Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > August > 26 > Entry
OK, Julie Powell, I’ll see you one, and raise you three
I came to cooking late in life. Before meeting my husband, it was the bachelor’s life for me. Ate out. Improvised comfort food at home. For dinner parties, I depended on more talented housemates.
My first adult cookbook was, looking back, the equivalent of “A Child’s Guide to Italian Food.” Can’t remember the actual title. Every recipe called for a cup of olive oil and a cup of Parmesan cheese. No wonder I gained weight.
Frances Mayes’ “Under the Tuscan Sun” inspired me to up my game. As did ragtag cookbooks purchased on the cheap at Half Price Books and during our travels. It was around the late 1990s, when the Spice Boys (three gay couples, including Kip and I) inaugurated monthly feasts that I discovered what I called “the Founding Cookbookers.”
I had grown up with Irma Rombauer’s American recipes, but now I depended on Marcella Hazan (pictured) for Italian, Claudia Rodin for Middle Eastern, Julia Child for French and Diana Kennedy for Mexican cuisines. From there, I branched out into other world food cultures and regional variations.
Powell, of course, has made a career of her year-long blog about cooking all the recipes in Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” I’m not a big fan of her self-absorbed book, but it was paired with Child’s deeply wise memoir, “My Life in France,” to make the delicious Nora Ephron movie.
And I think Powell’s program merits repetition. So I’ve started cooking the 250 recipes in Hazan’s “The Classic Italian Cookbook,” not skipping any of the basics that I ignored over the past two decades. Then I’ll move on to Kennedy, Child and Rodin — and other classics recommended by readers.
Last night, I made Hazan’s version of maionese (mayonnaise). At first, I tried to beat the egg yolks, salt and the drops of olive oil — then lemon juice — with a hand-held Cuisineart blender, but there was not enough material. I started over twice. So Kip suggested a hand-held Sunbeam mixer which I forget we even owned. Perfect. Thick but smooth consistency and light yellow color. I used a dark green olive oil, however, and the results are a bit bitter. Fine for fish, but I wouldn’t use on a sandwich, unless there was a strong counterflavor.
I’ll keep you posted, if not obsessively.
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By Cecilia
August 26, 2009 2:34 PM | Link to this
What a great idea. I learned how to cook Italian food from my Italian mother, grandmothers and aunts. And yet, there is SO much more to know. I may take on this project with you (in my own kitchen, of course)...at leaast for this book...and maybe Dianna Kennedy's. Ciao a tutti.
By Emily Leuba Jones
August 26, 2009 2:21 PM | Link to this
You're lucky to know Kip. Cooking enriches lives. Social, nutritional, emotional. It's good for you. And so is Kip.
(Plus, my husband, for whom I cook, worked with Kip for years at HPB, and he's a good guy.)
By Carly
August 26, 2009 2:16 PM | Link to this
This sounds like an interesting and worthwhile project. Good luck, and I look forward to updates regarding your progress.
By Kay
August 26, 2009 1:06 PM | Link to this
My first cookbook was my mother's Betty Crocker Good & Easy Cookbook from around 1950. I learned how to make scrambled eggs, omelets and basic foods from it. It sparked a love of cookbooks & cooking that is still with me today.