It seemed fitting to launch this cookbook review blog during October, which is known as cookbook month. What exactly is “from pages to plates” and who am I?
My name is Caitlin, and I own over 500 cookbooks. For years I hid this obsession of mine. I thought there must be something wrong with me because I would still find myself scrolling Amazon’s “coming soon” section at least once a month looking for new books to add to my collection. No matter how many books I cook from, I’m still looking for more. You may be thinking, why on earth would one person need that many cookbooks?
when it all began
Cookbooks are a love affair I just cannot shake. I cracked open my first cookbook in college when I was living in an apartment with a stove that was older than me. I was sick of cafeteria food and I was longing for home cooked meals. My parents were avid cooks, hosting dinner parties at our home in Connecticut and eating at the best restaurants when we travelled. Dad was always into a unique hobby like making scrapple, building a stone pizza oven, and growing a “vineyard” to make wine. Food was our world, and it brought us together as a family. I missed that connection at school and I thought learning to cook would help.
The first recipe I made was the Butternut Squash Soup with Curry Condiments from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics. After that, I was hooked on becoming a better cook and I knew cookbooks could help me do that. 2009 was when this revelation occurred, and since then, I’ve been cooking and booking ever since.
why a blog about cookbooks?
With a cookbook collection the size of mine, I consider myself well versed in what makes a good versus a bad cookbook. Often times the reviews you find in publications or on Amazon are not helpful. How do you know if a book will be for you? Are the recipes complex or manageable? Are the ingredients obscure? Do pictures accompany each recipe? Who is the author and are they credible?
Most people will not want a collection the size of mine which is understandable considering I have zero shelf space left in my little home. So it’s even more important that when you choose to purchase a book to add to your collection, that it’s worth it.
beyond the book
I have always loved to travel and a big part of that is the culinary experience. I studied abroad in Paris where I attempted to visit every bakery possible (side note, I was wildly unsuccessful) and spent weekends going to London with my friends. As a college present, my parents took me on a 2 week cruise through Italy where we delightfully ate our weight in pastas, pizzas, and pastries. I’ve savored Texas BBQ in Fort Worth, fished for my own dinner in the Outer Banks, and ate the best tacos of my life (so far) in San Diego. I plan my trips around food, and I always look for restaurants that have published their own cookbooks. I would rather have a cookbook as my souvenir, to cook from and remember the time spent in another world, then another trinket.
Lucky for you, I still have more places on my travel bucket list and I intend to take you with me when I go.
let our journey begin
From Plates to Pages is designed to be a resource for you. Think of this blog as an open invitation to my home and my personal cookbook collection. I am so excited for the books, the plates, and the restaurants we will discover together. But importantly, I’m so happy you are here.
Now head on over to my very first cookbook review HERE
