Image of Shadow Lawn, the actual house, circa 1060.

Cover of Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook.

Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook
by Ann B. Davis
with Ron Newcomer and Diane Smolen
Forward by Sherwood Schwartz

Carol: Alice, you can put the hamburgers on any time you're ready. Alice: All right, Mrs. Brady, that's rare for you and Mr. Brady ... medium rare for Jan and Peter ... well-done for Marcia ... could be a lot simpler if I just pounded this whole thing together into a meat loaf.

The lovable maid of the Brady Bunch presents 280 recipes that were actually prepared for the show, including those provided by the cast, organized by such topics as “Brady Breakfasts” and “The Brady Bar-B-Q.”

From Kirkus Reviews

What is there to say about a cookbook whose the author openly admits, “Personally, I can’t cook?” Davis, who played the ever-devoted housekeeper, Alice, on The Brady Bunch, supplies fatuous commentary (“A nice show about nice people who were mostly very nice to each other. Gosh, that doesn’t sound so terrible, does it?”), along with updates on each of the cast members (Christopher Knight, who played Peter, has appeared on The Love Boat, as has his TV sibling Maureen McCormick, better known as Marcia).

Lines from episodes are plopped onto the page without any context. Recipes by playwright Newcomer (co-founder of the Scottsdale Culinary Festival) and theatrical director Smolen are linked to the show only through nonsensical names like “Cindy’s Buttery Just Butter Cookies” and “House of Cards Hamburgers.” Apparently Alice rarely served the kids any fruits or vegetables.

Dishes are heavy on prepared foods (many desserts incorporate store-bought candy) and red meat (Sam the Butcher’s influence, no doubt), but if these are meant to reflect the Brady era, where do pesto and Brie come in? Cookies made with instant oatmeal and Snickers Bars are way too sweet, and “St. Paddy’s Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread” has the texture of sawdust and a dog-biscuit taste only Tiger could love. A final chapter gives recipes from the cast members themselves, including Eve Plumb’s lamely joking instructions for making boiled water out of ice. Even intense nostalgia cannot justify this book. (Photos, not seen.) 🌳

☞ Product details and how to purchase:
  • Spiral-bound: 258 pages
  • Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press; (September 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1558533079
  • ISBN-13: 978-1558533073
  • Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 6.5 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
Image of leafless tree for the Print Version.