Eat Drink Read

By Phoenix Public Library Staff

This cookbook is the Phoenix Public Library Staff contribution to the 2014 City of Phoenix Employee Community Services Fund Drive effort to raise $1M for residents in need. Inside you will find recipes from Library staff who like to cook and eat nearly as much as we like to read. Not only that but we’ve added some great cookbook recommendations as well as other food-related titles for reading and watching . . . all of which are available from the Phoenix Public Library collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312553873

Book preview

Eat Drink Read

Eat Drink Read:

Phoenix Public Library Staff Cookbook

Phoenix Public Library Staff

Kathleen Sullivan and Aimee Fifarek, Editors

Phoenix Public Library 2014 Community Services Fund Drive Committee

2014

Eat Drink Read:  Phoenix Public Library Staff Cookbook.

Copyright © 2014 by Phoenix Public Library Staff

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2014

ISBN 978-1-312-55387-3

Phoenix Public Library 2014 Community Services Fund Drive Committee

1221 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004

www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org

Ordering information:

U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers:  Please contact Kathleen Sullivan at [phone] or [e-mail]

Acknowledgements

The editors would like to thank everyone who made the 2014 Phoenix Public Library fundraiser possible, including:

Rita Hamilton, Phoenix City Librarian and 2014CSFD Chair

Keith Feldt

Regina Ficken

Karen Hagy

Jennifer Harrenstein

Mimi McCain

Catherine McLarin

Kelly Pearson

Mae Riggs

Tammy Ryan

Katie Tay

Debra Veldhuis

Sherrill Witte

And all of the fabulous staff contributors.

Welcome!

Anyone who has ever worked in a library will tell you that library people and food have a natural affinity. It seems that any two employees, when not working, will find themselves talking about food. From recipes to restaurants to obscure ingredients no one has ever heard of that can only be found under the oldest tree in a forest in an out of the way Third World country.

My first personal exposure to this cultural phenomenon occurred over twenty years ago. My very first assignment with the Phoenix Public Library was in the Telephone Reference Department.  It had a crackerjack staff of a dozen librarians and library assistants with knowledge in everything from counseling to playing the flute to computer science to archaeology.  We had no common ground other than our job assignment and, as it turned out, a love of food.

As the front line for all phone calls coming into the system, our mission was to answer up to three questions from any caller if each question could be answered in a timely fashion.  We had six lives lines, no answering machine, with one to three staff members on the phones at all times.  My heartbeat still kicks up a notch when I remember seeing the flashing lights on the phone indicating I had four calls coming in, oh, and I was alone on the phones. 

To help us in our work (remember this is long before the Internet) we had two special shelving units we affectionately called the little wheel and the big wheel. They were huge circular shelving units that sat on a table and spun on an axis allowing you to sit at your desk and spin the shelves to get the reference book you needed.  It was a lot like the Wheel of Fortune except with information instead of cash.  You needed two hands for the big wheel as it was the size of small car, but these wheels were where we kept the gems, the most frequently used, well-thumbed, and deeply loved go-to reference books. They helped us to answer anything from how to cite a source in the MLA Handbook to the Kelley Blue Book value of a car.  I even once had a woman who wanted THE best recipe for lasagna so that her husband would like her recipe better than his mother’s!

The best feature of the big wheel was the wide shelf at its base.  Because the job could be pretty intense, we took to bringing in comfort food for our office mates.  Naturally, we put it on that bottom shelf around the big wheel which became a makeshift buffet. You could graze your way around the big wheel while you worked.  Probably, this is the only thing that kept me from starvation in my cash strapped twenties.

Jenn Mckinlay

Author and Former Phoenix Public Library Staff Member

From the Editors

As you know from reading our guest author’s preface, librarians and food go together like bacon and eggs, cream cheese and bagels and…. Ok, you get the idea.

The Library wanted to put together a cookbook as a fund raiser for the 2014 City of Phoenix Employees Community Service Fund Drive.  This annual event garners significant support (over $1,000,000 annually/ $30,000 from the Library) for the local United Way Campaign. These organizations provide critically needed funds for local helping organizations throughout the Valley of the Sun.

We had no rules when we asked library employees to contribute their recipes; we wanted them to share favorites.

When the time came to put the book together we discovered that most of the recipes were easy to make. This is not surprising since many of our contributors are working parents. Also, we noticed that the most popular category of recipe was desserts. We also found that some of our employees like to use Dutch ovens and that others do magical things with vegetables!   Many employees chose to share stories about the background of their recipes and you will find many treasured family recipes.

Because we love books (and food) we also have included lists of some of our favorite books and