The 200-year-old cookbook every modern food lover needs At the turn of the nineteenth century, Mary Randolph--who was among Thomas Jefferson's extended family--and her husband, US Marshall David Meade Randolph, were celebrated for their lavish hospitality. However, in 1802, Mr. Randolph was removed from office, precipitating a financial downturn. By 1808, Mrs. Randolph opened a boardinghouse, where, by all accounts, the food and accommodations were splendid. In the years that followed, she committed her culinary expertise to paper, publishing The Virginia House-wife in 1824. It has come to be regarded as the most influential American cookbook of the nineteenth century. This unique edition includes a complete facsimile of the original book--with recipes for delicacies such as lobster sauce and pumpkin pudding, and household tips on such things as curing bacon and making lavender water--plus additional recipes from the 1825 and 1828 editions.

Historical notes by culinary historian Karen Hess explain Mary Randolph's influence on American culinary history, and a new foreword by Debra Freeman emphasizes contributions of the free and enslaved African American cooks on American cuisine.