Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Nancy Drew the short straw in the kitchen

Look what I was lucky enough to uncover at the thrift store today!




It's a classic cookbook created by the Nancy Drew team, incorporating recipes purportedly from many of the characters, and using the titles of many of the early books.

Not only is Nancy a stylish teen who dresses well, drives a cute car, and is both superbly popular and preternaturally clever at solving mysteries, she is also, apparently, a wonderful hostess who can throw together a charming dinner party.

Using these recipes.

Too bad I didn't have this cookbook before the weekend...I could have served some of these delicious salads at our Thanksgiving feast.

 Should the word "Diary" appear in any recipe name?

But since there were just two of us, maybe this pair of pears would have made a more suitable salad course.


And this tasty sounding autumnal soup could have been the clincher.


Okay, now that I've made myself a little nauseous simply by reading these recipes, I think I'd suggest that Nancy stick to dressing well and zooming around town solving crimes, and leave the cooking to Hannah Gruen.

To be fair, some of the hot drinks and dessert ideas do sound edible, and very suitable to the younger audience I'd assume this book was originally created for back in 1972. I would have adored this book with its weird recipes and seasonal menus (and little one-page mysteries interspersed) when I was a preteen and fond of Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys. I had a strange fascination for retro party planning as a kid, even though all the parties I planned were imaginary....

10 comments:

  1. Oh, how did I miss this?! Are some of the recipes marked as being from Hannah's kitchen?

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    1. Hannah seems to have contributed her "Cheese Puffs" recipe. I'm sure she was holding back so as not to make Nancy feel too bad about her choices....

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  2. Even the cover looks unappetising, and I'm trying to forget the peanut butter soup. Yuck! I wonder how many families had it inflicted on them in the 70s?

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    1. Doesn't it though? Ick! The entire idea of peanut butter soup WITH PAPRIKA is so sick-making!

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  3. The recipes sound terrible, but the book is hilarious! You should throw a Nancy Drew potluck party...and make everyone bring one of these recipes just for laughs. What a great thrift store find! :)

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    1. Oh my gosh, what a brilliant idea! That would be hilarious.

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  4. What a great find! The recipes are certainly different (is that the kind of food people used to eat?!). :)

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    1. Oh my, I hope these weren't everyday fare!

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  5. Oh that soup - horrid. The descriptions of food in Nancy Drew books are wonderful (though always containing a depressing bit of fat-shaming directed at Bess to watch what she's eating).

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    1. Yes, I agree; even in this one, in the mini-stories between recipes there are comments about George's light salads and Bess' sweets....

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