Every Stain Tells a Story

 

A stained cookbook page wears a heart on its sleeve. Sure it’s also a sign of a less-than-tidy cook but it’s rare that a recipe used only once earns a swipe of grease or the telltale sheen of dried egg white. It’s the oft-used recipe that ends up looking like the culinary equivalent of a security blanket because that is exactly what it is. While a cookbook may prove to be a go-to guide for good recipes, a much-stained recipe is the go-to guide for a good story. 

I’ve long been convinced there’s a great book in the stories of those smears and the Times hints at it with this list of Most Stained Cookbooks. Of course Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ makes the list as does ‘The Joy of Cooking.’ The other titles are an interesting hodgepodge of specialities and preferences. While most of my faves are crinkled pages ripped from magazines, here are two I love and one that has to be included: 

* Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking – Neal was the chef behind North Carolina’s Crook’s Corner restaurant. Shrimp & Grits, Collard Greens (with ham hock) and other classic Southern dishes get explained and elevated in this must-have book. 

* Sara Moulton Cooks at Home – I used to be addicted to Moulton’s Cooking Live show in the early days of Food Network. Her cookbook here is sweetly homey, filled with family pictures and more than one recipe that I’ve been asked to share. Get it for the Vermont Apple Crisp with Maple Sauce alone. 

* Cooking Light’s Key Lime Pie – OK, this isn’t a cookbook but it is hands-down my most stained recipe. I even had it framed and hanging in my kitchen at one point. This is the pie that launched a thousand crusts, a turning point in my personal culinary history. I was seduced into making it by its cool creamy aloofness on the magazine cover. It was cool and creamy all right; but it was also tart without being sour, rich without being too decadent. And best of all? Ridiculously easy to make.