Hello Everyone-
What do you do when it’s time for a party? How do you plan your week of meals? Do you have an old “go to” cookbook, magazine, or recipe box? What about the newspaper? Does your newspaper have a food section?
I find so many tidbits of information in so many places. There is, of course, The Food Network, and many cooking shows all over network TV. I love the show Chopped. I would love to open a mystery box and the challenge of creating delicious dishes with the mystery ingredients. Cooking is so great because options are completely endless when it comes to most any food ingredient.
I subscribe to Cooking Light, Food & Wine Magazine, and Bon Appetite. I try to go through each magazine and cut out recipes I’m interested in and I file them in categorized hanging file folders. It’s really great because each week I go through say the Chicken file and either come up with a recipe I like or adapt a recipe to my taste. I make notes as to any changes I’ve made on the page.
And cookbooks….Oh Boy! My favorite read is a beautifully photographed cookbook. A couple of fav’s-anything by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa and Jamie Oliver, a most real chef that uses lovely, real ingredients. As far as Asian food goes, I love A Spoonful of Ginger, by Nina Simonds. My go to Cookbook for any questions on basic technique or cooking times for things like a 25 lb. turkey or a 12 lb. ham would be Fanny Farmer. I learned how to cook out of my Grandma Inez’s version. French toast and pancakes. Anything basic I wanted to know I went to that book. It was easy to read and understand for the 10 year old girl I was at the time. Yes, there is yet another source I use….
The Good Eating Section of the Chicago Tribune. I have found some incredible recipes as well as cooking tips like using unflavored gelatin to set whipped cream. This section also has sale flyers for all local grocery stores. I plan my menu based on what I can find on sale. Shrimp might be on sale and if I want a different way to prepare it, I go to my fish file. It’s that simple.
Mostly, my passion for pouring over recipes and coming up with menus all comes down to one thing. Sitting around the table with people I love and sharing a warm and delicious meal together. Talking and sharing what happened in our day. I feel closest to my family at dinner time. Good stuff.
Have a great evening.
Angie
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