Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: Second Printing
I’ve just made the second print of Tempt Them with Tastier Foods (PDF File, 13.7 MB) available. It includes eighteen more Eddie Doucette recipes I’ve discovered over the past year, including one extra matchbook recipe, German Potato Salad, My Way, which is well worth making—with or without Elvis singing in the background. And the 1966 Turkey ala King looks like a great way to get rid of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.
If you already have the first printing, I’ve made a PDF of the new recipes (PDF File, 141.6 KB) that you can slip into your book. I’ve also made it available as a smaller pamphlet (PDF File, 203.7 KB). If you choose to use the pamphlet, you will need to print landscape, with short-edge binding, and then fold it over.
- Full Book as PDF (PDF File, 13.7 MB)
- Full Book as ePub (ePub ebook file, 9.7 MB)
- Purchase a print copy
- All the new recipes (PDF File, 141.6 KB)
- Pamphlet of the new recipes (PDF File, 203.7 KB)
A few of these new recipes are from old newspapers that have recently come online. The three from the The Carlisle Mercury of Carlisle, Kentucky, in 1965 and 1966, were from the Nicholas County School web site.
The Scramble Burgers and Let’s examine the egg more closely come from a Mike Douglas Show appearance (PNG, 85.3 KB). I’ve forgotten where I ran across it, but it was probably on Etsy or eBay.
The Broiled Stuffed Tomato Salad is an IGA “Econo-Meal”. The phrase “econo-meal” started appearing in IGA ads on newspapers.com in September 1966 and continued through March 1970. There was one reference to IGA using the phrase back in 1950, in the September 21 Portageville Southeast Missourian, but the rest are all from the mid to late sixties, depending on how you count 1970.
That gave me the idea of doing a search just on IGA Econo-Meal. That brought up several new recipes under Eddie Doucette’s image but either without his name or with his name in handwritten form. Because OCR does poorly on handwriting and of course doesn’t match faces at all, these recipes had escaped my earlier searches.
One of the recipes called for what looked like “Crescent MSC”, but it seemed likely to be a typo. I verified this by searching on “Crescent MSG”. Not only did this IGA brand show up, but five more recipes under Eddie Doucette’s face or name did as well. There are almost certainly many more, but I’ve no idea how to find them without literally going through hundreds of newspapers issue by issue.
Since these searches did not involve the name “Eddie Doucette” I also found some “IGA Food Magic” recipes that were not accompanied by either Eddie Doucette’s name or his face. I have not included these. While I suspect that some, if not all, were provided by him I can’t know that they were. While I wouldn’t be surprised if IGA licensed his name and/or image to sometimes appear over their own recipes, at least some of the recipes identified as his exhibit his unique style; none of the recipes without his name or face do.
I almost passed on the Broiled Tablerite Steak from the Montana Standard-Post. It begins the same as the Broiled Tablerite Steak already in the book—but it ends with a much different sauce.
His late-decade One Pot Stew has an interesting direction: “Check seasoning for desired taste.” There is no seasoning called for, so of course that most likely means salt and pepper to taste. But on tasting it I thought it could use a touch of vinegar—possibly because I recently read Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—and I had some jalapeño sauce in the fridge from a 1916 baking powder cookbook, Table and Kitchen. A few teaspoons of that made a big difference. Here’s my variation on Eddie Doucette’s One Pot Stew:
Spicy One Pot Stew
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Eddie Doucette
Tempt Them with Tastier Foods (PDF File, 13.7 MB)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 2 tbsp drippings or lard
- 1 can (10-½ oz) beef stock
- 1 can (15-16 oz) sweet corn
- 2 cups (8 oz) macaroni
- 4 tsp jalapeño sauce
- salt and pepper
Steps
- Cook the macaroni and set aside.
- Brown the beef and onions in the fat.
- Add the stock, corn, and pasta.
- Check the seasoning for taste, adding the jalapeño sauce, salt, and pepper as desired.
- Simmer over low heat until heated through and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
It’s definitely an econo-meal, and the kind of thing we had a lot of in the late seventies. It’s a great noodle dish.
I was also pleasantly surprised by his German potato salad. I was sure I wasn’t going to like it the moment I poured the vinegar in and got a whiff of vinegar. I don’t generally like foods that taste of vinegar. But as the flavors blended with the mixing of the ingredients it became a mere acidic taste kind of like vinegar potato chips. It’s meant to be eaten hot, but it was very good cold the next morning as well.
One of my favorite dishes last year was his Oktoberfest Sauerkraut which I enjoyed so much I highlighted it as my 2023 National Potato Day recipe.
I also finally got around to making the Valerie Ohanian version of Eddie’s Cape Cod Cranberry Bread that I featured in last year’s announcement. As part of making it, I discovered a typo in the original, which I’ve made a guess at fixing. The recipe calls for cinnamon but never says when to add the cinnamon, nor does it lump all of the dry ingredients together as many recipes do. But that’s the obvious place to add it.
This quickbread is definitely worth making if you enjoy cranberries and orange, whether you use Eddie Doucette’s version or Valerie Ohanian’s slightly altered version. It’s great with butter and on its own with coffee or milk.
But new recipes aren’t the only addition to the second printing. I talked to Eddie Doucette’s son in February, and now know a lot more about “the chef”. That interview forms the basis for a new chapter in the book, about Eddie Doucette’s upbringing, his training, and his philosophy.
So, whether you buy Tempt Them with Tastier Foods or download the free PDF (PDF File, 13.7 MB) or ePub (ePub ebook file, 9.7 MB), enjoy!
In response to A home-cooking handful from Eddie Doucette: A glimpse at a long-lost 1954 Chicagoland television cooking show, including recipes. They were typed by a viewer, so some of them require creative interpretation.
