Paradise Found

I love cookbooks and always have.  I have read them in the evening – after dinner, on the beach, and curled up in my favorite chair on a rainy day.  Love the feel of them, just like I do “real books”; however I must admit that when I’m looking for a recipe these days, I use my ipad often.  My ipad sits on a logitech keyboard with a stand and it is really convenient to have it propped up on my counter when I prepare and cook or bake.

I have about  60 cookbooks.  Some I just love to read and will never cook from, and others I use all the time.

My first cookbook was one I received at the wedding shower for my first marriage in 1965.  The book is pictured above – McCall’s Cook Book – “the absolutely complete step by step cooking and service guide”. This book is 50 years old this year and it is still wonderful.  It has lost its spine (the front and back covers are held together with tape, it is very stained and is missing some pages.  There is also a little crayon scribbling, from children who were nearby when I was prepping, and a big burn on the back cover as a result of putting up jam.

This cookbook taught me so much – what are the spices and how are they used; how to tackle a recipe, how to measure correctly, cutting terminology, cooking terminology ( I had never heard the word “plank” before, or glacé, or au jus, chaud-froid, etc.  It listed the basic cooking utensils one should have – in those days I had about 10% of the list as a new bride! The book also taught you how to carve, how to create a place setting, how to set a buffet table, and had a multitude of chapters from garnishes to jams and jellies, to sandwiches, chafing dish cooking, cooking for two and back again!  It is still used, and still loved, and taught me how to make a great beef stew, pound cake, petits-four and pie crust and the ever popular fondue! The book was published in 1963, at the height of some interesting recipes of that time.

I didn’t buy another cookbook until I was divorced – 13 years later.  The first one I bought was The Silver Palate Cookbook.  I had moved to New York and worked, so there really no time to actually cook except for weekends.  The Silver Palate was one of the first take-outs in New York that really had great food.  The two owners, Sheila Lukins and Julee Russo, had great taste not only in food, but in merchandising.  The cookbook was illustrated with drawings only.  They brought home cooking to a sophisticated, but practical level and they were very successful with both their retail operations and their books.  They came out with another book, The New Basics, in 1989 and I still use it on a regular basis.  It has the best popover recipe, and my signature cream cheese pie also comes from this book.

As most of you know, I love things french, and Patricia Wells doesn’t disappoint with her books.  I have used the Food Lover’s Guide to Paris to shop markets when I have visited , and cook from her Paris Cookbook regularly.  I’m also a big fan of Jacques Pepin – and love his simple but sophisticated french style turned American.  I have used Martha Stewart recipes at times but she and I disagree on pierogi and babka recipes leaving me to believe we are not in sync.

I’ve gone the gamut from Polish and Lithuanian cook books, to The Cake Bible (one of the best dessert cook books around), and have ended up really enjoying Ina Garten.  I have all of her books.  They are beautifully designed, filled with ideas, and very, very easy to use.  I’ve never had a failure with any of her recipes which is something to talk about.  Not all recipes work – or are written correctly.

Today, I can tell if a recipe isn’t going to work, just by the ingredients, and I can also tell if the instructions are correct or not.  For instance, almost every popover recipe says to heat the oven to 400 degrees and put the pan in the oven to heat before adding the batter.  I don’t  heat the pan and I have not had any popover come out less than perfect!  The popover batter is simple:  eggs, milk, melted butter, flour and salt and pepper.  I don’t think you have to mix them in any order to be successful – as a matter of fact I try different a different order of ingredient each time I make them with the exact same result.

There are recipes that produce the same product but the method is completely different – cream puffs for instance.  I learned to make them in McCalls and I beat every egg in by hand.  In Ina Garten you use a Cuisinart – much quicker.  Same result.

I’m not much interested in the ease of cooking, rather what the cooking or baking produces.  If it turns out to be easy – well good. I am definitely driven by accomplishing a satisfying and well-cooked meal, presented in an attractive way no matter whether difficult or easy.

As I look back on that first cookbook, I also thought of how cooking has changed over the years.  The 60’s were interesting times – Julia Childs, et. al., released Mastering the Art of French Cooking which is very classic, but on the other hand so many “easy” things were coming along.  Boiling bags, Teflon, McDonald’s, freeze-dried coffee, The Joy of Cooking, sugar-coated breakfast cereals, TAB, Cool Whip, Subway, the and of course Fondue. Music went from Rosemary Clooney in the 50’s to the Stones singing Satisfaction in the 60s!

In those days, young families didn’t have too any dinner parties, rather your guests had their dinner at home and then came over for fondue – cheese, meat and dessert – drinks and coffee.  Times have surely changed, but I am really glad that Doug appreciates a home-cooked meal!  We have no prepared foods in our kitchen, and we don’t eat just because it is quick or easy.  Of course, we don’t work, and we do live in Paradise, so I guess our point of view isn’t that of hard-working families, with schedules that include work, school, attending numerous kids sports activities and maybe having time for themselves.  I’m not sure when they have time to eat, nonetheless cook!

Till next time,

E