Posted on by TracyC

Raggedy Ann and Andy’s Cookbook

Raggedy Ann and Andy’s Cookbook by Nika Hazelton, 1975.

This children’s cookbook is inspired by the classic Raggedy Ann and Andy stories, and the recipes are accompanied by illustrations from the original books and quotes from the stories. I think the concept is charming, although I noticed that the quotes included with the recipes don’t always match what the recipes actually are. I think that’s because the author decided to include recipes that don’t relate to the stories directly. For example, the quote included with one of the recipes for breakfast cereal is about sausages, and there is no recipe that includes sausages in the chapter of breakfast recipes.

That being said, I thought that the book had an interesting selection of recipes. Some of the recipes are classics, like pancakes, different types of sandwiches, chicken, meatloaf, and some easy desserts. Some recipes are a little old-fashioned, like the one that is designed for an electric frying pan. I haven’t seen electric frying pans for years, and I’m not sure if people still use them. Other recipes in the book strike me as being very mid-20th century in style, such as the salads that contain some mixtures of ingredients that I think 21st century children might find odd. I noticed that the recipe for baked onions has a note that this might be a treat “for your Daddy or Mommy”, a sort of acknowledgement that an adult might enjoy a baked onion more than a kid would, although the recipe is easy enough for a kid to do, baking the onions alongside baked potatoes.

The book begins with a short chapter about cooking tips, and I was surprised by the instructions for cleaning fish that were included later in the book, with the assumption that kids might be helping to cook fish that they actually caught. It is logical that some kids might actually go fishing and catch fish, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cookbook for children with that assumption or those instructions. Most seem to assume that kids are using store-bought ingredients for their recipes.

The main chapters of the book are:

Beautiful Breakfasts

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Two recipes for making your own breakfast cereal
  • Cinnamon Toast
  • Pancakes
  • Baked Ham
  • Nest Egg
  • Electric Frying Pan Breakfast – I don’t know if people use electric frying pans anymore. I’ve seen them before but not for a long time. The breakfast included in this recipe is for bacon, eggs, and toast.

Lovely Lunches

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Cheese and Apple Sandwiches
  • Cream Cheese and Berry Sandwiches
  • Ham, Lettuce, and Cheese Sandwich
  • Stuffed Pita Pocket – The filling is cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and cheese.
  • Savory Cheese and Bread Pudding
  • Baked Cheesy Eggs

Super Salads

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Raggedy Ann Salad – This salad is meant to be shaped like Raggedy Ann’s face, with a canned peach half for the head, raisins for eyes, a piece of pepper for a nose, pimiento for the mouth, and grated carrot for hair.
  • Tossed Green Salad
  • French Dressing
  • Carrot, Apple and Raisin Salad
  • Tomato Salad
  • Guacamole Salad
  • Cucumber Galleons – Cucumbers are cut and decorated to look like boats with lettuce for sails.

Scrumptious Suppers

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Corn Chowder
  • French Onion Soup
  • Rice
  • Roast Corn
  • Corn Fritters
  • Green Peas with Bacon
  • How to clean and cook a small fish
  • Oven-fried Chicken Legs
  • Baked Chicken
  • Hand-mixed Meat Loaf
  • How to Make an Oven-cooked Dinner for a Friend
  • Baked Potato
  • Baked Onion
  • Oven Hamburgers
  • How to Make a Spaghetti Dinner for Four
  • Tomato Sauce
  • Spaghetti
  • Italian Bread Sticks

Delectable Desserts

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Baked Apple
  • Smores
  • Yoghurt-and-Fruit
  • Dessert Ladyfinger Sandwiches
  • Hot Bananas
  • Frozen Bananas and More Frozen Bananas
  • Chocolate Bar Mousse
  • Lemon Gelatin
  • Elegant Melon Dessert
  • Gingerbread Men
  • Three Hole Chocolate Cake
  • Brownies

Terrific Treats

The recipes included in this chapter are:

  • Ice Cream Soda and Super Ice Cream Soda
  • Thick Milk Shake
  • Honey Sauce for Ice Cream
  • Boston Cooler
  • Strawberry Ice-Cubes Milk
  • Fruit Candy Treats
  • Party Punch
  • Chocolate Raisins
  • Popcorn Party
Posted on by TracyC

Raggedy Ann’s Tea Party Book

Raggedy Ann’s Tea Party Book by Elizabeth Silbaugh, illustrated by Laura Francesca Filippucci, 1999.

This book is a children’s guide to planning a tea party with Raggedy Ann. As in the original books, Raggedy Ann is a doll who lives with a girl named Marcella, and she likes to have tea parties with Marcella’s other dolls and stuffed animals.

The book explains how to plan and prepare for a tea party, from figuring out how many guests there will be and making sure there are enough seats for everyone to choosing a menu and games to play. There are tips for making party invitations and a section of recipes in the back of the book.

The food ideas aren’t too complicated. The book recommends keeping preparations simple because a party is about having fun. Setting the table is an activity by itself. Raggedy Ann gets her guests to help her, and they put on music while they do it. They want to make the table setting pretty, and they make sure that everyone knows each other and is included in the conversation. Tea parties are a time to practice good manners and make sure everyone is enjoying the party. At the end of the party, guests can also help clean up while they play music.

For games to play, they recommend the classic game of Telephone, Fiddly Diddly (a guessing game), and Memory Tray, where guests look at a tray of objects for a limited amount of time and then try to remember everything they’ve seen.

The recipes included in the book are:

  • Easy Chocolate Cakes
  • Creamy Pink and White Icing
  • Tiny Sandwiches – They suggest a variety of possible fillings, including tuna, ham, tomato, hard-boiled egg, cucumbers, cheese, fruit, or jam.
  • Raggedy Ann’s Candy-Heart Cookies – These are heart-shaped cutout cookies because Raggedy Ann has a candy heart.
  • Uncle Clem’s Super-Simple Scotch Shortbread
  • Marcella’s Lemonade

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies). There is another book by the same author called Raggedy Ann’s Birthday Party Book, about planning a birthday party.

My Reaction

I found it charming and nostalgic, and I loved the colorful pictures! I didn’t read this book as a child, but it is the kind of book I would have liked. The party-planning tips are useful, taking child readers step-by-step through planning the party, inviting the guests, and preparing food and entertainment. I liked the advice to keep things simple, so even the host/hostess can enjoy the party instead of getting stressed over complicating preparations. The recipes in the book fit the tea party theme, and they are simple enough for children to make or at least help in their preparation without being overly simplistic.