January 21, 2008
Kathryn
Cookbooks
What do you like about your favorite cookbook?
Is it gorgeous four color photographs? Helpful cooking shortcuts in the side bars? Lists of which herbs work best with what foods? Entertainment tips? Do you buy cookbooks that take you on trips to exotic places with new ingredients and cuisines?
We met at Donna's today to ask each other all those questions. Each of us brought a few of our favorite cookbooks. Both Renee and Donna are serious collectors. From looking at their bookshelves, I'd say they never met a cookbook they didn't love. Tinamarie leans very hard toward the organic and vegetarian selections.
Our food theme was experiments -- recipes we created or adapted that we wanted to try out on each other. Although its great to make something tried and true, with your foodie friends you are safe to test out new recipes and bounce them off your sounding boards.
We have all the favorites -- Martha Stewart, Sheila Lukins, Julia Child, Giada, Jacques Pepin, Susanna Foo, Mollie Katzen, The Silver Palate, Joy of Cooking, Moosewood. But what are the basic things that draw us to a book -- that make it a must have?
Donna loves to read the stories cookbook authors share about the recipe or about food and entertaining. Lesu liked seeing interesting organization -- not the usual appetizer/soup/entree/dessert chapters. I like to learn, so side bars with information and tips draw me into a book.
After glasses of champagne and lots of loud discussion, books were passed and critiqued, pages were fluttered and marked, we boiled it down to photographs, stories and helpful tips. And we may be working on putting our own little book together this year.
