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