Availability
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods (PDF File, 13.7 MB)
- A comprehensive collection of recipes by Eddie Doucette, Chicago-area chef, IGA spokeschef, and American culinary ambassador.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods (ePub ebook file, 9.7 MB)
- A selection of pioneer TV chef Eddie Doucette’s 1954 through 1971 recipes, from his television show in 1954-55 through his IGA newspaper ad recipes and his traveling cooking promotions.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods 2024 Addendum (PDF File, 141.6 KB)
- I added eighteen recipes to the second printing. If you already have the first printing, these are those recipes.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods 2024 Pamphlet (PDF File, 203.7 KB)
- These are the extra recipes in pamphlet form, so that it takes up less space slid into your existing book. Print landscape, with short-edge binding.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: An Eddie Doucette Recipe Collection
- When I get locked into a serious recipe collection, the tendency is to take it as far as I can. You can benefit from my obsession with this collection of wonderful recipes from the fifties and sixties “files of Eddie Doucette”, television personality and IGA chef.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: Recipes of Eddie Doucette: Jerry Stratton at My Lulu storefront (paperback)
- “Eddie Doucette was a pioneer television chef; throughout the sixties, his recipes appeared in IGA grocery store advertisements throughout North America. Tempt Them with Tastier Foods collects many of those recipes from newspaper clippings, advertisements, and live shows.”
Eddie Doucette
- Eddie Doucette examines the egg (PNG, 85.3 KB)
- Eddie Doucette’s egg Scramble Burgers, examines the egg more closely, as featured on the Mike Douglas Show.
- Elvis Presley sings My Way in Honolulu, 1973
- “Elvis Presley made television and entertainment history with his Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii concert, performed at the Honolulu International Center Arena on January 14, 1973. Aloha from Hawaii presents Elvis Presley at the pinnacle of his superstardom, giving one of the most outstanding concert performances of his career.”
- IGA Econo-Meal Trio (PNG, 265.3 KB)
- Three economical IGA meals from February 1968, including one appropriate for Lent, less than a week away.
- Oktoberfest Sauerkraut for Potato Day
- This simple sauerkraut casserole turns into an amazing National Potato Day treat when topped with mashed potato.
- “He Was the Chef”: Remembering Eddie Doucette, Jr.
- Eddie Doucette grew up in New England. He learned his trade in his mother’s diner, in the summer schools of New England, and in better and better restaurants throughout Vermont and Massachusetts. Then he moved to Chicago to pioneer television cooking, which is how I discovered him.
Other Cookbooks
- Review: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Jerry Stratton at Jerry@Goodreads
- We don’t cook with enough salt; we don’t cook with enough fat; we don’t cook with enough acid; and we even avoid heat when cooking! Skip culinary school and read this book instead!
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.
- 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.
- Refrigerator Revolution Revisited: 1928 Frigidaire
- The 1928 manual and cookbook, Frigidaire Recipes, assumes a lot about then-modern society that could not have been assumed a few decades earlier.
- 65 more pages with the topic cookbooks, and other related pages
More Eddie Doucette
- “He Was the Chef”: Remembering Eddie Doucette, Jr.
- Eddie Doucette grew up in New England. He learned his trade in his mother’s diner, in the summer schools of New England, and in better and better restaurants throughout Vermont and Massachusetts. Then he moved to Chicago to pioneer television cooking, which is how I discovered him.
- Eddie Doucette’s Potato Bread
- This is an amazing bread for breakfast or sandwiches, easily made in a bread machine. It’s a great choice for National Sandwich Day this Friday.
- Oktoberfest Sauerkraut for Potato Day
- This simple sauerkraut casserole turns into an amazing National Potato Day treat when topped with mashed potato.
- Eddie Doucette recipe sampler
- Despite their occasional weirdness, I’ve yet to try a recipe that didn’t turn out at least pretty good. Some are amazing.
- Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: An Eddie Doucette Recipe Collection
- When I get locked into a serious recipe collection, the tendency is to take it as far as I can. You can benefit from my obsession with this collection of wonderful recipes from the fifties and sixties “files of Eddie Doucette”, television personality and IGA chef.
- Two more pages with the topic Eddie Doucette, and other related pages
More food history
- 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.
- Aunt Jenny’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookies
- Spry shortening’s 1952 Christmas cookie book was one of many by which they attempted to compete with Crisco.
- A Centennial Meal for the Sestercentennial
- How did Americans in 1876 celebrate the centennial culinarily? Some of their recipes are surprisingly modern, and some are unique flavors worthy of resurrecting.
- Looking back over 1950 in vintage cooking
- While I didn’t make my goal of trying a recipe every month in the month it was meant for, following this calendar through 2023 was an interesting experience and provided some very good food.
- Refrigerator Revolution Revisited: 1928 Frigidaire
- The 1928 manual and cookbook, Frigidaire Recipes, assumes a lot about then-modern society that could not have been assumed a few decades earlier.
- 13 more pages with the topic food history, and other related pages
More recipes
- 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.
- Looking back over 1950 in vintage cooking
- While I didn’t make my goal of trying a recipe every month in the month it was meant for, following this calendar through 2023 was an interesting experience and provided some very good food.
- Plain & Fancy in the seventies with Hiram Walker
- Enjoy a whole new world of fun, excitement and discovery in Hiram Walker Cordials, adding a personal touch to all your memorable moments and special occasions—plain or fancy!
- Eddie Doucette recipe sampler
- Despite their occasional weirdness, I’ve yet to try a recipe that didn’t turn out at least pretty good. Some are amazing.
- A Bicentennial Meal for the Sestercentennial
- Four community cookbooks celebrating the bicentennial. As we approach our sestercentennial in 2026, what makes a meal from 1976?
- Six more pages with the topic recipes, and other related pages