Delores Melon

Lots to type, let’s get to it. First, I have managed to procure several excellent cookbooks and cooking encyclopedias (because yes, I’m that big of a nerd), for my journey to amateur chef-dom. Let me share with you what I have in my arsenal against lousy cooking and why I love them, and the new titles I’ve already drooled over.

My cupboard is literally bursting with cooking magazines and those little cookbook things that are in the checkout line at the grocery store. Scoff if you will, I’ve had many a great meal come from those darling little mini books. I believe most of them are from Campbell’s. Now who doesn’t love Campbell’s soup?

My magazines have a special place in the cupboard. 98% of them are Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking. For some reason, they’ve since changed the name, and I don’t recall it at the moment and I’m far too comfortable to get up and go look. I love those magazines. A picture for every recipe and a couple of categories. Frozen, five ingredients or less, etc. You know, for the all American cook.

Another large portion of my recipes come from the internet, and the Saving Dinner website. Saving Dinner is a great site, check it out, LATER. It’s not free, but honestly, it’s reasonable, and less than what you’d pay for a magazine. Rather, it was when I subscribed. Anywho, good site, and it wasn’t just recipes, it was a weeks’ worth laid out in a very user friendly way and even provided a shopping list.

Onto the actual books. The meat and potatoes of the group… er.. no pun intended. Sadly, I have many in my collection I don’t know if I’ve ever used, ever really looked at much and likely never will. Keep an eye out on eBay.

I love anything from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. In fact, I have a couple of the magazines. I like the explanations behind the recipes. I like that they tried something oodles of times to figure out what worked best. Hence one of their many cookbooks, The Best Recipe. No pictures to accompany the recipes, (which is typically a deal breaker for me), but the volume of information in this book got it in my shopping cart. Not just recipes, but kitchen equipment, and taste tastes. What tasted best, what product worked best. If you’ve read any of my earlier posts, I like to research. If I find someone or someplace that’s done that for me, I’m in.

Thanks to that cookbook, I’ve made fabulous turkey at Thanksgiving and great gravy too. I made really good French toast that would have been awesome had I had the right kind of bread. So, it’s a keeper.

From the same Cook’s Illustrated, I also covet my copy of Baking Illustrated. Let me tell you, I made a three-layer yellow cake with buttercream icing that was so wonderful, so delicious I wept. Ok, honestly the weeping was when the damn thing hit the floor as I was icing it, but it was so good, I scooped it off the floor and ate it ANYWAY! True story.

Sadly I haven’t cracked that particular book open very often, and hopefully my renewed enthusiasm to get into the kitchen will change that. Onto the next one!

How to Bake by Nick Malgieri. Now, I’ve only made one thing out of this cookbook, yum, but the overall book is good. Lots of pictures, good information about ingredients and equipment. Also, and I only recently realized this, Nick Malgieri is apparently a big name in baking. duh. Again, one I hope to refer to more in the not so distant future. Another keeper.

Other titles include: The Whimsical Bakehouse. I bought this in one of my “I can build Rome in a day” moments. Honestly, the cover scares me because it appears too daunting for my skills. Now, the only way to have skills is to do, do and do some more. I’m keeping it because one of these days I’m going to make a damn amazing cake.

Bevelyn Blair’s Everyday Cakes. No pictures, and kind of overstuffed with recipes. Plus, there are some details left out that maybe a more experienced baker might know, but me… not so much. This one might be coming to an eBay near you.

Ahhhh the new stuff. From The America’s Test Kitchen (more of that Cook’s Illustrated cult), Family Cookbook. Now, if you’ve never been in a kitchen, like, ever, get this cookbook first. I bought this, because, frankly I’m a cookbook addict, and needed a fix. Like heroin, only with egg salad in it.

First of all, it’s in a lovely 5-ring binder. Lays niiiiice and flat. The binder itself had “Emergency Substitutions” on the front inside cover and the back inside cover had “Turkey Roasting Guidelines” and other helpful tips and tidbits. Tabbed sections, easy to see. And there are lots of sections.

Plenty of clear, color photos, kitchen test tips throughout, and easy to read format. What sold me was how they included simple recipes. For example: ‘The Simples Green Salad’. Seriously. Stop rolling your eyes. There are in fact people that either need that written down or just feel comforted having it written down. I’m not telling you which group I’m in. It covers the basics like ‘Chicken Salad’ and things a bit more involved like ‘Roast Rack of Lamb’. Most definitely a keeper.

• Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child
• The Cake Book, Tish Boyle
• The Best of America’s Test Kitchen
• The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook, 1981
• The Bread Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum
• The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter Reinhart
• Cooking with Jamie, Jamie Oliver
• Cooking, James Peterson

And, because I’m a nerd:

• Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniques
• Food Lover’s Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst
• Larousse Gastronomique
• On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee

Now, obviously I’m not going to cook my way through all of these books. The one I’m leaning toward for my first ever journey to cooking land is Mastering the Art… by Julia Child. How anyone could go wrong under Julia’s tutelage is beyond me. I mean, I CAN follow a recipe. The fact that she’s damn near standing right next to you via this book is bonus. The only other competing for firsties is Cooking with Jamie. I like the writing style.

