Deep winter is my time to reorganize, cull and savor my cookbook collection. I keep the books on the shelf each for its own reason — sentimentality, snobbery, storyline — but I cook only from those that don’t force me to do battle with my batterie (de cuisine). Some of the older books listed here are out of print but available at thrifty pre-loved prices in used bookstores. Here are a few loosely cataloged favorites and a smattering of recipes.
Bedrock classics
Classics like “The Way to Cook” from oracle Julia Child have been on my shelf forever. This one is much easier to follow than her original “Mastering the Art.” Beside it, I keep “Larousse Gastronomique” and “The Oxford Companion to Food,” the first stubbornly French viewpoint and the other, staunchly British, primarily for reference.
My bible, James Beard’s “American Cookery” (Little, Brown & Co., 1972) from the “dean of American cooking” is almost Twain-like in its Americana. An informative, recipe-packed volume, this is the place I turn to with most culinary questions.
Two newer supplemental books sit on my shelves. Boston native Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” (MacMillan, 1998) is packed with clearly worded, solid recipes from around the globe with helpful lists like “Twenty-six Vegetables That Will Make Converts” and “Thirty-Seven Meat Dishes That Are as Good or Better the Next Day.”
“Salt/Fat/Acid/Heat” (Simon & Schuster, 2017) by Samin Nostrat speaks to newer cooks with fun, full-color fold-out charts and illustrations to explain the whys and wherefores behind techniques and foodstuffs.
French and Italian
“Bistro Cooking” (Workman 1989) by Patricia Wells offers an uncomplicated way to prepare real food that real French people eat at their real neighborhood restaurants in and around Paris. None of that heavy cream-and-butter stuff, just good down-to-earth dishes that bear repeating.
“Ciao Italia Family Classics,” Mary Ann Esposito (St. Martin’s Press, 2011) is packed with approachable recipes for both Italian and Italian-American fare (the difference is deliciously explained) from the PBS cooking show. Packed with encouraging words, it provides a level-headed tour for timid to experienced cooks. Penne alla vodka is as good as any restaurant offering and a breeze to cook at home.
PENNE ALLA VODKA
Makes 8 servings.
— 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter
— 1 garlic clove, minced
— 2 cups pureed fresh or canned plum tomatoes
— 1⁄2 cup vodka
— 1 cup heavy cream
— 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
— Fine sea salt
— 1 pound penne rigate (penne pasta with lines)
— Melt butter in a 12-to-14-inch saute pan. Add garlic and cook over medium heat until soft.
— Add tomatoes and vodka and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
— Reduce heat to low and slowly pour in the cream, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Add half the cheese, cover and keep the sauce warm while the pasta is cooking.
— Bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a rapid boil; add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1⁄4 cup of the cooking water.
— Transfer the penne and reserved cooking water to the sauce; and stir well over medium heat until hot. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese; stir to blend. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve immediately.
All day long
— “Street Food,” Rose Grant (Crossings Press, 1988 is an international look at foods and customs of street vendors, fairgrounds, festivals, carnivals, stadiums and ballparks. (Keep in mind the publication date before the advent of food trucks.) Packed with fun and flavor, this book is old enough to include a recipe from the former Soviet Union but modern enough to have explored what they eat in Thailand. A blender recipe for Orange Julius is from deliciously pre-pandemic stands at the mall.
ORANGE JULIUS
Makes 2 servings.
— 1⁄2 cup orange juice concentrate
— 1 1⁄2 cups ice cold whole milk
— 1⁄4 cup sugar
— 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
— 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
— 1 raw egg white (optional)
— 8 large ice cubes, slightly crushed
— Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until very smooth. Serve at once.
— “The Breakfast Book” (Wings, 1997) by Marion Cunningham provides heartwarming morning inspiration from scones to shirred eggs. It might return you to grandma’s (or great-grandma’s) kitchen.
— “Soup Suppers” (HarperPerennial, 1994). Arthur Schwartz will see any cook through long blustery winter weather until it’s time to flirt with flowers in a treasury of bone-warming soups chunky bean-and-vegetable — and some cool, silky pureed bowls for spring.
— “Roasting” (MacMillan, 1995). Kathy Gunst keeps the kitchen warm and fragrant and cuts down on scrubbing extra pots and pans, using sheet pans (easily covered with foil for quick clean-up). Her roasted shrimp, with a choice of sauces, says “party” when paired with chilled champagne or an icy bucket of beers.
SALT ENCRUSTED SHRIMP
Makes 4 servings.
— 1 pound medium size shrimp in their shells
— 4 cups kosher salt
— 1 lemon and/or lime, cut into wedges
— Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
— Rinse and thoroughly dry the shrimp. Place them in a medium-size roasting pan or shallow casserole and pour the salt on top. (The salt should totally cover the shrimp.)
— Roast the shrimp for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and dig the shrimp out from under the salt. Using a pastry brush or paper towel, brush off any remaining salt clinging to the shells. Serve the shrimp in their shells and let everyone peel their own. Pass the lemon and lime wedges separately.
Dessert
— “The All-American Cookie Book,” Nancy Baggett (Houghton Mifflin, 2002). This is an all-occasion life saver and the only baking book a non-baker needs. Foodies consider Baggett the source of crediting the “Joe Froggers” cookie to Marblehead.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
