A Treasury of Great Recipes

Mary and Vincent Price’s A Treasury of Great Recipes is a collection of “famous specialties of the world’s foremost restaurants adapted for the American kitchen.” Published in 1965 by Bernard Geis Associates, the cookbook is a collection of menus and recipes from France, Italy, Holland, Scandinavia, England, Spain, Mexico, The United States of America, and the Price household. The collection of recipes is from all sorts of places – bistros, cafes, hotels, and the great restaurants that Mary and Vincent Price had the pleasure of visiting during their travels. The cookbook itself is a work of art with its padded faux-leather binding, large pages – measuring 8.5 x 11 inches, vintage 1960’s pen and ink etchings by Fritz Kredel, and full-page color photographs. This cookbook is such a classic a 50th-anniversary edition was published in 2015.  The Price’s purpose in writing the cookbook was to share their favorite dishes from all over the world.

Tour d'Argent, Paris

For most of the restaurants featured, the Prices give a brief history, including a description of the interior and the meal they enjoyed on their visit. For some of the restaurants, especially those in the United States, only a brief paragraph about the restaurant is included with one or two favorite recipes. Many of the restaurant entries include a beautiful full-page color image of the restaurant interior, a picture of a featured dish, or a copy of the menu. The Prices give a brief description of each recipe. The authors also tell us why they choose the recipe for the cookbook and how they prepare the dish, along with possible variations and how the Prices serve the dish in their own home while entertaining.

The Prices present the recipes in a way that we are not accustomed to today. When listing the ingredients, the ingredients are listed on the side of the recipe without any measurements. The method for the recipes is given in steps and the measurements are written in bold in the detail of the method. See the recipes below for an example. 

The Whitehall Club, Chicago
Antoine's, New Orleans
Cookbooks By Vincent Price, Available on Amazon

In addition to the descriptions of the featured restaurants and their recipes, the Prices took the time to make the cookbook an additional resource for the cook and host by providing further tips throughout the cookbook

  • A section about wine selection and a few pages to record your favorite wines
  • Napkin Folding
  • Table of Equivalents for various ingredients
  • Pages to write your own favorite recipes
  • Conversion charts for Weights and Measures and Can Sizes
  • Cooking Temperature chart and a conversion table for Oven Temperatures
  • Herbs and Spices

Featured countries and restaurants include:

  • France
    • Restaurant de la Pyramide, Vienne
    • La Reserve, Beaulieu-sur-Mer
    • Lasserre, Paris
    • La Boule d’Or, Paris
    • Hostellerie de la Poste, Avallon
    • Tour d’Argent, Paris
    • Hotel de la Poste, Beaune
    • Baumaniere, Les Baux
  • Italy
    • Tre Sealini, Rome
    • Passetto, Rome
    • Casina Valadier, Rome
    • The Royal Danieli Roof Terrace, Venice
    • Harry’s Bar, Venice
  • Holland
    • Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam
    • Dikker and Thijs, Amsterdam
    • The Bali, Amsterdam
  • Scandinavia
    • Belle Terrasse, Copenhagen, Denmark
    • La Belle Sole, Oslo, Norway
    • Restaurant Blom, Oslo, Norway
  • England
    • The Ivy, London
    • Boulestin, London
    • Hone in the Wall, Bath
    • Woburn Abbey, Buckinghamshire
    • Levens Hall, Westmoreland
    • Harrods, London
  • Spain
    • Sobrino de Botin, Madrid
    • Jockey, Madrid
    • Ritz Hotel, Madrid
    • Palace Hotel, Madrid
    • Restaurante Horcher, Madrid
    • Soley, Barcelona
  • Mexico – {Caribbean}
    • Rivoli, Mexico City
    • La Mallorquina, Puerto Rico
    • Dorado Beach Hotel, Puerto Rico
  • United States
    • Pierre Grill, New York
    • Trader Vick’s, New York
    • House of Chan, New York
    • Luchow’s, New York
    • Sardi’s, New York
    • The Four Seasons, New York
    • Le Pavillon, New York
    • Gage and Tollner’s, Brooklyn
    • Forum of the Twelve Caesars, New York
    • Wayside Inn, South Sudbury
    • Stonehenge, Ridgefield
    • Beau Sejour, Long Island
    • La Cremaillere, Banksville
    • Locke-Ober’s, Boston
    • Durgin-Park, Boston
    • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
    • Grisanti’s, Memphis
    • Old Original Bookbinder’s, Philadelphia
    • The Warwick, Philadelphia
    • Antoine’s, New Orleans
    • The Royal Orleans, New Orleans
    • Galatoire’s, New Orleans
    • The Sante Fe Super Chief
    • The Whitehall Club, Chicago
    • The Pump Room, Chicago
    • The Red Carpet, Chicago
    • The Stockyard Inn, Chicago
    • Hotel Hana-Maui, Hawaii
    • The Racquet Club, Palm Springs
    • Scandia, Los Angeles
    • Perino’s, Los Angeles
    • The Blue Fox, San Francisco
    • Ernie’s, San Francisco
    • Bush Gardens, Portland
    • Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles
  • Specialties from the Price House
    • Champignons Grilles Marie Victoire, Broiled Mushrooms Mary Victoria
    • Pot De Creme Chocolat, Individual Chocolate Mousse
    • Brandy Snaps
    • House Bread
    • Herb Bread
    • Friday Chicken
    • Fillets of Sole in Cream Aspic
    • Jellied Madrilene Salad with Egg Salad Dressing
    • Chicken Sweet and Hot
    • Stuffed Smoked Ham
    • Stuffed Crown Roast of Veal
    • Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
    • Farfel Pilaf, Baked Egg Barley
    • Iced Tea
    • Iced Coffee
    • Diana Torte
    • Sunshine Cake with Chocolate Almond Frosting
    • Dark Mocha Cake
    • Sherbert Castle
    • Bloody Mary

Here are a few recipes from the Price’s collection:

Friday Chicken

“This chicken recipe got its name because it was always made on Friday – cooking and baking day – and then was eaten cold over the weekend. The seasoned stuffing is placed between the skin and the mean instead of in the cavity, giving you a well-flavored bird, a crisp skin, and moist, tender meat. Though we continue to call it Friday Chicken, we usually prefer to use capon, especially if we want enough to last the weekend. Incidentally, this is one of the best things we take for lunch or dinner in our mobile home.”

Ingredients

Capon
Bread
Parsley
Eggs
Salt, pepper
Thyme or sage
Onion
Butter

Method

1. Loosen the skin of a ready to cook 7-pound capon by inserting the hand over the breast meat and down around the thighs, carefully tearing any connecting tissue. 

2. Cut crusts from 5 slices white bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup water and let soak for 3 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture and mix the bread with 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, 4 eggs, lightly beaten, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon thyme, or crumbled sage leaves, and 1 small onion, grated. 

3. Preheat oven to moderately hot (375-degrees). 

4. Stuff the dressing between the skin and meat of the capon, over the breast, forcing it into the leg pockets. Place capon, breast up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Spread with 1/2 cup soft butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast in the moderately hot oven for 45 minutes, basting frequently. Reduce oven temperature to 350-degrees and cook for 1 hour longer, basing every 20 minutes. Turn capon over on its breast and cook for 15 minutes longer to brown the back. Server hot or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Author: Mary and Vincent Price
Publisher: Bernard Geis Associates
Year Published: 1965
Pages: 488

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