Your favorite cookbooks

brianm · Jun 10, 2008

Like so many others who love to cook, I collect cookbooks. I have my favorites and I thought it would be fun to see what everyone else depends upon when they need a recipe. I have used some recipes off the Internet, but they really are hit and miss, as most of them have never been kitchen tested using the actual written recipe.

The Gourmet Cookbooks, Volumes 1 and 2: (My bibles) I cook a lot of French cuisine and without these guys, I’d be lost.

The Joy of Cooking: An all around great classic cookbook that I turn to when I’ve run out of ideas for supper.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, by Gloria Bley Miller: If you like Chinese cuisine, this is a must have cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow and there is a section that covers the regions, techniques, and equipment used in making delicious Chinese food.

The Love of Thai Cooking, Vista Productions LTD: I lived in Thailand for a number of years, so many of my recipes I learned cooking side by side with our Thai cook, Boonthong, and from recipes written down by my Thai friends. That said, this cookbook has many authentic recipes that are easy to follow and each recipe is pictured on the opposite page, so you’ll know if you came close to the actual recipe after you’ve added that last drop of Nam Pla.

Additionally, the cover is shocking pink and who wouldn't want a shocking pink cookbook to add to their collection?

Shadow_Ferret · Jun 10, 2008

My two favorite cookbooks are "Das Essen Unsrer Leute" and the "Sei Unser Gast" cookbooks we stole, I mean, borrowed from my mother. Both German heritage cookbooks by imigrants living in Kansas.

Good, old-fashioned, stick-to-your-ribs recipes.

Otherwise, our other standbyes are The Joy of Cooking and an old copy of the Betty Crocker's cookbook.

stormie · Jun 10, 2008

I think I have 20 cookbooks. My favorite has been and still is The Joy of Cooking.

zenwriter · Jun 10, 2008

I love Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin. Both are just fun to read and I have had good experiences with the recipes.

I cook Thai food all the time and have been looking for a new Thai cookbook. After reading this thread, I'm going to give The Love of Thai Cooking a whirl.

johnnysannie · Jun 10, 2008

The Kitchen Klatter Cookbook

Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (1953) (I just bought a reprint copy of this old favorite new for less than $8)

The Fanny Farmer Cookbook 1896

Home Made by Sandra Oddo

Fix It and Forget It

Grandma's Old Fashioned Country Cookbook

I have many cookbooks but these are the top favorites I use most. I also have several of the "Taste of Home" books, Betty Crocker, The Joy of Cooking, and many others.

jennontheisland · Jun 10, 2008

Kitchens for Kids by Jennifer Low. I bought it for my kid, but I love that all of the recipes are for small portions. 14 shortbread, 9 cupcakes, 6 inch cakes...very easy to make, eat and dispose of the evidence in a single night. The Boy is none the wiser.

Fanny Farmer. One year I got this and Joy of Cooking for my b-day from 2 diffeerent people. I like FF way more. The recipes seem more contemporary, and the writing is easier to read.

365 Days of Pasta. Great for ideas, and some really easy to throw together dinners.

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jun 10, 2008

Oh, goodness! I've got about a million cookbooks... for the basics, Better Homes and Gardens (why can I never remember the proportions for a white sauce?). For good ol' down-home stuff, I start flipping through the church cookbooks. I looooove the church cookbooks. And I've got one great big giant bruiser of a cookbook for breads... it's called 'Breads'.

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jun 10, 2008

Oh! And this one, specific to my family.

Haggis · Jun 10, 2008

Joy is the old standby, but Julia's first cookbook is wonderful for special meals. Usually, I just cruise epicurius and other online places for something that sounds wonderful.

brianm · Jun 10, 2008

jennontheisland said:
365 Days of Pasta. Great for ideas, and some really easy to throw together dinners.

Is that the full title? I can't find it on Amazon or by using google.

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:
And I've got one great big giant bruiser of a cookbook for breads... it's called 'Breads'.

Bernard Clayton's? I've got it, too, and I'm a terrible baker. Thank God for bread machines and the little bakery not far from my home. I've no patience for accurately measuring product and I'm terrible at kneading. Yet, I will carefully stir a sauce for 20-30 minutes until it is just right.

jennontheisland · Jun 10, 2008

brianm said:
Is that the full title? I can't find it on Amazon or by using google.

Hm. I thought it was...I'm at work now. I'll check when I get home and post the ISBN.

