1952. The 238-page compendium contains more than 460 recipes in twelve food categories.

            A cover memo from the Traffic Vice President R. O. Bullwinkel to recipients of the manual is dated September 20, 1944. It reads in part: “It is the purpose of the management that only the finest of ingredients shall be used and that the dishes described herein shall be prepared in the tastiest and most inviting manner possible. The most rigorous standards of cleanliness and sanitation must be observed at all stages in the preparation of the food and its transfer to the planes.”

            Recipe categories include (the number in each category in brackets) Meat, Poultry and Fish (49), Stuffing’s, Sauces and Gravies (7), Casserole Dishes (28), Salads (51), Salad Dressings (19), Desserts and Sauces (94), Pies and Pastries (54), Breads (34), Cakes (58), Frostings and Fillings (33), Cookies (36) and Beverages (1).

            Many of the recipes produce 50 or more servings, ideal, now, for organizational or family functions. Others, however, are for from one to six or eight servings.

            Of particular interest is a twenty-four page “general information” section containing abbreviations, measuring instructions and information about yields, weights, standard-sized cans and their contents, cooking times and temperatures, white sauce preparation, starch and sugar. “Too much sugar will make a cake with a hard crust or a sticky body or a soft, sticky jelly,” it advises.

Other gems from the Northwest Airlines Flight Kitchen:

• All boneless cuts of meat require longer cooking times.
• Starch rich foods must be cooked thoroughly if they are to have fine flavor and be easily digested.
• Thickening power of flour and cornstarch. This is one of the most important things for a good cook to know.
• Use a soup to obtain uniform servings in making meatballs, croquettes, etc.
• Peel onions under cold water.
• Salt may be used to prevent apples from discoloring.
• Separate lettuce leaves by removing the core and allowing water to run through the center.
• Too much soda gives a disagreeable taste and bad color to bread and cakes.

            Some of the more exotic fixings in the Bullwinkel Book include, Veal Scaloppini with Marsala Wine, Hunter’s Delight (Croil Hunter’s favorite?), Chinese Lobster Delight, Tavern Dressing for seafood and meat, Crab Meat Alexander, Montana, Mt. Spokane and Northwest Airlines Special salads, Spicy French Dressing, Baked Caramel Raisin Pudding, Strawberry Chantilly, Garden of Eden Pie and Deep Dish Ruby pie.