Cookbookaholic

After Easter

So this Easter we did our usual trip up to Winston-Salem. During last year’s trip, I pinched something in my back and didn’t move out of the bed. Got a lot of sleep…but not much in the way of getting out.

This year had an added layer of excitement. Nephew Chaz, also known as the Reverend Chaz, was chosen to lead the annual Moravian Sunrise Service. We ended up spending a lot of time with family and I didn’t get to branch out on my own for cookbook shopping.

A few weeks after Easter, I was able to spend a few hours back in Winston-Salem on my own. I was meeting up to buy a Bob Timberlake print and afterwards I made sure to visit the Moravian Book & Gift Shop in Old Salem. Their downstairs section always has church cookbooks and a few local choices as well. 

Only this time, I discover that the downstairs section is now a quilting shop. I take a few laps around the main floor and find one cookbook:

Southern Breads: Recipes, Stories and Traditions by Marilyn Markel and Chris Holaday. 

From biscuits to cobblers, hush puppies to cornbread, I think this looks really interesting. Lots of recipes and looks like a brief history section that I can’t wait to read.

A section near the end lists out cookbooks that inspired the recipes in the book. Of course, there’s the Charleston Receipts from the Junior League of Charleston. Another one featured is Gardeners’ Gourmet from the Montgomery Federation of Garden Clubs in Alabama. 

I think I’ve seen this one before, but I don’t believe I have it in my collection.

A couple of weeks searching and I finally see one online. Perfect condition! I buy it and after a few days it arrives….with the plastic spiral spine broken. Argh! Oh well.

Pre-Emptive Thrift Store Run

 

So it’s Memorial Day weekend and sometimes the garage sale pickins aren’t so great. In anticipation of a disappointing morning, I did a pre-emptive thrift store run on Friday.

 

I’m so happy I did—I was very selective and didn’t buy anything non-yard sale priced. Here’s what I found:

 

Rocco’s Real Life Recipes: Fast Flavor for Every Day (Rocco Dispirito) and Ebelskivers (Kevin Crafts).

 

Rocco was at a really good price and I didn’t want to pass it up. Then, I saw this Ebel—whatever cookbook. What in the world is an ebelskiver? It’s a Swedish snack or dessert that are puffy with sweet or savory fillings.

 

I’m thinking if I could replicate those new Cinnabon ® Delights from Taco Bell, that would be really, really awesome!

 

Apparently, I’ll need some special stovetop pan with half-sphere wells. Now that I know what I need, I can keep an eye out for it at the sales.

 

Speaking of….I had one sale that I could hit (that listed cookbooks) before my hair appointment. It was a total waste of time. Didn’t have the cookbooks I like…oh well. And there was an auction happening over in Gastonia—but it was at the same time as my appointment. And believe it or not, greying roots won out.

Memorial Day Weekend Sale

Holiday weekends are notorious for having few sales. Completely understandable. Yard sales are very hard work. You gather the items, price them, set them out, then be awake and ready to go and somehow remember to have change so that you can break a twenty. Who would want to do that over a three day weekend?

Having said that, I’m glad for the ones that are open. This past Memorial Day weekend, I had to head out of town for a bridal shower followed by a 2 year old’s birthday party. It was set to be a long day and I was hoping for a good yard sale or two before the road trip started. Dunc wanted to tag along with me for the birthday party, so we hit a 7am sale and as many 8am sales as we could before we absolutely, positively had to be on the way to Nana’s house by 8:30am.

Our only success was the very first sale near home. We had spotted a sign for it on Friday and we decided to make that our first stop. After we turned onto the road and went from asphalt to gravel very quickly. Plus, the road went back much further than I realized. When we finally reached the sale, I could tell that this small brick home, small and surrounded by very tall trees, was a place of quiet and solitude.

The sale was in a detached garage. Dunc and I were the only ones there and we got the first look at everything. I walked up on these and thought there were so cool:

Three rusty decorative stars.

Then I asked if there were any cookbooks. On the table behind me, the lady running the sale points to these three.

Cookies!: A Cookie Lover’s Collection (The Kitchens of Cy DeCosse Incorporated), Cookin’ Up a Storm: The Life and Recipes of Annie Johnson (Jane Lee Rankin) and Beautiful Breads & Fabulous Fillings (Margaux Sky).

I have to admit, when I first saw Cookin’ Up a Storm I thought it was the cookbook that was put together from “lost” Times-Picayune recipes following Hurricane Katrina. Similar title but a very different cookbook. It’s a brief bio about Annie Johnson, who came to work for Jane Lee Rankin’s family, and her Southern staple recipes. This is a loving and honest chronicle of their family caretaker, whose food and friendship obviously meant a lot to them.

