A post on a popular historical Facebook page about area cookbooks had me thinking about them. There are three that are very well-known in our area. I’ll start with the oldest two.
These two were compiled by the late great Mildred Swift in 1963. They were a staple in every woman’s kitchen by the mid 1960’s. Today, you cannot find original copies for less than hundreds of dollars. Looking at Cooking and the Supplement (known today as More Looking at Cooking) have been reprinted many times and remain classics on the shelves of many area cooks. My mom has both, given to her as a wedding gift. The first one is now missing the cover! The library has an original copy of the first book in our Special Collections Department and circulating copies of the reprints in the general collection, all with the call number of LA 641.5 Swi.
Almost ten years later, the Junior Charity League published the above cookbook. It instantly became a huge success. The book attracted national attention when it was named by USA Today as one of the top five regional cookbooks in the United States! You can find it in the Library’s collection with the Call Number of LA 641.5 Jun.
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 