Remember Clementine Paddleford and her How America Eats cookbook? In the 1950s she traveled the United States to discover…well, how America eats. The cookbook is filled with great stories. Now, 70 years on, the stories are like a blast from the past. A window into another time and place. A book well worth

Hold that thought.

Having this cookbook, it is certainly worth $25-40 in good condition. Here are a few to choose from. It is not worth $155 even if the seller claims it’s in fine condition and signed. People have lost their ever-lovin-minds. Heh. There’s one priced at $400. Good grief.

If you want to get a feel for what the book is about, here’s the list of posts and recipes from last Fall when we looked at How America Eats.

When I met Edith Davison, a home economics graduate of Iowa State College, she was the managing cateress for the Des Moines, Iowa, Women’s Club. From October to May a weekly luncheon was given to serve four hundred guests. Planning menus without repetition was Edith’s big job. But certain dishes, she told me, were always in good favor and used again and again.

One such recipe which had come down the years in the clubhouse kitchen, was this casserole for macaroni and cheese, almost a soufflé, but easier to handle. Other favorites were dishes Edith had learned from Mama in the big farm kitchen in Mills County. Here are some of the good things she was feeding “the girls”. [See also recipes for Edith Davison’s Apple Relish in Basics section, Edith Davison’s French Chocolate in Libations section, and Edith Davison’s Boiled Ham Loaf with Horseradish Sauce in Meats section.]

Clementine Paddleford, How America Eats (1960)

EDITH DAVISON’S MACARONI AND CHEESE

Yield: 6 portions

1½ C scalded milk
1 C soft bread crumbs
1½ C (6 oz) grated Cheddar cheese
1 C cooked macaroni
3 eggs, separated, yolks beaten, whites beaten until stiff but not dry
¼ diced pimento
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp grated onion
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350˚. Pour hot milk over bread crumbs, add cheese, cover and let stand until cheese melts. Add macaroni. Combine egg yolks, pimento, parsley, onion, salt, and melted butter, and add to macaroni mixture. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites, pour into a greased casserole, and bake about 15 minutes.