Consistently Unconventional!

  

CONSISTENTLY UNCONVENTIONAL

I've been described as quirky and eccentric, so it is no great mystery that I carry these traits over into my surroundings. I like taking something ordinary and common, turning it into extraordinary and exceptional by finding a way to showcase items uniquely around the home. Take for instance, my rusty copper tiered dish rack with a rooster nesting on top. It held dishes for all of about two days, when it occurred to me that this dish holder could be put to much better use as a fabulous display for some of my favorite cookbooks, which if you're like me, were mostly hidden away in a cupboard high above the oven. Now, each time I breeze in and out of the kitchen, I have a boastful reminder of all the recipes I have yet to try, along with a few I actually have sampled, which are now proudly displayed in my converted "cookbook holder!" 

These sentimental books now command a presence, just as my cherished framed family photos. They represent wonderful memories, including some of my favorite restaurants, such as Robert De Niro's Tribeca Gill, Balthazar and Carmine's in New York City. Although it is always fun to try new places, we always set aside one evening to stroll into Carmine's late after a Broadway play, hoping that our table is not quite ready, just so we can belly up to the bar and order their fabulous baked oysters as we wait for our name to be called. Whiffs of garlic and the clattering of pans seep from the kitchen into the restaurant, adding to the bustling ambiance as we chat with our favorite bartender, who patiently listens to us as we tell him all about the latest production we've seen and how much he looks just like Nicolas Cage. Bet he's never heard that one before! One time we threw in an extra tip after asking him to sign our Carmine's cookbook, which he obligingly did, "Come back soon-Anthony," he scribbled inside the cover. 

Taking center stage of the rooster rack is Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook where I've marked the page containing the House Vinaigrette, although I'm not sure why because it only contains three ingredients, so I know it by heart now! Being that the book is oversized and sturdy, it also doubles as a leaf press and storage for all the leaves I've collected over the years, including some from a weekend at a dear friend's Michigan lake house, along with a few that made it home on the plane from Italy, where my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Each fall these leaves come out of hibernating between the pages of Bouchon and grace my harvest table. Other seasons, the flattened brown foliage greets me as I skim through the book, as if to say, your favorite season will soon be here! The collection of recipes in Bouchon reminds me of lovely jaunts to Napa Valley, just as The Winemaker Cooks, makes me think of Sonoma. The author, Christine Hanna, signed a copy for guests at a special dinner not long ago at a private home, which was orchestrated by the owners of a favorite East Bay bookstore, Rakestraw Books. Looking through my signed copy of Monday Night at Narsai's, I'm taken back to the time I did an internship at Channel 2 television station in Oakland.  Narsai always prepared something delectable live on the air and the staff and interns were lucky enough to share in his scrumptious creations after each segment. His inscription reads, "For Caterina, My favorite 'Mornings on 2' intern and chef! Bon Appetit!" 

I also was able to snag a first addition of James Beard's Menus for Entertaining, at my college campus for just a few bucks. Score! Not sure how much it is actually worth today, but probably wouldn't part with it anyhow. Alas, turning the pages of my inherited copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking, I hear whispers of, "Hi Sugar!" as I recall my mother-in-law and how she always greeted me. Although she is no longer with us, she lives on in the recipes she passed on to the family, which I hope to pass on to my future daughters-in law someday. 

Alas, a lifetime of accumulated recipes and memories, which this collection represents to me, would perhaps be be tucked away in the back of my memory bank, like the cookbooks previously shelved away in the kitchen cupboard, had it not been for simply thinking unconventionally!  

Cheers, 

Caterina