Chapter 21, the first chapter of my 20s, my rose-tinted (probably) golden decade. I can’t think of a “patch” that I know represents me at 20 years old, but I know I was 21 when I received “Good Housekeeping Cookery Book: The cook’s classic companion” because the book was a 21st birthday gift from my mum which she inscribed to wish me “a lifetime of successful cooking”.
This cookery book, a 1995 reprint of a 1948 publication, is by far the most used cookery book I own, and I have a lot of cookery books. My mum bought this for me as, while living in Germany and occasionally cooking for the family I lived with and cooking for myself and for/with friends at university, I had been asking her for recipes of favourite home dishes which she had then written out on recipe cards and posted to me.
The book has some extremely unappetising photos and quite a few recipes I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of making, but most importantly it contains some of my most favourite things to cook and eat, including a rich venison casserole, coq au vin, virtually every pudding I ever make, traditional cakes (Victoria sandwich cake, Swiss roll) and a quiche recipe that works a treat every time.
While many of the recipes are not traditionally British, most are. This book confirms that British food is my desert island food group of choice. Tonight, I am now planning to make Coronation chicken with our salad, though that depends slightly on my enthusiasm for venturing outside in this heat.