I believe I've mentioned before that I have a substantial (and still growing) collection of cookbooks. They number over 200 as I type, and I'm always on the lookout for additional candidates. I love to browse through cookbooks in bed, mentally gauging my family's interest in the recipes I find. Some of the cookbooks don't have the privilege of any counter time in my kitchen and are merely around because I'm interested in the concept. Still others are dog-eared and spotted with oil and covered in torn dustcovers. These are the workhorses of my kitchen, my old standbys. In no particular order, I bring you the most influential cookbooks in my home.
The Joy of Cooking
Everyone should get a copy of this as soon as they're out on their own, fending for themselves in the kitchen. I was tutored from my mom's ancient copy while growing up, and when I got married in 1989, my aunt gave me a brand new copy. Mine is battered and worn almost twenty years later, filled with notes scratched into the margins. The dustcover disappeared well over a decade ago.
The Southern Living Cookbook
You'd have to go on eBay to find my version of this one, which was published in 1987. My ex-husband gave this to me for our first Christmas, and it's been well loved over the years (unlike my ex-husband.) Again, no dustcover, and it's stood up to the test of time. Twenty years later, it still doesn't seem dated-well maybe that glorious photo of Tomato Aspic, but perhaps Southerners still eat like that. shudder.
Beat This
If you're at all familiar with any of Ann Hodgman's cookbooks, you'll probably recognize her writing style in some of my recipes. She's sassy and witty, some of her stories that accompany the recipes will have you laughing out loud. My biggest regret about this cookbook is that it's a paperback, and it's taken some abuse over the years.
The Martha Stewart Cookbook
I unapologetically adore Martha Stewart. She is incredible. You know that question people always ask, "If you could have dinner with any five people in history...blah blah?" Martha would be at the top of that list. I actually still have a dustcover on this book, but I've only had it since 1995 so give it a few more years. Her food processor method pie crust is the only pie crust I make. It's consistently perfect. Last November, I spent Thanksgiving with my sister Betsy in Ohio and we were discussing pumpkin pie-a subject very near and dear to my heart. I asked her what pie crust method she used and she confessed that she bought the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. I screamed in horror. My sister loves to cook as much or even more than I do. She can whip out 6 dozen cutout cookies AND frost them in about twelve minutes. "You're scaring my ears! What are you saying?" She replied that she thought they were an adequate substitute for homemade. WELL. I made the pie crust at her house last year, and proved her WRONG.
The New York Times Heritage Cookbook
The genius at Barnes & Noble who thought up the Bargain Priced section in the front of the store is responsible for bringing this gem into my home. What a treasure. It's organized by different areas of the country, which means it's really kind of disorganized. I love it for that. I bought this shortly after landing in Minnesota, so I immediately flipped through the Midwest section and found a recipe for Charlie's Cafe Peppercorn Tenderloin Casserole. (Louise, I know you didn't want me to share this recipe with the world, but it IS published, so I'm going to do it anyway.)
This is an expensive recipe to make if you use tenderloin. You can use sirloin, but it won't be as good. Mario is the biggest fan of this recipe, he especially loves the mushrooms. You should make this sometime around the holidays when you're burnt out on turkey. It's robust and not at all casserole like-in that it doesn't have some cream soup involved in the preparation. I have made a few minor adjustments to this recipe that I think are improvements. If you live in the Twin Cities, serve it with Byerly's artisan bread and a green salad.
Charlie's Cafe Peppered Tenderloin Casserole
1/4 C butter
2 TBSP olive oil
2 pounds beef tenderloin, sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound baby button mushrooms, or regular mushrooms quartered
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, 1 red pepper chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into eight wedges each
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Heat half the butter and half the olive oil in a heavy skillet and quickly brown the beef on all side.
- Transfer to a 4 quart casserole dish, or a 13x9 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with the pepper, sage and cumin.
- Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter and oil in the skillet used to brown the beef. Add to the meat.
- Add the garlic, onion and peppers to skillet and saute two minutes. Add with tomatoes to casserole.
- Combine the soy sauce, vinegar and tomato paste and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring to loosen all browned on particles. Bring to a boil and pour over meat and vegetables. Toss lightly.
- Cover and bake thirty minutes, or until meat is tender and mixture bubbling hot.
Serve over rice and with a hearty, crusty bread.
