by John Philips Cranwell (1959)
[FROM THE AUTHOR] Recipes for those who work from nine to five and still enjoy entertaining at seven, with hints on the Gracious feeding of the unexpected but welcome guests. [INTRODUCTION] Most of us likes on 'fancy vittles," but few have time to prepare them. By taking wise advantage of processed foods now available, and by using a little ingenuity in preparing non-processed foods, such "vittles" are within reach of almost anyone's time budget. With few exceptions, each main dish in this book can be preapred and cooked within an hour, most of them in less. A few suggestions requiring a linger time are included to help use up leftovers or for use on Sundays and holidays when time does not press.
[FROM THE PUBLISHERS] I first came across this book at a thrift store, and I love reading old cookbooks, so I bought it. I was imediately charmed by the writing style of the author and how he shared quick meals with a 1950's twist. The stories were fun and the menu suggestions lovely.
So I got curious about John Philip Cranwell -- Cranwell was a native of Baltimore and attended the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University. During the 1920s, he was a music critic for The Baltimore Sun and then became a free-lance writer. He served as an Army intelligence officer during World War II, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1946.