First cookbook and the backstory

Is there a thread specifically about chocolate cake because there should be!

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My grandmother kept the TL series in her kitchen. I would flip through just for the photos.

I recall his cooking show.

I have a soft spot for martin yan… we were allowed to watch either pbs or stuff like the brady bunch for a bit when we finished homework. Martin Yan, Julia Child, and the Frugal Gourmet were all on pbs and became favorites. Although I don’t remember mom making anything actually asian (teriyaki chicken and stir fry i assume don’t count)

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I used to watch his show too! LOL. @Ttrockwood you’re not as young as I thought, that show was on decades ago.

Honestly, to everyone else reading, his show was not that good, and recipes, especially Chinese recipes, are more sophisticated and authentic now. But he was such a quirky, likeable guy, and he was such an expert with that wok!

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You should start one!

I did…and I hope HOs will share their recipes👍

In case you’re interested, Martin Yan has a show that’s currently on PBS in SoCal. Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom is on KLCS and KCET several times a week. Part culture, part cooking.

I found it on Dailymotion
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Yan+Can+Cook%3A+Spice+Kingdom+&view=detail&mid=B07B963EC4335DCF403AB07B963EC4335DCF403A&FORM=VIRE

Looks interesting, I’ll take a look after I finish with GBBO.

Not a big user of cookbooks. I look at the pictures for inspiration. Like this place. Pictures tell a lot

The only book I use is my grandmother’s family cookbook “Mashala”. A collection of family recipes. I have a couple recipes in the book.

https://books.google.com/books?id=j4v6GwAACAAJ&dq=ma+sha+la&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwilkZ6ottTcAhUMr1kKHYWEDWUQ6wEICjAA

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That’s fantastic. How fortunate to have such a volume!

I must admit that I don’t remember exactly my first book or recipe, I guess it was gifted and it was those days I was not interested in cooking. The first book that I bought was probably Splendid Soup of James Peterson or a tapas book (a bit cloudy there). Strangely I bought it, but when the Borscht didn’t turn out tasty, I stopped using it. It was too acid. I remade many years later, it was fine. I think I added too much vinegar.

The cook book that meant something to me was a book borrowed from a friend: Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days with Naked chef. Why I like it? Because I tried to follow 90% of the instructions, the food was delicious, and I felt that I achieved something. Before, I always "changed’ or substitute ingredients.

It was from then onwards, that slowly I developed interesting in cooking, of course with the TV programs of Joel Robuchon. Now, I must have at least 100 or more books, not counting magazines.

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That’s the best thing about a solid cookbook! 100 editions, that’s incredible.

In the end of the day, I think Jamie Oliver’s book was pretty straight forward, use fresh and best ingredients that I could afford, it was already 60% of good cooking.

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Like greygarious, my first is the Better Homes & Gardens book, which I’m still keeping front and center after 40+ years (since I went to college). I get most recipe ideas these days from aggregating internet things, and I cook mainly in what Americans regard as “ethnic” cuisines–not a strength for Better Homes & Gardens. But that’s where I go when I get a hankering for chicken and dumplings, or pancakes, pie, old-school Americana…

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I remember this book when we were kids

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This thread prompted me to go do a search…
My Bride-to-be got a Graham Kerr cookbook at her bridal shower. She loved it. Pulled together wonderful meals for us for years. Today, it’s nowhere to be found. Unintended sadness has occured.

Did find this. I think it was gotten from her Mom–a terrific cook. It surely is the oldest and most used cookbook in her arsenal. It has a recipe for Chicken Rice casserole she still serves probably six times a year. It taught her to cook calves liver to feed to our kids so they wouldn’t grow up enemic. This is the 1970 Edition

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That photo looks like a fantastic summary of distracted multi-tasking by a parent of small children.
I love the wear and tear - especially the little mishap with the stove.

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Same here…got BH&G cookbook as a house warming gift when I got married in 1979.

As a child I had Fisher-Price’s Fun with Food cookbook, which had all kinds of fun, easy, age-appropriate meals and snacks I could (mostly) make myself. I loved it so much, I bought my adult self a copy:

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I was always interested in food and cooking, if not clean-up, and was notorious salads for concocting ill-advised combos in “fruit salads” and “shakes” with things like instant chocolate pudding. As a 3-year old my claim to fame was making oatmeal in a metal pot…in the microwave.

When I got a little older (early teens), I spent alot of time with The Silver Palate Cookbook and The Looneyspoons Cookbook. Neither appeal much to my adult sensibilities. If my babe is interested, I hope to make some recipes out of Fun with Food together!

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