History

First Cookbook - Cover Art by Anne Halsted

This annual tradition all began in 1999 when my mom (Mary), my dad (Dick), my aunt (Anne), and my uncle (Wells) spent a lot of time in cooking classes and decided they wanted to share their favorite recipes from their endeavors. Granted three out of four of them were already well-versed in the art and science of cooking; the fourth shall remain nameless.

Over the years the cookbook has grown to include recipes from other family members and friends. Recipes come from a variety of sources: newspaper articles, cooking magazines, world travels, old family recipes, old catering recipes from my mom and her catering partner, Ernita O'Brien, and meals thrown together by the creative cooks who were then required to document their feast. The cookbook crew now includes over 20 recipe submitter and testers (yes, all recipes are tested; and yes, not all make it), photographers, and artists.

In 2010 my mom passed away and we all knew it would mean the world to her (and us) that we keep the tradition going. The cookbook cover in 2010 ("Baguettes") was one of mom's watercolors that we all cherish and is featured on the right.

In 2012, the legacy was been passed on to my generation. While putting the previous cookbooks online, I can't help but reminisce about the past as each recipe conjures up many wonderfully salient memories including all the amazing aromas. On this trip down memory lane I found myself reading a submission from my aunt Judy for one of Grandma Lonergan's desserts. She was certainly not known for her cooking but this cake was one of her better culinary achievements. In another year's cookbook, I came across a dessert which was likened to one Baba (my mom's mom) used to make. There are also other families' traditional recipes included and it is an honor to be able to share them all here.

Mom would be delighted; I can picture her in the kitchen right now wearing her red apron.

In 2021 my mom's sister, Anne Halsted, also passed away. She had been such a champion of this cookbook over the years. She often wanted to do a sort of "best of" version that was composed of the recipes from years past that people tended to cook over and over. In an effort to both honor Anne and make things a little easier during this rather tough year, we decided to do a "Favorite Favorites" of sorts. Please bare in mind that we weren't able to survey all recipients of the cookbook so if there are any recipes that you feel should have been included and weren't, let me know and perhaps we'll do a "Volume 2." 

In any event, the 2021 cookbook is dedcated to Anne Halsted and has one of her watercolors on the cover, "Path to the Garden" which was painted of her beloved Ca'Pozzina in Glen Ellen, California. She is now with my mom wearing their red aprons. They are both so dearly missed. 

You can thank Anne for the suggestion of having all the previous cookbook covers included on the blog as well as on the back cover of the 2020 and 2021 cookbooks. Each of the cookbook cover icons on the blog are clickable and will bring you to that year's cookbook and table of contents.

Happy cooking!

Warmly,

Katy

katylonergan [at] yahoo [dot] com