Dear Emily, I too read cookbooks for comfort and personal enrichment- I feel more like a person when I enter the consciousness of the cookbook author. I even enjoy the blurbs of Sam Sifton and the other food writers at the Times and the comments from fellow cooks as well.
Please do write a cook book I can hug at night. Your columns are so humane. I’m sure a book you wrote would be too. Lisa
I just looked up the definition of humane
Showing compassion or benevolence but also having a civilizing effect.
Hey, Lisa! It's VERY comforting, especially a certain kid of cookbook I can't quite put my finger on. I am not sure if I'll ever do a cookbook per se; I mean, I'm kind of doing that now, but I do have a food project on the middle burner of my Brian. Thank you so much for these nice words! Humane is a very sweet compliment. I appreciate your being here, too--it means so much!
I love that you love the Dinah Shore Cookbook! Did you know that she also wrote Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah and The Dinah Shore American Kitchen? Those books kept me sane when my husband was undergoing cancer treatment when he was 25. I would sit in a recliner with my cat Muffin, eating Cheetoes and reading. Pure comfort.
Dinah was a big cook--in the early 70s she had a daytime talk show and was an early "have fancy guest come to the show to cook" person, I think. My mom loved her. And I Love her books.
He gained 70 pounds during chemotherapy on a diet I devised for him. He was quite sad when the doctor told him he could stop gaining weight. No more cheesecake at 1,000 calories a slice!
I was happy to see your newsletter slide into my inbox just now, and my happiness was added to when I saw the picture of George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary! I'm a first generation American of 2 Hungarian immigrants, who still have family in "the old country" that I speak with regularly. I'm also making gulyásleves for dinner tonight which is perfect for a chilly spring evening here in New England. I've had panic attacks and they are awful, and one of my favorite things to do is to sit by the fire in the cold weather and thumb through my collection of cookbooks and read them like novels. Diana Henry is a recent favorite.
It's such a great book; I was asked to judge a gulyas festival in Chicago in the mid 2000s when I was a reporter at the Tribune, but I ended up having my fiancé (ex) take my spot so I could report on it. It was really fun. Diana's books are wonderful and I love her--she's been in the newsletter twice! here's the link to the festival: https://www.gulyasfestival.com
The Dinah Shore Cookbook? Haha. Welcome back. I was glad to see you. It reminded me to up my subscription. As for soothing with cookbooks, I have been doing something similar--I have checked out 10 (10!) from the local library, and keep them stacked by my bed so I can read them before I fall asleep at night. I haven't had a panic attack in about 30 years, but I remember the two I have had in my life. So utterly bizarre. I hop you are better now. :)
What's haha??? Dinah was great! Thank you for the welcome back, so much. The library in Palm Springs was where I first checked out the Dinah cookbooks--there were so MANY celebrity cookbooks in that library! I loved them so much, because they were very old school movie stars. And thank you for subscribing! And thank you for the nice wishes. My panic attacks are 3 out of 10s now, rather than 10 out of 10 like they used to be. And I am dealing with them a little more gracefully than I used to, thank heavens. Cheers!
I would expect Palm Springs to have a library full of celebrity cookbooks, lol. Actually, that sounds like a dream vacation: Palm Springs in the winter, sitting by the pool at the Caliente Tropics (which is for sale, I weirdly was just told), leafing through cookbooks. Seventy percent less panic is great!
Sorry to hear about the panic attacks. Been there. There is much to panic about in the world right now. I appreciate your voice in the midst of all the noise. Take care & I hope you continue to enjoy small comforts wherever you find them.
Thank you so much, Val. And same to you. PS They are not nearly as bad as they were when I was young. Nowhere near. I think you sort of mellow out of them a bit?
Oh I had never thought about how soothing cookbooks can be! I also find myself just browsing and perusing, even with no intention of cooking sometimes. A great cookbook is a work of art!
Yikes, you too? I hadn't had a panic attack in years, but mine came back with such force and frequency that I had to go rooting around in the cupboards looking for an old Klonopin refill. If I could set my life to music right now, it would be the presto agitato from Beethoven's 14th piano sonata.
Oh, nooooooo! I am sorry. I really am not the kind of person who can even think about medicating them. I just have to white knuckle it, but it's easier than it used to be. I think because, of course, I know what's happening? And really get it? Good luck with yours, and make sure you check the expiration date on that K. And thank you for being here, Alison ❤️
I find so much comfort in books and being surrounded by them as well. The first thing I did after each time I moved to a different hometown was to find the local library and secure my card. In college I loved the giant Library and spent hours there just exploring the stacks. I can't read digital books and now that I'm having a lot of eye trouble I've discovered that I love being "read to" via audio books. Laurie Colwin was my introduction to food writing when I first started learning how to cook and cookbooks have become a major comforting category for me as well.
