A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe.
The shellfish thing is very scary. You have to know the people you buy from and exactly where their wholesalers are getting the fish from.
Was it a sign of Creeping Decrepitude?
The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.
But I was a pure romantic, and only operating with half my burners turned on.
I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.