Cooking from The Joy of Cooking (2006) by Irma Rombauer, et al

QUICK SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE (pg. 630)
STREUSEL TOPPING (pg. 799)

This is the coffee cake I grew up with. I didn't use any substitutions, and the only deviation from the recipe was to fold the wet ingredients into the dry, instead of vice versa. It rose nicely, came out nice and high and moist. I used the suggested Streusel Topping, which worked great.

The only point of confusion on the streusel is that the recipe states "after spreading the dough with butter..." What does that mean? Does it expect that you're topping the batter in the pan with another layer of butter before adding the streusel? I don't see any other recipe that calls for that step. I ignored it.

CORNBREAD, MUFFINS, OR STICKS (pg. 632)

This is my second time making this recipe; the first ended up dry, especially on reheating. This time I maxed it out: 4 tbsp sugar and 2 eggs, and I used equal quantities of all-purpose flour and cornmeal. Much better, though I haven't tried reheating it yet.

SLOW-COOKER VEGETARIAN CHILI (pg. 101)

I used the quick-soak method to cook some dried pinto beans, then followed the recipe to cook in a Crock-Pot 6qt slow cooker. It took about 10 hours for the beans to soften instead of the advertised 6, but part of this might have been because my beans were on the old side. I also understand that using a larger-than-required cooker can cause longer cook times because the crock is less full. No other issues or substitutions.

It turned out thinner than I expected, though it would be relatively easy to reduce on the stovetop. The flavor was good - a nice simple red vegetarian chili with a hint of spice. I added some shredded cheese for serving. This will probably become my baseline if I want a slow-cooker version in the future.

I too grew up with this book in the kitchen, and my very own copy was a college graduation gift. I'll make a list for you of my favortites, but page numbers may well be different in your edition.

Also note - there's an older JOC "cooking from" discussion, too https://www.chowhound.com/post/favori... listed in the "Cooking From" index

You may want to cross-reference your newer-edition post in that index. https://www.chowhound.com/post/links-...

So, here's my list of JOC Favorites from the 1975 Edition. I tried looking up a few on Eat Your Books to find the comparable page in the 75th Anniversary (2006) edition, but ran out of patience since it appears recipe titles/names aren't consistent.

Not recipes, but much read and useful to me, are the "about" sections in my edition, discussing ingredients and techniques.

Dried Bean Soup – p.176 made with navy beans and using the optional stir-in of mashed potatoes

Blender Split Pea Soup – p.178

Potato Soup – p.184

Quick Cucumber Soup Cockaigne – p.192 (with Shrimp or Crab)

Rice Baked in Chicken Stock – p.207

Baked Cabbage p.273

Cauliflower and Mushrooms in Cheese sauce – p. 297

Spirit Glaze for ham p.386

Seafood Newberg p 388

Chuck Roast in Foil p. 463

Pork Tenderloin p.478

Blueberry Muffins p 631

Devil’s Food Cake Cockaigne – p. 676 – my notes from 2013 say this is many CH’ers “go-to” chocolate cake

Lightening Cake - p.681 (2006 has same name, but very different ingredients list – no peanut butter or cream cheese in my edition) Online recipe, variation with added plums, is at this link http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/bla...

Lemon Curd Squares p.703-704

Instructions on using a pastry bag p.724

I loved the stories in the beginning of some of the recipes (at least in the older editions). One became a frequently repeated saying in my house "Eat all that nature does bestow, it will amalgamate below. Calm courage conquers sauerkraut. "

I found this fun article from 2017 about bookstore shopping for vintage JOC , There may be a new edition slated to come out Fall 2019. (And check your book for squirrel).
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/vint...

Edited to add this Nov 2018 Food & WIne article, confirming the 2019 publication date planned, and a wonderful profile of the new authors/editors https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle...

REFRIED BEANS (FRIJOLES REFRITOS) (pg. 254)

This is a pretty minimal refried beans recipe - just beans, some liquid, a bit of oil, and some alliums. It came out with a chunky texture (blame it on the old dried beans I used), and a harsh flavor. I actually took a page from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and added 1 tbsp cumin and a sprinkle of cayenne, which improved it immensely for my taste.

BEAN BURRITOS (pg. 103)

I continue working through the vegetarian-friendly recipes in the grab-bag "Brunch, Lunch, and Supper Dishes" chapter, which strikes me as kind of a collection of mid-century style assembled main dishes ("Tuesday night" recipes), as opposed to the more classical recipes that make up the bulk of the other chapters.

My family used to make a tray of bean & cheese burritos for dinner when I was a kid - this brings might right back to that. I used scratch-made refried beans (see the other comment), Monterey Jack cheese, and the chopped onions, but no jalapenos. The onions are a nice touch with this recipe. Overall a very easy and satisfying weeknight dinner, without making a fuss about authenticity.

