Good Things to Eat, As Suggested by Rufus: A Collection of Practical Recipes for Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc. [Paperback]

Rufus Estes (Author), D.J. Frienz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 1999

Rare cookbook from 1911 --- the first written by a Black chef --- republished with 52 "new" photographs, illustrations, and advertisements from the 1800s and early 1900s. Includes the author's comments on what it was like to be a little boy during the Civil War. Includes 21 chapters and 591 recipes . . . for haute cuisine as well as family-style meals, some southern and Creole dishes. Roasted canvas-back duck, Virginia stew, blackberry vinegar, cakes, pies, cookies, omelettes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First printed in 1911, Rufus Estes's Good Things to Eat is the work of a former slave and the first African American chef to write--let alone publish--a cookbook. Estes rose in life to become a chef to two presidents, European royalty, Pullman Private Car travelers, and late-19th-century celebrities such as "Bet-a-Million" Gates. His cookbook, reissued in facsimile with the addition of 56 period images, is a remarkable window; through it we can view the food of an era, the fine and everyday cooking (the two overlap) of its time. Readers interested in American history, culinary and otherwise, and in encountering one of its singular personalities will embrace the book.

Here Estes shares some of his 600 evocative dishes, the labor, he notes, of years: Chicken Timbales, Celery and Nut Salad, Tomato Soup (three kinds, one prepared with corned-beef stock), Rechauffé of Finnan Haddie, Boston Baked Beans, Lamb Curry, and Creamed Spaghetti (the pasta in a white sauce). There are stuffing recipes for duck, rabbit, fish, goose, pig, and turkey, two of which, clearly designed for Estes's carriage trade, contain truffles. A chapter on bread specialties includes recipes for Rye Breakfast Cakes, Graham Bread, Oriental Oatmeal Bread (inexplicably named, as its only "exotic" ingredient is molasses), Quick Muffins in Rings, and, simply, dearly,"A Pan of Rolls." This everyday breakfast item, to be started the night before, contains sugar, lard, and butter. The sweets chapters--there are three--reveal the vast range of early 20th-century "dainties" and include Baltimore Cake (two versions), Snippodoodles (thin, cinnamon-flavored cookies), Crullers, Cranberry Sherbet, and Maple Parfait. While written in the abbreviated style typical of the time, the recipes could be made by cooks with the kitchen experience Estes justifiably assumed of his audience. This is a lovely, instructive, and, considering the history of it author, moving book--a vivid look at a near but totally vanished American past. --Arthur Boehm

About the Author

The author was born a slave, but became one of Chicago's finest chefs. He worked his way up from Pullman Private Car attendant, where he served President Cleveland, President Harrison, Sir Stanley the African Explorer, as well as the most famous actors, musicians, and celebrities of his day. Eventually he worked for business tycoon John "Bet-A-Million" Gates and became chef at U.S. Steel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Howling at the Moon Press (June 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965433315
• ISBN-13: 978-0965433310
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #785,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical cookbook excellent piece of history, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Things to Eat, As Suggested by Rufus: A Collection of Practical Recipes for Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc. (Paperback)

Good Things To Eat, a historical cookbook, is a valuable and rare piece of America's history. This book is not just for those people especially interested in fancy cuisine. It is also a valuable history lesson. One of the best ways to learn about our past is by the food we ate.

I loved the fact that the book was reproduced in the original fashion that Mr. Estes had published in back in 1911--with lots of "new" period photos that give a visual interpretation of the times.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful historic cook book, April 9, 2007

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Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01 (Starship Voyager, Gamma Quadrant) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Good Things to Eat, As Suggested by Rufus: A Collection of Practical Recipes for Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc. (Paperback)

I purchased this book and it was a pleasant combination of history and cooking. I also like that the book was reprinted mistakes and all and it includes contextual information from the time and photographs.

Rufus Estes made a great accomplishment yet I first learned about him on Amazon when I purchased this book. This is a great look back into a turn of the century kitchen and the at the food served to a President and rich patrons on the Pullman line. I was married at the Hotel Florence(named in honor of Pullman's favorite daughter) in the Historic Pullman district in Chicago as I was reading this I could actually visualize his food being served there; who knows he may have cooked there.

A friend borrowed my copy and did a dinner from this book for Black History month and it was delicious. Great for history or cooks who like to bring historic recipes to life in the modern kitchen.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Splendid Little Package, August 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Things to Eat, As Suggested by Rufus: A Collection of Practical Recipes for Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc. (Paperback)

"Their [African American men at the turn of the century] history is largely forgotten today, which is why 'Good Things To Eat As Suggested by Rufus,' lovingly reprinted by Howling at the Moon Press, is so important . . . The 1999 version includes not only a facsimile edition of the original but period photographs as well. It's a splendid little package."