PrintMOST favorite cookbook in collection
I was just about to post the question of "What is your most favorite cookbook" when I read mr_chorizo's wonderful post on the least favorite! So I'll ask now...."What is your favorite cookbook?" I am looking to purchase a few really great cookbooks, and thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
35 Comments:
Hmm... I'd have to say Martha Stewart's Cookbook, although Joy of Cooking comes is close second.
onespicymama at 11:33AM on 05/16/08
Morimoto's cookbook! The pictures are amazing.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 12:04PM on 05/16/08
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.
Angie_Earthy at 12:17PM on 05/16/08
The answer to that would depend on what kind of cookbook? General purpose? Baking? Vegetables? Meat? Fish? Ethnic? Reference or pictures?
I like Joy of Cooking (70's edition) for general purpose, there's a Rick Bayless I love for Mexican, a Lidia Bastianich book for Italian. I really like my professional baking book by Bo Freiberg for desserts. For pictures, my current fave is the French Laundry book. I use my Cooks Illustrated or Fine Cooking mags alot for reference or ideas. And one cannot omit Julia -- Mastering The Art of French Cooking -- or Madeline Kammen or Jacques Pepin. They are ALL my favorites :-)
You might want to look at these previous threads in the archives that asked the same question, What is the best cookbook ever? and Cookbook Quandry?.
kjgibson at 12:18PM on 05/16/08
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!
;)
2qrs at 12:31PM on 05/16/08
The one I have probably used the most over the years is Julia Child & Company. It has so many great basic recipes!
Cathy at 1:02PM on 05/16/08
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.
Brownie at 1:07PM on 05/16/08
I just realized I'm a cookbook-slut.
If you had asked this 3 months ago, I would have said Bittman's "How to cook Everything" paired with "The Dean & Deluca Cookbook."
2 months ago, "The Joy of Cooking"
1 month ago and until yesterday, all of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks were either on the kitchen counter, the coffee table, in the sunroom, on the nightstand (it depended on where I was and the time of day).
Today, I'm back to "Joy."
wookie at 1:10PM on 05/16/08
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.
caley at 1:16PM on 05/16/08
My default answer to this question (which I knew was coming, BTW :D) is The Joy Of Cooking 1975 version. Not to be confused with any other version. It was my first cookbook, given to me by my mother, and I still refer to it quite a bit.
My most favorite baking book has to be The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Scrumptious...Every page.
Love my Martha Stewart books as well. If I had to pick one it would be Hors D'Oeuvres. Nipping at its feet though would be A Martha Stewart Christmas. (Where else are you going to find a recipe for Cassoulet for 100??)
chiff0nade at 1:23PM on 05/16/08
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.
megannesta at 1:57PM on 05/16/08
JAMIE OLIVERS - CHEF AT HOME (I think it's called that anyway)
But the reason I love it is the way it's organized. It's chapters are actually divided by seasons of the year and he slips in some great (BLOODY GREAT) gardening tips that apply to that season.
If you haven't picked it up yet; DO IT!
Can't help but love looking at his adorable face either ;)
hungrychristel at 2:20PM on 05/16/08
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.
jenberger at 2:55PM on 05/16/08
My 1962 Joy of Cooking -- the one with the duct tape cover.-- as a general reference.
For great flavor combinations: Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. And I'm not even a vegetarian.
Blue Iris at 3:26PM on 05/16/08
Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook, Spice and Spirit, and The Kosher Palate books are the ones I use most often.
Stufsocker at 4:03PM on 05/16/08
All these choice questions...Cookbooks are like potato chips, can't have just one, or pick a single fave!
I love my Joy of Cooking, 1975. (right on chiff0nade) it is practical and great for the basics, plus fun stuff that is not made as often anymore.
I have a couple 1930's books that I reply on for the neat stuff, like meat curing and sulphuring fruit.
I could not begin to label my favorite pastry book...though the Cake Bible is near the top for fun and yumminess.
I love my Mario Batali too...can't help it. Great pics, good instructions and nothing I have made has come out badly.
Guess I did not answer the question like I was supposed too..least fave was easier!
sadiepix at 4:16PM on 05/16/08
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.
LunaPierCook at 5:12PM on 05/16/08
The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book -- because it is from this treasure trove of easy-to-follow recipes that I managed to bake FLUFFY 100% whole wheat bread (years after I had given up on this seeming "impossibility")!
onedaylingers at 6:21PM on 05/16/08
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...
jbeach at 7:04PM on 05/16/08
The Gourmet Cookbook is my no-fail, go-to cookbook. Otherwise, it changes daily: at the moment I like Thomas Keller's Bouchon, and James Peterson.
dettling05 at 7:20PM on 05/16/08
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.
butterface at 8:46PM on 05/16/08
Thanks everyone! I don't know which to buy first, (I'd honestly like to get them all) they all sound great! I have a feeling cookbooks will quickly become my new passion.
stephie at 9:20PM on 05/16/08
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.
cybercita at 9:31PM on 05/16/08
Joy is always useful, and if I could only keep one cookbook that would be it. But during summer months I get alot of use out of my Bobby Flay cookbooks, and I reference the Dean and Deluca book alot as well.
But from a pure packaging point of view, I love the Balthazar cookbook. The cover binding, the font and photos are all a great match for the recipes contained within.
potroast at 11:58PM on 05/16/08
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...
czken at 1:35AM on 05/17/08
World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey - she's never failed me
(but if the veg thing puts you off you can get one of her meat friendly books)
mballena at 3:08AM on 05/17/08
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
suegsf at 3:54AM on 05/17/08
The Au Pied de Cochon and Le Halles are my favorites.
rrakes at 11:09AM on 05/17/08
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.
lattelatte at 11:28AM on 05/17/08
@Angie_Earthy: I'm with you. My fave is Better Homes and Gardens from the 70's. So great! My mom made the mistake of letting me "borrow" it, 9 years ago. Never giving it back. She has since stopped asking for it back. I also bought the newer edition that's pink. I wanted to buy it because it supported Breast Cancer Research and to see if there were any new recipes. It's a good one as well.
Looks like I am going to invest in Joy of Cooking for myself-my mom has a copy at her house. Oddly enough, she won't let me "borrow" this one :)
Butrflygirly at 11:34AM on 05/17/08
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!!
Mich23 at 4:22PM on 05/17/08
moosewood! mollie katzen is a fave of mine. also anything by Ina Garten
slograffiti at 5:32PM on 05/17/08
@ 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. ;-)
Blue Iris at 7:31PM on 05/17/08
As a collector of cookbooks for many years, my dislikes are anything artha Stewart or Bobby Flay. My all time favorites chefs are Julia Child and James Beard tho my really best favorites are "Two in the Kitchen" by Joe & Jeanne Anderson published in 1974; "With a Jug of Wine" by Morrison Wood published 1949. I agree with @cibercita that Laura Colwin's two books are wonderful and so sad she died so young. So many good recipes and so little time to cook.
yayajac at 11:04PM on 05/17/08
@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.
pourgirl at 3:43PM on 05/18/08