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Hmm... I'd have to say Martha Stewart's Cookbook, although Joy of Cooking comes is close second.

Well I Have lots of cookbooks and I love the two above mentioned but I have to say my very favorite is the Better Home & Gardens from the late 70's that was my Mom's. It is always just a good place to start with anything. I have my Grandma's from the 1940's and a recent pink ribbon update version that I also bought for my daughter.
They each have a little variance between recipes included and ingredients in the recipies but the consistency throughout them is they offer good solid recipes that even the most basic cook can follow. I hardly ever follow a recipe as written (unless it is baking) so it is a usually a nice guideline for quanities. Not Gourmet just good home Cooking. For Gourmet I like to buy specialties subject type cookbooks.

At the risk of getting a few eye rolls...LOL...I have to say my FAVORITE cookbook is an original copy of the 1963 Betty Crocker Cookbook.

It is all about the Nostalgia...

This was the same "Go To" cookbook that my mother had when I was growing up. It was the reference book she was given when moving out on her own at 18. It is the book I went to as kid when I first started to cook. It is still the book I go to for some specific recipes: Hollandaise Sauce, Double Red Devil Chocolate Cake, a recipe for Faux Tortillas and several dozen others.

Although I may have moved beyond that book in terms of skill & tastes, I revere it as where my personal journey in the kitchen began. Someday I'll have my mom's copy, but for now....I have a facsimile....which along with the Betty Crocker Cookie Book reprint I picked up....brings memories of cooking with mom & grandma back to me every time I do happen to reference them.

p.s. The vintage versions of the BCCB are primarily "from scratch" recipes with illustrations of classic techniques....far less canned creamed soup products than you might think!

;)

MOST favorite cookbook? That would be like asking me to choose my favorite of my children! No can do.

~ However ~

Among those I treasure most is an autographed copy of "The Way to Cook", by Julia Child, and my complete set of Barefoot Contessa books.

Which one do I use the most these days? "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," by Deborah Madison. Even Omnivores LOVE the dishes I make from this book.

It's hard to choose, but possibly Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. It's a very interesting read and, though I don't normally cook from books, I've made a few recipes from it and they've all been great.

I also love Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food. It too is a fantastic read.

this is VERY hard. eek. i go from book to book a lot, but in terms of frequency, i would probably say jamie's italy.

I'm also a fan of The Joy of Cooking - it never, ever fails me and is a great reference / all-purpose cookbook.

But I must say that the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook comes in a close second. Lovely photos, great (highly indulgent) recipes that get rave reviews each time they are made.

And a recent fave has to be Simple to Spectacular (Jean Georges w/ Bittman), which beautiful and has a pretty neat approach to cooking. I love the idea of adapting a simple dish in lots of different ways.

Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook, Spice and Spirit, and The Kosher Palate books are the ones I use most often.

My copy of the 1947 "Womans' Home Companion Cookbook". Mom taught us out of this thing (it's like Joy but more homey), and she, my sister and myself all have original copies.

BIttman's How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian are spectacular resources.
Martha Stewart's books are indispensable, especially for baking, I've found.
Williams-Sonoma Baking book is fantastic and comprehensive, too.
I am also indebted to Mollie Katzen's (and Moosewood Collective) collection. These books are stupendous for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.
I could go on and on...

My favorite is the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I have the funny early 90's edition that has a microwave cooking section. Everything is a little old-fashioned, but the recipes are solid, and there are reference pages that teach you about foods and techniques.

Favorite baking book is Susan Purdy's A Piece of Cake, re-released as The Perfect Cake. I also like the Martha Stewart Pies and Tarts book for the pictures.

my favorite books to cook from are not even cookbooks... laurie colwin's two books of food essays and amanda hesser's cooking for mr. latte have supplied a majority of the keepers in my recipe repertoire.

My 70's edition of the "Joy of Cooking" is my go to when I'm trying something new. It gives the basics and the "why for" to most dishes and techniques. For decades, it was gifted to every set of newlyweds I knew. Even though I just dissed Betty Crocker, I must admit that I spend a lot of time with the Better Home & Gardens from the late 70's just as Angie_Earthy does and for the same reasons... Just plain good home cooking. I spend more time reading cookbooks than any other genre, save the Bible...

Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom and Beard on Food are at the top of my list and I use Jacques Pepin's books too. Lately, I've been using Books from Gourmet and Bon Appetit where they feature their all-time "best"

Must say I don't "use" a lot of recipes, except for baking, and read for ideas and then cook from what's in season and/or at hand. After cooking for a very long time and, now, scaling my favorites to a "cooking for one after work" format, my menus have changed a lot. I have a massive collection of my favorite recipes that I use a lot. Most of my favorite dishes are from many sources. Kitchen Wisdom is my book of choice for young cooks - if you had no other book, you'd be able to learn to cook without any other book. I am enjoying browsing the web too - versions of almost anything are there for the taking

The go-to's are Baking by Dorie Greenspan, The Way to Cook, because nobody does it better than Julia and The Frog Commissary Cookbook because it's just a great cookbook.

I'm going to go along with all the Barefoot Contessa fans. I own all of them, and they are indispensible to me. I use them for grilling, baking and cooking. Her style is simple, good ingredients done to satisfy the beginner and the expert cook. I own about 150 cookbooks, but these are the ones with food stains on all the pages!!

@ Stephie: new cookbooks are expensive. You may want to start with the library if you can find any cookbooks that aren't checked out.

Also, thrift stores often have good old reliable cookbooks for very little. Every once in a while I take some in as donations and buy a few more. Kind of rotate my stock. ;-)

@BlueIris - You're right about thrift stores as a great source for cookbooks.
Try used book stores too, and check out the spiral-bound Junior League-type collections. They can have great regional recipes and a real sense of place. Charleston Receipts is one of my favorites. And I still use the "Silver Palate" cookbooks. I know, very 80's, but they make everything sound like fun.

Kenny Shopsin's Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin, hands down. Really changed how I think about cooking.

Hands down, my favorite cookbook of all time is Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. It is brilliant, completely useful in everyday life and with one single exeption (the pear cake thing) every thing I've made from it has come out great. And I've made almost everything in it over the years. It is what I give new brides. It is what I give the young people I know who are starting out on their own.