Oh, Dorie........Thank you for this posting. I was just quite consciously missing my Aunt Martha (actually, my father's first cousin, who died at age 87, just this past year).
I was raised in what most folks these days would regard as an overly formal household, and one of my earliest memories is of Aunt Martha's (she couldn't have been more than 25 at the time) whisking me out of my great aunt's/her mother's house....to go to her APARTMENT (!!!!!!!). It was 1968. Aunt Martha had NOT married, and she had a job at the MEDICAL SCHOOL, and she painted watercolors, and she owned a volkswagen of her very own, and she was regarded as distressingly "wild". We became fast friends (quite aside from our rather overbearing and utterly homogenous family) by the time I was ten. By the time I was 40 and she was sixty, I would introduce her, only half=jokingly, as "the other black sheep in the family"..........."We both forgot to get married...."
That said?.......I distinctly recall her taking me to her apartment (no single women had apartments back then, except for Mary Tyler Moore on television), where she had laid out all the cookie-molds and decorative candy-things ("non-pareils"?), powdered sugars, etcetera......for making and decorating sugar cookies. We started out from scratch (nothing special, I suppose....just "Joy of Cooking" recipe; women in my family don't cook and certainly don't bake).
And, no.....she didn't let me "just be creative". She made me learn how to do it
nicely". I was beyond thrilled. It may have been the first time anyone took the time to SHOW me how to make something and do it right....and, yes, I was (for perhaps the first time) very proud of the outcome/product. I felt very grown-up and, more importantly, competent.
Well, enough of this........best wishes to you and your family, and thank you for an obviously evocative posting.
Oh...I didn't emphasize that, as she made clear, these were Christmas cookies that would be going out IN THE MAIL (!!!!!!!!!!!). I was terribly thrilled.
Another phenomenal compendium of so many great cookbooks that I don’t know where to start. I have enjoyed cooking from SNACKING CAKES, so might start with Yossey’s latest book. I bought the ABC’s of PARIS to give to my tenants once the baby arrives. I’ll be on my couch and in my kitchen this winter trying some others on the list, too. Thank you! (And thanks for sharing the photos of Gemma and VV: they remind me of our Emma at that age.❤️)
As delicious as your thanksgiving feast photos are, those of your darling grands “take the cake”! As I too know from baking with my own littles (6,6,7,9), that shared experience is the best, and those memories will last far longer than any baked good. Thanks for sharing.
Dorie. Are you in Paris today (15DEC2023)? I thought I saw you duck into L’Horizon Cafe for a few moments while I was sitting outside having lunch. Your friend waited outside for you. If it was you, I’m so sorry I didn’t get to wish you a Bonjour and see you smile. Even if wasn’t you, Bonjour and Happy Holidays!
I ADORE Nic Sharma and own all of 3 of this books. I always love whatever I cook from his books or his blog. I also just bought The Core of an Onion and am enjoying the read. Thanks for the heads up on Diana Henry's book. It's on my list now!
Hi Dorie, thank you for these phenomenal suggestions. I cannot wait to peruse these titles and get to know the authors. Since you asked, a couple of cookbooks I find invaluable that were published this year are "Don't Worry, Just Cook" by my favourite Canadian cookbook writer Bonnie Stern (this one was co-written with her daughter Anna). Another invaluable resource for me is Anna Olsen's Back to Baking: 200 Timeless Recipes to Bake, Share, and Enjoy which offers explicit instructions and helpful how tos and fixes. And, if I may, I am obsessed with your "Cookies" book, which is invaluable I am determined to bake every single cookie in there and I love that you included some savoury bakes!
Snacking Bakes just arrived at my house, plan to make something tomorrow! And that buttermilk chicken! Could/ would you give us a recipe for chestnut soup? Thank you!
Love the photos.my grandkids are both foodies. One hunts and makes his own sausage.. last Christmas he asked for an air fryer! A very proud. Grandmother here.
Hi, Dorie, I asked for Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients by Brian Levy this holiday season. Although I think I might have to ask again for the Scandi and fish books. Thanks! Stay safe.
The pictures with your granddaughters (and of them) are just precious and put a smile on my face. Thank you. Also, I adore the "eclectedness" (I know I know, it's not a word) of your cookbook list. It always opens my eyes to even more books to add to my must buy wish list.
Oh, Dorie........Thank you for this posting. I was just quite consciously missing my Aunt Martha (actually, my father's first cousin, who died at age 87, just this past year).
