The Deplorable Index
As I go through my library of cookbooks deciding whether I really need this particular book I haven’t used in ages, I’m also discovering which cookbooks are indispensable. Many of the indispensable cookbooks, I still don’t use as often as I’d like because they were made by people who love cooking, but who are not professional book designers. The biggest tell is that these books lack useful indices.
That was why I started my Missing Indexes section of the blog, for my hometown cookbooks. I’ve since extended it to all of the community cookbooks I own, and I plan on making the best publicly available; I haven’t decided exactly how. In some cases the interesting parts are the names and places that contributed to the cookbook—some communities are small towns, some are entire states.
But The Deplorable Gourmet• is an obvious place to start. The Deplorable Gourmet• is the community cookbook of the Ace of Spades HQ commenters. I bought it for the camaraderie of taking part but I keep it because of the great recipes. It’s quickly become one of my favorite community cookbooks. It has an index by author, which is great when I’m looking up my own recipes, but not so great when I want, say, an amazing biscotti con pignoli or that wonderfully spicy chili peanut brittle. Beery peanut brittle is a great hot pepper peanut brittle made with beer and chipotle powder.
There are also some simple but great drink mixes—the unique metropolitan in this book has become my go-to Friday night or Sunday afternoon relaxation drink.
Aiko’s noodles are a great quick lunch.
The peppermint chocolate brownies are a great way to use candy canes after the Christmas tree comes down.
And of course at least two rhubarb recipes, always the sign of greatness in a cookbook—but also a sign that this is a down-to-earth book by people who use their own recipes.
And many more. One of the things I like about this book is that the recipes are unique: they’ve been designed and modified by a very eclectic bunch of people so that even recipes that are based on or look similar to the standard recipes in such a collection have their own unique twist to them.
I strongly recommend buying it.•
And to help convince you to buy it, here’s my index of the recipes (PDF File, 221.8 KB). You can download it for your computer or mobile device, and you can print it to store with your cookbooks. It’s designed for standard 8-½ by 11 sheets but it also prints great at 7x10 to match the cookbook. As with most of my indexes, I’ve indexed the recipes not just by recipe name but also by chapter and author, so that it’s almost as useful printed out as an ebook. It’s in PDF format, so you should be able to read it—and, more importantly, search it—anywhere.
Full disclosure: I have a couple of recipes in this book. My garlic eggplant and pork was specifically demanded for it. One of the marks of a good community cookbook is that the editors know what recipes to demand. The best of these books is a combination of curated and unrefined. For the latter, I submitted my Black bean and cilantro salsa.
Quotes come from the blog. Be warned, it can get racy. As lurker Victor Davis Hanson told an interviewer, “Oddball sites… I like Ace of Spades, I mean he’s really cruel to people but whoever Ace is I have a lot of admiration for his eccentricity…”
Eccentric and cruel. All the best chefs are. And the best cookbooks.
And to further entice you, here is my variation on the wonderful beery brittle in the book.
Lone Star Peanut Brittle
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp butter, diced
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup Lone Star beer
- ½ tsp red pepper powder
Steps
- Butter a large baking tray and set aside.
- Mix the peanuts, salt, baking soda, and butter and set aside.
- Butter the sides of a tall saucepan or stockpot.
- Mix the beer, sugar, corn syrup, and red pepper in prepared pot.
- Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve.
- Cook to 300°, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in the peanut mixture.
- Quickly spread on the prepared baking tray.
- Let cool before breaking. Store in an airtight jar.
In response to The missing indexes: Whoever decided that cookbooks don’t need indexes was never stuck hungry at one o’clock in the morning with nothing but a pepper, a tomato, and a couple of cloves of garlic, and a craving for brownies.
- Ace of Spades HQ: Ace
- Irreverant, insightful, and often even informative, I suggest putting Ace of Spades HQ on your regular reading list. “Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
- Black bean and cilantro salsa
- An incredible salsa, filled with cilantro and other bright flavors. It is also very easy to make and can be whipped up in a few minutes.
- The Deplorable Gourmet• (paperback)
- Every normal cook must be tempted at times to spit a small chicken, hoist the black coffee, and begin slicing potatoes.
- Missing Index to the Deplorable Gourmet (PDF File, 221.8 KB)
- This is the missing index to the Cookbook of Cookbooks, the Deplorable Gourmet.
- St. Mary’s Altar Society Cookbooks
- The missing index for the St. Mary’s Altar Society cookbooks from 1976 through 1981.
More Ace of Spades
- June 2: Mitt Romney’s Day
- “Onward my brave Morons! Let this be known forever as Mitt Romney’s Day!”
More cookbooks
- Refrigerator Revolution Revisited: 1942 Cold Cooking
- Iceless refrigeration had come a long way in the fourteen years since Frigidaire Recipes. And so had gelatin!
- Rumford Recipes Sliding Cookbooks
- One of the most interesting experiments in early twentieth century promotional baking pamphlets is this pair of sliding recipe cards from Rumford.
- A Traveling Man’s Cookery Book
- A Traveling Man’s Cookery Book is a collection of recipes that I enjoy making while traveling, and in other people’s kitchens.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: Second Printing
- The second printing of Tempt Them with Tastier Foods contains several newly-discovered Eddie Doucette recipes, as well as an interview with the chef’s son, Eddie Doucette III.
- My Year in Food: 2023
- From Italy to the Ukraine—some of it real, and some through cookbooks—this has been a great year for food.
- 65 more pages with the topic cookbooks, and other related pages
More Missing Indexes
- The Missing Index for the Southern Living Cookbook Library
- I’ve compiled an index for all 22 (I think) of the Southern Living Cookbook collection. You can download it here, or buy a print copy if, like me, you prefer browsing.
- St. Mary’s Altar Society Cookbooks
- The missing index for the St. Mary’s Altar Society cookbooks from 1976 through 1981.
Wow, SPB - that's an incredible index! You did a great job. Thank you for tackling it. Of course, we did it the way we did because we didn't want to look too professional ;).
If you're stuck in a Mexican jail, just let me know and I'll bake you a cake with a shiv in it.
bluebell at 11:40 a.m. October 14th, 2022
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Thanks, bluebell. If I were ever stuck in a Mexican/DC/other third-world jail, you’re the first person I want sending me baked goods!
Jerry Stratton in Texas at 4:50 p.m. October 14th, 2022
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This is kind of amazing!
This makes my Deplorable Gourmet so much more useful. I love browsing through the cookbook, but haven't utilized it like I feel I should have, because it's not stupidly easy to find a particular thing.
You have made it stupidly easy, and I thank you for it.
I do not possess the kind of focus and dedication that you clearly have. Again, I say… This is amazing.
And thank you.
(And did Alice B. Toklas REALLY make a cookbook? Imma have to do a bit of research on that one. Hilarious, if so)
Appycay in Central Ohio at 9:44 a.m. September 30th, 2024
4Finp
Yes, Toklas really did write a cookbook. It’s part cookbook and part memoir, about two expatriates stuck (sort of) in France during the Nazi occupation.
Jerry Stratton in Seine at 3:34 p.m. September 30th, 2024
mm+TF
Found it and it's been ordered. Then I found "Waiting for the Moon" to watch for free on the intertubes, and watched it. (Takes place Pre-nazi occupation)
(Not the first time I've watched it.)
I'm really enjoying your site, too. Thank you for putting all of your research and hard work "out there".
Appycay in Central Ohio at 10:49 p.m. September 30th, 2024
4Finp