Easy and Plain

The first of the last two cookbooks in the Mary Lee Taylor saga is Easy Ways To make meals more tempting, also known as Mary Lee Taylor: The Black & White Years. There are a few strange things about this October edition of the newsletter. The black and white photographs and illustrated cover are only slightly disorienting. It's the lack of that expected supplemental '2 or 4 or 6' that contributes to the foreigness of this particular publication! The highlight of the book: If you like a good anthropomorphic character, you'll want to see this adorable bulb with some bright ideas!

Front cover - Mother passes round the tempting Cheese Scallops. Just look at the excitement on her family's faces!


If there's one thing I've learned from cookbooks, it's that men won't eat just anything! You absolutely need to tailor your menu to ensure "'Man' Appeal." Luckily for frazzled cooks, men like Creole Steak (especially when it has a 'heavenly sauce') with Crisp Celery!


Oh dear, that Pumpkin Pie that was previously featured in lush full-color has now been drained of life! The halo of whipped topping can't really make up for our temporary monochromatism.


Now, this is different! Here we have a promising set of Stuffed Hamburgers with sophisticated Radish Roses.


Creamed Peas are lacklustre in black and white. The pasty dome to the right of the peas seems to be the aforementioned Cheese Scallops ('with all the flavor-appeal of a creamy cheese rarebit').


Back cover - Advertisement for Mary Lee Taylor's show and Saturday Night Serenade (with Jessica Dragonette).


Front cover of our final Mary Lee Taylor cookbook, Plain and Party Food for 2 or 4 or 6, a festive and elegant ending to the year. The cover displays the Easy Fruit Cake. Who wouldn't want a slice of that?


The very orderly Meat Balls with Noodles. The sauce is condensed vegetable soup!


Ending our Mary Lee Taylor series on a sweet note.. here are some cookies. Interestingly, there is a 'Creamy Cheese Rarebit' on the menu shown here. I wonder if that's the same as the Cheese Scallops from the last cookbook!


Finally, Fruit Candy. I like the ones that look like little porcupines!

Thank you for looking through my Mary Lee Taylor cookbooks with me! I just wanted to add that I've been working on uploading photos to my Flickr account. I have a lot to add yet, but I have a small amount of advertisements and cookbook graphics there already. Feel free to add me as a contact! Also, I've added some different subscription options to the sidebar on the right. If you happen to try one out and there are any problems, let me know!