Cookbooks

Well, I’ve finally done it. I purchased both volumes of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Why? Maybe it was watching the movie Julie and Julia, maybe it was an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network – I’m not sure. But there are definitely a few things in there that I want to try out.

Getting the books got me to thinking about cookbooks. Up till now I’ve had about a dozen of them, most ignored. My main book is my mom’s 1963 copy of “The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook.” Ancient, I know. However, it is full of dog eared pages and PostIt flags. From it I finally got a biscuit recipe that gives me tasty biscuits that, finally, don’t crumble. Many of the recipes here are my variations of something I got from there.

I also have a collection of recipes from a company where I worked. Most everyone there were great cooks. We sure had some yummy potluck lunches. There was so much good food that we all contributed some of our favorite recipes to a ‘book’ that we printed for ourselves. I’ve got it in a three-ring binder and add stuff to it from time to time. If you work somewhere with good cooks you might consider sharing your favorites.

So what will I fix first from my new purchase? I’m thinking beef bourguignon – mostly because I have some nice roast in the freezer. And, no, I’m not planning on writing about my adventures with all the recipes in the book.

How many cookbooks do you have? Do you follow the directions exactly or do you fiddle with them? I must admit that I fiddle with most recipes, a habit I got from my mom who loved to experiment.

Bon appétit everyone!