And when I said Southern recipes, I meant it! Here are some of the breads: Banana Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits, Dinner Rolls and  Hot Water Cornbread. Breakfast: Buttermilk Pancakes, Cinnamon Rolls, French Toast and Fried Apples. Soups, Sides and Salads: Navy Bean Soup, Fried Green Tomatoes, Corn Pudding, Dressing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Turnips, Cheese Coins, Chicken Salad, Chow Chow and Spice Tea. Dinner: Barbecue Pork, Chicken and Dumplin’s, Fried Chicken and Grave, Fried Catfish, Stuffed Green Peppers and Barbecue Sauce. Cakes and Icing: Apple Cake, Buttermilk Pound Cake, Blackberry Jam Cake, Chocolate Cake, Gingerbread, Plum Spice Cake, Sour Cream Pound Cake, Caramel Icing, Chocolate Icing, Coconut Pecan Icing and Cream Cheese Icing. Pies, Cobblers and Cookies: Pie Crust, Butterscotch Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Kentucky Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Banana Pudding, Bourbon Balls, Cornmeal Cookies, Ginger Cookies, Sugar Cookies and Tea Cookies. Wow! Who wouldn’t want to go eat dinner at Annie’s house?!

The rest of the sales were a bust, so now that’s its 8:30am—it’s time to head on down the road to Nana’s house!

Spring Break in Hilton Head

For the first time ever, we’ve been able to spend part of the boys’ Spring Break in Hilton Head. Usually, we get to come down for July 4^th and New Year but, for some reason, that didn’t work out this past Holiday season. So, I’m really thrilled to get opportunity to give the guys a Spring Break vacation.

On our first full day on the island I was able to get out and visit my favorite thrift stores. Not quite the door buster, but I was able to get to St. Francis Thrift Store a few minutes after it opened. The parking lot was packed! Of course, there’s a new Dunkin Donuts next door—but still, it was hard trying to find a parking space. Once I got in the store, I was able to find a nice little stack.

True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South (The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc.), A Taste of Enchantment (The Junior League of Albuquerque, NM), New Southern Cooking (Nathalie Dupree) and Cooking with a Beat (Longview Washington Civic Symphony Auxiliary).

The Nathalie Dupree cookbook is autographed!

The next stop was the nearby Goodwill store but I came up empty on cookbooks. I did find a super cool Christmas tree Bundt pan and decided to pick that up.

And now for my favorite thrift store in the whole world! I pulled up to the Hospice Community Thrift with about fifteen minutes to spare before they opened. And then I see that they’re already open. Okay! I was amazed at the selection I found.

There’s a reason this is my favorite spot and here’s why:

A Touch of Atlanta (Marist Parents’ Club, Marist School, Atlanta, GA), Ursula’s Cookbook (Ursula Knaeusel, Ursula’s Cooking School, Atlanta, GA), Tullie’s Receipts: Nineteenth Century Plantation Plain Style Southern Cooking and Living (Kitchen Guild of the Tullie Smith House Restoration, Atlanta Historical Society, Inc., Atlanta, GA), Christmas Gems for Holiday Entertaining (The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc.), Atlanta Natives’ Favorite Recipes (Frances Arrington Elyea, Atlanta, GA), What’s Cooking at Rock Spring (Rock Spring Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA), Atlanta Cooks for Company (Junior Associates of The Atlanta Music Club), Plains Pot-Pourri (Plains Jr. Woman’s Club, Plains, GA) and Charleston Receipts (The Junior League of Charleston, SC).

I probably need to do some research on ole Ursula and find out more about her and any influence she may have had in the Atlanta area...but her cookbook is also autographed!

And here is the rest of the haul:

Southern Sideboards (Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi), Yuletide on Hilton Head: A Heritage of Island Flavors (Edited by Dotti Trivision, Marion Conlin, Mary Murray and Phyllis White), Three Rivers Cookbook II (Child Health Association of Sewickley, Sewickley, PA), Temptations (Junior Service League of Rome, Inc., Rome, GA), Trader Vic’s Tiki Party (Steve Siegelman), Southern Delights: Recipes from Williamson County (Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, Franklin, TN), Famous Recipes from Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Historic Savannah (Sema Wilkes, Savannah, GA), Country Days and Nights (Fox Chapel Country Day School, Fox Chapel, PA), Culinary Treasures: Hilton Head Island (The Avid Gardeners, Hilton Head Plantation, Hilton Head Island, SC), Old Mission San Juan Capistrano Cook Book (Catholic Women’s Club of “Old Mission” San Juan Capistrano, CA) and I’ve Got a Cook in Kalamazoo (Service Club of Kalamazoo, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI).

