If you visit my house in Ann Arbor, you’ll notice that my bookshelves are filled with cookbooks. They’re on coffee tables and the dining room table, too.
I love cookbooks. I read them the way many people read novels. Some people love mystery writers; I love cookbook authors.
And now that I’ve written recipe stories, for which I sometimes have to make repeated batches and adjustments, I have a great respect for how much work goes into crafting a cookbook.
For the next two newsletters, I’m going to talk about putting together a cookbook library. This week will focus on vintage cookbooks; next week will look at cookbooks that came out in the past year or so.
This group of cookbooks ranges from a primer for novice cooks, an encyclopedia for the most serious, and books on specific types and regions of cooking. You might have some, but I’m betting you don’t have them all.
Many of the vintage cookbooks are still in print. You should be able to find them online, or ask your favorite indie bookstore for help tracking them down.
Also, check out thrift shops, library book sales and Etsy. I’ve scored some amazing cookbooks through estate sales, too (hopefully those will be safe to attend by this spring).
Okay, to quote the BTS song, Dynamite, let’s go!
Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook
This was the very first cookbook that I ever cooked from, and the very first recipe I ever tried was for popovers. I think my mother received this cookbook as a shower present, and it somehow wound up with me.
This book gives you a good grounding in mid-century American cuisine. It’s clearly written, with photos that now look kitschy, but with advice that all those new cooks needed to break in their subdivision kitchens. It’s a ring binder, which allows you to add new material to the book.
Whether one this old, or a later edition, a Betty Crocker cookbook is a good starting point. Betty Crocker also published books for children and teens, and is probably responsible for encouraging many young cooks like me to get their starts.
The Way To Cook
Julia Child became famous as a co-author of Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I would not dissuade you from buying that book. But when I was given The Way To Cook, I felt Julia was writing for me.
It came out in 1989, and is aimed at people who have cooking skills, but want to improve them. There are beautiful photos, and step by step instructions.
Even better, you can hear her voice in your head as you read her advice for spatchcocking a turkey, or making profiteroles.
Along with being a great cookbook, it’s simply an interesting book from a legendary cook. This shows how Julia herself evolved as an instructor, no doubt because of the influence that television had on her career.
Let’s Cook It Right
What Julia Child was to French cuisine, Adelle Davis was to clean eating, or “health food” as it was called when I was growing up. My mother would not let us eat junk food - no Twinkies, or Wonder Bread, or sugary cereals. She fed us the most nutritious foods she could afford.
She and her circle of friends discovered Adelle Davis in the 1970s, although this book was actually published in 1947. Even though some of her recipes are a little retro, it’s amazing how prescient she was about what people now call “wellness”
If you are looking for another book in this category, I also recommend The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen and her other classic, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.
The Southern Junior League Cookbook
Now, let’s move in a different direction. I am a member of the Junior League, and I take pride in all our cookbooks. (I’ve sold a bunch, too.) The ones produced by Leagues across the South are known for their delectable recipes.
While you can and should track down individual books from Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans and elsewhere, this book rounds up highlights from many of them.
You’ll find a strong section on appetizers and lots of recipes that use seafood. If you like pie, there are ideas in here, too. This book is a wonderful introduction to Southern cuisine, which will more than likely get you interested in exploring more Southern cookbooks.
Chez Helene House of Good Food Cookbook
You might dimly remember a show called Frank’s Place, starring Tim and Daphne Maxwell Reid. (Look it up on YouTube.) It took place at a New Orleans restaurant that was based on Chez Helene, and its chef character was based on Austin Leslie.
He is gone now, but warmly remembered in New Orleans for his Creole cuisine. I’m so glad I got to eat there and meet him. He signed my copy, and I’ve cooked many of his recipes.
This little cookbook is a fine way to learn about New Orleans. You can close your eyes and smell the seasonings and picture people laughing and enjoying a meal.
Chef Leslie wrote other cookbooks, too, and I highly recommend you have at least one New Orleans cookbook on your shelf.
Some others you might consider are the Dooky Chase Cookbook, from Leah Chase, and Cooking Up A Storm, the compilation of home recipes after Hurricane Katrina, by Judy Walker and Marcelle Bienvenu.
Larousse Gastronomique
Here is the encyclopedia that every cook needs to understand the roots of fine cuisine. Larousse is the underpinnings of what chefs have learned for generations.
You can say, “But nobody cooks this way any more,” and you might be right. But for cooks, it’s like reading a biography of Churchill or Franklin Roosevelt is for history buffs.
I consult mine constantly. Also, it’s great language practice if you can find an original French edition. And if French cooking doesn’t enthrall you, look for Essentials of Modern Italian Cooking, my Marcella Hazan.
The Food Lover’s Guide To Paris
Now, admittedly, this is not a cookbook, per se, although it has 40 recipes, and Patricia Wells has written plenty of cookbooks. If you’d rather have just cooking instructions from her, I happily send you to those.
But, this is a book that turned me onto cooking after college. Patricia’s descriptions of 457 restaurants, cafes and food shops are mouth watering and her recommendations are carefully considered.
This guidebook will help you visualize all the things you’ve read about in other cookbooks. Since we Americans can’t travel to Paris right now, it’s the next best thing.
This is the latest edition, but if you can find the older one with the blue and white cover, try to do so.
Are there vintage books you would add to these? Let me know.
What I’m Writing About
Every year, I write a series for Forbes that looks at emerging food trends. I kicked it off with three stories last week.
The first one looks at the emergence of Korean flavors and includes an interview with Theo Lee, the founder of KPOP Foods. If you don’t know what gochujang sauce is yet, you will soon.
The second looks at restaurants helping each other in the pandemic. Manny’s Deli in Chicago has invited eight other restaurants to make sandwiches from now through January. “We’re all struggling,” says Danny Raskin, fourth-generation member of the family that started Manny’s.
The third story looks at hibernation. Rather than permanently close, a number of restaurants across the U.S. are shutting down for the winter, hoping to weather the COVID storm and come back when the pandemic subsides. The latest to do so is Joe Allen, the beloved cafe near Broadway theaters.
I’ll have more trend stories coming up, including my annual look at the best things I ate and drank in 2020. It’s going to be a very local list, I can say that.
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