Cooking inspiration

I had an hour or so at Borders the other night and found myself with huge cookbooks from culinary institutes and Williams Sonoma piled on either side of my cooshy chair. You could spend a lot of money on cookbooks...a lot. I caved to the beauty and elegance and bought a book, but I ended up returning it the next day. When I started to realize how many bunches of fresh herbs or bottles of decent red wine I could buy for the price of a cookbook, I became deeply grateful for the return policy.

(click on image to see Amazon page)

In exchange for my overpriced return, I found a fantastic book on the bargain table for $7.99 plus tax. Subtitled 900 recipes and thousands of ideas, The Ultimate Cookbook by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough is one cooking tome I will turn to often, for those ordinary granola making days and for more multi-course special occasions. Coming soon to my dining table: Malt Waffles, Tomatillo Salsa, Thai Beef Salad, Fish Saute with Oranges and Rosemary, and Ginger Cauliflower Soup. (Note to my gagging about Cauliflower Soup sons: I am making this for your sister when she comes home for Spring break...and not for you! So there!)

"Spontaneity is overrated at 6:30 p.m."
Weinstein & Scarbrough