Ohhh, Valerie: yes! What a good idea. I'll get some Grace! I am dealing with these twilight panic attacks much more gracefully than I did the fresh ones in my twenties, for so many reasons. Thank GOD. ❤️
Thank you, Raquel! As I just told Valerie, I am dealing with these twilight panic attacks much more gracefully and in a healthier way than I did the fresh ones in my twenties--for obvious reasons, the main one being I am no longer a total idiot. I really love both of these salads, and this is a terrific book. Thank you for reading my newsletter! xo
Welcome back. There’s lots here to think about here (and love - salted yoghurt! - yes please) but one thing that particularly jumped out is the comfort of cookbooks. My vast collection is in storage as I lack sufficient shelves (I want built ins, I live in NYC; the math doesn’t yet work!), and you reminded me how much I miss them. I’m glad you found solace and I hope you are feeling okay? Hard times indeed.
Salted yogurt forever! And I feel you on cookbooks--I have a storage space full of furniture and books, too. I'm starting to think I'll never see them again; I hope at used bookstores online quite a bit, though. PS I am doing well, and hope you are, too. Thank YOU for being here.
I’m doing better for communities like the one you have cultivated, and for time with friends. I’m single with no children so I work at making sure I have many sources of connection, including those online, and I’m so grateful for this one!
Dear Emily, I too read cookbooks for comfort and personal enrichment- I feel more like a person when I enter the consciousness of the cookbook author. I even enjoy the blurbs of Sam Sifton and the other food writers at the Times and the comments from fellow cooks as well.
Please do write a cook book I can hug at night. Your columns are so humane. I’m sure a book you wrote would be too. Lisa
I just looked up the definition of humane
Showing compassion or benevolence but also having a civilizing effect.
Hey, Lisa! It's VERY comforting, especially a certain kid of cookbook I can't quite put my finger on. I am not sure if I'll ever do a cookbook per se; I mean, I'm kind of doing that now, but I do have a food project on the middle burner of my Brian. Thank you so much for these nice words! Humane is a very sweet compliment. I appreciate your being here, too--it means so much!
I love that you love the Dinah Shore Cookbook! Did you know that she also wrote Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah and The Dinah Shore American Kitchen? Those books kept me sane when my husband was undergoing cancer treatment when he was 25. I would sit in a recliner with my cat Muffin, eating Cheetoes and reading. Pure comfort.
Yes, of course, and I really love this particular Dinah cookbook; she was the coolest. I hope your husband is doing well?
He has recovered completely from cancer but he has to have heart bypass surgery this week and I am very worried.
Wow. I thought it was a one off weird thing a cookbook collector would have. But no! I hope your husband came through it all well.
Dinah was a big cook--in the early 70s she had a daytime talk show and was an early "have fancy guest come to the show to cook" person, I think. My mom loved her. And I Love her books.
I just remember her with Burt Reynolds. I didn't know she was a cook. I have a vague recollection of seeing her on Merv Griffith's show.
He made fun of her buck teeth and she mocked his 'stache. Cute couple.
We all stopped we were doing to watch Dinah when I was little!
Yes he did that was 40 years ago!
Aw, that sounds like a nice love story. Happy for you!
He gained 70 pounds during chemotherapy on a diet I devised for him. He was quite sad when the doctor told him he could stop gaining weight. No more cheesecake at 1,000 calories a slice!
I was happy to see your newsletter slide into my inbox just now, and my happiness was added to when I saw the picture of George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary! I'm a first generation American of 2 Hungarian immigrants, who still have family in "the old country" that I speak with regularly. I'm also making gulyásleves for dinner tonight which is perfect for a chilly spring evening here in New England. I've had panic attacks and they are awful, and one of my favorite things to do is to sit by the fire in the cold weather and thumb through my collection of cookbooks and read them like novels. Diana Henry is a recent favorite.
It's such a great book; I was asked to judge a gulyas festival in Chicago in the mid 2000s when I was a reporter at the Tribune, but I ended up having my fiancé (ex) take my spot so I could report on it. It was really fun. Diana's books are wonderful and I love her--she's been in the newsletter twice! here's the link to the festival: https://www.gulyasfestival.com
The Dinah Shore Cookbook? Haha. Welcome back. I was glad to see you. It reminded me to up my subscription. As for soothing with cookbooks, I have been doing something similar--I have checked out 10 (10!) from the local library, and keep them stacked by my bed so I can read them before I fall asleep at night. I haven't had a panic attack in about 30 years, but I remember the two I have had in my life. So utterly bizarre. I hop you are better now. :)
What's haha??? Dinah was great! Thank you for the welcome back, so much. The library in Palm Springs was where I first checked out the Dinah cookbooks--there were so MANY celebrity cookbooks in that library! I loved them so much, because they were very old school movie stars. And thank you for subscribing! And thank you for the nice wishes. My panic attacks are 3 out of 10s now, rather than 10 out of 10 like they used to be. And I am dealing with them a little more gracefully than I used to, thank heavens. Cheers!
