Silver Palate cookbook

At a memorial service for a cookbook-store-owner friend, her loved ones mentioned that in her learned opinion, this was the only cookbook a person really needs, the one that cannot not be improved on. I agree.

The Silver Palate was a compact catering shop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the days when putting cardamom in jam was outré and no one had considered baking brie in filo dough. They popularized flavored vinegar in the US. They introduced a host of delicious recipes. They offered clear advice, such as how to compose a cheese plate, or the joy caviar with sour cream and regular potato chips. Prunes and green olives and oregano baked with chicken? Hell, yeah.

The point of the Silver Palate Cookbook is to enjoy sharing somewhat sophisticated food without working hard or being precious. The recipes are easy and use ingredients that were once exotic but are now simple to source. They didn't use jargon like whole food or slow food, but that was the point. Anyone could cater, and you didn't need to be a chef to play freely with tradition.

Once you make the lemon cake, the Chicken Marbella, or choose your own amidst the array, you will return again and again. The recipes are hits with everyone, of all ages. They will be re-requested and passed around.

You really don't need more than this cookbook for all seasons and all occasions. It has the added benefit of being readily available in thrift stores coast to coast, no doubt with a few food stains on favorite pages.