I’ve got some time until The Bargain Box opens up later in the afternoon. But I see some people waiting on the front porch of the building. I pull up and ask them if the Bargain Box crew has started to give out admission numbers. They said “no,” but there were about five boxes that were out front with the label “Free Stuff.” I spot a Better Homes & Garden cookbook sitting on top of one. I park the car and go through all the boxes. After going through the boxes, I get a nice stack:

The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, Ladies’ Home Journal Dessert Cookbook (Edited by Carol Truax), The Great Cooks Cookbook: A Good Cooking School Cookbook, Appetizing Dips & Spreads, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Craig Claiborne’s Gourmet Diet, Potomac Area Newcomers Recipe Book (Potomac Area Newcomers Club, Maryland) and Famous Native Recipes of the Virgin Islands (Gathered by Dea Murray).

These are some pretty decent cookbooks! If these are the books they’re giving away for free, I wonder what they’ve got still left on the shelves inside? Definitely coming back this afternoon.

I head back to the condo and have lunch and try to talk the whole family into going with me…but no luck. I arrive and have to park in the side auxiliary lot. They have limited capacity inside the store and only allow a certain number of customers inside. And while I’m the only one in line—I still have to wait for someone to leave.

When I finally get to go inside, there’s a long line that I have to get around to get to the cookbook shelf. And at first glance, the shelf looks untouched, maybe one or two spaces where a book may have been removed. I don’t really see much that grabs my attention. Maybe I got the good stuff in their free box a few hours ago?

I guess I’d feel better about what’s in front of me, if I could actually get to the cookbooks in front of me. There’s some woman just standing there reading through one of the cookbooks. She’s just standing there. Hello?! I’m trying to look at the selection—could you move?

Thankfully, her friend came over and they decided to get in the checkout line. Finally, a chance to get a proper look at the selection. Here’s what I find:

The Greens Cook Book (Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown), Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (James Peterson), The Trellis Cookbook: Expanded Edition (Marcel Desaulniers), Fish & Shellfish Grilled & Smoked (Karen Adler & Judith M. Fertig) and Great Meals for Busy Days (Nathalie Dupree).

Now this Nathalie Dupree cookbook isn't autographed...but the fish one is:

Now that’s the way to start off Spring Break! I’m thinking that with all these great finds, I can finally relax and enjoy the rest of the week…

Easter 2013

We spent another great Easter weekend in Winston-Salem. Sure, we had some rain during the sunrise service but it didn’t put a damper on anything. We found a great parking space, brought out the umbrellas and got a great spot up front for the final part of the service.

I also got some great finds during my weekend! Check out these cookies that I got from Winkler’s Bakery. Easter shaped and chocolate dipped.

And did I mention they were half price?

Plus, during my annual walk through the Moravian Book and Gift Shop cookbook section, I found this gem:

Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible (Paula Deen with Melissa Clark).

So why did I get this one over a Moravian church cookbook?

This was originally printed in October 2011. I spotted this first edition, first printing down in their bottom floor cookbook section. Who knew?

Check out this really cool wreath that I saw on one of the front doors of a home in Old Salem.

I love this look! It's simple, rustic and cool with the painted wooden eggs tucked into the wreath. I thought it was just a great way to decorate for Easter. 

p.s. I missed a garage sale on Saturday that mentioned "lots of cookbooks." I'm eating a lot of chocolate dipped cookies to make up for that one.

What Black Friday Feels Like

The news makes such a big fuss over the people who camp out for those insane Black Friday deals. You know what? A good estate sale will bring out the pre-dawn fanatic every Saturday morning. We know what that first-through-the-door sensation feels like more than once a year.

And on this particular Saturday, I knew I had to be that crazy fanatic camped out at the door.

Remember the estate sale where the guy holding it told me he’d kept two Betty Feezor cookbooks for himself? Well, he’s having another sale and deep down in the description, he’s written “good set of Betty Feezor cookbooks.” And there’s a picture…three of them.

Okay, he’s obviously sent this email to a wide range of people on his mailing list. Oh, and by the way, the house itself is over one hundred years old—so lots of antiques and old furniture. I can see it now, I’ll be elbowing my way past pickers trying to get their hands on a side table.

The sale is at 8am and it’s relatively close, so I decide that I need to be there before 6am to beat out the crowd. Or, at least be near the front.

I’m motivated by the force of Betty and after a little issue of actually finding the house, I’m there at 5:45am. It’s dark, it’s cold and I’m the first to arrive.