PIZZA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND MOZZARELLA (pg. 191)

This is your basic homemade cheese pizza, but I used it to try out my new baking stone and peel from Christmas. The shot is cropped to avoid showing the misshapen mess on the other side of the pie - the dough stuck to the peel, so my stone got christened by a big cheese-and-sauce stain on one side. No issue with the recipe, just my own execution... tasted great though.

PITA BREAD (pg. 607)
I needed some appropriate bread to go with my Dal (see the other comment), so I took a stab at Joy's pita bread. I used all-purpose flour because I didn't have bread flour, but I think the recipe turned out ok. It really was an issue of technique more than anything - after the initial rise, I rolled out the eight portions to approximate 1/8" thickness, but I wouldn't call them "round". As I rolled out each one, I stacked them with wax paper between until I was ready to bake. This turned out to be a near-fatal mistake. As I pulled each rolled disk off the wax paper, they first started stretching very thin, so I ended up with long plank-like pitas. Then the ones that didn't stretch stuck to the wax paper, forcing me to roll them out again and bake them one-by-one. The end result tasted fine, but they weren't classically pita-like. The ones in the photo are my more successful ones, approximately round with one main pocket. Next time I'll avoid the wax paper and figure out something else.

INDIAN LENTIL PUREE (DAL) (pg. 258)
I have a stash of red lentils that I need to start using, so Dal was on the menu tonight. Joy's recipe is interesting with its addition of sliced onions with the dry lentils, and adding tomatoes and peppers at the end in lieu of extra spices. The onions ended up breaking down and becoming part of the puree, but I have to say, some extra spices would have been nice. In the quantities suggested, the jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro did almost nothing for the finished product. I would use more, or omit altogether. I served it over basmati rice with homemade pita, which made a nice meal.

WILTED SPINACH (pg. 305)

This one was a slam dunk - I got 8oz of mature spinach from the farmer's market, washed it, and tossed it in a pan as directed, then dressed with some olive oil and lemon juice. Pure perfection.

PANNED OR SICILIAN SPINACH (pg. 306)

This one looks just like the Wilted Spinach in the other post - so what's the difference? This recipe calls for steaming the spinach in a covered skillet with the olive oil and a bit of minced garlic - but strangely doesn't call for chopping the spinach, or adding any acid, like lemon juice or vinegar. Ok, fine, just add it, but I didn't see any benefit to this method over the wilted variety. Maybe this is one for the tougher varieties that need the extra step.

Worth noting - I didn't add the optional anchovies or use the Asian sauces; just the basic recipe.

CHEESE ENCHILADAS (pg. 104)

This one stumped me, hence no photo. I made the full recipe - homemade sauce and all, and followed the steps as closely as possible. The first issue was that whereas the text suggests you can substitute 4–5 cups canned enchilada sauce, the recipe sauce actually makes more like 8 cups. I went ahead and used it anyway.

The second issue was that when I went to serve, the tortillas totally fell apart - the result being more like a tomato/cheese puree than any kind of formed dish. Maybe the extra sauce was the culprit? Maybe it was because I used a saucepan instead of a shallow skillet, which caused things to heat up slower and thus required longer in the oven?

I'm not sure. Bittman's enchiladas in How To Cook Everything Vegetarian uses more tortillas (20 vs. 12), less sauce, and turns out much better.

PEAS AND MUSHROOMS (pg. 290)
SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS (pg. 282)

I used some farmers' market cremini mushrooms for this, and added the optional garlic - fast and delicious. I'm not so sure about the peas-and-mushrooms combo, but fair enough. It's an easy side, separate or together.

QUICK CUCUMBER SOUP COCKAIGNE – p.192 of 1975 edition - OP's question led me to rediscover this recipe, and I happily made it again today for our lunch. About a cup of diced, de-seeded cucumber is simmered 15 minutes in 2 C. chicken broth, then cream of x soup gets stirred in & heated, and finally 8 oz. seafood is added, warmed and topped with herbs. Today I used Cream of Potato soup in place of the listed Cream of Chicken, and an 8 oz package of surimi (Crab Delights) in place of real crab or shrimp, with dried (in place of fresh) chervil as the herb. This makes a very hearty and satisfying soup. I served it beside the last of dabs of some curry rice noodles with shrimp, ham & sugar snap peas, and also Almond Rice Nut Thins crackers.

My comment is that I have cooked from Rombauer for seventy years, using several different editions---I currently own three--- and there are such differences from one edition to another. Some of my favorite standard recipes (Roman Apple Cake is a good example) just disappear in the "next" edition. So maybe when reporting on what's in Rombauer it might be helpful to give the edition, otherwise if people ever look for it in the hard copy they may not find it.