Morsels: Confessions of a cookbook hoarder
I have a confession.
I鈥檓 a cookbook hoarder.
I came to this inevitable conclusion a few weeks back while rearranging furniture to take advantage of our new empty nest.
鈥淲ow, you have a lot of cookbooks,鈥� my husband mused as we finagled one of the heavy bookcases into the bedroom vacated a year ago by my oldest daughter.
鈥淒o you even read these things?鈥� he asked, struggling to steer it into its new location. 鈥淢aybe you should thin the herd.鈥�
鈥淥f course, I do, and no way,鈥� I said, quickly diverting his attention to a stain on the carpet that needed immediate attention and hoping he wouldn鈥檛 bring up the fact that there were two more bookcases brimming with cookbooks down the hall and in the game room.
But deep down I knew that I鈥檇 lapsed into sameness with a weekly meal routine consisting of baked chicken, pasta and turkey burgers, with an occasional brinner thrown in for good measure. I started to wonder. When was the last time I鈥檇 tried a new dish?
Later on, I decided to take inventory and count my cookbooks. Each numbered tap of a book spine conjured a memory, prompting me to pull it from the shelf, leaf through, and recall the how and why I鈥檇 acquired it. Among a few of my favorites:
n 鈥淩ecipes from America鈥檚 Main Street, compiled by the Seligman (Ariz.) Historical Society.鈥� A recipe for Navajo fry bread prompted me to shell out $13.99 for this ring-bound treasure filled with recipes contributed by Seligman鈥檚 locals and sold at Angel and Vilma鈥檚 Original Route 66 Gift Shop in 鈥� you guessed it 鈥� Seligman. We were on a cross-country jaunt and enjoyed fry bread 鈥� a traditional southwestern dish 鈥� in Flagstaff the day before we rolled into Seligman. Full disclosure: I鈥檝e not made the fry bread yet.
n 鈥淭he Good Housekeeping Book of Menus, Recipes and Household Discoveries.鈥� I can鈥檛 recall how I came to be in possession of this little gem from 1922 that, as noted in the introduction, 鈥渋s offered to housewives with the hope that it will suggest new dishes by which the daily menu may be varied.鈥� The 鈥渄iscoveries,鈥� or household tips, at the end of the book are probably the best part of the book, and offer new appreciation of modern conveniences, like clothes dryers. Consider this tip to 鈥渟aving strength on wash day鈥�: 鈥淲hen wash day comes around, I use the children鈥檚 wagon to haul the wash basket of wet clothes from the back door or laundry to the clothes-line 鈥� when there is snow, the children鈥檚 sled answers equally as well.鈥� Good to know.
n 鈥淭he Biscoff Cookie & Spread Cookbook.鈥� Now, here is one I鈥檝e tapped time and again since buying it a while back in San Francisco. A fan of cookie butter, which is made from Speculoos cookies 鈥� crunchy shortbread spice biscuits from the Netherlands and Belgium 鈥� I鈥檝e baked Biscoff Blossoms (made with Biscoff Spread instead of peanut butter), Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies, Biscoff Cut-Out Cookies, Biscoff Cheesecake 鈥� you get the picture.
n 鈥淔ortnum & Mason: The Cookbook.鈥� A gift from my daughter, this cookbook from the iconic department store of the same name in London is just an all-around pretty tome 鈥� almost too pretty to use, though the author says in the introduction that 鈥渢his is a book that should become splattered and worn with constant use, to be bent, bruised and loved.鈥� I鈥檓 not sure that I鈥檒l be adding Caviar Boiled Eggs or Deep-fried Courgette Flowers with Graceburn Cheese and Honey to my regular repertoire, but there is a Raspberry Trifle recipe 鈥� featuring ladyfinger biscuits soaked in raspberry liqueur -that is calling my name.
There are so many more wonderful books in my collection. I could go on, but I stopped counting at 200 鈥�
I don鈥檛 normally make New Year鈥檚 resolutions, but I鈥檓 giving this one a go in 2020: I resolve to make a new recipe from a different cookbook each week.
I think I鈥檒l start with the Navajo fry bread.
Happy New Year!