The Cookery Book Game #9: 'First or Last'

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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Welcome to The CookingBites Cookery Book Game. This round (round 9) shares the same revised guidelines as round 8. The game is all about getting us to use our cookery books more.

To participate, all you need to do is:
  • Choose a cookery book from your collection (digital or physical), and say a few words about it here. Please include the title of the cookbook, author and the date of publication.
  • Cook a recipe from your chosen book, that you haven’t made before.
  • Write it up as a new thread with the recipe prefix, (don't forget to tag the recipe with the the cookerybook game #9 tag
  • Write a few words about what you thought about the recipe in the recipe thread.
  • Finally post a link to the recipe in this thread, just to let us know that you've made it.
It's fine to make adjustments to the original recipe but please explain what you did and why, in the recipe thread.

For those of you who would like a theme to help with your choice of book, this round's theme is 'First or Last' - so it could be the earliest cookery book you acquired and still possess or the last cookery book you acquired (a Christmas gift perhaps)?

We are now extending the duration of the game so hopefully, more of us can find time to join in. New deadline midnight Saturday 15th February 2020 (GMT).
 
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Great! I'm here and planning. I'll be using Russ Crandall's book, Paleo TakeOut: Restaurant Favorites without the Junk, and I will be choosing from one of two Thai soups. It is something I want to make prior to the Asian New Year Jan 25th, Year of the Rat. I probably won't make many changes, but I shall know next week.

For the NEW. It's one of the things for my own personal interest.
 
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I received this book for Christmas from youngest son, so I will try to cook something from that:

36609
 
I'll be choosing the earliest cookbook I own, a basic Betty Crocker cookbook. It's also likely the first one I ever owned.

I'm not even sure of the provenance of this cookbook. I'm almost certain my Mom bought it for me, likely right after I married in 1990.

I'll say more about the cookbook and include some photos as well once I pick a recipe.

One question - if I want to submit more than one entry, can I have "First And Last" as a theme and use my most recent cookbook as well? :)
 
TastyReuben said:
I'll be choosing the earliest cookbook I own, a basic Betty Crocker cookbook. It's also likely the first one I ever owned.

I'm not even sure of the provenance of this cookbook. I'm almost certain my Mom bought it for me, likely right after I married in 1990.

I'll say more about the cookbook and include some photos as well once I pick a recipe.

One question - if I want to submit more than one entry, can I have "First And Last" as a theme and use my most recent cookbook as well? :)
Click to expand...

Of course you can!
 
I'm not going with the theme of first or last. It sadly doesn't currently meet what we're eating, having eaten or way through most of the suitable soups f from what is likely my first cookery book, at least the first I purchased, rather than received or obtained.

I may be able to do something from a the latest gift I gave hubby (for his last birthday) in a couple of weeks but until then....

I've recently 'cooked' a new soup from my cookery book 'Mango Soup' by Jenni Malsingh which is a dedicated signed copy. (This book could at a push qualify for 'last' being the last cookery book we purchased before we went off to (attempt to) cycle around the world...)

36627

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The Avocado and Coconut Soup we are last night and the night before was from this book (remind me to edit my recipe, I totally forgot to credit it).

Recipe - Chilled Avocado and Coconut Soup

I'll write up about the soup and the cookery book tonight when I can't sleep again! But it's a very nice soup and we were pleasantly surprised by it.
 
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For my birthday, a friend gave me her extra copy of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street 2017, a collection of all the magazines Kimball/Milk Street put out in that year. So I'll make something from that.

I have no idea what my first cook book was, and one of the most likely suspects has gone MIA during my final move this summer (it came from my mother, which is how I'm fairly certain. A shame, as it also came with a 50's-early 60's sensibility towards offal. You know, that red and white checkered general cookbook that has seen a variety of editions, finally doing away (sadly) with such offal creations. So I'll use a cookbook that was the first cookbook I personally purchased. An Invitation to Indian Cooking, by Madhur Jaffery. Here I was, stuck out in Indiana in the 70s, missing the ethnic cookings of New York City, attending grad school at off-campus housing with a kitchen. The only Asian restaurant in town was a fully-Americanized Chinese restaurant complete with American-style dinner rolls served with every meal. SO when I lucked into this thin paperback with no photos (which weren't required back then), I had to snag and cook from it. I mainly made dal and raita, as some of the other ingredients were very much unavailable in Indiana, especially since I had no car in those days.

Yes, I mentioned that Paleo Take-Out cook book in an earlier post, and I AM making something from it. (For the Asian Lunar New Year, which I love to cook for yearly...) I'm not sure how close I wish to follow it - I'll see if I post it here or not (or just in the pertinent recipe thread when done), depending. But I like the idea of having a challenge here along with just being a cookbook - and I appreciate the flexibility we have.
 
PS, for clarity:

I went somewhat out on my own in the late 70s, grad school in Indiana. When there, I'd bought the 5 day a week lunch plan, but did everything else on my own (or with housemates). I think the early cookbook still reflected the desire to provide offal cooking then - I'm thinking it was an early Betty Crocker edition - was this what had that red and white checkerboard cover? (Oh, PS, other than liver, which didn't really set well with me - the only offal thing that didn't, there were no offal foods available for cooking with in Indiana then. Can't speak for today.)
 
Here's the first cookbook I'm using, 1986 edition:


Betty Crocker Cover

Betty Crocker Cover


Betty Crocker Intro

Betty Crocker Intro


Betty Crocker Back

Betty Crocker Back


I like how BC has changed her look over the years, but she always kind of looks like the current First Lady...except that middle one from the '30's - put some period clothing on her and she could pass for an early 1800's President! :laugh:

I've not cooked a whole lot from this book, and it has a lot of what I would consider disgusting, very dated fare, like shrimp cocktail and tuna melts and lovely molded salads like these:


Betty Crocker Molded Salad

Betty Crocker Molded Salad


Betty Crocker More Molded Salad

Betty Crocker More Molded Salad


Help!!! :eek:

I'll be making gingered pineapple, which also appears to be another very retro recipe, and very easy. I'll post a pic of mine and their pic as well so we can see how badly I do. :)
 
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TastyReuben said:
Here's the first cookbook I'm using, 1986 edition:


Betty Crocker Intro

Betty Crocker Intro



I like how BC has changed her look over the years, but she always kind of looks like the current First Lady...except that middle one from the '30's - put some period clothing on her and she could pass for an early 1800's President! :laugh:

I've not cooked a whole lot from this book, and it has a lot of what I would consider disgusting, very dated fare, like shrimp cocktail and tuna melts and lovely molded salads like these:
Click to expand...

Evidently not the same cookbook.

I do agree that a lot of that early stuff would not appeal even to me.

Somewhere, I'll find it.
 
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