Haggis · Jun 10, 2008

Hey, Brian. Weren't you working on a cookbook with your sister? Druid recipes or something like that?

cray · Jun 10, 2008

jennontheisland said:
Hm. I thought it was...I'm at work now. I'll check when I get home and post the ISBN.

is this it

either way,...i have that one and yes, it is a good resource

jennontheisland · Jun 10, 2008

cray said:
is this it

either way,...i have that one and yes, it is a good resource

Yes!! That's it!!

Thanks, Cray

TerzaRima · Jun 10, 2008

I like all the Moosewood cookbooks--the endearing hippie tone and '70s feel. I learned how to bake bread from the diagrams in the first one.

Bubastes · Jun 10, 2008

My go-tos:

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen.

My new favorite: How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift.

brianm · Jun 10, 2008

Haggis said:
Hey, Brian. Weren't you working on a cookbook with your sister? Druid recipes or something like that?

Yes, ancient and contemporary Irish recipes. It's still in the works but my cousin has been a wee bit slow on her end.

Haggis · Jun 10, 2008

brianm said:
Yes, ancient and contemporary Irish recipes. It's still in the works but my cousin has been a wee bit slow on her end.

I'm looking forward to that. Not only from a culinary perspective, but an historical perspective too.

Silver King · Jun 10, 2008

Two of my favorites are from the same person, Marcella Hazan: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and Marcella Says...

Between both volumes, you'll learn enough about preparing and cooking Italian dishes that you'll be uttering buon appetito when serving food to your guests.

cray · Jun 12, 2008

before his fall from grace and his passing, jeff smith put out a cookbook on "our immigrant ancestors"

great introduction to foods/recipes from around the world. it is worth checking out.

shawkins · Jun 12, 2008

MeowGirl said:
How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

Bittman Takes on America's Chefs was good too.

MeowGirl said:
My new favorite: How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift.

I flipped through that the other day but I didn't want to shell out the $$. But you're like the third person I've heard rave about it.

For Christmas I got Le Cordon Bleu at Home. It's just what it sounds like--the cirriculum, or most of it, laid out as a couple hundred lessons. That's been pretty interesting as well, but more than once I got the feeling that I'm missing something. No substitute for the real thing, I guess.

Mildly funny story: I've been wanting to do something with truffles for years now (I've never had them that I can recall) so I did the LCBaH truffled-potato-in-goose-fat lesson over the weekend. The potatoes came out great, but apparently I hate truffles. My girlfriend is a meat and potatoes kind of gal and frequently gets cheeseburgers when I get creative, but this time she more or less licked the plate clean.

There's a moral in there somewhere.

Haggis · Jun 12, 2008

shawkins said:
Bittman Takes on America's Chefs was good too.

I flipped through that the other day but I didn't want to shell out the $$. But you're like the third person I've heard rave about it.

For Christmas I got Le Cordon Bleu at Home. It's just what it sounds like--the cirriculum, or most of it, laid out as a couple hundred lessons. That's been pretty interesting as well, but more than once I got the feeling that I'm missing something. No substitute for the real thing, I guess.

Mildly funny story: I've been wanting to do something with truffles for years now (I've never had them that I can recall) so I did the LCBaH truffled-potato-in-goose-fat lesson over the weekend. The potatoes came out great, but apparently I hate truffles. My girlfriend is a meat and potatoes kind of gal and frequently gets cheeseburgers when I get creative, but this time she more or less licked the plate clean.

There's a moral in there somewhere.

Only one morel?

Bubastes · Jun 12, 2008

Oooh, morels. :licks screen:

shawkins · Jun 12, 2008

Is there a smiley for rim shots?

Haggis said:
Only one morel?

Grooooooooooooooooan.

Sarita · Jun 12, 2008

I love the old standby's as well, like Joy, the Moosewood ones, BH&G, Betty Crocker (I have my Grandma's copy from the 70's.) Some modern favorites:

The Barefoot Contessa. Totally valuable, just for the margin notes on cooking. Plus some really great recipes that you can spin your own way. A bit snooty in places, but entirely worth it. You have to try the coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting in here. Wow.

Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster's Market. This book was a gift from a catering job I did. Yeah, they loved the food so much that they paid me and gave me a gift the next time I catered a lunch.

And the gift was GOOOOOD! I love this book. It has seasonal variations on basic recipes, like shrimp dishes, risotto, smoothies, omelettes, cookies. Great book.

1000 Vegetarian Recipes. This, to me, is a staple cookbook for any vegetarian. It is loaded with information and resources, plus a thousand great recipes. There's a mandarin soup recipe that I would slay for and the best zucchini bread recipe ever! And the chewy multi-grain bread? OMG!

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carpe noctem