A cook's bookshelf
May. 20th, 2008 03:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fabrisseToday's post. I'm caught up.
Let me start by saying that I have enough cookbooks to cover three five-foot long shelves. Probably more, now that I think of it, as I've added to my collection since putting my books into storage.
When my family had the kitchen remodeled in their current house, I asked for bookshelf space. I got two shelves each of which was just over two feet long. I laughed. A lot.
But I know people whose cookbook libraries make mine look tiny and they can't boil water without scorching the pan. I know great cooks who own one cookbook or none at all.
If you have an interest in a particular cuisine or region, then I recommend heading for a good bookstore and sitting down with the books and reading recipes. If the writer can't make it clear what texture the sauce needs to be, then you don't need the book. Or if the author insists it can only be stirred counterclockwise (without explaining why), then leave the book on the shelf. (By the way, there are certain things that should only be stirred in one direction. Fondue will curdle and certain roux won't set up if you keep changing the direction you're stirring in. Even in those examples, though, after the initial danger stages have passed, it's possible to vary the stirring so your wrist doesn't tire.)
Once you've found a good book on that cuisine, look at the others. See where they agree with the book you've found and where they overlap. If the principles seem in agreement, start looking at the recipes. There should be some overlap as every cuisine has its specialties, but the duplication should be minimal. With two books, you can be both wide and deep in your experiments.
Don't forget the travel section. I found Patience Gray there, and I use her recipes often.
To give an example, I plan to bring a spice cake to work on my birthday. I can't find the recipe I used a few years ago, so I looked at several online recipes and finally printed out three. I'll be using the spice mix from one and the wet dry ingredient balance from another. The third one has details on how to adjust the cooking time for a square rather than a round cake. I'm pretty sure it will be a good birthday cake.
Don't shun celebrity chefs. Food Network is fun. I love watching Two Fat Ladies and would love to taste the food they prepare. Alton Brown (all genuflect) provides a scientific basis that lets me experiment with confidence. Early Rachel Ray shows have good first principles and occasionally some nifty ideas.
Having said that, I don't own any of their books (though that may change with Alton). I wouldn't let Emeril feed my dogs, and, if I ever get my hands on Bobby Flay, I'll feed him to my dogs (even if they are supposed to be vegetarian). (Side note: Westies often have problems with certain proteins, particularly fowl.)
And I find Nigella Lawson -- whose emphasis on the sensuality of food should be a natural fit for me -- more annoying than Rachel Ray. She does have pretty (and expensive) blue measuring cups, though.
I do own Jamie Oliver's first cook book and find it clearly written and invaluable on subjects like how to stock a pantry. My own tips will have his fingerprints on them (and yes, I'll acknowledge that at the time, too.). His newest book, Cook seems to be a more detailed take on the same subject -- the basics of cookery and how to blend flavors.
There was a Time/Life series in the late sixties through early seventies that came with spiral bound recipe books. They are wonderful. I use the Provincial French one often, and I've found and used recipes out of all of the ones I own. They are a staple of library sales. I can't thank Lucy and the Professor enough for introducing them to me. The big picture books that came with them aren't as good, but they are pretty.
I have several cookbooks by Nika Hazelton. She's not a very good cook book writer, the travel segments of the books tend to be better, but when I purchased them they were often the only books available on the topic. The Belgian Cookbook was for many years the only English language cookbook on the subject.
Lastly, I have to mention the first food writer I ever read. Waverly Root wrote for The International Herald Tribune, and I discovered him when we moved to Belgium. He's a thoughtful essayist who deeply loves his subject. His books on French and Italian foods have had a profound influence on me, and his ideas helped me to formulate my questions for my class in persona cookery.
Let me start by saying that I have enough cookbooks to cover three five-foot long shelves. Probably more, now that I think of it, as I've added to my collection since putting my books into storage.
When my family had the kitchen remodeled in their current house, I asked for bookshelf space. I got two shelves each of which was just over two feet long. I laughed. A lot.
But I know people whose cookbook libraries make mine look tiny and they can't boil water without scorching the pan. I know great cooks who own one cookbook or none at all.
If you have an interest in a particular cuisine or region, then I recommend heading for a good bookstore and sitting down with the books and reading recipes. If the writer can't make it clear what texture the sauce needs to be, then you don't need the book. Or if the author insists it can only be stirred counterclockwise (without explaining why), then leave the book on the shelf. (By the way, there are certain things that should only be stirred in one direction. Fondue will curdle and certain roux won't set up if you keep changing the direction you're stirring in. Even in those examples, though, after the initial danger stages have passed, it's possible to vary the stirring so your wrist doesn't tire.)
