The Good Housekeeping Cookbook

This cookbook was the first BIG cookbook that I bought for myself. It was published in MCMLXXIII. It came with a dust jacket but that's been gone for a long time!

I bought it at a B.Dalton book store in Eastport Plaza. I read and paged through this cookbook many times through my early married years...so many times that the pages are loose in some places. I ended up with three favorite recipes from this cookbook that I made over and over; Refrigerator Rolls, Deluxe Cheesecake and Flaky Pastry. It is interesting how so many memories came back as I have looked through these "older" cookbooks. Memories of what I cooked or baked, and who it was for, even though I haven't looked at this recipe for years.

These rolls have turned out perfect every time. I made them many times for family get-togethers, grieving friends/families, new mom's, recuperating friends and everyone always loved them. This was my "go to" recipe because they hold very well, and because it makes a large pan of rolls, 30 to be exact! I bought many of the extra large grocery store aluminum pans to "bake-n-take" these rolls in so that the recipients wouldn't have the job of getting my pans back to me. These rolls sent with a nice warm meal were appreciated and enjoyed many times.

 This is exactly how they turn out!

When we were growing up in Portland, Oregon, it was a real treat to go to Rose's Restaurant and Bakery for a meal or to share a dessert. They have been a Portland institution since 1956. I haven't been there for years but I hope they are still making great food. They had the most amazing desserts and their cheesecakes were one of their signature desserts. Of all the many cheesecakes that I have experimented with over the years, the cheesecake from this recipe was the closest in taste and texture to a Rose's cheesecake. This cheesecake is not for the faint of heart! It takes about a day to make this so I would suggest that you make it the day before you need it. This cake cuts easier if it sits out of the refrigerator for about 30 to 40 minutes.

 This is how the cheesecake looked every time I made it!

 

This is the recipe that I used to make my first pie crust. I probably used this recipe for about 20 years. It is a great flaky pie crust. I followed these steps right out of the book: 

Secrets of Flaky Pastry

1. Cut in shortening until flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Roll dough from center to edges, in all directions, keeping circle even.

3. Roll dough on to rolling pin, then center it over pie plate and unroll it carefully onto plate.

 

 

I needed a refresher course on roman numerals. This cookbook was published in 1973.

Enjoy!