A Cookbook: Helpful Cooking Hints for Househusbands of Uppity Women

McDonald, a history professor, learned cooking of necessity when his wife returned to full-time employment. Here he shares some of his accumulated wisdom. It encompasses equipment, such as food processors, which ""can be meaner than a scared cat''; techniques like mincing, which he defines as ``Beat the poor thing into smithereens''; and basic dishes: ``Any fool can make toast. Just stick one or two slices into the toaster . . . and let the machine do its thing.'' The book is often light and amusing, but not when serving up chauvinistic tripe: the ``Supreme Court has endorsed the principle that it is appropriate to hire women over men even if they have less experience and score lower on qualifying tests.'' Unexceptional recipes require minimal skill or experience: scrambled eggs, steamed fresh broccoli, fried bacon, and bologna sandwiches. Canned soup is a serious player here, appearing in chicken a la can can and in asparagus and black ``eyes of Texas'' casseroles. Some slightly more demanding items include onion-wine soup, rice and mushrooms, stove-top corn bread and Mom's sugar cookies. Photos not seen by PW. (May)