I SPENT MOST OF MY CHILDHOOD in my grandmother's house, where one of my favorite things to do was to browse through her collection of cookbooks. The Good Cook series, published between 1978-1980 by Time-Life Books, is a treasury of techniques and recipes, covering everything from hors d'oeuvres, pasta, fish, meat and dessert. My grandmother owned about ten of these books. They've been damaged by a horrible flood, some beyond repair, yet I cling to them because of her, and out of nostalgia for what it really means to be a cook.
