By Shannon Williams
I know that as I get older, many things will change and I have tried my best to accept changes the best I can. I am having a struggle with trying to give up adding any more cookbooks to my collection! I have shared with you about my box of recipes and what a mess they are in, but it is nothing compared to my cookbooks. Twice in the past 10 years, I have taken dead aim at trying to part with my many cookbooks and have done pretty good, but I never really stopped from buying new cookbooks!!

I still remember my first two cookbooks, one was a little paperback “kids’ cookbook” put out by Imperial Pure Cane Sugar and called “My First Cookbook”, I think my mother sent away for when I was in the 3rd grade. I no longer have it, but wish I did as I found a copy on the internet and they wanted $89 for it!! The other cookbook of my childhood was Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book. It was published in 1955 but I have the revised edition printed in 1963; it is only worth about $10, which tells me a lot of people still have their copy! In that cookbook was the recipe for “minute steaks” which was a family favorite and we thought it was a special treat. I know, it was my requested Birthday meal. Even though we lived in Texas as I grew up, neither of my parents were raised in Texas, so we did not know about chicken fried steaks and how good that was. My father was so impressed when as an adult I could make a chicken fried steak as good as he could get at the local café, we just never dreamed of cooking minute steaks any other way, that just to pan fry them, with no coating or gravy, Oh, what we were missing.

I have three types of cookbooks I really like, the first being from a restaurant I have been too. The Pink Adobe Cookbook from Santa Fe is my favorite and I got that one on in 1987! I also love the ones that cruise ships put out with their recipes. I love to attend cooking demonstrating while I am cruising and then of course I have to get the cookbook. Next would be cookbooks from famous chefs, Jeff Smith also known as the Frugal Gourmet had several great cookbooks and I still use his recipe for Cheesecake. Early on, when the trend of southwest cooking first started, I was lucky to get to attend several cooking classes with Stephan Pyles, who was from my hometown of Big Spring, Texas. He would come back to Big Spring and do a cooking class as a fund raiser for some of the local charities. He also had a series of classes at his first restaurant in Dallas, Routh Street Café. It was such a fun event, you would spend the day learning to cook something wonderful and then you could take part in a tasting menu that night at the restaurant. I got to take a pasta class with Mario Batali during the early 80’s, and it was such a great experience.

My favorite type of cookbook is the ones that churches or woman’s group put together as a fund raiser. People give their best recipes and someone does a lot of work and puts it together. Now, there are companies that you hire and they do most of the work. I have been a part of several cookbooks like that and try not put the same recipe in for each group. I have cookbooks that both of my grandmothers had recipes in. My mother was really not a person who enjoyed cooking but her mother and my father’s mother were wonderful in the kitchen and I learned so much for both of them.

These days you really do not need a cookbook, just google what you want and it is at your fingertips. But I just cannot stop, I was just given a collection cookbooks from one of my employees from her mother’s church in Mississippi. Wow, does it have some great things in it. I have pre-ordered Brenda Gantt cookbook which does not come out till October! She is a southern cook who has a Facebook page and I love watching her cook ! I cannot pass up any cookbook that Ina Garten puts outs and she puts out one a year, it seems like. Beside it is always something you can buy me, as everyone knows I just love to sit and read a cookbook. But again, just like the recipes I cut out of newspapers and cooking magazine, I often don’t get around to cooking the new recipes I find.

My daughter in Law likes cookbooks, but instead of giving her some of mine, I just order her one when I buy one for me. The Junior League of Houston has put out a few fabulous cookbooks over the years; I tried and tried to part with mine to send to her, but could not do it, so I just ordered her the new one and found a copy of my well used and loved, “Stop and Smell the Rosemary” to send to her instead of just sending her mine. Well I could go on and on and I haven’t told you about, Helen Corbitt or the series called From Calf Fries to Caviar!!! So, enjoy cooking and reading those cookbooks, call me if you need a recipe!!!

[June-29-2021]