House of Plenty or Healthy Jewish Cookbook

House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Luby's Cafeterias

Author: Carol Dawson

"Intrigue, mystery, and strategy—all in a historical profile of Luby's Cafeterias. This is a book about an institution we all knew as home—never thinking that the foundation was a business plan destined to work for fifty years. What went wrong? Read on! A 'must' for business schools everywhere, and a fun read for everyone."

—Jon Brumley, Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year, Cofounder and Chairman of the Board of Encore Acquisitions Company

"House of Plenty is a great tale.... It will be of great interest not only to the public, but also to students of American culture. I literally do not know of a book that deals in any major way with the history or culture of the cafeteria... a subject of great social and cultural importance."

—Robert Abzug, Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor in History, University of Texas at Austin

"Who knew that the key to American success and salvation could be found on the cafeteria line? Only Carol Dawson. In crystalline prose, she tells a morality tale that is both as compulsively readable as a mystery novel and as illuminating about the American psyche as anything published in recent years. The death Dawson ultimately investigates is business ethics with a body of evidence that is utterly fascinating and utterly convincing."

—Sarah Bird, author of The Flamenco Academy, The Yokota Officers Club, Virgin of the Rodeo, The Mommy Club, The Boyfriend School, and Alamo House

Scarredby the deaths of his mother and sisters and the failure of his father's business, a young man dreamed of making enough money to retire early and retreat into the secure world that his childhood tragedies had torn from him. But Harry Luby refused to be a robber baron. Turning totally against the tide of avaricious capitalism, he determined to make a fortune by doing good. Starting with that unlikely, even naive, ambition in 1911, Harry Luby founded a cafeteria empire that by the 1980s had revenues second only to McDonald's. So successfully did Luby and his heirs satisfy the tastes of America that Luby's became the country's largest cafeteria chain, creating more millionaires per capita among its employees than any other corporation of its size. Even more surprising, the company stayed true to Harry Luby's vision for eight decades, making money by treating its customers and employees exceptionally well.

Written with the sweep and drama of a novel, House of Plenty tells the engrossing story of Luby's founding and phenomenal growth, its long run as America's favorite family restaurant during the post-World War II decades, its financial failure during the greed-driven 1990s when non-family leadership jettisoned the company's proven business model, and its recent struggle back to solvency. Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston draw on insider stories and company records to recapture the forces that propelled the company to its greatest heights, including its unprecedented practices of allowing store managers to keep 40 percent of net profits and issuing stock to all employees, which allowed thousands of Luby's workers to achieve the American dream of honestly earned prosperity. The authors also plumb the depths of the Luby's drama, including a hushed-up theft that split the family for decades; the 1991 mass shooting at the Killeen Luby's, which splattered the company's good name across headlines nationwide; and the rapacious over-expansion that more than doubled the company's size in nine years (1987-1996), pushed it into bankruptcy, and drove president and CEO John Edward Curtis Jr. to violent suicide.

Disproving F. Scott Fitzgerald's adage that "there are no second acts in American lives," House of Plenty tells the epic story of an iconic American institution that has risen, fallen, and found redemption—with no curtain call in sight.

Table of Contents:

• Chapter 1. Blood Sacrifice in Texas
• Chapter 2. Planting Seeds
• Chapter 3. Growing Season
• Chapter 4. First Harvest: Portrait of a Budding Magnate
• Chapter 5. Recruiting New Hands for the Second Crop: The Band Begins to Gather
• Chapter 6. The $60,000 Incubator
• Chapter 7. Salad Days
• Chapter 8. The Worm in the Apple
• Chapter 9. Cutting the Jell-O
• Chapter 10. Haddock Almondine and Chicken-Fried Steak
• Chapter 11. The Worm Gnaws Deeper
• Chapter 12. Scalloped Squash and Spinach Pudding
• Chapter 13. Yeast Rolls, Biscuits, and Two Kinds of Cornbread
• Chapter 14. Cherry Cobbler and Coconut Cream Pie
• Chapter 15. Deviled Eggs and Stuffed Jalapeños
• Chapter 16. Hot Coffee, Iced Tea, Pink Lemonade, or Just Plain Water
• Chapter 17. Condiments on the Side
• Chapter 18. Dirty Dishes
• Chapter 19. Over, Fork Over
• Chapter 20. Leftovers
• Afterword by Carol Johnston
• Acknowledgments
• Sources
• Index

Interesting textbook: Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine or Lifetime Physical Fitness and Wellness

Healthy Jewish Cookbook: 100 Delicious Recipes from around the World

Author: Michael Van Straten

Traditionally associated with the heavy, fat-laden foods of Europe — deep-fried latkes, chicken fat, and achingly sweet desserts — Jewish food is, in fact, far more varied. Jews who migrated to other parts of the world developed cuisines unique to their new countries, yet still flavored with the tastes of the Middle East and the strict requirements of Jewish dietary laws. This beautifully illustrated book takes readers on a fascinating journey around the world, showing how Jewish cookery adapted and why it offers so many health benefits. There is the light, flavorful Mediterranean diet of Greek Jews and the Moorish-influenced food of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, both of which are rich in natural antioxidants, as well as the grain-based dishes of North Africa and the fragrant salads of the Middle East. With recipes like Egg and Onion with Cilantro, Nutty Spinach with Raisins, Schmaltz Herrings, Roast Duck with Cherries, and Ginger Hazelnut Cookies, this cookbook is a treasure trove of delicious, nutritious recipes for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.

Library Journal

Van Straten, a British author of more than 25 books, has been described as a practicing osteopath, naturopath, acupuncturist, and nutritional consultant. He uses his family heritage to present recipes full of healthy ingredients and lacking saturated fat. The introductory material describes his family, their traditional meals, and the festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, and so on. The rest of the book is devoted to 100 recipes arranged by course-appetizers, soups, vegetables and salads, main courses, desserts, and cookies and cakes. Most of the pages are devoted to a single recipe with background information and a health note. There are numerous artful color photographs, many as a full-page spread. The recipes are simple but assume some prior cooking knowledge-"poach in simmering water." All the popular dishes are here (minus the fat), including Lekach (honey cake), Veal Schnitzel, Lamb and Lentils, Red Cabbage with Apples and Caraway, Chicken with Matzo Dumplings, and Borscht. The New York Times Jewish Cookbook (2003) remains the standard in the field, but this new publication is recommended for collections that need healthy ethnic cookbooks.-Christine Bulson, SUNY at Oneonta Lib. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.