Originally published in 1824, this influential, classic guide by a noted Virginia hostess is widely regarded as the first truly Southern cookbook. Compiled and written by Mary Randolph (reputed to have been the best cook in Richmond), it contains a treasury of cooking instructions for everything from hearty soups to exotic cordials. Included are time-honored recipes for a wide range of beef, veal, lamb and pork dishes, along with fish, poultry, sauces, vegetables, pudding, cakes, preserves, and more. In addition to such traditional Southern fare as okra soup, curry of catfish, barbequed shoat (a fat young hog), field peas, beaten biscuits and sweet potato buns, readers will also find scores of recipes for dishes, condiments and beverages rarely seen on today's dinner table: sweetbread and oyster pie, grilled calf's head, shoulder of mutton with celery sauce, fried calf's feet, pheasant "a-la-daub," tansy pudding, gooseberry fool (cold stewed gooseberries with custard and whipped cream), pickled nasturtiums, walnut catsup, vinegar of the four thieves, ginger wine, and many other edibles from a bygone era.More than just a collection of recipes, however, this comprehensive cook's reference also provides a fascinating introduction to the food and customs of the antebellum South, as well as handy instructions for making soap, starch and cologne water, cleaning silver, drying herbs, and much other useful advice.For this edition, Jan Longone, a specialist in antiquarian wine and food books, has contributed an informative new introduction that outlines the singular qualities of Mrs. Randolph's book and its preeminent place in American culinary history. Any cook, antiquarian or lover of Americana will enjoy this rare glimpse into the kitchens of the past.

SOUPS. Asparagus soup Beef soup Gravy soup Soup with Bouilli Veal soup Oyster soup Barley soup Dried pea soup Green pea soup Ochra soup Hare or Rabbit soup Soup of any kind of old fowl Catfish soup Onion soup To dress turtle Mock turtle soup of calf's headBEEF. Directions for curing beef To dry beef for summer use To corn beef in hot weather "Important observations on roasting, boiling, frying, &c." Beef a-la-mode Brisket of beef baked Beef olives To stew a rump of beef A fricando of beef An excellent method of dressing beef To collar a flank of beef To make a hunter's beef A nice little dish of beef Beef steaks To hash beef Beef steak pie Beef a-la-daubeVEAL. Directions for the pieces in the different quarters of veal Veal cutlets from the fillet or leg Veal chops Veal cutlets Knuckle of veal Baked fillet of veal Scotch collops of veal Veal olives Ragout of a breast of veal Fricando of veal To make a pie of sweetbreads and oysters Mock turtle of calf's head To grill a calf's head To collar a calf's head "Calf's heart, a nice dish" Calf's feet fricassee To fry calf's feet To prepare rennet To hash a calf's head To bake a calf's head To stuff and roast calf's liver To broil calf's liver Directions for cleaning calf's head and feetLAMB. "To roast the fore-quarter, &c." Baked lamb Fried lamb To dress lamb's head and feetMUTTON. Boiled leg of mutton Roasted leg of mutton Steaks of a leg of mutton To harrico mutton Mutton chops Boiled breast of mutton Breast of mutton in ragout To grill a breast of mutton Boiled shoulder of mutton Shoulder of mutton with celery sauce Roasted loin of muttonPORK. To cure bacon To make souse To roast a pig To barbecue shote To roast a fore-quarter of shote To make shote cutlets To corn shote Shote's head Leg of pork with pease pudding Stewed chine To toast a ham To stuff a ham Soused feet in ragout To make sausages To make black puddings A sea pie To make paste for the pie Bologna sausagesFISH. To cure herrings To bake sturgeon To make sturgeon cutlets Sturgeon steaks To boil sturgeon To bake a shad To boil a shad To roast a shad To broil a shad To boil rock fish To fry perch To pickle oysters To make a curry of catfish To dress a cod's head and shoulders To make sauce for the cod's head To dress a salt cod Matelote of any kind of firm fish "Chowder, a sea dish" To pickle sturgeon To caveach fish To dress cod fish Cod fish pie To dress any kind of salted fish To fricassee cod sounds and tongues An excellent way to dress fish Fish a-la-daub Fish in jelly To make egg sauce for a salt cod To dress cod sounds To stew carp To boil eels To pitchcock eels To broil eels To scollop oysters To fry oysters To make oyster loaves"POULTRY, &c." To roast a goose To make sauce for a goose To boil ducks with onion sauce To make onion sauce To roast ducks To boil a turkey with oyster sauce To make sauce for a turkey To boil fowls To make white sauce for fowls Fricassee of small chickens To roast large fowls To make egg sauce To boil young chickens To roast young chickens Fried chickens To roast woodcocks or snipes To roast wild ducks or teal To boil pigeons To roast pigeons To roast partridges or any small bird To boil rabbits To roast