Peter Pauper Series...Festive

And so the end is near...the end of the year and the end of my Peter Pauper Press collection. Many are in a festive mood, looking forward to a new beginning in 2012. With that in mind, I bring you what I refer to as the Festive series.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines festive as, "of, relating to, or suitable for a feast." Perfect!

 

Four of these cookbooks were published in the sixties--a festive (and restive) era, indeed.

Looking more closely at this collection than I have in several years, I'm noticing a trend in the use of color...lots of red, gold, magenta, and teal.

One can never have too many cookie and dessert cookbooks, can they?

Everything from bouillabaisse to fish pudding (no, it doesn't belong with the desserts) in here.

Not too sure why the Hindu deity shares space with Creole Jambalaya...

The final cookbook! Larger than the rest and probably one of the first in the series, published in 1951.

I hope all of my followers, as well as any others who've happened by, have a festive New Year's Eve and that you will stop by again in 2012.

Holiday Series of Peter Pauper

Well, the holidays are upon us... Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Years. In light of that, I will introduce you to the Holiday series of the Peter Pauper Press cookbooks.

Has everything from Chicken Tetrazzini and salmon casserole to Syrian casserole. You are bound to find something that appeals.

Then there is my favorite...Party Desserts!

I had a teacher in grade school who gave the class a little hint on how remember the difference in spelling dessert and desert. Know what it is?

Dessert has a double "s" because you always want two servings!

The next two books come in a little cardboard box, with the identical covers.

Frosty drinks for hot weather...

 

...and hot drinks for frosty weather!

Love the sampler look of this one!

 Pigs and chefs and chickens and pilgrims--they're all in here!

 

"If you would have guests Merry with Cheer, Be so Yourself, Or at least so Appear." 

Peter Pauper Series...ABC

Here is the ABC series of the Peter Pauper Cookbooks. 

 Since there are so many, I am only showing the covers.

 I am so tickled by the little drawings on the covers and how they relate to what is inside.

The colors are so vivid, although that doesn't necessarily come through in my photos, I'm afraid.

Everything from drinks to desserts is represented here.

The same recipes, but different colored graphics. This is always a dilemma to me, since each is unique, yet the same.

The book on the right is the only one with a soft cover in my collection and has been taped on the spine. Perhaps I should look for one with a hard cover (any excuse to spend money!)

 

All by itself, since there are uneven number.

Another duo with the same recipes, yet different color graphics.

Peter Pauper Series...Simple

For the second in the Peter Pauper installment, I'm focusing on the Simple series. Each of these cookbooks, published between 1958 and 1972, features a different geographical cuisine.

Continental cuisine, for those of you unfamiliar with this term, is a general term that refers to the Western European, non-indigenous style of cooking. French, German, Viennese, Italian, and Hungarian are presented here.

 

 Both foreign and domestic (within the U.S.) are represented, though certainly not all inclusive, at least in my collection. I have never found a comprehensive listing of every cookbook published by Peter Pauper Press, so I don't really know what I'm missing until I come across it for sale somewhere.

 All but one of these books were "decorated" by Ruth McCrea. Note that the term illustrator or designer is not used. Can you tell which book was decorated by someone else? (Maggie Jarvis, to give her credit).

Hawaii became a state in 1959. This was printed in 1964. Who knows how authentic the recipes really are, but there are lovely pictures of fish and palm trees throughout.

Many of the regions of Italy are included here, which is fun because they are quite distinctive.

Each of these little treasures has a delightful poem in the beginning, relevant to the theme of that particular edition. Simple and cheerful, they give a preview of what is inside.

In case you are wondering, the Oriental cookery includes China, Hawaii, India, Indonesia or Java, Japan, and, of all things, middle Eastern dishes.

Love those Pilgrims!

 Viennese cuisine is like comfort food, with lots of potatoes, meat, sour cream, and fabulous desserts.

So that is the Simple Series, though I have to say that wording is a bit of a misnomer, especially in the French edition. Many of the recipes throughout the books are not really very simple, but that's okay. if they are delicious, that's what really counts, don't you think?

(Oh yes, the Chinese Cookery book has a different designer.)

Peter Pauper Series...A to Z

 Last week, on Wordless Wednesday, I posted a photo of my collection of cookbooks published by the Peter Pauper Press.

I felt that the picture did not adequately convey the beauty of these books, so I've decided to do a series on them, so that you may see how extraordinary they are.

Established in 1928 by an art designer named Peter Beilensen, the company published books "that even a pauper could afford," according to their website: Peter Pauper Press. A cookbook series was begun in the 1950s, covering everything from "Abalone to Zabaglione."

 The vivid colors and striking modern quality of the graphic design of these books is what initially attracted me, and continues to do so, though I admit to taking them for granted most of the time. Another reason to do some blogging on them is to get to know them again.

This was published in 1957 and was illustrated by Ruth McCrea. It has 60 pages of recipes; some have become everyday recipes and others not so much (Eel, en Matelot, for example.)

 This companion volume, published the same year and also illustrated by McCrea, focuses on beverages, specifically those of the alcoholic variety.

This has a combination of recipes and general information--a very helpful guide.

At 7 1/2" by 4 1/2," all the books but one in my collection, including these two, are small and take up very little room. Nearly all are less than 1/2" thick. Such an easy collection to find space for!

Wordless Wednesday...Colorful Collection

Peter Pauper Press Cookbooks