skip to main content

Anyone else collect regional cookbooks?

15 years ago

I have always been interested in regional recipes. One of the first cookbooks I got is "The Dinner Bell Rings Again" from Lancaster Co., Penn. The collection grew from there, including a Cane River Cookbook from Louisiana (yum!) and one from the gardening club of Crawford, Texas (I may not agree with their politics, but they sure can cook!). Anyone else addicted?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

lindac
15 years ago
I can't say that it's a "collection" but I often bring home a cookbook as a souvinere.
We have Pa Dutch country...2 or 3, several south west cookbooks, wine country, Spain, Cooking in Colonial Williamsburg... hmmm? maybe I do collect regional cookbooks! LOL!
Linda C
grainlady_ks
15 years ago
I collected city/county cookbooks from my home area for years and donated them to the historical museum. They were by a single author, or by a church group or other organization. They are a piece of our history and are a wonderful view into life as it was back when...

I also like to find a local/regional cookbook when we travel to bring home with me.

-Grainlady
Related Discussions
Cooking Burnout...anyone else??
Q
Comments (37)
I enjoy cooking but I have alot going on and there are times when I am pressured because I must have TIME to cook. I find meal planning helps as does the crock pot, making a meal that will feed us more than once (leftovers which is pretty easy since there are just two of us), etc. I do NOT enjoy grocery shopping at all. I try lots of new recipes - lately thanks to Pinterest and Facebook. Many are keepers although I've tried a few that were definitely not. Tonight is a chicken/dressing casserole with roasted sweet potatoes and I have not decided what other veggie - or perhaps I will do a salad instead. Keeping salad items ready and on hand is another big help for us. tina
...See More
Office Purge - Anyone Else?
Q
Comments (68)
Jamie, I'm late to the game but am SO down with this. I work from home and used to be very organized (thanks in GREAT part to this forum!) So much so, that I had an Access database that I would use to designate which box, in which room, seldom used items were in. (How anal is that?!?!?!) If I didn't kind of sort of know where something was, I would look it up in the database & voila! But in recent years, we've had some lifestyle changes including my 91 y/o mother moving into assisted living. And so I have "inherited" some of her things (that either I wanted or she wants & doesn't want to keep at the assisted living place) and do alot of "hands on" care for her (IE doing her books, refilling her pill boxes (we have four of those weekly thingies), keeping track of her medical info, etc.) That's one reason I've ramped up the usage of my PDA over the past ~1 1/2 years. Since she's legally blind, but her mind is pretty good, I try to keep good notes about how her hearing aids work, how her cell phone works, etc so if she encounters problems, I can hopefully walk her through troubleshooting over the phone, rather than make a special trip over there. (Not that she's that far away, but I do see her twice each week & work full time. So I tend to get disgruntled if I have to make a special trip b/c she ran out of pills.) Plus, since she made her living "doing books", she's often asking me about this investment or that bill & I have to stay on top of things & it's helpful to have the info in the "Palm (TX)" (hehehe!) of my hand. Unfortunately, the "physical" aspect of my organization has suffered. :-0 My office is the worst, probably because I spend so much time there. My husband is always asking me to work on it. Over the past year (I'm SO ashamed to admit this...) my idea of "working on it" has been to stuff all the clutter into shopping/grocery bags & shoving them into the closet or the bathtub of the bathroom that's right next to the office. (Bowing head in shame.) Having said all this...here's a video I took this morning of my office...it's password protected & the password is 'gardenweb'...(all lower case) Here is a link that might be useful: RoxieL's Office 8/21/08
...See More
LPink, I need your (or anyone else's) wonderful advice!
Q
Comments (17)
Decisions, decisions! Those recipes all sound so good! I'm going to copy and paste this thread so I'll have them. The risotto recipes are calling my name, I think. I love cauliflower, and capers, and could probably get the specialty capers, but I don't want to brave our specialty grocery store on Christmas Eve. Central Market is claustrophobic even on an ordinary day, I don't even want to think about what it's like today. I will save that recipe to try soon, though. However, LPink, I'm liking your Rice, Lentil and Spinach Pilaf. It would be more like a protein, with the lentils. Hmmm, decisions, decisions! lol! Jesse, if you're still reading this thread, I guess you've figured out by now what I was asking. It would be funny, though,if I was asking a vegetarian for meat cooking advice! lol. Linda, maybe it's a regional thing, but to me and to DH, a pot roast is a roast that's cooked in or rather just over water, (braised, I guess?) with carrots, celery, and potatoes cooked right along with it in the liquid. What makes it different from stew is that the meat is still a big piece of meat, rather than cut up into cubes. I agree that there's not a lot of difference, if any, in taste from stew. When I was a meat eater, I thought pot roast was okay, but nothing special. I liked oven roasted beef much better, but Dh loves pot roast, the kids okayed it for themselves for Christmas dinner, so that's what they're getting. Y'all are always so helpful. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and my stomach! Sally
...See More
Does anyone else just not bother with a pantry?
Q
Comments (39)
What do I store in our pantry? Extra flour, sugar, etc - baking supplies. Extra canned stuff - we don't use a whole lot of it, but some canned stuff, like tomato sauce, is useful. Packaged soups. Cereal (my dh eats cornflakes every morning). Paper products - TP and paper towels. Extra cleaning supplies. We have an extra freezer - I freeze fruit and veggies - we grow a lot and I also buy it at the farm stands.I plan on starting to freeze milk this year. I prefer to freeze stuff rather than can it, so the freezer gets used! I'll be using our pantry/utility room storage more when we move to our new house since we'll be farther to affordable grocery stores than we were when we lived in our old house. When I go to the city, I'll mostly get stuff when it's on sale - buy 3 extra bags of flour if I see it at a great price, for instance. I also store extra kitchen equipment in the pantry - I have a food dehydrator that I store there, also canning supplies (I *do* can jelly). The pantry is my warehouse, I guess! I keep daily supplies in the kitchen, when we're running low on baking powder (for instance), I grab another can from the pantry, where I probably have at least 3 more cans - that I got on sale - stored. We don't have a pantry right now. It's temporary, thankfully.
...See More
claire_de_luna
15 years ago
I have a few as well. When I'd taste something delicious in the ''area'' I started to make second hand bookstores part of my entertainment. I remember searching a long time for a good Nanaimo bar recipe after visiting Canada. Now all we have to do is ask Ann...if I'd only known!
canarybird01
15 years ago
I like to buy Canary Island cookbooks although there are not that many differences in the way the same traditional dishes are prepared. If I find good ones translated to English I often buy them as gifts for English speaking friends and family. I also like cookbooks about Spanish and Mediterranean cooking, preferably those written by known Spanish cooks and published in the original Spanish.