Once you've found a good book on that cuisine, look at the others. See where they agree with the book you've found and where they overlap. If the principles seem in agreement, start looking at the recipes. There should be some overlap as every cuisine has its specialties, but the duplication should be minimal. With two books, you can be both wide and deep in your experiments.
Don't forget the travel section. I found Patience Gray there, and I use her recipes often.
To give an example, I plan to bring a spice cake to work on my birthday. I can't find the recipe I used a few years ago, so I looked at several online recipes and finally printed out three. I'll be using the spice mix from one and the wet dry ingredient balance from another. The third one has details on how to adjust the cooking time for a square rather than a round cake. I'm pretty sure it will be a good birthday cake.
Don't shun celebrity chefs. Food Network is fun. I love watching Two Fat Ladies and would love to taste the food they prepare. Alton Brown (all genuflect) provides a scientific basis that lets me experiment with confidence. Early Rachel Ray shows have good first principles and occasionally some nifty ideas.
Having said that, I don't own any of their books (though that may change with Alton). I wouldn't let Emeril feed my dogs, and, if I ever get my hands on Bobby Flay, I'll feed him to my dogs (even if they are supposed to be vegetarian). (Side note: Westies often have problems with certain proteins, particularly fowl.)
And I find Nigella Lawson -- whose emphasis on the sensuality of food should be a natural fit for me -- more annoying than Rachel Ray. She does have pretty (and expensive) blue measuring cups, though.
I do own Jamie Oliver's first cook book and find it clearly written and invaluable on subjects like how to stock a pantry. My own tips will have his fingerprints on them (and yes, I'll acknowledge that at the time, too.). His newest book, Cook seems to be a more detailed take on the same subject -- the basics of cookery and how to blend flavors.
There was a Time/Life series in the late sixties through early seventies that came with spiral bound recipe books. They are wonderful. I use the Provincial French one often, and I've found and used recipes out of all of the ones I own. They are a staple of library sales. I can't thank Lucy and the Professor enough for introducing them to me. The big picture books that came with them aren't as good, but they are pretty.
I have several cookbooks by Nika Hazelton. She's not a very good cook book writer, the travel segments of the books tend to be better, but when I purchased them they were often the only books available on the topic. The Belgian Cookbook was for many years the only English language cookbook on the subject.
Lastly, I have to mention the first food writer I ever read. Waverly Root wrote for The International Herald Tribune, and I discovered him when we moved to Belgium. He's a thoughtful essayist who deeply loves his subject. His books on French and Italian foods have had a profound influence on me, and his ideas helped me to formulate my questions for my class in persona cookery.
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My too long and not terribly profound thoughts...
Date: 2008-05-20 08:15 pm (UTC)I find Rachael Ray has some good practical tips, but her cutesy names for things like olive oil are OTT. She's never claimed to be a chef. I glanced through one of her 30 min meal books and didn't find it that great.
I've just been lurking through your posts. I...can cook. I just don't tend to. I'm one of those "toss some items together" and see if it works out and try to remember to write down what I did later if it tastes particularly scrumptious. But I'm no superchef or anything. :-)
My original/must have is the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook because...that's what my mother had. I have a Weight Watchers one, and recipies of my grandmothers and great grandmother, and a variety of smaller recipe books gleaned.
The good tip to do is note when you've used a recipe and if it was good (star) or bad (x).
Re: My too long and not terribly profound thoughts...
Date: 2008-05-20 09:23 pm (UTC)Toss some items together and see if it works out is the basis of all real cooking.
Most of my friends seem about evenly divided on the Better Homes and Gardens versus Joy of Cooking debate (about which is the better "everyone should have it" cookbook). I lean toward Joy of Cooking as long as it's an old enough edition to have the cuts of meat in it. Better Homes and Gardens has my favorite biscuit recipe in it.
Grandmother and GREAT grandmother recipes! Share please? I love seeing how food and the approach to cookery changes over the years.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-20 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-20 09:15 pm (UTC)nb: just looked him up on Amazon. His Kitchen Diaries is now on my wishlist. The man cooks on an AGA! I've always wanted to learn how to do that.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-21 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-20 08:48 pm (UTC)And because I do it at the drop of a hat, I must put in my oh-so-often repeated plug for Bittmann's How to Cook Everything.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-20 09:13 pm (UTC)Never read Bittmann. I'll see if I can remedy that.
own cookbooks, can't boil water
Date: 2008-05-20 08:53 pm (UTC)Re: own cookbooks, can't boil water
Date: 2008-05-20 09:18 pm (UTC)On the other hand, my sister owns a cookbook, called "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen" and considers the recipes in there to be a little difficult, so I know not everyone has the muse for cooking.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-20 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-21 02:07 am (UTC)