Great Chicken Recipes (pamphlet); Wellspring Press

 Great Chicken Recipes; Wellspring Press 

Reviewed By Rachel 

"Great Chicken Recipes is at first glance a very modest book-- really almost more of a pamphlet.  I picked it up and immediately noticed there is no author listed, only a publisher (Wellspring Press), and then a side note that states in lovely lowercase script "calligraphy by p. dutery", which initially made me go huh.  The book feels soft in your hands, as if made from some sort of specialty linen paper.  The cover art is a lovely watercolor assemblage of chicken dishes with the title "Great Chicken Recipes" displayed above.  This sort of food illustration always feels like it could be a cousin to traditional botanical illustration, and the calligraphy definitely adds to its vintage allure.  

Flipping through "Great Chicken Recipes", I quickly came to the realization that probably most of these recipes are not actually that great.   They are recipes reminiscent of a time where creamed canned soup was a pantry staple, and putting boiled chicken into a blender to make a guest-worthy dip was top notch innovative.   And while some recipes do look squarely decent (Chicken Cacciatore, pg 24),  I think "Great" might be a stretch.    

But maybe ironically the point of this cookbook is not its Great recipes.  I believe this book, which is lacking in authorship, much less the stamp of approval from some celebrity chef pushed by so many cookbooks today, is about the celebration of one thing (and it ain't chicken)..... it's Calligraphy.   

This is a book displaying a calligraphy artist's craft.   And it is beautiful. 

The chicken recipes are secondary; they are the vessel that allows the calligraphy to shine.  The inked letters make the recipes feel special, and because I love handling books like this, I might even try one of these recipes next week.  I'm still not sure about adding bits of chopped hard boiled egg to float in my chicken corn soup, but admittedly p. dutery's gorgeous lettering makes me feel as though there is something beautiful, timeless, and possibly even great in every ingredient.  

4 stars