The 1990s were a hot time for Junior League cookbooks and big business for fundraising. Hair styles were large and so were JL cookbook production budgets. And this book had it all: a simple and elegant design, quality paper, and a binding and heft that feels substantial. The recipes were carefully chosen, tested, well-written, and curated for the newly expanded American palate.
Back Home Again sold well, too. 40,000 copies is an achievement in Junior League publishing. Especially considering it has a raw salmon steak on the cover, which was a huge no-no in the food media world at the time.
As we now know, the publishing world would eventually change with the advent of online recipes and blogs (and big, splashy, corporate-sponsored Junior League galas) would greatly weaken the market for specialty cookbooks. But thankfully we are still able to go back and revisit these great recipes and dishes in their original book-based form. We are here for it and so should you be.
