Fed Bridegroom by Margaret Williams - 1966 Second Edition - Cookbooks for Newlyweds
Aside from love, good food is the cornerstone of a happy household... Margaret Williams
{HISTORY}
Margaret Williams was something of a style maven in 20th century New Orleans. An about-the-town party planner, shop owner and trusted advisor when it came to gracious living and polite society, Margaret was the one ladies turned to for expert advice and knowledge on the home front.
In 1957, she wrote a cook book for young brides who knew absolutely nothing (or at least very little) about cooking, marketing and setting up a proper working kitchen. She had discovered that this was an under-served market in her Louisiana community, and set about helping women find joy, inspiration and pride in meal planning and cooking not only for their new husbands but also themselves. Margaret's recipes became such a help they were printed in McCall's magazine, debunking the myth that all women loved and knew how to cook by the time they reached marriageable age.
While there are a couple of references to lords of the manor and masters of the house and a whimsical drawing about the "sure way to a man's heart," Margaret was a modern woman, and set about writing a modern cookbook. Since her main goal was to teach women who didn't really know their way around the kitchen, her cookbook is full of solid, practical advice and recipes that really worked according to the mid-century taste . In 1966, a second edition was published, which is this edition featured here.
In addition to being a retro cooking guide, what is most wonderful about this particular cookbook is the inscription inside. Gifted to a young bride named Nancy in 1968, it was then re-gifted to another young bride by Nancy in 1987. How fun (and sweet) to see a wedding tradition passed down from one generation to the next!
{SPECIAL FEATURES}
- Second Edition, published in 1966
- 192 pages
- Most recipes call for fresh, whole ingredients and only a few rely on convenience or canned foods
- Margaret was born and raised in New York but moved to New Orleans when she married and since adopted Southern, French and Creole style entertaining and cooking. Her cookbook is full of popular midcentury regional and party-type meals for the sociable set. Interesting local recipes include: New Orleans Style Coffee, Bermuda Salad, Poor Boy Sandwiches and Oyster Loaves, Nantucket Sandwiches, Plantation Pecan Cake, Shrimp Jambalaya and more!
{CONDITION}
In lovely vintage condition. A few errant cooking spots on a couple of pages but otherwise very clean and bright in appearance. Lovely inscriptions from previous owners on front endpapers.
{SIZE}
Measures 5.5" inches (width) x 8.5" inches (length) x .75" inches (depth)