It’s a Whole New Cookbook

From Out of the frying pan . . . by Patrick Barber

October 28, 2009

A lot of my cookbooks share one attribute: A wrinkled, crumb-impacted page that they will fall open to when set on the counter. That’s the recipe I love the most from that particular book. I am constantly surprised at how few recipes I generally cook from one book, even books that I adore. I find a few that I like, and stick with them. But surely there are others that are worthy, yes?

This week, whenever I cook, I’m aiming to cook a new-to-me recipe from an oft-used cookbook. Monday was Frijoles Negros con Chochoyotes from Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking. Yesterday I baked scones to take to a board meeting; I let my King Arthur Flour Co All-Purpose Baking Cookbook fall open to the usual cheddar-scallion scone recipe, then flipped back and forth among the scones and decided on Curry-Ginger Scones.

Both of my forays into the unfamiliar were great! It is fun to try some new recipes, without having to buy new cookbooks. Kind of like “going shopping” by digging around in your closet a little more vigorously than usual.

What about you? Got any new recipes from old cookbooks that you’ve tried lately?