Tuesday, February 8, 2022

A Bookcase Makeover For My Favorite Cookbooks

When I was a young girl I loved to cook and bake. 

One year I got this cookbook for Christmas:



It was first published in 1965, which makes this book 57 years old!  

The book is still being published but, of course, the recipes differ!


I don't think you can get better "basic" cookbooks than Betty Crocker and Pillsbury!

(and that opinion is from the 1971 Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow recipient, yep, I have the letter and charm to prove it):


But I digress.....

Years ago I donated many of my cookbooks and left many more in my classroom when I retired.  I had collected so many as I taught Foods and Nutrition and International Foods classes.  



My personal favorites were the monthly Pillsbury paperbacks and it was difficult to narrow it down from 7 years of boxed sets to only one box, but I did it!


These are some of my favorites:


And Taste of Home has also made some smaller books and their recipes are SO good, too:


All of my cookbooks have been tucked into the pantry and I needed that space, so, I bought a little vintage bookcase at a local antique store.  This bookcase is built well, very sturdy, however it needed an update!



I sanded and primed it well....


...made a missing button out of clay for the bottom....


...and painted it yellow!!


Now my favorite cookbooks are all within sight:


I still have Martha Stewart's very first books, Entertaining and Hors d'oeuvres (1982 and 1984):


The Pioneer Woman Cooks, by Ree Drummond, is another favorite:


These 3 cookbooks by Roxie Kelley have lovely artwork as well as delicious recipes....


...and many pages are earmarked!


This special cookbook was written by a dear friend and, as you can see, many pages are bookmarked!


I love my little bookcase, painted in cheery yellow, and how accessible my favorite cookbooks are.  There is also some space to display some of my favorite MacKenzie-Childs pieces!   




What are your favorite cookbooks??














Patti @ Pandoras Box
Patti @ Pandoras Box

I live in central NY and I am a retired family and consumer science teacher. I enjoy all types of crafting, decorating and cooking

6 comments:

  1. I love my cookbooks, too! My favorites are the vintage Betty Crocker and Pillsbury ones I inherited from my MIL. They are like reading history books from the 40s and 50s. My new favo tho is Clara's Kitchen. Look her up on You Tube - she was a little ole lady Italian grandmother that cooked into her 90s.

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  2. This makeover this so cute. I love the color. I collect cookbooks also. You have some good ones. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. This shelf is so cute. Love the makeover. I too love my cookbooks and sadly, I have donated many of mine. I did keep some of the Pillsbury paperbacks that are my favorites and my Susan Branch cook books. I still have my original Taste of Home magazines (probably the first 5 years it was in print) and a few from the HGTV bunch (Ree, Trisha, Paula etc). I need to find a little shelf like yours for my kitchen. :-)

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  4. Cute bookshelf! About 10 years ago, we gave most of our cookbooks to a friend who owns restaurants. He has a library in his mail office and the chefs use it as a resource. We, of course, can use it too. It's nice not to have all those cookbooks to store, but yet have them available. My favorites are Jackie's, a few local ones, and Joy of Cooking.

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  5. Cute bookcase and I love the new look! I've weeded-out so many cookbooks over the years and have added many favorite recipes to a 3-ring binder.

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  6. I still have my first Betty Crocker cookbook for boys and girls, too! We have some of the same favorites. Your bookcase turned out great!

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