The Domestic Art - a series of cookbooks ~ Champagne Living

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Domestic Art - a series of cookbooks

My mother collected cookbooks like other people collect figurines. The kitchen bookcase was filled with the likes of Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking", "The Joy of Cooking" and even "The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery." Once a week they got dusted along with the rest of the knick-knacks, opened only to be read like a treasured novel, but never utilized in the actual art of cooking.

My mom would have LOVED The Domestic Art cookbooks by Pattie Schocker Wright. They are beautifully assembled with love and care, and include trusted recipes by Pattie herself as well as family and friends. My mother also would have loved the simplicity of the recipes. She always complained that a recipe that required TOO many ingredients wasn't worth her while. Pretty funny considering that she and my dad dined at restaurants more nights than she cooked.

I too enjoy reading cookbooks, but I enjoy trying recipes just as much as I do reading them. I'm not a very good cook. Or should I say, that I'm not a NATURAL cook, so a cookbook that allows me to make a dinner out of the simplest, fresh ingredients is a "must have" at the mansion. I was taught at a young age, that if you can follow directions you can do (or be) anything, and Pattie's cooking directions are easy to follow.

Tonight I made her Miso-Glazed Salmon (from Vol. 1). Six simple ingredients - brown sugar, soy sauce, miso, chives, water and salmon fillets and I had a delicious, flaky dinner that took a little over ten minutes to prepare. I served it over Jasmine Rice, with some simple steamed broccoli on the side. It was delicious and uncomplicated. That's how I like my food.

Three volumes of everything from homemade bagels to grilled flank steaks in moroccan spices, with desserts, side dishes and everything you could possibly need to create fabulous (and easy) meals. Now, they probably won't make me a domestic goddess - but, at least they'll help me fake it.

If you'd like to order one or all three volumes of The Domestic Art Cookbooks, you can get them online directly from Pattie at $21.95 each.

Thank you to Pattie Schocker Wright for providing me with her wonderful cookbooks. All opinions are strictly my own.