I think it is human nature to be inquisitive and to seek things out that challenge us. For some people, that is academic pursuits or sky diving. For me, well certainly for the last week, it has been attempting to channel 50s food through the medium of this compendium.
There have been highs (SOUP!) There have been lows (FLAN!). But most importantly, it has been educational. I've learnt how to not make a flan, that currying things can either go well or not so well, soup can make your house smell a bit weird, deep fried things involving bacon are awesome, and steaming giant meat rolls is what I shall be doing more often.
I'm fully aware that what I picked to make from the GHCC may be deemed as a bit tame. There are a lot of things in there are use aspic jelly. I'm not that brave yet. The majority of the book, well over a third, is dedicated to cakes and sweets. I'm looking forward to exploring these a bit further.
The GHCC is more than a recipe book. It's a whole library. Need to cater for a wedding buffet for 50 people? To equip your kitchen? And then how to care for that equipment? So much within it's pages is still good, solid valuable advice. Yes, some of it is incredibly dated but learning the basics and cooking from scratch is the bare bones of this book.
And I love it.
You can read about all the posts in this challenge by clicking here.
Hannah, I've just read your last few posts, how wonderful! I have to say that things were pretty similar during my childhood in the 60s, but do you know my favourite (turn to if I'm not sure) book is Good Housekeeping! Well done for these posts!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jude :) It was harder than I thought it would be to cook them all because I am a big fan of cooking one thing that will last a couple of nights! Apart from the vegetable flan, they were all good solid meals. I like how the GHCC focuses on basic cooking skills too.
ReplyDelete