by Jill Pearson
In an era where you can type in a few ingredients and the internet will spit out 1.5 million recipes helping you use them, there is something quaint and magical about a cookbook pulled from the shelf and stained with years of spills and splashes.
Each Sunday evening I pull a few cookbooks from my shelf along with a binder of favorite recipes, and plan our meals for the week. I usually plan a couple of tried-and-trues and a couple of new recipes, rotating proteins and ethnic flavors. I just love to cook, especially coming out of the stage of trying to find meals that please 5 people. I don’t have to hide everything under cheese anymore!
One of my most nostalgic cookbooks is the Calvary Cookbook, published in 1999. The plastic binding broke years ago, so it is held together with a rubber band, but it has some of my favorite versions of potato soup, oriental cabbage slaw, and more, shared by women of Calvary, many whom have influenced my life immensely, and some who are no longer with us. Sorry to say this cookbook is not available anymore. We should create a new one!
My mother-in-law gave me America’s Test Kitchen cookbook . She was a field volunteer Test Kitchen recipe tester for a period of time, so the book is extra special to her, and it is full of wonderful side-bars of why certain techniques and ingredients create a superior dish. I’ve learned so much from this cookbook (and from my dear mother-in-law!)
I adore The Minimalist Kitchen. Melissa Coleman reminds you that you can do everything with minimal equipment, and her recipes are delicious and relatively easy. My family goes nuts over “Humble Roast” turned into “Beef Tacos with Homemade Chimichurri.” Truly an explosion of flavors! This is a great shower gift.
Finally, I highly recommend any of the cookbooks by Tiegan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest. Be sure to follow her on Instagram if you have it. You will drool. She started cooking for her family of 9 when she was a teenager, tired of waiting for her dad to get home and cook dinner at 9 pm. She blasted off with a food blog and now has 3 cookbooks and a new one coming soon. I have all of them! These are not simple recipes, but they are always delicious, full of fresh herbs and interesting flavor profiles, that could be served at the best restaurants. The food photography is gorgeous, too! She has a great aesthetic.
Do you have a favorite cookbook? What do you love about it?
Jill Pearson is co-editor of The Stir, wife to Dave, and mom to three young adults who have flown the nest but are easily lured back with an offer of dinner. She owns and operates Riverwood Studio, an art education business, and finds creative ways to serve at Calvary.