I feel terrible that I had to take a few days off, but the holiday crush and my anxiety about hosting Christmas this year just seemed to take everything I had. Turns out, you can’t really host Christmas with confidence just by watching Fanny Cradock videos on YouTube!   Thank God my friend Danielle saved me yesterday and held my hand as we went online and ordered every single thing a person needs to host a holiday.  I’m so grateful for her help.  Many thanks in advance to Whole Foods for what promises to be a delicious home-cooked meal, just not one that was prepared in my home.

No doubt Fanny Cradock would be appalled.  To be completely candid, I did consult the two books that I affectionally refer to as the “Mid-’60s Meat Book Twin Pack” and I’m now offering for sale at my Le Crap emporium.  The first, How To Save Money on Meats, in addition to being lavishly illustrated with photographs of meat that are truly stunning, is a very practical reference for all things meat.  Published in 1967, How To Save Money on Meats was written by Clifford G. Bowes, Consultant on Meats.  It really says that on the title page!  I love that it is “meats” and not “meat”, which leads me to believe that since 1967, in addition to losing its innocence, America also lost the “s” when talking about meat.

This slender volume has it all, but I particularly enjoyed the chapters “More on Tenderness”, “Some Thoughts on Fat”, and “Carving Hints”.  Clifford Bowes asks plaintively “why this book on meat?”, and by the time you’re half way through, you’ll know the answer, but here’s a hint: “recession”!

The Favorite Recipes of Iowa, Meats Edition is a 1966 page turner that offers tremendous value, containing over six hundred recipes form Women’s Club Leaders in Iowa.  Frankly, even 0n the internet, it’s hard to get this many meat recipes from one state this easily.

I’m offering my “Mid-’60s Meat Book Twin Pack” for the very low price of $23.00, plus shipping and handling.  If you read How To Save Money on Meats carefully, the book will pay for itself by Valentine’s Day!  By the way, the books are small enough to fit in a stocking and I promise they’ll get to you by Christmas Day!