Now, the other books, more for my addiction and future endeavors. The bread books are, according to Amazon user reviews, the best of the best. I love baking bread, so why not learn from the masters. From what I have read thus far, these are exceptional books. Not just a collection of bread recipes, but education. Based on the rest of this post, I think the America’s Test Kitchen book speaks for itself.

The Cake Book… let’s just say I’d have little to live for if I couldn’t eat cake. I’m not a big pie person, chocolate does not make me swoon, and I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a candy bar, but cake… now that moves me. Good cake makes me weak in the knees.

The California cookbook seems like an odd addition, but admittedly, I went on reviews on this one and bought it on eBay. One of those I think I’d like to blindly pick a page, stab a spot and cook whatever I landed on. Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and do it.

Cooking, and the other nerd related titles I bought primarily for the culinary education. Cooking just happens to span both recipe fix and nerd fix. At first glance, as I’ve only had my hands on most of these books a few days, they are veritable mountain of information. The science behind food, why certain techniques work best, what tool works best. Maybe it’s my ADD, maybe it’s just my unique nature, but I enjoy learning why. Why anything. I was probably a real pain in the ass as a child. I also hate to miss an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown. Same principle. The science behind food.

Again, all titles have been thoroughly researched, to death, and at first glance appear to be just what I was looking for.

So, I’m certainly well equipped to begin this endeavor. Ah HAH. Not so fast. While I may have the know how at hand, I don’t have the proper equipment. OK, so I’m using this new “hobby” as an excuse to buy kitchen gadgets. I don’t think anyone can really deny that my non stick cookware, totally sans stainless steel, is going to affect the desired outcome of some of my recipes. For some things, stainless steel is the key. I’m not planning an entire cookware upgrade, just a few pieces. For now, I’ll work with what I have while I get going. If I don’t quit preparing, I’ll never get to it.

Fortunately, the cookware is really my only concern. I have nearly every appliance on the market. lol

I surrender. I’m not superwoman. Not that superwoman qualities are required here, but I simply have to limit my “activities”. I’m likely never going to learn to rewire the house, have a yard that rivals the ones on the pages of Southern Living, or get my masters degree anytime soon. I still don’t have my Associates Degree. Go figure.

So, perhaps it’s best to narrow down the list of goals. Here’s what’s not gonna happen: I’m ditching the website (not the blog), for now. I’m going to keep my domains in the event I get a real burr up my butt and/or wake up and somehow magically know HTML. So, for now, I’m removing that burden from my shoulders.

The other thing that’s not gonna happen: my house is NOT going to be clean all at once for more than 3 minutes. Therefore, I’m going to stop trying. Honestly, does anyone without a valid OCD diagnosis have a spotless house? If the laundry is clean, the dishes aren’t moldy, and you can walk across the kitchen floor without adhering, isn’t that about average? Or acceptable… legal?

So… what is going to happen? I’m going to get my sons room painted before the end of the year. I’m also going to clean the basement and finish organizing my desk and scrapbook area. I’ve already got a really good head start so it’s just a matter of getting off my ass and doing it. Two days tops and I’d have a big chunk of it knocked out.

The other thing, I’m going to learn to cook. Well, I can kick some hamburger helper ass, and scrambled eggs… PUHlease. I can do that with my spatula behind my back. Unfortunately you can only make spaghetti so many times before even the kids get annoyed. Hell, even the dog has quit digging in the trash.

Unimaginative, uninspiring and totally lacking excitement. And that’s just when I do cook. It’s so boring, I don’t even want to bother. Yet I have hope. I know, someway, somehow, I can create actual meals. Food that might just move me to photograph it. I’m so optimistic.

Thanks to inspiration from this blog , French Laundry at Home, I’m going to cook my way through a cookbook. By the way, that is a great blog.

What I need to do now is decide on a cookbook. Carol (of previously mentioned blog) happens to be cooking her way through “The French Laundry”. A bit too ambitious for me. Maybe for my second or third cookbook adventure.

Anywho, I think in order to keep me focused (ADD remember) and on track, I’m going to blog about my journey. Since I love blogging, I love eating, and I love learning, how could this not be awesome. I’ve actually been wanting to do this for some time now. For some reason, now just seems to be a good time. Or maybe Carol’s blog has really given me the kick in the pants I’ve needed. Whatever the case, I’m ready to get cooking.

I’ve narrowed my cookbook selections to just 28. Stop laughing. I really have created quite an impressive wish list in the cookbook arena, but I have my eye on two or three. Some are more for learning rather than actual recipe collections. That’s right up my alley.

So, since I had a bunch of different topics I had wanted to blog about, but was saving them for my website, I guess it’s time to learn to use categories.