rabbits To stew wild ducks To dress ducks with juice of oranges To dress ducks with onions To roast a calf's head To make a dish of curry after the East Indian manner "Dish of rice to be served up with the curry, in a dish by itself" Ochra and tomatos Gumbo?a West India dish Pepperpot Spanish method of dressing giblets Paste for meat dumplins To make an ollo?a Spanish dish Ropa veija?Spanish "Chicken pudding, a favourite Virginia dish" To make polenta Macaroni Mock macaroni To make croquets To make vermicelli Common patties Eggs in croquets Omelette souffle Fondus A nice twelve o'clock luncheon Eggs a-la-creme Sauce a-la-creme for the eggs Cabbage a-la-creme To make an omelette Omelette?another way Gaspacho?Spanish Eggs and tomatos Eggs and tomatos To fricassee eggsSAUCES. Fish sauce to keep a year Sauce for wild fowl Sauce for boiled rabbits Gravy Forcemeat balls Sauce for boiled ducks or rabbits Lobster sauce Shrimp sauce Oyster sauce for fish Celery sauce Mushroom sauce Common sauce To melt butter Caper sauce Oyster catsup Celery vinegarVEGETABLES. To dress salad To boil potatos To fry sliced potatos Potatos mashed Potatos mashed with onions To roast potatos To roast potatos under meat Potato balls Jerusalem artichokes Cabbage Savoys Sprouts and young greens Asparagus Sea-kale To scollop tomatos To stew tomatos Cauliflower Red beet roots Parsnips Carrots Turnips To mash turnips Turnip tops French beans Artichokes Brocoli Peas Puree of turnips Ragout of turnips "Ragout of French beans, snaps, string beans" Mazagan beans "Lima, or sugar beans" Turnip rooted cabbage Egg plant Potato pumpkin Sweet potato Sweet potatos stewed Sweet potatos broiled Spinach Sorrel Cabbage pudding Squash or cimlin Winter squash Field peas Cabbage with onions Salsify Stewed salsify Stewed mushrooms Broiled mushrooms To boil rice "Rice journey, or johnny cake""PUDDINGS, &c." Observations on puddings and cakes Rice milk for a dessert To make puff paste To make mince-meat for pies To make jelly from feet A sweet-meat pudding To make an orange pudding An apple custard Boiled loaf Transparent pudding Flummery Burnt custard An English plum pudding Marrow pudding Sippet pudding Sweet potato pudding An arrow root pudding Sago pudding Puff pudding Rice pudding Plum pudding Almond pudding Quire of paper pancakes&n Sugar ginger bread Dough nuts?a yankee cake Risen cake Pound cake "Savoy, or spunge cake" A rich fruit cake Naples biscuit Shrewsbury cakes Little plum cakes Soda cakes To make bread To make nice biscuit Rice bread Mixed bread Patent yeast To prepare the cakes Another method for making yeast Nice buns Muffins French rolls Crumpets Apoquiniminc cakes Batter cakes Batter bread Cream cakes Soufle biscuits Corn meal bread Sweet potato buns Rice woffles Velvet cakes Chocolate cakes Wafers Buckwheat cakes Observations on ice creams Ice creams Vanilla cream Raspberry cream Strawberry cream Cocoa nut cream Chocolate cream Oyster cream Iced jelly Peach cream Coffee cream Quince cream Citron cream Almond cream Lemon cream Lemonade cream To make custard To make a trifle Rice blanc mange Floating island SyllabubCOLD CREAMS. Lemon cream Orange cream Raspberry cream Tea cream Sago cream Barley cream Gooseberry fool To make slip Curds and cream Blanc mange To make a hen's nest Pheasants a-la-daub Partridges a-la-daub Chickens a-la-daub To make savoury jelly Turkey a-la-daub "Salmagundi, an excellent relish after dinner" To stew perchPRESERVES. Directions for making preserves To preserve cling-stone peaches Cling-stones sliced Soft peaches Peach marmalade Peach chips Pears Pear marmalade Quinces Currant jelly Quince jelly Quince marmalade Cherries Morello cherries To dry cherries Raspberry jam To preserve strawberries Strawberry jam Gooseberries Apricots in brandy Peaches in brandy Cherries in brandy Magnum bonum plums in brandyPICKLING. Lemon pickle Tomato catsup Tomato marmalade Tomato sweet marmalade Tomato soy Pepper vinegar Mushroom catsup "Tarragon, or astragon vinegar" Curry powder To pickle cucumbers Oil mangos To make the stuffing for forty melons To make yellow pickle To make green pickles To prepare vinegar for green or yellow pickle To pickle onions To pickle nastertiums To pickle radish pods To pickle English walnuts To pickle peppers To make walnut catsup "To pickle green nectarines, or apricots" To pickle asparagus Observations on pickling"CORDIALS, &c." Ginger wine Orgeat Cherry shrub Currant wine To make cherry brandy Rose brandy Peach cordial Raspberry cordial Raspberry vinegar Mint cordial "Hydromel, or mead" To make a substitute for arrack Lemon cordial Ginger beer Spruce beer Molasses beer To keep lemon juice Sugar vinegar Honey vinegar Syrup of vinegar Aromatic vinegar Vinegar of the four thieves Lavender water Hungarian water To prepare cosmetic soap for washing the hands Cologne water Soft pomatum To make soap To make starch To dry herbs To clean silver utensils To make blacking To clean knives and forks