The Young Wife's Cook Book includes not only "the best dishes to be prepared for Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea" but everything from tea cakes and jellies to terrapin and lobster. It was described by Godey's Lady's Book as "An excellent book of thoroughly tested receipts, which will prove highly satisfactory to the novice in cooking." The author emphasizes the importance of domestic economy, and includes recipes for "heart, liver, tripe, feet" and the reuse of leftovers, a theme she also addressed in The Family Save-All. She encourages wives to manage their time, to ensure that they have opportunities for the practice of accomplishments and "cultivation of the mind".