I would expect Palm Springs to have a library full of celebrity cookbooks, lol. Actually, that sounds like a dream vacation: Palm Springs in the winter, sitting by the pool at the Caliente Tropics (which is for sale, I weirdly was just told), leafing through cookbooks. Seventy percent less panic is great!
Sorry to hear about the panic attacks. Been there. There is much to panic about in the world right now. I appreciate your voice in the midst of all the noise. Take care & I hope you continue to enjoy small comforts wherever you find them.
Thank you so much, Val. And same to you. PS They are not nearly as bad as they were when I was young. Nowhere near. I think you sort of mellow out of them a bit?
So glad you are back! We missed you.
Thank you so much! And for being HERE!
Welcome back! I missed your light and humor. Your writing always makes me smile
Thank you SO much! That's such a sweet thing to say, and it makes me really happy ❤️
Oh I had never thought about how soothing cookbooks can be! I also find myself just browsing and perusing, even with no intention of cooking sometimes. A great cookbook is a work of art!
Yessss agree 100 percent!! We are lucky to have them. Cheers to you, Alyssa!
Yikes, you too? I hadn't had a panic attack in years, but mine came back with such force and frequency that I had to go rooting around in the cupboards looking for an old Klonopin refill. If I could set my life to music right now, it would be the presto agitato from Beethoven's 14th piano sonata.
Oh, nooooooo! I am sorry. I really am not the kind of person who can even think about medicating them. I just have to white knuckle it, but it's easier than it used to be. I think because, of course, I know what's happening? And really get it? Good luck with yours, and make sure you check the expiration date on that K. And thank you for being here, Alison ❤️
Cookbooks can be a BALM. Thanks for sharing your reading list and these recipes!
Jenna, thank YOU for being here! I am so happy to have you!
Welcome back Emily! I hope your rest did you good. These salads look great! Can't wait to make them. 🥗
Thank you!! These two are both delicious and FAST —immediate gratification!! ❤️
I find so much comfort in books and being surrounded by them as well. The first thing I did after each time I moved to a different hometown was to find the local library and secure my card. In college I loved the giant Library and spent hours there just exploring the stacks. I can't read digital books and now that I'm having a lot of eye trouble I've discovered that I love being "read to" via audio books. Laurie Colwin was my introduction to food writing when I first started learning how to cook and cookbooks have become a major comforting category for me as well.
Oh, Emily. I hate it that you've been suffering. But your books magic, yes! Another person I read for comfort: Grace Paley. She's an Angel of Calm. xo
Ohhh, Valerie: yes! What a good idea. I'll get some Grace! I am dealing with these twilight panic attacks much more gracefully than I did the fresh ones in my twenties, for so many reasons. Thank GOD. ❤️
I'm so sorry to hear about the panic attacks, and I'm glad you're back. And you're writing a novel??!?! These salads both look divine!
Thank you, Raquel! As I just told Valerie, I am dealing with these twilight panic attacks much more gracefully and in a healthier way than I did the fresh ones in my twenties--for obvious reasons, the main one being I am no longer a total idiot. I really love both of these salads, and this is a terrific book. Thank you for reading my newsletter! xo
Glad you’re back, Emily, you were missed. Thank you for sharing all these beautiful books, a balm, for sure. xx
Thank you, Jolene! xoxo
Welcome back. There’s lots here to think about here (and love - salted yoghurt! - yes please) but one thing that particularly jumped out is the comfort of cookbooks. My vast collection is in storage as I lack sufficient shelves (I want built ins, I live in NYC; the math doesn’t yet work!), and you reminded me how much I miss them. I’m glad you found solace and I hope you are feeling okay? Hard times indeed.
Salted yogurt forever! And I feel you on cookbooks--I have a storage space full of furniture and books, too. I'm starting to think I'll never see them again; I hope at used bookstores online quite a bit, though. PS I am doing well, and hope you are, too. Thank YOU for being here.
I’m doing better for communities like the one you have cultivated, and for time with friends. I’m single with no children so I work at making sure I have many sources of connection, including those online, and I’m so grateful for this one!