Cookbook

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Thank you, Edward; that's helpful. I was wondering about those two in particular, so it's good to have an opinion. I have been gravitating in searching towards the old fashioned ones myself. I think an approach less concerned with image than the modern one tends to be, and more concerned with the kind of knowledge my grandmother had about food, is probably going to give me a better ability to know how to make things even Ruben can enjoy eating with somewhat more flavor and nutrition and variety -- which is certainly the goal :).
 
I would consider the anniversary edition first. It does pick up some of the favorites from the original. We have many more items in grocery stores these days, a taste for ethnic foods, and a better understanding of food safety. (Or perhaps, our current means for obtaining food requires greater awareness of food safety.) All are reasons to go with a newer cookbook.

BTW, in many ways, Joy is an encyclopedia of food. So is The New Professional Chef, a good reference for restaurant basics.
 
This may be something Ruben would actually like
Sorry, afraid not. I don't like Swiss cheese, I don't like mustard, and I don't like things that are this elaborate. I had it once and it wasn't as unacceptable as some other things, though.

So then sub Manchego for the Swiss, omit the mustard, and what does it matter to you that it's elaborate if Heidi's making it?

Heidi, the Aztec cake, if it is what I am thinking of, is indeed one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten. Unfortunately, though you gave me the recipe, I don't think I've made it a single time since because one of my husband's very few picky issues is with bechamel-type white sauces. :(
 
White Castles with a few juicy mosquitos, mixed into the onions, to satisfy the discerning bat's palate.
 
So then sub Manchego for the Swiss, omit the mustard, and what does it matter to you that it's elaborate if Heidi's making it?

Did I fail to mention that I don't like breading? Or chicken in a situation where I can't see the objectionable parts so as to avoid eating them?
 
Thanks much, Jean!

Laura, the lady to whom I was a mother's helper passed along that recipe -- it's one of the few dishes that makes me really hungry: though I (obviously :) understand about not making such a thing for your husband.

CJ, what a helpful resource. Winnie the Pooh is one of my favorite culinary figures ('a little something' is one of my favorite snacks). In fact, the large puppy, Hormisdas, you see in my avatar has also authored a cookbook -- some time ago, before the invention of the printing press (he claims to be a former pope) he wrote 'The Bishop's Book of Baking Questions -- Answered' (the style is a very very early anticipation of medieval scholasticism, with inadequate recipes given first and then reconciled in the correct recipes).
 
I don't think the author of this thread would have enjoyed the lunch that my wife and I had. We each started off with a cup of what was supposed to be goulash suppe but had some carrots chopped in with the onions, beef and potatoes (spicy with plenty of paprika, though) we followed that with a couple of lengths of stuffed, seasoned intestines which we dunked in Düsseldorf style mustard. with sides of sauerkraut and a potato salad made with vinegar and herbs.
 
I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I just purchased a cookbook entitled "Cooking Essentials" for my daughter. It's put out by Cooking Club of America. It is the best book I've seen for explaining the basics of how to cook, use spices, etc. It's simple, short and to the point, and has excellent pictures. I wish I had purchased an extra one for myself.
 
I don't think the author of this thread would have enjoyed the lunch that my wife and I had. We each started off with a cup of what was supposed to be goulash suppe but had some carrots chopped in with the onions, beef and potatoes (spicy with plenty of paprika, though) we followed that with a couple of lengths of stuffed, seasoned intestines which we dunked in Düsseldorf style mustard. with sides of sauerkraut and a potato salad made with vinegar and herbs.

I'm vaguely honored that you would plan a whole meal just to spite me. Thank you for your sacrifice.
 
I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I just purchased a cookbook entitled "Cooking Essentials" for my daughter. It's put out by Cooking Club of America. It is the best book I've seen for explaining the basics of how to cook, use spices, etc. It's simple, short and to the point, and has excellent pictures. I wish I had purchased an extra one for myself.

Thanks so much, Joy. I will definitely be on the lookout for that one.
 
Heidi, One more thought, Food Network has lots of recipes, and you can file them into a recipe box on their site. I found it really easy to use. If I can do it; you can certainly do it.
 
Mindy, I think I do actually have an account there! Sometime long ago before several interruptions of our internet accesss . . . (or maybe it was another place at which I had a little recipe box?)

Off topic, perhaps, slightly, I have been hoping all afternoon that the Pooh book has a chapter by Rabbit on 'How to Make a Small Repast So Delicious that Overindulgent Guests Become Embedded in the Entryway . . .' Perhaps failing Rabbit, Laura could come up with something :)
 
Ruben, by means of this thread alone, you have taken Batman from the terror that flies at night and the dark knight to being about as terrifying as a box of kittens and about as knightly as a three year old girl with ringlets in a smocked frock (with petticoats, no less). Oh the humanity!

Heidi, go to Amazon and order Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It will teach you both how to eat properly and actually be good for you.
 
Perhaps you missed my post #22, Kevin, where it was revealed that I am capable of engaging in misdirection to distract people while scooping bileous food into a ziploc bag. And who is always prepared with countless numbers of evidence bags?
 
