Friday Feast | The Joy of Cookbooks
Mary's bookcase of cookbooks
Instead of sharing a recipe, I thought I'd confess to one of my passions: collecting cookbooks! Now if you asked my husband about my passion, he'd probably say, "You mean her obsession, right?" As most of you know, I love to cook and bake. I've been sharing recipes since I started my first blog eight years ago in 2012. Yet I love collecting cookbooks, especially those that have certain stories and/or share the background of the town and how the recipe evolved.
Whenever I make a new purchase, I'll curl up on the couch and read from front to back. Then I'll pull out the post-its (did I mention I'm a post-it freak? Hmm...another topic for a blog post one day), and slap them onto the pages of interest for future meals.
I've always loved these special books. Tucked inside some of my older books are recipes torn out from magazines and/or scribbled grocery notes and how I tweaked a recipe. Generally, I try to stay with the exact method the first time, but afterwards, I'm always doing my own twist with tastes and ingredients.
Mary's first cookbook
This Betty Crocker gem is a treasure trove of stuffed mementos over the decades. The cookbook is 43 years old and my first. I can't part with it. Ever. Often times, it's my "go-to" book for classic recipes: deviled eggs, pancakes, and roasting a chicken. And I could never part with special booklets created by my children. I still make the apple muffin recipe inside a booklet my son put together at school over 30 years ago. Priceless!
Recent recipes used from these cookbooks
My recent purchase was Magnolia Table, Volume 2 by Joanna Gaines. I'm in love with this cookbook! I'm planning one of the chicken dishes this weekend. Another one I've been reaching for lately is Outlander Kitchen. Since I'm an Outlander fan (both of the books and series), I enjoy cooking food from this book while watching the show. Psst...don't tell my husband, but I've preordered the second Outlander cookbook. Yay!
So are you a fan of cookbooks? Any favorites? Please tell me I'm not alone in my passion.
