Cookbookaholic

Used Bookstore Chain?!

Oh my! I did a day trip up to Greensboro to buy a framed Bob Timberlake print early last year and discovered the used bookstore McKay Books & CDs. I bought a ton of cookbooks. Not sure where those are right this very moment….but, on a trip to Winston-Salem last year, I found that there is a McKay’s Books there as well.

My husband was with me for this trip through the store, so I had to chose sparingly and with caution.

I love, love, love the cookbooks I found. Plus, I can’t believe the variety that they had…there were some well-traveled cookbooks in there.

The Seasonal Palette (NC’s Taste Full Magazine). These were recipes inspired by Bob Timberlake and when I opened the cover…boom…Bob Timberlake autograph!

Not Afraid of Flavor: Recipes from Magnolia Grill (Ben and Karen Barker). These two chefs met at culinary school. Rick is a chef and his wife, Karen, is a pastry chef. Both are equally celebrated with a James Beard Award and Bon Appetit’s Best Pastry Chef Award respectively.

If memory serves, I believe Karen Barker recently passed away. So this cookbook is a great legacy for her vision. And as I began flipping through…boom…autographs!

Now it is inscribed to someone named Lee, but I’m thinking this is an important cookbook to pick up.

How many times have I written about my trips to Hilton Head and the island’s amazing thrift stores? Look what I found:

Twice Treasured Recipes (The Bargain Box).  

Who knew The Bargain Box compiled and published their own cookbook? It’s on the grounds of The First Presbyterian Church since being started in the mid-1960s. So, I guess it could have recipes from the church members? I’ve been going to Hilton Head for a long, long time and never knew about this cookbook. And here I find it in Winston-Salem?! Plus, this is a first edition!

Lastly, I came across this beautiful cookbook:

Christ Church Frederica Cookbook (St. Simons Island, Georgia). I love the watercolor of the church and trees. I think it’s wonderful when a congregation can get an artist to do a watercolor of the front of the church and landscape. What an amazing way to celebrate (and fundraise) with a gorgeous watercolor print on the wall. That could even turn into a heirloom piece to hand down generation after generation.

And it was the bargain of the bunch at $1.

So, next time I’m in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, I’ll have to swing by and visit McKay Books!

Drive to Lexington

I’ve done a lot of my recent cookbook purchases through eBay and Facebook Marketplace. No surprise there, Covid has shifted a lot of yard sales and estate sales to online activity.

For this cookbook, I saw a group of cookbooks listed for sale. I didn’t really want all of them, just this one.

I reached out to the seller and asked if she’d let me buy the one cookbook. I mentioned that I had attended the church when I first moved to Charlotte and knew many of the ladies who have recipes included in the book.

The lady was quick to respond and told me that she’d give it to me…I just had to come get it up in Lexington. No problem there, I’ll take a side trip over to the Bob Timberlake gallery and pick up some BBQ for my hubby. I’ll make it a huge trip!

The trip itself turned out to be easy. It was my exact same commute to work. The driving directions took me all the way up to Salisbury and then just a little bit further. This wasn’t the Lexington I was used to…it was the south side and I was barely out of Salisbury.

I met with the seller and the cookbooks she had for sale had belonged to her mother. She’d passed a few months previously and the daughter was slowly selling items to help empty out the house. She liked that I had attended the church and was just so nice to give it to me free of charge.

I was so thrilled and humbled that this cookbook was a gift from a total stranger.

Moravian Women’s Cook Book (Little Church on the Lane)

Unfortunately for the hubby, since I was closer to Salisbury than to the BBQ joint, I just got on the road and went back home. Oh well….BBQ for another day!

Next Chapter Sale

I’ve got to tell you about this sale from earlier this year. There was an estate sale company that, sadly, is no longer in business. But, they were really interesting in that you had to email them for your slot in line.

In some of their sales I’ve been third; I’ve been ninth. For today’s sale, I was thirteenth. But I’m okay with that because I looked at the pictures from this sale. They’ve got fancy ties, cool concert tees and a small selection of cookbooks.  

The pre-sale talk by the gentlemen running the sale involves a backstory of the family holding the sale. He asks for a moment of silence to uplift them during their time of need. It’s very nice but then it’s on to business.

He begins calling names on the list. I’m guessing about 7 people haven’t shown up because I’m called up and briskly walking down the driveway in no time flat. I quickly get into the garage and find the cookbooks up on a shelf. The prices are rather hefty for cookbooks. I’m used to $1 - $2 but these are $5?!

The load I’m carrying is pretty heavy and as I begin to walk around, I see the fancy ties. They’re really nice and I’m thinking my oldest son would appreciate a few of these.

Now, I’m worried about my bill. I’m not sure I’ll have enough cash to cover all of it. So I decide to do the unthinkable…I put back about half of the cookbooks. I’m thinking that the fancy ties for my son are a little more important than a few cookbooks.

I get in line for checkout and then see something marvelous….they’re taking credit cards. What?! That’s awesome, I turn around and head back to the garage and take back the cookbooks and spot another one or two to add to the pile.

When I get to checkout, I’m very lucky in that the gentleman running the sale gives me a bulk discount. And the tiny cookbook gets thrown in for free. Nice!

See the yellow one with the goose wearing the hat in the large cauldron? That’s an early cookbook from the Junior League of Charlotte (NC) from 1964.

Not sure what this cookbook with the Bob Timberlake prints is all about? It’s called “The Figure Eight Island Collection.” A quick search on the web tells me Figure Eight Island is a barrier island and an exclusive, private community located near Wilmington and only accessible by boat or a guarded,  private bridge. I wonder if this family owned a home on the island?

Hominy Grill…didn’t that recently close down in Charleston, SC? I may need to give this one a good long look and see what’s featured. It’s autographed by Chef Robert Stehling on the cover!