Cavalier Cooking

A Jerry’s Diner Revue

The coolest part in this spiral-bound ‘regional’ cookbook is the first chapter, “A Jeffersonian Menu”: recipes from the cookbook of Jefferson’s granddaughter, “apparently copied from the Monticello cookbook” which is now lost: Oyster Soup, A White Fricassee, Beef a la Mode, Beef a la Daube, Nouilly a Maccaroni, Peas, Turnips, Snow Eggs, Ice Cream.

But you gotta be told: the “cavalier” in “Cavalier Cooking” does not apply to the cooking, it applies to the cooks. These are recipes submitted by University of Virginia alumni (Cavaliers). So, what you get are a wide variety that includes a disproportionate amount of college kid party foods. The appetizer chapter rangers from Austrian Cheese Dinzertart, Mock Blintzes (made with white bread), Cheese Krispies (made with cheddar, tabasco, and rice krispies), through to Fried Wontons, and quite a bit of Southwestern foods. Then there are Wahoo Balls: “Don’t let the chili sauce/grape jelly combination stop you--sounds terrible--tastes great!”

It is a big book with lots of recipes. It has that going for it! And the variety in each chapter remains as above. The chapters are appetizers, soups, meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, eggs/cheese/pasta/rice, breads, salads, desserts, and beverages.

In the end, it probably provides some nostalgia for alumni, but nothing otherwise special about it. I actually acquired mine when the alumnus who purchased it realized she hadn’t used it since she bought it ten years past. But the closest she comes to cooking is using her bread machine (and that’s work).