SharonCb
sands99
15 years ago
I have a gorgeous cookbook that I love love love called "American Food: A Celebration" published by Collins. It's divided into geo regions and goes into the how and why of the ingredients that grace the wonderful recipes. Not overdone just simple and well seasoned. I couldn't even tell you if it's still in print [although it should be even if just as a coffee table book] but I have visited all the regions and had a ball!
teresa_nc7
15 years ago
Yes! I love them! I've collected books from Wales, England, Scotland, Lancaster, PA, and Williamsburg to name a few, on my travels.

Friends, including Forum Friends, have given me books from Florida, Ireland, Vancouver BC, France, West Virginia, Nebraska and the Canary Islands. Many community cookbooks are also much used and loved.
Lars
15 years ago
I have a Rhode Island cookbook, which I like because it is filled with seafood recipes, and it was sent to me by Lori in a swap. It made me want to visit RI. My favorite U.S. regions for food are Louisiana and New England, and NE only for the seafood. I like regional Texan food but don't feel the need for a cookbook, since I grew up there. Most American food is not that interesting to me - it's generally not spicy enough for me and uses way too much dairy. I prefer recipes that do not rely on salt and black pepper for flavor. There are so many other more interesting ways to season food, and therefore I generally collect cookbooks from other cuisines, particularly ones that don't use dairy products and emphasize seafood instead. I grew up about 180 miles from the coast, but after the age of 18, I've almost always lived within 30 miles of the coast, and since 23 I've mostly lived within 4 miles of the coast, except for the 3-1/2 years I lived in Austin, when I went back to university for my second degree. I like coastal food.

