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Vintage cookbooks speak to an engaged life

Vintage cookbooks speak to an engaged life

We're as guilty as the next kitchen maven. When we set out to make a new dish, we turn to Mama Google. Unless it's a traditional Italian dish. Then we ask Michele Scicolone. Or one of her 16 cookbooks — most likely 1,000 Italian Recipes. Our copy is sauce-stained from steady use, but we still browse through it. And imagine the flavors. We have our favorites for other cuisines as well — Charles Virion's French Country Cookbook, Penelope Casas' Foods & Wines of Spain, and so on. Our vinyl records long ago gave way to tapes which gave way to CDs which gave way to an mp4 player. The shelves we cleared of music are covered with cookbooks. They still sing a sweet siren song....Read More
Shopping for cookware in the shadow of Escoffier

Shopping for cookware in the shadow of Escoffier

When it comes to making food, the right tools make all the difference. A dull knife, a thin pot with hot spots, and trying to make do with a microwave when you really need a conventional oven are the kind of inconveniences that keep Grubhub and DoorDash in business. To cook with enthusiasm and joy is much easier with the proper batterie de cuisine, as the French call the arsenal of kitchen utensils, pots, and pans. And, let's face it, dinner tastes better when eaten on something other than paper plates and plastic cups. So save some extra room in your checked bag the next time you visit Paris. Two shops within steps of each other in the former Les Halles district of Paris sell...Read More