My Cookbook & A Recipe

well.  i promised i'd share how i ever came to possess the knowledge of what separates a pesto from a pistou.  here she is...my cookbook:

this is hands down the greatest cookbook i have ever come across.  now don't freak out.   but, are you ready?? 

it doesn't have any pictures.

gasp.  i know.  not a one.  and i still love it.
my mother-in-law gave this to me for my birthday years ago.  after i started cooking from it, i actually got rid of every other cookbook i owned.  this is my one cookbook.  those of you who know me well know that i am the anti-clutter queen so it's not surprising i suppose that i'd only have one, but you too may be tempted to fling off your old cookbooks for a go at this one here. 

so i'm a nerd.  this is why i love this cookbook so much.  it actually talks about food in a way that helps you understand the food and how cooking affects it so that you come to a more, dare i say, scientific understanding of cooking and baking.  if you read the "about" sections before the recipe sections you will be one educated food chemist ;)

my cookbook actually falls open to this page with the worlds best pancake recipe.

a couple of pages back is my favorite banana bread recipe.  do you see how abused well used the pages are?  makes me even more endeared to it.

in an effort to consolidate, i started adding in other worthy recipes to the blank pages in the front a few years after i first got the cookbook.  here's my moms play dough recipe i've blogged about before.  i can't seem to find the page.  i should redo that one...it's good.

nestle toll house chocolate chip cookies...is there a better recipe?  i think not.

the icing recipe.

an assortment of other awesomeness.  my mom's fondue recipe is insane.  those stuffed mushrooms are ridiculous. 

i recently came across this recipe that is "joy-of-cooking-cook-book-blank-pages" worthy.   it's a 4 ingredient crusty yeast bread.  it was so simple, turned out perfectly and you can add an array of different flavorings to it to transform it and refresh it.  i can't wait to make it again already.

i made a plain loaf and a feta and thyme loaf.  do you see those pockets of cheese in there?  it was delicious.

butter and warm bread.  could it ever fail?

here's the link to the recipe.