What is your favorite cookbook?

25lbsorbust

Sure, recipes can be found on the internet for free, but there's something so satisfying about scanning through a hardcover cookbook for that night's dinner.

So, what's your favorite? Mine is the SkinnyTaste cookbook. Just got her second one, but haven't tried anything out of it yet!

GregorNotSamsa

You can't go wrong with anything by Julia Child, in my opinion. I did come across Vincent Price's cookbook at an antique site and that's quite amazing. Salvadore Dali's is being re-released, but a bit pricey.

lizandrashaw

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. He traveled across India for a year learning recipes from home cooks. Every recipe I've made from it has been delicious and easy to make.

WindSparrow

For a good general purpose cookbook, I love my Mennonite Community Cookbook. Meat, vegetables, bread, pies, cakes, cookies, canning, salads, meatless meals. Simple things and more complex, a whole range of foods. And the section in the back on how to make lotion and soap, and how to plan food for a barn-raising is fun to look at, too.

ejbronte

I have a collection of medieval cookbooks, with the recipes adapted for modern times: "To the King's Taste", "Fabulous Feasts", "Take A Thousand Eggs or More". And a hardcopy adaptation of "Le Menagier de Paris", a fourteenth century tome written by an elderly gentleman to his young wife, so filled with medieval household hints and recipes you really have to wonder how much time this man must have spent in the kitchen and laundry-room bugging his poor servants. For fun, here's an online compilation:

pbm.com/~lindahl/menagier/

Vailara

I'm fond of Simplissime:The Easiest French Cookbook in the World. I'm not a bad cook, but I hate following recipes. This is very simple, with pictures of the ingredients (never more than six, excluding salt and pepper) and the finished product. I can tell by looking if I'm likely to enjoy that dish or not. I don't feel I have to make a big shopping list before cooking a new dish. There are quite a few things I wouldn't make, and some I can't easily access the ingredients for (readymade duck confit, frozen pizza dough, etc.). The main thing I'm using it for is for ideas. There are some interesting flavour combinations, and because the recipes are so simple, it's easy to adapt and tweak them to your liking.

Francl27

Google.

RoxieDawn

Francl27 wrote: »

Google.

This.

WindSparrow

Francl27 wrote: »

Google.

Google doesn't smell.

That great sage Rupert Giles said, "I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a... it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible. It should be, um, smelly." From "I, Robot, You, Jane", Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Vailara

I use my Kindle all the time for books. It's very rare for me to read physical books now. One exception is cookery books. I have some on my Kindle, but I don't tend to use them. It really is different looking at recipes in a real book.

cross2bear

I love the Looney Spoons Collection, and the previous ones in the series - Looney Spoons, Crazy Plates and Eat Shrink and be Merry - one or the other of them has been open on my kitchen counter almost everyday for the last year. Great variety of dishes, gives the nutritional info for the recipes, uses easy to find ingredients and clear and simple directions. It is easy to find an adaptation of familiar and old favourites, like meatloaf, pad thai, fishcakes, different salads and soups - there really is such a variety that you could cook something different every day, and not get bored. Includes vegetarian options as well.

jennybearlv

Joy of Cooking It was my first cookbook when I was learning to cook and still the first place I look when trying something new.

cwolfman13

I have a gazillion cook books sitting on my shelf as I am an avid cook...I can't remember the last time I actually opened one...Pinterest is my best friend.

pita7317

Old school. The Seattle Classic Cookbook. Copyright 1983. Even though my copy is almost falling apart I will never toss it.
Excellent recipes in every category. I think you can still find on eBay ?

madperson42

'Thug Kitchen' is great, super tasty recipes, and the swearing makes it really fun to read. 'From pasta to pancakes' is a great student cookbook with step by step pictures which makes it really easy to follow.

IonaEllenRose

Mine is definitely Jamie Olivers ministry of food.

bebeisfit

Betty crocker has great basics: My copy is from my high school home ec in the late 70's.

I also love Mark Bittman's cook everything vegetarian, and Ina Gartens first Barefoot Contessa.

emeraldprincess71

I have Little House on the Prairie cookbook that I got when I was in maybe 5th grade. It has recipes for the foods referred to in the books.

Sirrom_Essentials

Practical Paleo by Dianne Sanfillipo. Seriously, ours is falling apart we use it so much! It is the only cookbook that we actually make a large % of the recipes in it.

not_my_first_rodeo

I can't just pick one. My standards are: How to Cook Everything (Mark Bittman), Joy of Cooking, the King Arthur Flour Cookbook, Julia Child, and oddly enough, the Sonoma Diet Cookbook. I never followed the Sonoma Diet, but the recipes are great.

Speziface

"Frugal Gourmet Cooks American" by Jeff Smith was the first cookbook I bought and I go back to it frequently. But after discovering Good Eats (and figuring out cooking is just chemical engineering) I've picked up Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food" and "I'm Just Here for More Food."

ibboykin

Pickles, Pigs, and Whiskey by John Currence

dc8066

Francl27 wrote: »

Google.

Google brings up gazillions of recipes and sometimes there's no way to know whether the recipe is good or not. Same with many books, I adjust many recipees as I go. My first paella recipe (googled) was bad, if I had a little experience cooking I'd wasted so much food. Luckily, I was able to adjust it and paella came out still eadible.

dc8066

If anyone could suggest a site or a book with reliable Thai soups recipees, I'd greatly appreciate that.

ds41980

Anything from Americas Test Kitchen

courtneylykins5

Second Thug Kitchen. It amuses me. It helps me figure out dinner when I'm the fridge is empty of our usual meaty, cheesy, eggy culprits. It's all vegan but not in a way that makes it seem like a cult.

AngryViking1970

jennybearlv wrote: »

Joy of Cooking It was my first cookbook when I was learning to cook and still the first place I look when trying something new.

Yeah, this.

amusedmonkey

I usually do Google, but I admit I have a soft spot for owning beautiful cookbooks. I don't use them as often as I'd like because the internet is just more convenient, but I like having them there. I'm planning to order Maggie's Harvest by Maggie Beer from Amazon UK because it's about the third of the price of the one on Amazon US. It's a giant book from 2007 (I think?). I don't know how good the actual recipes are, but the cover looks beautiful! Can't wait to add it to my barely touched collection.

michael1976_ca

I don't use cook book very often but I do like jello one. I like it but I get my recipe's off of Facebook

Francl27

dc6088 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

Google.

Google brings up gazillions of recipes and sometimes there's no way to know whether the recipe is good or not. Same with many books, I adjust many recipees as I go. My first paella recipe (googled) was bad, if I had a little experience cooking I'd wasted so much food. Luckily, I was able to adjust it and paella came out still eadible.

That's called reading comments and reviews lol (which you don't have in cookbooks at all).

mysticlizard

emeraldprincess71 wrote: »

I have Little House on the Prairie cookbook that I got when I was in maybe 5th grade. It has recipes for the foods referred to in the books.

Our family still uses the eggnog recipe out of this for the holidays. Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine by Norma Jean & Carole Darden is another one of my favorite cookbooks.