My Sunday dinner was Paella made from the December 2003 issue of Everyday Food. I made a few changes to the recipe: I added a pinch of saffron to the spice mixture and left out the turmeric. I also used pork chorizo instead of chicken sausage. I would have added clams, but neither the supermarket nor the fish store had any. I wonder if clams are unpopular here in San Francisco.

The recipe is tasty and quick, but next time I make it I’ll likely add clam juice as a cooking liquid for the rice, along with the chicken stock and tomatoes, as I really wanted a bit more of a seafood flavor.

The first time I ever tasted paella was nearly 20 years ago when I spent a summer in France. The family I was staying with went on August holiday, to visit family, to the village of Uzes. There I visited the nearby cities of Nimes and Avignon and went to my first farmer’s market where I still remember the pungent smell of lavender wafting from sellers’ booths.

In fact, it was a summer of many culinary firsts including; goat cheese, beignets, pain au chocolat and of course, paella. I don’t remember the details, but the family was having a large party just outside the village, somewhere in the Cevennes, and to my surprise out came a giant pan of rice and seafood. I remember the family wanted to be sure I had a chance to taste all the seafood–including the head-on shrimp. I was a little horrified. At 15 I was much more squeamish about food than I am now. I think I passed along the little shrimp to another diner and then took delight in the rest of the savory dish full of bold and new flavors.

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Everyday Food editor Sandy Gluck yesterday posted a tweet asking followers about kitchen gadget collections. That post got me thinking about my cookbook collection which is composed of mostly vintage editions procured at garage sales, online and used bookstores. I’ve been fascinated with the books since I was a kid. I was that odd child people talk about. On weekends when my peers were watching cartoons I would watch Julia Child on PBS. And in between the Nancy Drew novels I would peruse my mother’s cookbooks.

The first, and most often used, was Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, the 1972 edition with the ‘red pie’ on the cover (1). I remember pulling out the book one day when my mom was out running errands and deciding I would make an apple pie—I believe it was around 4^th or 5^th grade. I can’t remember how it tasted—let’s hope it was tasty.

We used the cookbook mostly for baking; cookies, cakes, brownies and quick breads. Many weekends were spent in the kitchen fighting with my brothers over who would lick the mixer paddles. I actually can’t recall any ‘meal’ made from the book. Instead, most dinners at our house were put together from family recipes long stored in our heads.

And this is how I thought about cooking—Italian family recipes mixed with some ‘Americanized’ deserts—until I was a Jr. in High School. I spent the summer between 10^th and 11^th grade in an exchange program in France, and when I returned I was enamored of all things French. I wanted to be French, speak better French, live in France and most importantly eat like the French. It was upon my return back home that I discovered a strange cookbook that I had never touched before. It had been sitting there on the kitchen bookshelf my entire life with its Fleur de Lys, the roast beef on the cover and the black and white picture of chefs on the back. Of course I’m talking about Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. And even though Julia mesmerized me on TV, it had never occurred to me to open the book and actually cook those dishes.

But there it was full of foods I had never heard of and ingredients we never stocked in our house. My first conquest was Mousseline au Chocolat-chocolate mouse. Pages 604-605 are forever blemished with my chocolate fingerprints. I’ve since taken the book off my mother’s shelf and it now lives with me.

I made the mousse for a French class project–filled my mother’s mustard yellow Tupperware bowl with the mouse, boarded the bus and brought it to class. Mind you this was 1990/1991. The cool kids were certainly not reading French cookbooks, instead they were discovering Seattle grunge and skateboarding. Just another reason why I was very happy when high school was over. And while both Julia and Kurt Cobain are gone, I still have my chocolate mousse, onion soup and boeuf bourguignon recipes.

(1) Mom, it was the 1972 edition, right?

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My nod to the tofu chicken fingers from Buddha’s Delight in Boston. Lance and I ate there all the time when we lived in Boston, in fact it was the location of our first date.

1 brick firm or extra firm tofu
Tempura batter
Salt, pepper, onion powder & chili powder to taste
Oil for frying

Drain tofu, trying to get out as much water as possible and cut into 10 strips. Then freeze tofu, at least overnight. Thaw and drain again by patting dry with towels. Season tofu with salt, pepper, onion powder and a dash of chili pepper. Dip in tempura batter then fry in 350-375 degree oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt while still hot.

Serve with duck or plum sauce.

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