A food writer for these times

Fisher organized Wolf like a traditional cookbook, working from soup to dessert, studding it with recipes and wartime hints. She outlined a practical philosophy for eating: Don't fret about the nutrients in a single meal. Balance what you eat throughout the day. Make meat an accompaniment, not the focal point. Derive pleasure, not guilt, from eating.

Her views flew in the face of nutritionists of the era, Reardon said. They gave food broader context: No longer was it pure sustenance.

Wolf entertains with clever flair - and a touch of fantasy. But don't take the recipes too seriously. About 10 years ago, food writer Jeffrey Steingarten attempted to make "Sludge," a mush that Fisher claimed could keep a person alive at only 50 cents a week. After a grand production that didn't end well, Steingarten was "kind of appalled," he said. "Did she expect anyone to follow it?"

(Reardon said the recipe "undoubtedly was purely makeup.")

Steingarten said he thinks Fisher is treated too reverentially. But he sees why she's appreciated: her writing and her taste. He mentioned a piece she wrote about dining with food writer Richard Olney:

"That was good food writing. That was food writing you'd like to do to make your reader really want to have a half-bottle of wine on the spot."

Jennifer Day wrote this article for the Chicago Tribune.