Dorothy Dean cookbook gets a fresh printing in time for new cooking show

Dorothy Dean was the Inland Northwest’s queen of home cooking.

She showed generations of new brides, housewives and busy moms how to feed their families on a budget and in simple steps. Long after the newspaper shuttered the Dorothy Dean Homemakers Service, calls would come in requesting replacement recipes and instructions for old favorites mom or grandma used to make.

Macaroni Surprise. Souper Meatloaf. Chicken Tamale Pie. Peppermint Ice Box Cake. So many assorted cookies as well as puddings, sauces and salad dressings.

“The Spokesman-Review Dorothy Dean Cookbook” is the first new Dorothy Dean recipe collection in 35 years. Most of the recipes are vintage Dorothy Dean.

Irish Soda Bread. Nanaimo Bars. Easter Chiffon Cake. Something called the Saturday Special.

They’re all in there – along with menus for picnics and barbecues, bridal showers, buffet luncheons and those times when it’s your turn to host bridge – or maybe book – club.

“The Spokesman-Review Dorothy Dean Cookbook” is 184 pages of mostly vintage Dorothy Dean recipes as well as 20 pages of modern newspaper recipes inspired by Dorothy Dean’s straight-forward approach to home cooking. It’s divided by appetizers and sides, mains, desserts, holiday dishes, special menus and advice for properly setting a table.

Cookbooks are included in the price of Dorothy Dean and VIP level tickets to Saturday’s Dorothy Dean Home Cooking Show.

The Dorothy Dean level is $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Perks include two a copy of the new, limited edition Dorothy Dean cookbook as well as three additional recipe sheets from speakers and entry to two Northwest Passages Book Club headliner sessions.

The VIP level is $100 in advance or $125 at the door. This package includes all of the above perks, plus reserved seating in first three rows of two headliner sessions, an additional 20 pages to the Dorothy Dean cookbook (limited to a printing of just 125), an exclusive Dorothy Dean bag and a private lunch at The Spokesman-Review in June hosted by executive editor Rob Curley. Lunch features street-style tacos prepared by “Top Chef” competitor Chad White, one of the Northwest Passages Book Club headliners, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of the newspaper’s historic building, including a visit to The Review building’s iconic clock tower and The Chronicle building’s rooftop gargoyles.

General admission is $12 in advance or $15 at the door.