I park just across the street, walk over and but my box down at the door. With my spot staked out, I head back to the car and find my pink Slanket (it’s the knock-off Snuggie). I wrap myself up and take a seat on the cold brick back porch.

Thanks to my smartphone, I catch up on the latest news, update my Facebook status and send out a Tweet. Time passes and I realize that I could’ve slept in a little longer and have been just fine showing up closer to 7am. Oh well…I’m still first in line.

Others start showing up a little after 7am. They begin to line up behind me and await the start of the sale. A lot of them are antique dealers who are looking for jewelry and furniture. I keep waiting for someone to mention cookbooks…but I don’t hear a peep.

About 7:30 am, Tom and his crew of helpers arrive and go inside the house. I hear them setting up and getting ready. Just a little longer now!

Right before 8am, Tom comes out and explains how to tear the tags on the big furniture to claim them. And then he lets us in.

The Bettys are on the “goodie” table with the costume jewelry. I grab them and ask him to put my name on them while I look around.

Betty Feezor’s Best (Fourth Printing, 1962), Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes Volume I (Seventh Printing, 1977) and Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes Volume III (First Edition, 1984).

What? No Volume II? There’s a Carolina Recipes Volume III! I’m really thrilled to find that one. You don’t see it as often and I’m on cloud nine right now.

Just past the checkout table is a shelf of cookbooks. Wait…there are more cookbooks? I was so focused on Betty that I didn’t realize there were more.

With the Betty’s secure at the checkout desk, I take my empty box over to the bookshelf and start looking and loading up. There are a ton of people pouring into the house now, and this bookshelf is right in front of the main hallway—I’ve got to work quickly.  

Here's what I found:

The Treasury of White Trash Cooking (Ernest Matthew Mickler & Trisha Mickler), Inside the Gate (Montreat Scottish Society, Montreat, NC), The Village Cook Book (P.T.A. Pantry, Davidson, NC), Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church Cookbook (Charlotte, NC), Barbara’s Top Recipes (Barbara Stutts, Charlotte, NC), Charity League Cook Book (Charlotte, NC), Purefoy Hotel Cook Book (Eva B. Purefoy, Talladega, AL), White Trash Cooking (Ernest Matthew Mickler) and Sinkin Spells, Hot Flashes, Fits and Cravins (Ernest Matthew Mickler).

So, let me get this straight…there are two copies of White Trash Cooking? One has the metal spiral spine and the other appears to be soft bound. The soft bound one is a special edition from 2002 and this is a first printing. Score!

Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church: 250^th Anniversary Cookbook (Charlotte, NC), Charleston Receipts (Junior League of Charleston, SC, 1953 printing), It’s Not Gourmet—It’s Better! (Eudora Garrison) and Hopewell Heritage Cookbook (Presbyterian Women/Hopewell Presbyterian Church, Huntersville, NC).

Okay, now this is a nice supplement to my Betty’s. I check out and head back to my car. Time to exhale! All that and it’s only 8:15 am.

The house looks so calm and peaceful in the early morning light, doesn’t it?

That narrow residential street on the other side of the trees has gone from dark and empty to bumper to bumper.

I’m grateful for my Bettys and the rest of my finds, but it’s been a long, cold morning and I’m heading home.

As I make it back to the car, I take one last look at the back porch. It doesn’t look so dark and lonely in the daylight. 

It’s Always Cinco de Mayo Somewhere, Right?

The things I do for you people. I took it upon myself to test out two margarita options in honor of this Cinco de Mayo. Usually, I shy away from bottled mixes. Can we all agree that those usually taste like bad cough syrup? But I got an email from Williams-Sonoma focusing in their “All-Natural” Margarita mixes. So, I decided to pit bottled mixer against a recipe using fresh ingredients. For the fresh version, I used a very traditional margarita recipe from the Viva Margarita cookbook in my collection by W. Park Kerr.  And for the bottled mix, I made a trip up to Williams-Sonoma and snagged the All-Natural Key Lime Margarita Mixer.

For my Viva Margarita selection, I chose “The Ultimate Margarita, or Uber-rita.” It called for fresh limes, tequila and Cointreau. I substituted Gran Marnier and also added in a splash of fresh orange juice (per the “Tequila Tip”). It was mind-blowingly strong. Instant buzz even…

With the Williams-Sonoma mixer, the one liter bottle professed to being made in small batches for fresher flavor. It contained key lime juice, tangerine juice (both from concentrate) and sweetened with agave syrup. All I had to do was just add tequila. It was sweet and, with half the booze, it was easier to drink. I easily had seconds (and thirds even).

