Epigraph
WRITTEN FOR MEN BY MEN
COLLECTED AND EDITED
by
C. MAC SHERIDAN
With an Introduction by
ROBERT H. DAVIS
Dedication
Dedicated To—
THAT GREAT HOST
OF BACHELORS AND BENEDICTS ALIKE
who have at one time or another tried to “cook something”; and who, in the attempt, have weakened under a fire of feminine raillery and sarcasm, only to spoil what, under more favorable circumstances, would have proved a chef-d’œuvre.
“They may live without houses and live without books,”
So the saying has gone through the ages,
“But a civilized man cannot live without cooks—”
It’s a libel, as proved by these pages!
For when left by himself in a small kitchenette,
With a saucepan, a spoon and a kettle,
A man can make things that you’ll never forget—
That will put any cook on her mettle.
Where camp fires glow through the still of the night,
Where grills are electric and shiny,
Where kitchens are huge, done in tiling of white,
Where stoves are exceedingly tiny,
Where people are hungry—no matter the place—
A man can produce in a minute
A dish to bring smiles to each skeptical face,
With art—and real food value—in it!
At range and at oven, at (whisper it!) still,
A man is undoubtedly master;
His cooking is done with an air and a skill,
He’s sure as a woman—and faster!
He may break the dishes and clutter the floor,
And if he is praised—he deserves it—
He may flaunt his prowess until he’s a bore....
But, Boy, what he serves—when he serves it!