I was raised in what most folks these days would regard as an overly formal household, and one of my earliest memories is of Aunt Martha's (she couldn't have been more than 25 at the time) whisking me out of my great aunt's/her mother's house....to go to her APARTMENT (!!!!!!!). It was 1968. Aunt Martha had NOT married, and she had a job at the MEDICAL SCHOOL, and she painted watercolors, and she owned a volkswagen of her very own, and she was regarded as distressingly "wild". We became fast friends (quite aside from our rather overbearing and utterly homogenous family) by the time I was ten. By the time I was 40 and she was sixty, I would introduce her, only half=jokingly, as "the other black sheep in the family"..........."We both forgot to get married...."
That said?.......I distinctly recall her taking me to her apartment (no single women had apartments back then, except for Mary Tyler Moore on television), where she had laid out all the cookie-molds and decorative candy-things ("non-pareils"?), powdered sugars, etcetera......for making and decorating sugar cookies. We started out from scratch (nothing special, I suppose....just "Joy of Cooking" recipe; women in my family don't cook and certainly don't bake).
And, no.....she didn't let me "just be creative". She made me learn how to do it
nicely". I was beyond thrilled. It may have been the first time anyone took the time to SHOW me how to make something and do it right....and, yes, I was (for perhaps the first time) very proud of the outcome/product. I felt very grown-up and, more importantly, competent.
Well, enough of this........best wishes to you and your family, and thank you for an obviously evocative posting.
sincerely, david terry
As always, I love reading your stories and thoughts. Also, I think I would have loved Aunt Martha. Actually, I’m sure that I would have - xoxoD
Oh...I didn't emphasize that, as she made clear, these were Christmas cookies that would be going out IN THE MAIL (!!!!!!!!!!!). I was terribly thrilled.
------david terry
Another phenomenal compendium of so many great cookbooks that I don’t know where to start. I have enjoyed cooking from SNACKING CAKES, so might start with Yossey’s latest book. I bought the ABC’s of PARIS to give to my tenants once the baby arrives. I’ll be on my couch and in my kitchen this winter trying some others on the list, too. Thank you! (And thanks for sharing the photos of Gemma and VV: they remind me of our Emma at that age.❤️)
I'm so glad that you got Parisian ABCs - it's a charmer! And thank you so much for always reading and always commenting so thoughtfully - xoxo D
As delicious as your thanksgiving feast photos are, those of your darling grands “take the cake”! As I too know from baking with my own littles (6,6,7,9), that shared experience is the best, and those memories will last far longer than any baked good. Thanks for sharing.
Dorie. Are you in Paris today (15DEC2023)? I thought I saw you duck into L’Horizon Cafe for a few moments while I was sitting outside having lunch. Your friend waited outside for you. If it was you, I’m so sorry I didn’t get to wish you a Bonjour and see you smile. Even if wasn’t you, Bonjour and Happy Holidays!
I ADORE Nic Sharma and own all of 3 of this books. I always love whatever I cook from his books or his blog. I also just bought The Core of an Onion and am enjoying the read. Thanks for the heads up on Diana Henry's book. It's on my list now!
Hi Dorie, thank you for these phenomenal suggestions. I cannot wait to peruse these titles and get to know the authors. Since you asked, a couple of cookbooks I find invaluable that were published this year are "Don't Worry, Just Cook" by my favourite Canadian cookbook writer Bonnie Stern (this one was co-written with her daughter Anna). Another invaluable resource for me is Anna Olsen's Back to Baking: 200 Timeless Recipes to Bake, Share, and Enjoy which offers explicit instructions and helpful how tos and fixes. And, if I may, I am obsessed with your "Cookies" book, which is invaluable I am determined to bake every single cookie in there and I love that you included some savoury bakes!
Snacking Bakes just arrived at my house, plan to make something tomorrow! And that buttermilk chicken! Could/ would you give us a recipe for chestnut soup? Thank you!
Love the photos.my grandkids are both foodies. One hunts and makes his own sausage.. last Christmas he asked for an air fryer! A very proud. Grandmother here.
Hi, Dorie, I asked for Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients by Brian Levy this holiday season. Although I think I might have to ask again for the Scandi and fish books. Thanks! Stay safe.
The pictures with your granddaughters (and of them) are just precious and put a smile on my face. Thank you. Also, I adore the "eclectedness" (I know I know, it's not a word) of your cookbook list. It always opens my eyes to even more books to add to my must buy wish list.