Perhaps you missed my post #22, Kevin, where it was revealed that I am capable of engaging in misdirection to distract people while scooping bileous food into a ziploc bag.

Ruben, it is time to dip into that great untapped reservoir of gastronomic testosterone. What you describe above is behaviour befitting Robin, not Batman. My dear friend, no man belongs in green tights, nor does it befit any man to travel with baggies for food abduction. I think it is time for an intervention.

Brother, you must come visit. Both you and your bride must come to the farm. Breakfast is bacon and eggs (bacon from our hogs and eggs from our hens) with a side glass of chilled milk from the cow (running somewhere between 5-6% milkfat in the summer, slightly less now). There are few cans of anything involved in meal preparation, as Elizabeth cooks from scratch for most everything. Spaghetti sauce for lunch begins with tomatoes grown in the garden, then hamburger from Sweet Pea (our recently deceased Shorthorn cow with murder in her eyes and heart - farmers always get the last laugh), then fresh vegetables and herbs (some of those home grown as well), then simmering of it all together until it unites in glorious deliciousness. Add pasta and serve.

Dinner will be a portion of Tank, a gentle Dexter steer who has just a couple of weeks ago gone to the Great Pasture in the Sky (we sent him to the butcher a little over two weeks ago, he was then hung for 14 days and cut up just a few days ago and set to freeze). Steak on the grill (we would grill even in a foot of snow) and baked potatoes (served with home made butter, sour cream, and bacon bits) along with sauteed veggies, a little olive oil and a little garlic, salt and parsley. This day's meals can be yours and Heidi's simply for the price of gas and the ability to put up with large amounts of people of all sizes. Yum.

Voila - your first step into culinary normalcy. I'm dead serious - PM me for a date. I've never seen a case so serious as yours. You're welcome to stay a while if you can handle it, but these first steps must be taken immediately if there is to be any hope.
 
Ruben, it is time to dip into that great untapped reservoir of gastronomic testosterone. What you describe above is behaviour befitting Robin, not Batman. My dear friend, no man belongs in green tights, nor does it befit any man to travel with baggies for food abduction. I think it is time for an intervention.

Brother, you must come visit. Both you and your bride must come to the farm. Breakfast is bacon and eggs (bacon from our hogs and eggs from our hens) with a side glass of chilled milk from the cow (running somewhere between 5-6% milkfat in the summer, slightly less now). There are few cans of anything involved in meal preparation, as Elizabeth cooks from scratch for most everything. Spaghetti sauce for lunch begins with tomatoes grown in the garden, then hamburger from Sweet Pea (our recently deceased Shorthorn cow with murder in her eyes and heart - farmers always get the last laugh), then fresh vegetables and herbs (some of those home grown as well), then simmering of it all together until it unites in glorious deliciousness. Add pasta and serve.

Dinner will be a portion of Tank, a gentle Dexter steer who has just a couple of weeks ago gone to the Great Pasture in the Sky (we sent him to the butcher a little over two weeks ago, he was then hung for 14 days and cut up just a few days ago and set to freeze). Steak on the grill (we would grill even in a foot of snow) and baked potatoes (served with home made butter, sour cream, and bacon bits) along with sauteed veggies, a little olive oil and a little garlic, salt and parsley. This day's meals can be yours and Heidi's simply for the price of gas and the ability to put up with large amounts of people of all sizes. Yum.

Voila - your first step into culinary normalcy. I'm dead serious - PM me for a date. I've never seen a case so serious as yours. You're welcome to stay a while if you can handle it, but these first steps must be taken immediately if there is to be any hope.

It was resourceful and decisive, Kevin: prime traits of any non-super-powered-super-hero. Thank you very much for your gracious invitation. Jesting aside, it would be a pleasure to meet you and the family.

I don't eat eggs: I thought about what they were one day. Bacon is acceptable. I don't drink milk, unless chocolate has been added to it. Hamburger and noodles are both fine, but if tomato sauce has chunks in it one feels constrained to offer to buy a more up-to-date blender.

Vegetables and herbs should be kept separate from the food proper. I unobtrusively pass on the sour cream, sauteed veggies, etc.

Take another look at my avatar; I thought it was clear that normalcy was not really very high on the list of priorities. Thank you for the compliment on the depth of my convictions and sincerity of my principles, though.
 
Ruben, I fear your condition is terminal. My regards to Heidi, but it appears you are beyond the scope of even the most dedicated gastronome. The fact that you are apparently at peace with your eating habits is quite besides the point, and may be comparable to the hard-bitten addict who is comfortable to the degree with which he fancies heroin. Is Heidi similarly afflicted, or does she possess some grasp of societal norms in how she eats?
 
Heidi's health necessitates some delicacy in her consumption, but no, she does not share my astringent and rational tastes. Years ago my grandmother, upon finding out that I don't eat fish, told Heidi she would pray for us; I still don't eat fish.
 
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