Mom has lots of cookbooks at her home in Maine, where I have been over Christmas. She uses most of them, and got rid of all the ones she doesn't use...with the exception of one. The book looks like it's been used for decades, with dust jacket torn and taped back together, but actually Mom never cooked a single recipe from the book. She kept is because it's the worst cookbook ever, and it's utterly hilarious!
The book is called "Cooking With a Light Touch, Recipes and Party Plans from a Palm Beach Hostess" by Zoe Shippen, and it's a cookbook featuring recipes with bananas, tomatoes, avocados, papaya, guava and pineapple. The ingredients aren't bad, it's what Shippen did with them that made the book so memorable. How about some Tomato Banana Souffle?
Mom was lucky enough to meet the author around the time the book came out in the 1960s, but it was Dad who really got an idea of how dreadful the book was when he was invited to a luncheon featuring dishes from Shippen's book. Dad really didn't like bananas. The poor man, I can see him sitting there trying to be polite while trying not to hurl, but the story adds to the gales of laughter every time we pull out the book.
There are also tips about throwing parties, such as the "Ladies' Bridge Luncheon, Palm Beach Style" - guaranteed to raise an eyebrow among even the people least dedicated to feminism. Needless to say, I covet this book because it's so bad, it's great. It looks well used because Mom pulled it out every time she wanted to show her friends the worst cookbook ever and make them laugh.
Of course, the designation of "Worst Cookbook Ever" is unofficial and up for debate. So, weigh in: what's your worst cookbook ever and why?
