The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, first published in 1954, is one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time. Written by Alice B. Toklas, writer Gertrude Stein's life partner, Toklas wrote this book as a favor to Random House to make up for her unwillingness at the time to write her memoirs, in deference to Stein's 1933 book about her, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.
This work is as much of an autobiography as it is a cookbook, in that it contai...
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The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, first published in 1954, is one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time. Written by Alice B. Toklas, writer Gertrude Stein's life partner, Toklas wrote this book as a favor to Random House to make up for her unwillingness at the time to write her memoirs, in deference to Stein's 1933 book about her, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.
This work is as much of an autobiography as it is a cookbook, in that it contains as many personal recollections as it does recipes. The most famous culinary experiment contained therein is a concoction called Hashish Fudge. Made from spices, nuts, fruit, and Cannabis, Hashish Fudge quickly became a sensation in its own right. In the recipe, Alice described how it is called "the food of paradise" and goes on to suggest places where the cook might find the illegal ingredient named in its title. She stated that this was something that can liven up any gathering and is "easy to whip up on a rainy day." She cautions two...
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