cookbook of the month
i love to cook, and i cook a ton, but i don't generally follow a recipe. i just make stuff up as i go along, mostly due to the fact that i don't plan ahead enough to have all the "right" ingredients. thus, i have an overwhelming library of suberb cookbooks whose spines have been too infrequently cracked. but, i have come to the point where i want to follow a recipe. i want to know what someone else has discovered. i want to dig into the beauty of God's foody world.
so, i am striving to begin a tradition for the carlson household. i have instituted a cookbook of the month for our household. this is serious business. like the stack of "must-reads" i have in my head, i have a quiver full of cookbooks i am determined to not take for granted. inside the beautiful covers hides delectable combinations of edible organics that God has delighted in passing down to us through what is called a recipe. i have let this blessing sit on my shelf for far too long, and i mean not to let it sit any longer.
thus, i have devised a plan. a cookbook of the month. here's how it would go: on the first of every month, i pull down a cookbook, dog ear all the recipes that sound yummy, and then work through those for as i can. it does not mean that i cannot cook anything else but what is in that book, and it doesn't mean that i have to get through all that i've dog-eared. but, it will give me a good goal to get to know each book, to try new foods according to what each book offers for that season.
for october, the book has been Perfect Recipes for Having People Over, by Pam Anderson. though the choosing of the book was "accidental", it has proved to be providential, as it seems we have had more folks squeezing around our table in the last month than we've had in the last two years combined! and what a glory.
the first thing i made from it was a Red Chicken Chili, whose secret ingredient was chocolate. :) having chocolate in there inspired me toward other odd additions, including cinnamon, and it ended up being pretty yummy. last night, for my sister in law and her family, i made Spice Cake, the second of five variations on her recipe for simple yellow cake. for those who need details, i highly recommend this book. for most every recipe, she's got a number of varational recipes to change it up a bit, plus what to serve with it, at what kind of event to serve it, how one can make it ahead, and start-to-finish menu combinations.
the following are recipes i have dog-eared for october:
1. Bake Ahead Pizza for a Crowd (white sauce version)
2. Really Good Lasagna
3. Simple Cassoulet
4. Stew (Indain variation or Moroccan variation)
5. Rosemary-Scented Roast Pork Loin stuffed with Roasted Garlic, Dried Apricots, and Cranberries with Port Wine Sauce
6. Orange Cream Cheese Strata with Cranberries and Walnuts
7. Cheddar Puffs with Scallions and Cayenne
8. Easy Butternut Squash Ravioli with Rosemary Oil
9. Creamy Winter Squash Soup with Cinnamon, Ginger, and Clove
10. Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Saffron and Ginger
11. Orange-Glazed Asparagus
12. Roasted Red Potatoes
13. Simple Scones
14. Roasted Peaches (or Pears) with Caramel Sauce and Toasted Almonds
like i said, my goal is not to kill myself trying to make all these things, but rather to have a goal, and then to get cooking. i don't know what my cookbook for november will be yet, but i'm excited to make use of my treasury.
so here's my charge to our household and to those lovely persons reading this: delight in the Lord with your taste buds. discover how much He loves cinnamon, butternut sqaush, brussel sprouts, pears, bittersweet chocolate. glorify God by noticing the colors of your food (if there aren't any colors, something's wrong, and it's time to visit the produce aisle of your grocery). :)
so, i am striving to begin a tradition for the carlson household. i have instituted a cookbook of the month for our household. this is serious business. like the stack of "must-reads" i have in my head, i have a quiver full of cookbooks i am determined to not take for granted. inside the beautiful covers hides delectable combinations of edible organics that God has delighted in passing down to us through what is called a recipe. i have let this blessing sit on my shelf for far too long, and i mean not to let it sit any longer.
thus, i have devised a plan. a cookbook of the month. here's how it would go: on the first of every month, i pull down a cookbook, dog ear all the recipes that sound yummy, and then work through those for as i can. it does not mean that i cannot cook anything else but what is in that book, and it doesn't mean that i have to get through all that i've dog-eared. but, it will give me a good goal to get to know each book, to try new foods according to what each book offers for that season.
