8/1/2000
By Allison Stacy
Tired-and-true recipes make a come back
Memories of Grandma's kitchen conjure up the scents of fresh bread, apple pie and fried chicken. Of course, she usually didn't explain what made those recipes so enticing. She'd just add "a pinch of this" and a "dash of that" and presto — flawless loaves, flaky crusts and crispy drumsticks.
Trying to re-create those favorites today may leave you scratching your head, especially if Grandma never recorded those recipes (a good chef never reveals her secrets, after all). But thanks to Bartleby.com, you might be able to find clues online to those bygone meals.
The free site, dedicated to digitizing classic books, recently added The Boston Cooking School Cook Book to its online library. You'll find the 1918 edition in its entirety at <www.bartelby.com/87>. It contains classic recipes for just about every category of food, from puddings and potatoes to sauces and sweetbreads.