Happy Monday! I always look forward to Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you.
October is special, when it comes to writing about my mom, being the “Secret RecipesTM Detective”. Besides all of the food related observances, it’s also National Women’s Small Business Month, National Cookbook Month, National Book Month, Positive Attitude Month, and Self-Promotion Month.
Additionally, next week is… National Business Women’s Week and Thursday is… Get to Know Your Customers Day. Mom embodied all of these celebrations and more.
Mom was an innovator when she developed her copycat cooking concept in the early 1970s. She was a talented writer, illustrator, and humorist. She inspired me and so many others – most of whom were strangers or, as Mom would’ve said, “They’re friends we haven’t met yet.”
I love hearing from people who remember Mom (and Dad), as they always have happy memories to share with me. They touched a lot of people, positively affecting many lives (both, in the home and in some people’s careers).
In her profession, as a writer and small business woman, Mom wrote (and self-published, with Dad) a new cookbook, almost yearly, for over 3 decades. They also published a newsletter [sometimes monthly, sometimes bi-monthly (and, at one time, quarterly)], January 1974 through December 2000.
Mom’s cookbooks stood out – not only for her unique concept of “copycat cookery” and “eating out at home” recipes, but also, for their homemade, crafty designs and lay-outs that were filled with good humor, food-for-thought and food-for-the-soul editorials, household tips & tricks; as well as tidbits of interesting information.
No other cookbooks have ever offered any kind of combination like that – especially not with “make-alike” recipes, for imitating food industry dishes and products at home – unless they copied the original copycat! There’s a fine line between imitation and plagiarism.
1973 – 1976
Initially, Mom printed and sold her ever-growing recipe collection on 4×6-inch index cards, ready for filing (at 25-cents each or five for a dollar). Her recipe catalog grew exponentially, filling dozens-upon-dozens of cookbooks, hundreds of newsletter issues, and several recipe folders and bulletins (1973-2013).
Early, in 1973, Mom self-published her first cookbook, The Better Cooker’s Cookbook. It was a parody of Betty Crocker’s famous red and white checkered cookbook. She comically described her creation as a collection of “reluctant-cook”, “budget-tested” recipes, many of which she originally published in her newspaper column, Cookbook Corner.
Mom’s dining-room-table operation was definitely a family business. However, Dad was the last one she let in on “the secret” and that was only after a Detroit area TV talk show had heard about her, from a review in the Free Press, and invited her on for an interview (November 1974). The popularity of the Secret RecipesTM Detective snowballed.
In 1975, Mom wrote her first fast food cookbook. She wasn’t very happy with it, though. After the first printing, she shelved it for revisions (someday). She then self-published a “Limited Edition”, bi-centenial collection for 1976. The Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn, MI) bought several copies for their library, which led to more media attention.
1977 – 1981
In 1977, Mom revised her Fast Food Cookbook, making it the first in a series of “Secret Recipes” cookbooks. She called it The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (aka: “Book 1”). Later that year, having so much material with which to work, Mom was quick to follow it up with “Book 2” in her “Fast Food” series, The Second Helping of Secret Recipes.
Over the next three years, Mom published three more hits – each one unique and fresh: Eating Out At Home (aka: “Book 3”), in 1978; Top Secret Recipes Al’a Carte (aka: “Book 4”), in 1979; and The Secrets Of Homemade Groceries (aka: “Book 5”), in 1980; which was devoted to imitating supermarket convenience products.
Between these five books alone, Mom had developed over 1,400 imitations; covering 59 restaurants (from Arby’s to Yummyland), 83 grocery products (from A&P to Wonder), dishes from 22 famous hotel chains and inns, 15 favorite candies and carnival eats, 12 different department store and cafeteria dishes, and 7 tourist hot spots’ treats.
In July 1981, following her FIRST appearance on the Phil Donahue Show, the project on which Mom had been working, had to be put on hold while the family business was inundated by over a MILLION requests for what she was already offering.
For an hour, Mom answered questions from Phil and his audience, plus demonstrated how to make many of her popular recipes, those of which she regularly gave away (along with ordering information for her current books and newsletter) in exchange for a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Mom believed that there were only so many basic recipes and those were built upon with different spices and flavorings to create individuality between the food makers’ dishes and/or products.
Mom had a special talent for determining the sources of flavors and other factors in almost any restaurant dish or supermarket product. Whenever she received recipe requests, during her interviews, she could often tell people how to mimic a product/dish without tasting it or seeing it – just from their descriptions.
Mom also had a special talent for promoting herself and her unique creations. While she had appeared on some famous TV talk shows, nationally and internationally; right from the start, Mom formed a seemingly natural friendship and partnership with radio. She intuitively knew who her target audience was and where to find them.
1982 – 1985
After recovering from what I called “Hurricane Donahue”, Mom found time in 1982 to finish that postponed project from the previous year. She revised the title of her very first (1973) cookbook and came up with a whole new cookbook that was probably her most famous (and personal favorite), called Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook.
During the next few years, Mom developed five more cookbooks, including The Joy of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To, Mixed Blessings – Recipes and Remedies, Cook is a 4-Letter Word, a 10-year anniversary (revised) reprint of her 1975 Fast Food Cookbook (aka: “Book 6”), and Secret Fast Bread Recipes.
