Cookbook Project, Books #180 and 181

[ladysprite]

"Pack The Skillet - American Pioneer Cooking," Patricia B. Mitchell

This is a paperback pamphlet, but not a glossy checkout lane one - this, I believe, is tourist cruft from Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It was a gift from my mom last year, who 1) knows that I love cookbooks, 2) went visiting there with a friend, and 3) thought it was hilarious to give me more and more books when she heard about this project.

The thing is, this is actually kind of a cool little book. It's short, and doesn't have too many recipes, but it does a pretty good job of interspersing some interesting historical recipes with anecdotal history both about the pioneers and the Native Americans. It's not textbook-level history, but it's fun to flip through and read a page here or there.

Alas, a lot of the recipes are either non-redacted (not a problem for me, but a little more work than I want to put into everyday dinner) or for less-than-useful foods - wild plum marmalade, salt-rising bread, hangtown fry.... stuff I'd like to try in theory, but that I'm reluctant to make in the middle of busy-life season.

I wound up making Griddle Johnny Cakes, mostly because they looked both tasty and simple. And they were. I like cornmeal pancakes, and I've had a rough time finding a recipe that balances flavor and texture - and these were close to perfect. Surprising, because the recipe was a great deal simpler than most of the more complicated ones (I think the trick was using boiling water. It seems obvious, in retrospect.).

The book is a keeper, anyway, if only to break out once life calms down and I can think about making period food for the players in our Deadlands game.


"Delia's Complete Cookery Course," Delia Smith

My mom isn't the only one who started sending me books once she found out about the project. I'll admit that, while I never expected that to happen, I've been having a blast playing with the new books that friends have sent. Most of them fall into the category of things that, while I'd never buy them for myself, are fascinating and fun to work with. This one was a gift from fractalgeek, who apparently felt that I needed to have a classic English cookbook in my repertoire instead of just the cheap tourist one I took home from my last visit.

This book is huge, and dense, and amazing. It is full of all sorts of wonderful recipes, and I had a lot of fun just reading through it and learning - and realizing just how English and American are two different languages, especially when it comes to food. It also really is, as it says, as much a cookery course as a cookbook, with a lot more explanation and background and chatter than most other large, dense cookbooks.

The hardest part was picking out a recipe to try, and finding one that was simultaneously interesting, different from other things I'd make, and that I could find all the ingredients for. While I ultimately chose Eggs Florentine as my test dish, I marked at least a dozen other pages for must-try later on.

Eggs Florentine are eggs baked in a nest of spinach topped with cheese sauce, and I thought they sounded like a nice quick vegetarian supper that wouldn't heat the house up too badly. And I was absolutely right. The recipe was well-written - full of lots of detail, to make it easy to follow. I couldn't find double cream, but the recipe worked fine with heavy cream, and I'd make this again.

So - triple win, for good cookbooks, good recipes, and good gifts! I'm still in love with this project, and kind of saddened by the fact that I only have half a dozen or so books to go....

Comments

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Glad you like it!

I think "Heavy Cream" and "Double Cream" are much the same thing, but it is one of those ingredient names not used in the UK. Restaurant reviews are also very different, as over here, they are often being written for a national audience looking for entertainment, rather than a local audience who might actually go. Multiple reviewer visits are very rare.

Delia tries to be as foolproof as possible, and anything she publishes that doesn't work gets huge amounts of vitriol, which is another reason for the "assume nothing" attitude. And she likes food to be tasty, rather than just flashy, which is often a failing of celeb chefs

[umbran.livejournal.com]

British "double cream" is 48% minimum milk fat.

American "heavy cream" is 36% minimum milk fat, maximum of 40%.

You can substitute American heavy for British double, and the recipe probably won't fail, but it won't be quite the same, either.

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Very Heavy Cream, then! Your reply has the look of serious research...

One thing I know Delia has done over the years is partially shift from Double Cream to Creme Fraich - not for calorific reasons, but because it is less likely to split.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I am amused that people are adding cookbooks to this project. Now, I'll be really amused if the rate of book accumulation exceeds the rate of use, and this turns into an unending project. :)

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I'd be happy to continue reading ladysprite cookbook reviews pretty much ad nauseum, so I don't see the bad there.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

There is that. But she might run out of cookbook bookshelf space.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

Lining every wall with floor to ceiling book shelves not only would solve that, but also would add extra insulation to the house. At least, it would solve the problem until we filled up the house...

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I claim about r4 for my bookshelves stuffed with paperbacks all along one wall of my house. :)

[citabria]

It sounds like your Eggs Florentine are likely a version of shirred eggs, which you can make with many lovely nesting materials: sauteed mushrooms, wine and herbs for Eggs Forestiere; onion, feta and either tomato or spinach for Greek Eggs; tomatoes, garlic, onion and parsley for Eggs Provencal -- the possibilities are endless!

[go-lemmings.livejournal.com]

Greenman subscribes to the Delia school of cooking. I was brought up on Good Housekeeping. I find it much less scary. The only time I have failed to make pastry in the last 30 years was following Delia's recipe which starts "pastry is hard". It isn't unless somebody tells you you might fail!