by Kathy Casey
Time-worn. Yellowed. Dog-eared. Marked-up. To some, these words might describe relics to be brushed aside as part of the past. To me, they are the qualities I love most about my cookbook collection. I’m not a “cookbook preserver”; the more splatters and spills and notes left in the margins, the more loved the book.
As an author I love hearing people say “Oh, I made an entire meal from your book for my date and she loved it!” or “We did our total Thanksgiving menu from your books and it turned out great!” In today’s digital age, with the ever-expanding plethora of on-line recipes available, hearing these stories is what warms my heart.
Nine cookbooks later, I still love writing books people will use for years to come!
One of the highest compliments I ever received was in the form of an Amazon.com review for my now out-of-print Dishing with Kathy Casey. 
One reader said she had to buy a new copy, because her first one was completely worn out, from its regular use in her kitchen! I’m glad to know other people share my feelings on “well-loved” books. Sure, I might get an e-reader at some point, but you can’t just go around sloshing olive oil and red wine all over those…
My very first job when I was 14 years old was to cook in a convent and, while I was a diligent student of home cooking, this was a real job. It required a little extra research. I went to the library and checked out, in quick succession, every cookbook I could get my hands on (there wasn’t much variety those days!).
Over the years, my collection grew… and grew, and when I opened the Food Studios, it was the perfect opportunity to build a library of my own. Once all my books were in, I still had plenty of space, but not for long – friends soon began giving me their old cookbooks and the shelves are still filling up to this day! Collecting these books is as much about the connection to the people they come from as it is about the book itself.
Amongst my stash are a number of copies of The Joy of Cooking, a great cookbook that has pretty much everything you can think to cook in it, but my absolute favorites are the old editions; yes, the new ones have the most modern updates, but there’s something so fun about reading recipes from that time – they say so much about the sensibilities of the era it was published in. The oldest one, its cover barely intact, was my Mom’s. It never fails to bring her to mind when I carefully flip through its parchment-thin pages.
At right: My well-loved copies of Joy of Cooking, from three different eras.
Another one of my treasured books is The Silver Palate Cookbook by the inimitable Sheila Lukins and Julee Russo. I got my first copy in the early ’90s and it was oh so chock-full of cool and innovative recipes. A few years ago the authors did an updated version and were doing a national book tour. My dear friend Kim Ricketts threw one of her amazing Books for Cooks events for Julee and Sheila here at my Food Studios. Meeting the people behind the cookbook is always a wonderful experience and Kim was passionately dedicated to getting people as excited about books as she always was. And although she is no longer with us, whenever I pick up The Silver Palate, I think of Kim and her gift for connecting people with each other… and with great books.
Recently Seattle Times journalist Nancy Leson wrote one of my favorite pieces on collecting recipes and highlighted an amazing lineup of dedicated recipe and cookbook collectors, including Judy Amster. She is an avid cookbook collector, historian and one of my generous library benefactors; she has over 3,000 cookbooks and when she heard about my growing collection, she was more than happy to re-home some of them with me! (She also helped organize my growing collection of tomes.) She also started me off with my old cocktail book collection way before it became a huge craze.
Other friends have sent or bequeathed their old books to me, like the late Jeff Smith of PBS Frugal Gourmet fame. He gave me his collection of antique cookbooks before he passed away, knowing they would have a good home.
On my travels over the years I have scoured Goodwill, collectable, and junk stores – always looking for “delicious bound treasure.” A favorite is digging up copies of old spiral-bound church and group cookbooks from different parts of the country; sure, the recipes are simple, but they evoke the spirit of the community and tell a story. Tucked in are clipped magazine and newspaper recipes here and there… so fun to look at!
So, while I might not have much time to sit down and read these days (writing books ten and eleven at once is definitely is keeping me busy!), it’s deeply comforting to know that all my cookbooks are here in my library, waiting for me. With just a glance at the cover or the turn of a page, they are there for inspiration, calling up fond memories, familiar faces and the spirit of those who have held them before me.
So keep reading and cooking up some fun! -Kathy
Kathy Casey is chef, mixologist and entertaining expert. She is known as a pioneer in the bar-chef movement and will be participating in The Scoop on Food event to discuss creating and writing about Pacific Northwest cuisine (at the Central Library on Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m.). Casey is author of the James Beard-nominated Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table. Her latest book is Sips & Apps. Follow Kathy on Twitter (@KathyCaseyChef), blogging at Dishing with Kathy Casey or catch her new cocktail show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen.
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