heyjude

Nine of us just enjoyed the $25 Tasting Menu at Union. Except enjoyed is a feeble word for one of the best restaurant meals Seattle has to offer. Chef Ethan Stowell was incredibly generous to us and stopped by our table to say he regularly reads eGullet. While it would be difficult to choose a favorite from the nine courses, the vanilla bean flan was flawless. Our menu was quite different from the ones previously described, but beautifully balanced and just the right amount. Service was also great. Thank you, Hans. We can't wait to return.

My first huge Simpsons laugh: Bart rearranges "Cod Platter" to read Cold Pet Rat on the restaurant menu board.

Getting slowly back to abnormal: I got a used copy of The New Making of a Cook yesterday and many children's books.

beans, the Braker book is terrific as is her first, The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. She has a new edition of it coming out this year. Our own Nightscotsman is a huge fan. Ask him.

I spent yesterday in Portland, OR pricing 46 boxes of cookbooks for the Friends of the Library.I will likely do this 2 or 3 more times this year. Their big sale is not until the fall, but there will be a smaller one in Gresham in the spring. They promise to be a goldmine for readers and collectors. There are websites to locate library sales and to request specific titles. Many organizations are now selling only online to avoid the enormous amount of work it takes to put on a 2 or 3 day sale. Both www.librarybooksales.org and www.book-sales-in-america.com are great resources. I came home with only 6 books, but 10 little outfits for Iris. Among the many books I left behind are a gorgeous copy of The Epicurean and a full set of The Good Cook. So add 6 for me and PM me if you are interested in either of those. All books priced over $25 are sold online or at Antiquarian Fairs.

I have just returned from a Judy Rodgers event here in Seattle with the Zuni Cafe Cookbook in hand. Since I already own a copy, this one will go to mamster and Laurie (and Iris).

Add 2.

Check out the prices on Stars Desserts and Four Star Desserts, Luchetti's two earlier books, now out of print. Bookfinder shows them selling for as much as $300.

Six more for me. A gift from a friend, all categories including Mary Frampton's Rock and Roll Cookbook from 1980.

Five more including Candy: A Sweet History, Creating Chefs, !001 Cakes, Come For Dinner and Big Book of Potluck. This was the tail end of the holiday books. Now, what shall I celebrate? I know. Cookbooks.

Maggie, that IS a lot of cookbooks. If only a third really were mine. There are many obsessives out there with multi-thousands of books. I have, after several moves, gotten rid of the books that I couldn't give shelf space. The focus has changed several times over 38 years of collecting, so some sections have been given to friends or sold. What is the average number owned based on the people replying to this (my favorite) thread? The answer will make me look less greedy. Suzanne F and Mayhaw Man, the books you asked about are both filled with information. Baking 9-1-1 would better serve its audience with photos. I was surprised it doesn't have any. Sarah Phillips is unknown to me and her credentials are not impressive, but she knows a lot and shares it well. All of it is for the home baker and available from many other sources. I'll pass this book on to a beginner. Ken Kawasumi's sushi book is very beautiful. I personally won't use it, but I'll keep it for the pictures and because it fills an empty niche in my collection. It will help me be a better judge of restaurant sushi. He is an artist and the format allows any one to follow his techniques to produce thrilling sushi. He is specific down to the number of grains of rice used in some pieces. Let me know what you think.

Having torn myself away from Iris for a moment, I'm finally ready to post some of the 35 new titles received over the holidays. In no special order: The Cook's Canon American Pie which I gave to mamster Biggest Book of Cookies A BH&G book and surprisingly tempting Food of Thailand-also for mamster Cooking at Home with the CIA Essentials of Baking Williams -Sonoma Home Baking Bittersweet Lasagna New York Cooks by Gillian Duffy Field Guide to Christmas Cookies Becoming a Chef new edition Cheesecakes by Maxine Clark 250 Best Cakes and Pies (Canadian) New American Chef by Dornenberg and Page Baking 9-1-1 Book Lover's Cookbook Little Foods of the Mediterranean Tom Valenti's new Soups and Stews book Celebrate by Sheila Lukins Cooking from the Heart which supports Share Our Strength The Neiman Marcus Cookbook Forever Summer by Nigella The Cheese Board Collective Flavor by Rocco DiSpirito Craft of Cooking Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2 Cookwise to replace my missing copy A thousand Years over a Hot Stove The Encyclopedia of Sushi Rolls Zingermans I probably won't keep all of these, but I'll at least go through them once or twice to decide. Bittersweet and Craft of Cooking are the best of the bunch, so far. There are at least a dozen more on order and then it's back to scouting the 2nd hand stores.

I love my whole collection for different reasons, but Cucina Simpatica by Killeen and Germon and Maida Heatter's books rise like cream. The original New York Times Cookbook and Menu Cookbook never fail me. James Beard, Julia and Jacques are on my list as they are on so many others. I have gotten used to the fact that many of my go-to bring a dessert recipes are from the Pillsbury Bake-off pamphlets.I have the complete set and they are a brief history of the food of the second half of the 20th century. I could go on and on, but I'm off to post my new books on the How Many Cookbooks Do you Own? thread.

Mamster, if I had read this thread first instead of listening to the salesperson, I would probably have sprung for a fancier one. Cleaning can be an issue. Mine has never failed me-you decide whether to keep or exchange.