Lars
lindac
15 years ago
OMG! Sands...I have that "American Food" cook book too...
I don't think I have ever cooked a "recipe" I have found there....but what eye candy!!
And then there's all the small Grange and country church cookbooks I bought over the years to "further the cause"...not many recipes I might want to make...but forsure a taste of Iowana..
donnar57
15 years ago
I'm not sure that my collection can be termed "Regional", or even be large enough to call a "collection", but I do have a few - a cookbook called simply "The Arizona Cookbook", a few of those church and organization cookbooks, Kitchen Klatter (out of Iowa years ago), and one from Sonoma, CA.

DonnaR/CA
wizardnm
15 years ago
I have quite a few of the Junior Leaguw Cookbooks from around the country (20-30 probably). A number of church cookbooks from Michigan and Ohio and some NW Michigan area cookbooks. Then as I traveled, I picked up more that looked interesting. The newest was one I bought while in Gatlinburg last November with forum friends. Love 'em!!!

Nancy
sands99
15 years ago
Linda, it *is* eye candy!! One of the first dinner party recipes I ever made was from that book - pork chops with a lil cheese souffle on top. And the corn fritters are great too. I classify everything in that book as upscale home.

Make sumpin' girl! ;-)

Related Stories

KITCHEN DESIGN The Cure for Houzz Envy: Kitchen Touches Anyone Can Do

By Becky Harris

Take your kitchen up a notch even if it will never reach top-of-the-line, with these cheap and easy decorating ideas

BUDGET DECORATING The Cure for Houzz Envy: Living Room Touches Anyone Can Do

By Becky Harris

Spiff up your living room with very little effort or expense, using ideas borrowed from covetable ones

COLLECTIONS The Best of My Houzz: 20 Beloved Collections Artfully Displayed

By Becky Harris

Wondering how to show off the pieces you’re proud of? Get ideas here

KITCHEN DESIGN Houzz Call: What’s Cooking in Your Kitchen?

By Stacy Briscoe

Most of us turn to recipes, videos and culinary shows when we cook. Where do you set your cookbook, tablet or TV screen?

LIFE How to Decide on a New Town

By Laura Gaskill

These considerations will help you evaluate a region and a neighborhood, so you can make the right move

FARMHOUSES Houzz Tour: Nestling Into the Rural Pennsylvania Landscape

By Becky Harris

Regional barns and nature provide the inspiration for a new home sited between a meadow and the woods

GARAGES Key Measurements for the Perfect Garage

By Steven Corley Randel, Architect

Get the dimensions that will let you fit one or more cars in your garage, plus storage and other needs

CRAFTSMAN DESIGN My Houzz: Small-Space Living in a Restored Bungalow

By Bonnie McCarthy

See how this homeowner celebrates his personal style, his flea market finds and the heritage of his 1919 Long Beach home

ACCESSORIES 9 Fresh Ways to Use Classic Blue and White Ceramics

By Laura Gaskill

Add a crisp, clean touch to a room with a china or porcelain jar — or a collection of them

LIFE 'Not My Precious Books!' — Pain-Free Ways to Declutter Your Library

By Alison Hodgson

Have your books and neatness too, with these ideas for paring down and straightening up a beloved collection

Sponsored

Dave Fox Design Build Remodelers

49 Reviews

Columbus Area's Luxury Design Build Firm | 17x Best of Houzz Winner!

More Discussions

Do you make actual shortcake?

41

Does anyone forage? Wild food favorites

17

30

Big kitchens and tiny kitchens, oh my!

14

Mailable ‘Spanish’ treat - cookies?

6