1986 – 1991
In 1986, Mom released her Mostly 4-Ingredient Recipes cookbook, focusing on her new “short-cut” copycat recipes, as she revamped many of her past imitations that had a lot of ingredients, to have no more than 5 or 6 ingredients.
In 1987, she started revamping a lot of her recipes all over again; to make sugar-free versions for my Dad, after finding out he had diabetes. In 1988, Mom developed The Copycat Cookbook, named for her original concept, which included another unique collection of make-alike recipes for more famous favorites not in her previous cookbooks.
Additionally, in 1988, Mom made her FIRST appearance on ABC’s Home show, where she got to meet the famous Wally Amos, who was genuinely impressed with her copycat versions of his cookies. He made her promise that she wouldn’t go into the cookie business.
In 1989, Mom wrote My Cup Runneth Over – And I Can’t Find My Mop, a culmination of our family’s story and how we were all involved in the merry – and sometimes mad – world of Secret RecipesTM, with close to a few dozen special recipes thrown in.
Afterward, she created a small “Best of…” version of her Better Cookery Cookbook, as well as a “Best of…” collection from her first 5 cookbooks, called Secret Recipes of Famous Favorites. That was followed by her all new Make Alike Recipes cookbook in 1991.
In 1993, Mom agreed to appear on Phil Donahue’s show again, under the condition that they do not share any of her contact information. The show was such a success again that it shattered records for the most requested transcripts ever. They sent Mom a plaque commemorating the accomplishment.
1994 – 1997
In 1994, Mom created another “Best of…” collection of recipes from the first 20 years of her newsletter. She also created a cookbook of less or no fat recipes. Then she reprinted The Copycat Cookbook in a larger format. 1997 was especially busy.
In 1997, she combined her “Best of…” recipes from her Less Fat…, Sugar Free…, and Bread Recipes cookbooks, into one book; followed by 4 more new collections, including the original 200 plus recipes that she had sold individually, on 4×6-inch index cards, in the 1970s. She also began putting together small collections of recipes in folders and bulletins.
1998 – 2004
In 1998, Mom created another “Best of…” collection from her original “Books 1 through 5”, called That’s the Flavor. The next year, she reprinted her “Book 6” and Make Alike Recipes in the larger sized format.
Those were soon followed by another new collection in The Great Imitator’s Cookbook; plus her own Personal Favorites, in 2000, and Gloriously Simple Recipes, in 2001. She also continued printing her 2-page bulletin collections (7 in all).
Additionally, in December 2000, Mom sadly retired her newsletter, after 27 years. She began focusing more on smaller projects (like her bulletins), restaurant reviews, and lecturing on the subject of short-cut cooking.
Then, in 2004, Mom put together another unique “Limited Edition” cookbook (description pictured above), Gloria Pitzer’s Recipe Journal (2004). I don’t have a copy of this cookbook, nor can I find a copy of it anywhere.
2018
Unfortunately, in 2014, she had to fully retire for health reasons. In 2015, I started helping Mom to re-write her favorite cookbook, The Better Cookery Cookbook (1982) for a new digital generation. We couldn’t self-publish it, as she and Dad had done for decades, previously.
We researched several publishers and decided to go with Balboa Press. We were so pleased that they didn’t want to change much of anything about Mom’s book – except the title, as it too closely resembled another famous cookbook title – which was the intent, as imitation was the foundation of all of her books.
Regardless, we had to drop the “Better Cookery” part of the title. We shuffled the title and sub-title around a bit. It went to press shortly before Mom passed away, in January 2018, as Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective. Mom was so happy about reaching a new generation, all over again, with her recipes and stories.
LAST THOUGHTS…
#SupportYourLocalChamberOfCommerce
Wednesday, being the third one in this quarter, is Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce. Chambers of Commerce support small, local businesses. Small businesses, in general, are the backbone of every community, as well as our country as a whole.
Most every town, big or small, has a Chamber of Commerce. It’s an excellent source through which small businesses can network with each other and their community, as well as better promote what they have to offer. Improving local businesses strengthens the community.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, being National Dessert Day, plus, October, being National Dessert Month and National Bake and Decorate Month, here’s Mom’s secret recipe for “Fruit Cocktail Cake”; as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 15). As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
As the second Monday in October (for 2024), today is also… Native American Day and Columbus Day.
Tomorrow is… National Shawarma Day and National Cheese Curd Day.
Wednesday, October 16th, is… National Liqueur Day, National Dictionary Day, and Department Store Day. Plus, it’s National Boss’s Day.
Thursday, October 17th, is… National Pasta Day.
Friday, October 18th, is… National Chocolate Cupcake Day.
October 19th is… National Kentucky Day and National Seafood Bisque Day. Plus, as the third Saturday in October (for 2024), it’s also… National Sweetest Day.
Sunday, October 20th, is… National Youth Confidence Day, National Brandied Fruit Day, and International Chefs Day. Plus, as the start of the third week in October [20th-26th, for 2024], it’s also the start of… National Kraut Sandwich Week, National Friends of Libraries Week, and Free Speech Week.
…42 down and only 10 more to go!