I have 34 on the way. Some are gifts, but I ordered 2 copies of those. Don't add these until I post titles. I just wanted to see the number in print. And I am grieving for the two boxes that apparently didn't make it during the move in August. Because I don't have my books properly catalogued, I'm having to come up with titles piecemeal as I reach for them. I will slowly replace them as each is a must. They include at least 2 Julias and Cookwise. Dock me if you must, but I'm planning to overcompensate. I'd guess about 40 are gone, mostly chef's books, basic reference and entertaining. All sympathy graciously accepted.

I feel like Johnny Appleseed. These really are an impressive new intro, particularly compared to, say, brocciflower. Not every hybrid works, but Honeycrisps are going to replace many dull apples in lunchboxes, pies and on cheese plates. Try them in an updated Waldorf salad or with some Cambazola. Whole Foods will always let you try one to see if they are worth buying. And Batgrrrl, we miss you, too. Lots.

They have been available at several stores here in Seattle including QFC, where I usually avoid all produce, and they are my new very favorite. Unlike many Washington apples, they have a tender skin and crisp flesh. I was told they were an accidental midwest hybrid whose discoverer sent them to a Washington orchardist thinking they would grow well here. At first, they only seemed to be available in huge or huger (large enough to share between 3 people), although the last two times I found them at Whole Foods, they were the size of an average Eastern Macintosh. Their very short season is just about over. Any we see now will likely have been stored.

I've been too busy shopping and have over 25 new, used and remaindered books. This season promises to be stellar on the new book scene. Ten of these are baking or dessert books including Sherry Yard's, Bittersweet, American Desserts, Great Cookies, Sweets, and the Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook. Among the others are Thai, Spanish and Portuguese, Mushrooms, two Bistro cooking (Balthazar and Gordon Hamersley), Best American Recipes and It's All American Food, a used Southwest the Beautiful, a 1951 cocktail book called Bottoms Up illustrated with racy art and with no recipes, from 1987, All You Can Eat, A Feast of Great Food Cartoons. It's amazing that I have not yet been lured off Atkins, but so far I've only been reading and not baking. Alford and Duguid's Home Baking is on the way which will be a real test. I love seeing others' lists. Thanks.

Six more for me yesterday. Among them are Tom's Big Dinners by Seattles own Tom Douglas, The Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies by Dede Wilson and the latest Cook's Illustrated release, Restaurant Recipes at Home. And a Junior League collection, a remaindered Seattle Chronicle Vol II and an old Good Cook Eggs and Cheese. I have about ten more on the way and will report when they arrive. I'm especially eager for Paula Wolfert's new one and a couple of baking and dessert books.

I came back from a week long vacation last night with no new cookbooks. We were just too busy with family, but I intend to get busy here at home. I did see a copy of The Best of the Pillsbury Bake-Off bound in leather. I had seen several editions of this horizontal rectangle before, but never bound like this. When I took it off the shelf, I discovered that it had been presented to my first cousin for her winning entry in the 16th (1965)National Bake-Off. She was a very young housewife from Puerto Rico at the time. She never thought to tell me.

tejon, please tell us what is in your grandmother's collection. Old? New? Well-used? Complete with memories?

There will be cooking on the Beard Stage on Saturday. Sunday, there will be presentations without cooking. I have been involved, but with all the changes, everything is new to everyone. I will be in Massachusetts on the 18th and 19th so I hope you will go and report back to me. Saturday's authors include those listed by tsquare, but Charles Ramsayer is also unable to be there. Eric Gower, author of The Breakaway Japanese kitchen is making 3 recipes. On Sunday, Braiden Rex-Johnson and Lisa Shara Hall will be discussing Northwest food and wine trends. Have fun.

wesza, your fabulous book is, of course, quite valuable. Depending on condition and edition, they usually sell in the $200 and up range. Signed by Dali, the price would soar. I hope you will look through the other 2000 books and report on any hidden treasures that you find. Please, let me know if I can help you identify same. Culling 2000 boxed up cookbooks is every collectors dream, even vicariously. Judy

I've been trying to think of a way to kvell about mamster being in Best Food Writing 2003 without sounding like a pushy stage mother and I think I've got it. When I buy 10 copies of Best Food Writing 2003 starring mamster of eGullet.com, will you count them as 1 new book or 10? Legitimate question, no? And how many copies will you be buying? Love, Mom

Don't add these to the total, but here are some of the titles from the book sale that I promised to post. Many of these cost $.75 or $1.00. The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews Victoria at Table Baking for Gift-Giving Cakes Men Like The Pooh Party Book The Good Cook: Candy Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook (2 different editions) The Simple Art of Perfect Baking The Joy of Chocolate The Flavor of Italy by The Chamberlains The BLT Cookbook Vanilla Colettes Cakes Good Things by Jane Grigson A first edition Julia with a nice dust jacket The(1951)American Woman's Cook Book All About Home Baking The Mushroom Feast (1st U.S. edition) Fancy Pantry and the only one I've never seen before:Ingredients by Loukie Werle and Jill Cox. This is the German edition of an Australian book I also got 6 Australian Woman's Weekly cookbooks which I ordered through the distributor. Those you can add. I don't like the new format, so these may be the last of these. The holiday season books look very promising. I'll post as I get them.