Who knows if Williams-Sonoma will keep this product beyond Cinco de Mayo? If not at the store, I would hope it would always be an available online option. There were two other flavors, Morello Cherry Pomegranate and Mango Passion Fruit, in addition to the more traditional Key Lime flavor. It seemed a little pricey at $14.95 a bottle, but I think you could get more than three generous batches for the cost. For special occasions that call for an easy drink with a sweet margarita, I think I would definitely splurge and grab another bottle. What’s that old saying? It’s always Cinco de Mayo somewhere, right? Wait….that might be the tequila talking!

Watch Out, It's Easter!

For this Easter, I’m excited to head up to our annual Winston-Salem trip. I’ve recently been promoted and I’m not going to hold back when I make my run through the Moravian Book and Gift Shop. I’m hoping to treat myself to some new additions to my collection. They usually have a nice selection of local Moravian church cookbooks and I can’t wait to get my hands on them!

First the bad news: Kernel Kustard has closed their downtown location. Then, I find out that the original one has closed as well. Bummer! I just absolutely loved the ice cream that featured caramel corn. Now it’s gone forever…unless Blue Bell ever decides to bring back their version (fingers crossed).

Anyway, back to the Moravian Book & Gift Shop. On Saturday afternoon, I had some free time away from hubby and the boys and I drive back over to Old Salem. I head downstairs to the bookshelves and look through the local church cookbooks. Is this humanly possible? I think I’ve already got all of them. I do notice that the stack featuring the Raleigh Moravian Church cookbook has a burgundy spine and the cover is printed with burgundy ink. The one in my collection has navy blue cover ink and spine. Plus, it looks a little thicker. Could this be a new revised and expanded version?

I think it’s worth the investment to find out! Here’s the new burgundy one:

Okay, so at least I have one in my grasp. I head upstairs and take a look around the rest of the store. There’s a bookshelf that catches my eye—look what’s on it!

It’s the cookbook from my church, New Beginnings Moravian! We sold our last 20 copies to the Old Salem Museum organization and here’s one of the final copies. Still looks amazing….should I? Nah…I’ll let someone else pick it up and find out how awesome it is.

Okay, so I didn’t get to walk away with a ton of cookbooks this time around. But I am slightly thrilled that I have such a “current” collection. Now, I just need more Moravian churches to kick out a new round of cookbooks! I’m looking at you Peace Moravian….

 

Answered Prayers

As many of you know, my love of Krispy Kreme’s Doughnut Holes knows no boundary. Do not make the mistake and confuse the light, original glazed doughnut holes with the heavier, cakey Krispy Knibblers…those were just nasty. Luckily, I can still find the original doughnut holes at the Krispy Kreme locations in my hometown of Florence, SC.

We’d even started to see some clear plastic cups filled with doughnut holes for sale in grocery stores and gas stations. On a very rare occasion, you’d find the “Original Glazed” along with the cake variety. But not at my local grocery store!

During the Easter weekend, we journeyed up to Winston-Salem, NC for our family’s tradition of attending the Moravian sunrise service. Winston-Salem is also the known as the town where Krispy Kreme was founded and their corporate headquarters are still located there.

I swung by the newly renovated “Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory” located on Stafford Rd. to pick up some doughnuts to have in the hotel room. Much to my surprise, they have a tray in the display case filled with doughnuts holes…the original glazed kind. They’re a little smaller than the ones I get in Florence…but I’ll try them out.

I ask for two dozen and the gal behind the counter points over to the side and asks if I want to get the box. The box...there's a box?

They’ve put together a small box with handles specifically branded for the doughnut holes! Of course, I grab one.

It’s about time someone understood the power of the doughnut hole! It’s almost like an Easter miracle…an answered prayer. I think she said the box contains two dozen? I was too busy trying to pay and get out to the car. Oh, they were so good!

Once back at the hotel, the boys immediately spied my personal box of doughnut holes and began to raid my supply.

Here’s the picture I was able to snap before the rest disappeared.

 

Now, to get these handy boxes to show up in my grocery store!

 

Family Style Fat Tuesday

For Mardi Gras, the family and I did something really fun for dinner. In keeping with my favorite “breakfast for dinner” theme, a nearby church did a Fat Tuesday Pancake Dinner. For eight bucks per plate, you got unlimited pancakes, sausage and orange juice. Since it was a church, all proceeds went to their mission projects.

Plus, this was the church were both boys attended preschool.

By the time we arrived, a ton of people were already there!

 

The boys got chocolate chip pancakes and said they were quite delicious.

I got the regular pancakes and actually went back for seconds. Even the sausage links were remarkably scrumptious! Great way for the family to spend Mardi Gras!