Richard Deacon’s Microwave Oven Cookbook

Title: Richard Deacon’s Microwave Oven Cookbook
Genre: Cookbooks
Author: Richard Deacon (1921-1984)
Photography: George de Gennaro
Illustration: Cornell Morton
Publishers: H. P. Books, Tucson, Arizona and Thermador, Los Angeles, California
Year: 1974
Pages: 160
Format: Paperback, perfect-bound.
Provenance: Price sticker in the amount of $3.99 on front cover; also, a string of numbers written in pencil on title page.
From the Back Cover: “Richard Deacon is a man of many talents. He’s a comedian, dramatic actor and a serious cook. His life is a busy one—days of rehearsing, filming and hours away from home. And he loves to entertain—and he does it very well.”
Random Passage: “Pound each breast until it is thin. Place half slice of ham and cheese on each breast half. Be sure that cheese does not come near the edge of the chicken. Fold the slices together, pinning the edges tightly with round wooden toothpicks (pin through the skin when possible).” (Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe)
Notes: A beloved character actor best known for his turn as uptight Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), Richard Deacon was also an avid chef who authored this microwave oven cookbook when his showbiz career cooled in the ’70s. Paging through these recipes, I imagine how much fun it could have been at Mr. Deacon’s place, casually sampling helpings of Deacon's Hot Curried Chicken Bake (p.70) and Oriental Supper (p.98) as the author mulled over which dishes to include in this volume. The contents include a lot of processed supermarket foods as ingredients (of course)—and some surprises, such as the French Toast recipe below.

Comments

Popular Posts