This past Wednesday, the day that the article about collecting recipes came out in the Arizona Republic, I received a call from an elderly gentleman in Mesa. He left me a message saying he’d read the article and thought I might like to have his deceased wife’s collection of cookbooks.

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With the hundreds of cookbooks I already own, it may not seem as though I am picky about what cookbooks I have, but honestly, I am quite selective.

I called back and after I listened to the man’s story of losing his beloved wife and the bookshelves of cookbooks that he wanted to empty and be rid of – I said, “Yes, I will be happy and honored to come over and take the books off your hands.”

Connor, my dad, and I, drove to his home in Mesa and piled all the books into the back of my car. Once we got home I went through them, hoping to find a treasure or two.

Guess what? I found my treasure – the kind of gift that just keeps on giving.

It’s called “How to Entertain at Home” by Sylvia K. Mager with the editors of Today’s Woman. Published in 1952 by Fawcett Book. Its 142 glorious pages sold for a mere 75¢.

And yes, that bottom photo on the cover is of children trying to bite at hot dogs dangling on strings from the ceiling!

Please allow me to share some of the important requirements for entertaining in 1952.

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I hope your Christmas was merry and bright. Ours was absolutely wonderful! Although, I did overdo it a bit (trying to move about without the walker) and I’m paying the price today!

I’d planned on posting photos of my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tablescapes, but I haven’t even begun to format those photos yet. Coincidentally, I was featured on the front page of the Arizona Republic today, so I’ll share that article with you instead and save the tablescapes for tomorrow.

You may recall that I told you the photographer from the Republic was coming, only two days after my release from the hospital, to take a photo of me with my cookbooks for an article about Millennials and recipes… well, here it is.

Here I stand, on my own power, painfully clutching my first edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the walker was pushed away. Anything for a bit of good press! 🙂

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The three quiche recipes I worked up for The Arizona Republic food section over six weeks ago are finally in the newspaper today.  Although I am extremely pleased with the article written by the lovely Karen Fernau, the photos leave a lot to be desired. The cover shot’s color is off and the inside photos are an unappetizing black & white.  Luckily, the beautiful color photos that food photographer extraordinaire, Michael McNamara, shot are on the AZCentral website, along with all three recipes.  Find the full article and links to all three recipes, plus the basic crust recipe, HERE.

And this is what you will find there…

Jalapeno Popper Quiche                  Photo credit: Michael McNamara

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About two weeks ago I told you that I was on a “special, highly covert, high-security assignment” for The Arizona Republic. Well, today is the day that the result is appearing as the cover story of the Food section. You may recall that the assignment was to develop recipes using Hamburger Helper. I have to admit that when Karen Fernau, the Food editor, called me and asked if I’d develop recipes for the cover, I was excited as could be. Then as she continued and told me exactly what it entailed, I was disappointed and – well, honestly – disgusted! Eww! But after diving into the task at hand, I have to say, I found it seriously challenging and that made it fun! Surprising all around! Here is one of the three recipes that I developed, with a couple more pictures than you’ll get from the newspaper. It was voted the family favorite in our house. And here is THE LINK to the full story and the other two recipes.

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I have an excellent excuse for not posting yesterday and delivering with the promised seafood crepe recipe. I was on a “special, highly covert, high-security assignment” revolving around THIS, for the Food section of our newspaper, The Arizona Republic.

OK, it wasn’t exactly “all that”! But I was developing recipes for the cover story of the Food section for an upcoming issue. So, I was busy! And the story/recipes really do revolve around THAT.

As bizarre as it certainly sounds, I will fill you in on the details after the story runs in the newspaper, it’s quite amusing, (Let’s just say that THAT had never ever crossed the threshold of my home before this task was handed to me – and all of my friends and family were in a state of shock to see it sitting on our kitchen counter!) so stay tuned.

Now the promised, exceedingly sought-after, and highly anticipated “special occasion” crepe recipe…

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