THE SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK came out in 1979, the same year my husbnd and I moved permanently to California.
I adored it, feeling so grown up and removed from my Midwestern roots. Who ever heard of baking prunes with chicken! Blueberries, too. The only way I knew prior to this cookbook was to fry chicken, something at which one of my grandmothers excelled. The Silver Palate was a bit more relaxed than Martha Stewart, but more precise than my grandmother’s methods. More experimental, too – garlic and capers became go-to cooking ingredients – and over the years my husband and I cooked our way through the book.
Despite being a 4-H baking champ, I was seldom invited to help my mother prepare meals growing up.
But in the kitchen, that flighty curiosity was a friend. Savory pancakes for dinner? Certainly. Fruit and meat together? Why not! Raspberry Chicken became my signature dish, something I’d eatern first in the home of a gourmand friend.
 |
The pages of the cookbook are sprinkled with notes, friendly inspiration, as if your grandmother stood beside you in the kitchen. Or, your vaunted 4-H leader, Margie Vulmer (yes, I remember her name and have a fully-formed memory of her assistance with making a perfect angel food cake, well over fifty years ago)
The recipe for the banana nut bread I make frequently for my husband is from this book.
Successful flavoring depends on many things. To appreciate this fully you must experiment, something that my husband is much better at than I am. Perhaps, because his nose isn’t allergy-clogged and he has a well-honed sense of smell…
My advice: Try some lemon in the rice. Grate an orange on the broccoli. You will learn to create boldly, trusting in the results. You will be a cook with a silver palate.
Recent Comments