for october, the book has been Perfect Recipes for Having People Over, by Pam Anderson. though the choosing of the book was "accidental", it has proved to be providential, as it seems we have had more folks squeezing around our table in the last month than we've had in the last two years combined! and what a glory.
the first thing i made from it was a Red Chicken Chili, whose secret ingredient was chocolate. :) having chocolate in there inspired me toward other odd additions, including cinnamon, and it ended up being pretty yummy. last night, for my sister in law and her family, i made Spice Cake, the second of five variations on her recipe for simple yellow cake. for those who need details, i highly recommend this book. for most every recipe, she's got a number of varational recipes to change it up a bit, plus what to serve with it, at what kind of event to serve it, how one can make it ahead, and start-to-finish menu combinations.
the following are recipes i have dog-eared for october:
1. Bake Ahead Pizza for a Crowd (white sauce version)
2. Really Good Lasagna
3. Simple Cassoulet
4. Stew (Indain variation or Moroccan variation)
5. Rosemary-Scented Roast Pork Loin stuffed with Roasted Garlic, Dried Apricots, and Cranberries with Port Wine Sauce
6. Orange Cream Cheese Strata with Cranberries and Walnuts
7. Cheddar Puffs with Scallions and Cayenne
8. Easy Butternut Squash Ravioli with Rosemary Oil
9. Creamy Winter Squash Soup with Cinnamon, Ginger, and Clove
10. Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Saffron and Ginger
11. Orange-Glazed Asparagus
12. Roasted Red Potatoes
13. Simple Scones
14. Roasted Peaches (or Pears) with Caramel Sauce and Toasted Almonds
like i said, my goal is not to kill myself trying to make all these things, but rather to have a goal, and then to get cooking. i don't know what my cookbook for november will be yet, but i'm excited to make use of my treasury.
so here's my charge to our household and to those lovely persons reading this: delight in the Lord with your taste buds. discover how much He loves cinnamon, butternut sqaush, brussel sprouts, pears, bittersweet chocolate. glorify God by noticing the colors of your food (if there aren't any colors, something's wrong, and it's time to visit the produce aisle of your grocery). :)
posted by jen at
1:55 PM
5 Comments:
I love you! In some ways we are such kindred spirits. At least we both certainly enjoy the great world of food! Did you know that's the "secret" of famous Cincinnati chili - cinnamon and often chocolate.
Can't WAIT to hear how the recipes turn out that you try.
My current ongoing goal (which I am actively pursuing) is to try the recipes I've collected via friends, websites, etc. that I've never made before but sit on my computer or in my recipe box.
Kat
thanks, kat. we ARE kindred spirits, in more ways than one.
love you.
I love that cookbook! It was a Christmas gift last year and there are some delightful foods in it. I'm also loving Hot Providence. Everything I've tried has been met with rave reviews.
Our church has a fellowship lunch after service, so I'm often making large quantities of food and don't want to waste ingredients on a bad recipe. So far, both of those books are meritous of great praise.
I always enjoy reading your blog! Thanks for the inspiring post. I am starting to really get back into cooking and baking since L's birth, and I'd not realized how much I've missed it! What a blessing to be charged with such a fruitful and delicious calling.
I love your cookbook of the month idea and also how you mark all the recipes you wish to try. I mark in a similar fashion and each week when I'm working on my menu and shopping list I can easily flip through and find the recipes that look thrilling.
One of John's grandmothers graced me with loads of her cookbooks, which are especially treasured to me. (She had hundreds, and a special bookshelf built just to hold them!) She would mark the pages with the appealing recipes with a paperclip and the ones that she gave me are still paperclipped, which is a such a joy. It is amazing to see her recipe preferences, even years later.
And isn't it particularly fantastic to be working in the kitchen as the seasons change? I love bringing in the new foods especially suitable for the season. It's only barely starting to get below 80 degrees here, but pumpkin bread and hot chocolate are in the near future nevertheless! (We're all pretending it is cold enough to wear tights and sweaters and such like dutiful Dallas-ites!)
Many many blessings to you!
Love,
Naomi
moriah and naomi,
thank you, sweet friends! i'm so glad to hear about YOUR lives, and how fun that we can 'connect' in this way. may the Lord bless your homes and your cooking. :)
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