What was your first cook book?

As a diver, and the friend of an abalone diver, I always had lots of ab in the freezer (this was before they suspended the fishery) and I made Graham's 'Abalone Victoria' several times to excellent reviews.

[Jenise]

He lives near me (Graham). I was going to write to him about getting together for lunch (I mean, why not try?) but then this virus hit. Won't happen now.

Ah, yes, pickled corn. A sign of summer in my house. Good recipe to take to neighborhood watch and other gatherings. Thanks, Jenise. Actually, I peek in around here from time to time. Haven't really been away so much as silent.

The Christmas before I first got married, my older sister gave me a copy of "The Busy Woman's Cookbook" (ed. Ellen Sinclair), published by the Women's Weekly, which was the most widely read and most influential women's magazine in Australia at the time. I've still got the book, and there are a few dishes that I still cook from it occasionally. It's a product of its time - published 1972 - and shows a snapshot of what was becoming "regular food" during that period. The recipes are simple, and they represent what would have been considered smart, modern and up-to-the-minute at the time.

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[Jenise]

Matilda, love the hair on the book cover model. Very much of the era, isn't it. Can't see her feet but white go-go boots wouldn't be a surprise.

I don't remember a very specific "first" but I do remember my wife and I when we were engaged/married using very heavily:

- Pierre Franey 60 Minute Gourmet
- NYT Cookbook (a massive book with a black cover)
- The first two Silver Palates

It was the Silver Palate books that really got me thinking more about food and cooking and trying new things, being seasonal etc.....it was fun to be on that learning curve then

[Robin Garr]

- Pierre Franey 60 Minute Gourmet
- NYT Cookbook (a massive book with a black cover)

I had both of those, John, as a young adult, and I loved them, and Pierre's follow-up 60 Minute books, too. He really moved me up the learning curve. When I got to the point that I could actually make his dishes in less than an hour, I knew that I was going to be able to cook.