Rex Stout, "The Nero Wolfe Cookbook"

Real Recipes from America's Greatest Fiction Detective

Unlikely as it may seem with his gourmet palate, New York City brownstone, ten thousand orchids, and inscrutable genius for solving tangled murder cases, Nero Wolfe is America's most popular fictional detective. Indeed, he is one of the most popular fictional detectives in the world. Although Rex Stout, who created the rotund and irascible Wolfe, died more than twenty years ago, millions of mystery fans everywhere still read Nero Wolfe mysteries.

In every mystery Wolfe and his wry young operative and fellow detective Archie Goodwin sit down to an extraordinary meal prepared by Fritz Brenner, Wolfe's world-class personal chef. In response to readers who demanded recipes for the dishes, The Nero Wolfe Cookbook was created, in which the secrets of many of Brenner's recipes are revealed, such as Shad-Roe Mousse Pocahontas, Salad with Devil's Rain Dressing, Bread Triangles Fried in Anchovy Butter, and more than 200 others.

The Nero Wolfe Cookbook is filled with one-of-a-kind, high-cuisine recipes spiced by quotes from memorable Nero Wolfe whodumts, as well as observations about Wolfe and food from the books. Forty-four photos recall New York in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s when the Empire State Building was new, art deco was the rage, and Wolfe and Goodwin were in their prime.

Rex Stout published his first Nero Wolfe novel in 1934. Over the next forty years he wrote and published seventy-three Nero Wolfe mysteries, plus dozens of other books. Like Nero and Archie, Stout had a consuming interest in good food.

Amazon.com Review
"I went on by to the kitchen, and was served by Fritz with what do you think? Corn fritters… with bacon and homemade blackberry jam they were ambrosia." The speaker is Archie Goodwin; the Fritz in question is Nero Wolfe's estimable chef; the recipe for corn fritters is just one of hundreds put together by a team of dedicated (and hungry) editors at Viking Press in this paperback edition of a book that belongs on every mystery lover's shelf. Even if you never cook any of the dishes, there are splendid period photographs and quotes on every page to make you remember how much fun it was to get involved in Rex Stout's perfectly-shaped, fictional world. Some selected Nero Wolfes in paperback are And Be a Villain, Death of a Doxy, Fer-De-Lance, The Golden Spiders, In the Best Families, and Three at Wolfe's Door.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Other Books by Rex Stout
 Novels
 Nero Wolfe Mysteries
 Tecumseh Fox Mysteries
 Mysteries
Thanks
Note
Personal
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
1 Breakfast in the Old Brownstone
2 Luncheon in the Dining Room
3 Warm-Weather Dinners
4 Cold-Weather Dinners
5 Desserts
6 The Perfect Dinner for the Perfect Detective
7 The Relapse
8 Snacks
9 Guests, Male and Female
10 Associates for Dinner
11 Fritz Brenner
12 Dishes Cooked by Others
13 Rusterman's Restaurant
14 Nero Wolfe Cooks
15 The Kanawha Spa Dinner
Index

Tags: qCooking, qFiction, qMystery, qNewYorkCity

John McAleer, "Rex Stout: A Biography"

Diana Tixier Herald, "Gen... Interests (6th Edition)"

Jane Rogers (ed), "Good Fiction Guide"

Michael Pollan, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto"

Shannon Okey, "Spin to Kn...r's Guide to Making Yarn"

Lynne Vogel, "The Twisted...ing, Designing, Knitting"

Matthew Stein, "When Tech...& Planetary Survival"

Kate Ascher, "The Works: Anatomy of a City"