Cookbooks

I received my first "real" cookbook when I was supposed to be living back at home after college, but mostly living with my boyfriend in his tiny studio.  I had always loved food, but never really invested myself in cooking/baking until I had access to a kitchen that was mine, one that I didn't have to share.  This kitchen that kicked me into high gear was not even mine, and it was an even-tinier-than-the-studio-kitchenette with an electric range.   I still shudder at the thought of those glowing coils, even when I am able to think of the tasty memories Adam and I were able to create there, like the first turkey I ever made in some dollar store disposable roasting pan.

One day, Martha Stewart called out my name in our local Barnes & Noble with her clean, bright cover for Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.  I was a novice and so excited at the thought of owning a legitimate cookbook, and not some $4.00 mega-discounted pasta book, that it was gifted to me at full price, which was a lot for me back then, and even still now.  And I loved it.  Before Adam stopped eating pesto, I used to make this cavatappi with pesto and green beans and potatoes.  Did you know Martha Stewart taught me how to make pesto?  Because she did.

Fast forward four years, two Martha Stewart Living Cookbooks, and one Martha Stewart's Cupcakes later, I'm still in love with cookbooks and refusing to pay full price for them.  I've purchased two in the past week.  While looking for something not-food related at The Strand, I picked up The Best of Bon Appetit, partly because the recipes were simple and manageable, but mostly because of the inscription, dated October 1979:

To George,
May this be the first cookbook you receive for the loft!  See!  Cooking isn't as difficult as it seems!  Love and warm wishes, Bass.