The Joy of Cookbooks

Even though I have not been much of a home cook for the last few years, I barely remember a time in my life when I didn't know how to cook. My brother is a professional chef, and both of my parents are great cooks always willing to experiment with new dishes and flavors. I remember canning corn, peas, beans, and tomatoes at my grandmother's house--and being foolish enough to think baking zucchini bread in 100-degree weather was a good idea. Some of my favorite memories from growing up are when we would have family crab rangoon night where all four of us would work together to make the filling, stuff the wontons, and fry up a mountain of crab rangoon for all of us to enjoy or when my Dad and I would work together making lasagna or manicotti for a special dinner.

Through all my growing-up years of cooking, our one go-to source (this being, of course, before the internet) was the Betty Crocker cookbook. I think we were using a version from the 1960s. I can still see the reddish orange cover. We had a few other cookbooks as well, but that was the one we always used. My aunt, a recreational baker and pastry chef, shared with us The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, which is a great resource for everything from cupcake to wedding cake, but is certainly not for the faint of heart!

Today, I have probably a dozen or so cookbooks. My grandmother, who suffered a stroke 8 years ago and can no longer cook as she used to, loves to send cookbooks to her relatives as gifts. I have also picked up a few that I just found appealing for whatever reason--including my own copy of The Cake Bible and Beranbaum's other amazing reference, The Pie and Pastry Bible. Since college, my husband and I have used the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook as our standard reference. My husband has also made some amazing dishes from The Tabasco Cookbook (though I do NOT recommend the beer omelette--disaster).

I do not think that you need a good cookbook, or even a recipe, to create a good meal. Sometimes the creativity and play of just trying to put something together based on ingredients on-hand can create unexpected and delicious results. However, when I have had a long day--or a long week--and want to decompress with some light reading, there is nothing like a cookbook. The best ones share stories as well as meals, and after a hectic day there is something satisfying about the structure and simplicity of recipes. Plus, recipes represent potential. Potential to make something great, to try something new, to push your own limits.

Much to my surprise, I have since learned that the older generations of women in my family--mom, aunt, great aunts, and grandmother--all share this same habit of reading cookbooks as much for recreation as for cooking assistance. I like the continuity of that, though of course it is possible I picked up the habit from all of them over the years without even realizing it.


Does anyone else enjoy reading cookbooks just for the fun of it? If so, what are some of your favorite cookbooks?

One of my new favorites is The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham.