Introduction: Cookbooks, Curiosity, and a Little Honest Reckoning I’m not entirely sure when my cookbook collection became… substantial. My best guess is that it started with curiosity. I’ve always been drawn to the stories, the photography, and the glimpse into other kitchens, cultures, and family traditions. If a book could pull me into that world, I was sold. Truthfully, I didn’t always intend to cook from them. Many of these books became something closer to companions—bea