Sometimes when I don't have jokes I just link to old posts that do

Being the model of cookbook-exploring efficiency that I am, I snuck the recipe from Cookbook #5: The Four-Sided Cookie (Lorraine Bodger, 2000) into my Food Lush post yesterday. Provenance: Mom. Previous recipes on this blog: none. My only complaint about this book is the lack of pictures. Even before my brain was Pinterest-fried I vastly preferred cookbooks with pictures, and that has only intensified as the internet continues to draw me to visuals over text, and also...some stuff...with my...attention span.

But most of these recipes (Lemon Squares, Cream Cheese Squares, Granola-Date Bars, etc.) are pretty easy to picture, so you don't really need photographs as a guideline. Verdict: I can see coming back to this for easy playgroup snacks once in a while. And there are some Fudge Fingers on page 34 that seem worth exploring.

Cookbook #6: The Cook's Bible (Christopher Kimball, 1996) is one of several in my collection that I regret not referencing more frequently. Provenance: Mom. Previous recipes on this blog: none. With Christopher Kimball (also responsible for Cookbook #1) at the helm, you know everything will be thoroughly researched and plainly laid out, although (as commenter Gaby pointed out in the America's Test Kitchen post) it might also be a touch on the bland side. Apparently Kimball is a supertaster and is overwhelmed by spicy foods. (For more information on supertasters, please refer to the song by They Might Be Giants, who have written about every important aspect of human experience.)

Recipe: Pasta with Olives and Red Peppers. This one is pretty self-explanatory. It was easy to put together and it was a combination that really worked for me. And kind of pretty! Although, I did cut the oil in half and really didn't miss it.

I guess if I couldn't eat spicy stuff I might just start doing extra shots of olive oil too.

Bonus Recipe: Cider Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon and Allspice. Well...maybe I could have used slightly more thorough and plainly laid out instructions on this one, since they ended up looking like this:

It has been pretty cold lately, so having your side dish resemble the fiery pits of Hell isn't the worst thing.

Verdict: there is a lot of information in this thing. It's really half-cookbook, half-encyclopedia. There is an entire page devoted to What You Need To Know About Kosher Salt. There are endless diagrams of cuts of meat and reviews of thirteen different pressure cookers. In the process of writing this post I bookmarked two pages ("Shopping For Knife Sharpeners" and "Potatoes Explained"). So I will definitely be returning to it, probably before the end of the day.

Yikes, looks like Sesame Street is especially harrowing this morning.

Or just vaguely disappointing.

Oh hey, Ivy! Cool medal!

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