Monday, October 13, 2008
Home Cooking
Remember when families used to sit down and eat a home-cooked meal together every night? Life is so hectic these days, sometimes it's hard to get the entire family in one room at the same time. But I try to make sure my family eats well, even when we're all busy.
Betty Crocker's Cookbook shaped the dinner tables of generations of families. My mom gave me her copy when I moved out of the house. It had been well-used then, but now it's just falling apart. The pages are yellowed and stained with 50 years of spills and smudges. That's why I was glad when I found this reprint. Betty Crocker's recipe for roast turkey is the best I've ever found and I still use it every year during the holiday cooking season. Of course, I'll never get rid of the copy my Mom passed down to me, but it's nice to have a nice, clean cookbook to spill things on.
If you like to cook from scratch, this Endangered Recipes Cookbook will take you back to a time when tomato soup came from the stove and not a can and the cheese in macaroni & cheese wasn't a mysteriously orange powder. It has recipes for some of my favortie comfort foods like banana pudding, gingerbread and even Welsh rarebit. 
Remember the salad dressing that was invented at Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 20s in honor of William Archer's hit play? That's right! This book even has a recipe for Green Goddess Dressing! Speaking of going back in time, the Food Of The 50s Cookbook can help you create events from retro luaus to patio BBQs. Make lemon bars, chicken fricasse, Swedish meatballs, and my favorite, red velvet cake!
Going even farther back in time, Our Founding Foods Cookbook answers questions like "What did George Washington serve for dessert at Mount Vernon?" and "What was Thomas Jefferson's favorite ice cream?" These first American recipes have been updated to suit your modern kitchen. With contributions from Martha Washington, Mary Randolph--a cousin of Jefferson--and the original Fannie Farmer, it's not just a cookbook, it's a piece of history. So far, I've learned to make Virginian Gumbo and Carrot Tart, plus I've studied up on the art of cooking over a campfire.All this talk about food is making me hungry. I think I'll go whip up a nice big batch of macaroni & cheese for dinner. With real cheese!
posted by Betty at
5:00 AM
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