Any hidden-gem cookbooks?
Some years ago, my dad picked up Dom DeLuise's Eat this, It'll Make You Feel Better! from... who knows where. It was cheap and he thought it looked cute.
Over the years it's had some great go-to recipes for classic dishes that my family sticks with. (Italian and otherwise) He makes things simple and hearty and the food tends to be very home-y (think: old school italian mom making fresh pasta).
Plus, he inserts little stories about his family, friends and show-biz co-workers who have shared these recipes. As a fellow Brooklynite, its fun to read about the same places I knew growing up!
Anyone else have a hidden gem?
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18 Comments:
"The Sopranos Cookbook" and "Entertaining With The Sopranos" - I got the first one as a gift (I used to host Sopranos dinner parties for series openings and enders). and liked it so much that I bought the second. The recipes are great - a noted author focused on Italian cooking and food wrote them; series writers did the copy. The arachini taste just like the long lost recipe my aunt's mother-in-law used to make, which were always my favorites.
Craig Claiborne's "A Feast Made For Laughter" is another excellent read with recipes, though it does pull on the heartstrings - he had a rather difficult life until he made his mark on food journalism. My copy went missing years ago, regretfully - I've been meaning to look for one on eBay.
There was also a memoir with recipes by Sophia Loren that came out in the 60's or 70's that was very good on both counts.
MMinNYC at 12:56PM on 08/03/09
Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen, or Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals. Eula Mae Dore was a farm-taught cook for the McIlhenny (hot sauce) company, and Merchant was a film producer (of Merchant-Ivory fame). Neither book is comprehensive, but they give good cross-sections of their cuisines (Cajun and Indian, respectively). And they both include great stories to go with the recipes, just illustrating what a meaningful role food plays in their lives.
skizziks at 1:21PM on 08/03/09
I guess my love for the Boxcar Children cookbook would count as a hidden gem. It was my first cookbook. It's still my go-to for basics like french toast, but that's about it these days. Someday maybe there will be a kid in my family who also reads the Boxcar Children, and I'll be sure to pass it along as a gift.
July at 1:43PM on 08/03/09
Great topic! I have a few.
101 Essential Tips Preserving Fruit. I used to swear by Putting Food By but one day I reached for this and I haven't put it back on the shelf since. We buy large quantities of fruit and when we've had our fill, I make jam out of the rest. This tiny titan of a book is a comprehensive guide on preserving fruit. If you can grab it from a used book site, do NOT hesitate.
If you like Armenian food, The Cuisine of Armenia by Sonia Uvezian is for you. Sounds weird, I know. This food is much like Greek and Turkish food. These people will stuff anything that doesn't get out of the way fast enough (dolmas!). How did I come upon this tome, you ask? I was married to an Armenian but decided NOT to hold that against a delicious cuisine.
Everybody Eats Well In Belgium is fantastic for that eclectic cuisine filed between French and German. Full disclosure: It was written by an old cooking teacher of mine, Ruth Van Waerebeek. I bought it because I know for a fact what an incredible cook she is - and the extent of her culinary knowledge. I couldn't even pick a favorite recipe from this book. I've loved any I've ever prepared.
LBNL, I generally don't buy single subject books: "The Garlic Cookbook" and such nonsense but I got really curious about Tamales by Mark Miller & others. You can build a whole meal around these tamales, including one for dessert. Not to mention that if you have any imagination AT ALL, you can create your own based on the proportions of necessary ingredients (masa, fat) and the techniques for forming the tamales. I love making them in little cocktail size for parties.
I'm sad to report that the whole reason I even went to my cookbook collection was to find Eat This, You'll Feel Better by Dom DeLuise - and I can't find it. I know I own this book. :(
therealchiffonade at 3:08PM on 08/03/09
I still have to go with the Joy of Cooking, the New york Times cookbook or James Beard.
pjracz10 at 3:55PM on 08/03/09
aw, i loved the boxcar children too! they have a cookbook? crazy.
there a bio about clementine paddleford called 'hometown appetites'--it has a number of fabulous recipes that accompany it.
the autobiography titled, 'eat me: the food & philosophy of kenny shopsin' has wonderful recipes throughout it as well.
gastronomeg at 4:00PM on 08/03/09
No one has ever heard of the Antoinette Pope cookbook, but my mother discovered Italian-American cooking through that book, and the recipes for meatballs, lasagne, and eggplant parmesan have no peer. There is a 1950s recipe for a shredded vegetable jello salad mold (lime jello) which is the only mold I've ever liked. Still--most of the "molds" chapter can be skipped. (Some things from the 50s are better not revived.) Pope also published a candy cookbook which has the BEST recipes for cream caramels and turtles in the world.
Teachertalk at 4:42PM on 08/03/09
So, this isn't quiiiiiite what you're asking, but I'm at home for a few months before relocating to Boston and I just uncovered my mother's Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book from 1955 (tagline: "for the hostess and host of tomorrow"). In addition to adorable-if-slightly-creepy retro drawings and poorly-colorized photos, it features throwback recipes for "peach delight" (canned peaches dipped in crushed cookie crumbs with whipped cream), "magic white-sauce supper," and a spaghetti dish consisting of one can spaghetti with tomato sauce and one can Vienna sausage.
I just needed to share.
GirlFromJetCity at 5:46PM on 08/03/09
The Back of the Box cookbook, and its sequel, has wonderful kitschy recipes and how they originated, like Knorr Spinach Dip. Since they span about 50 years, most of them are ingredient-driven, and actually you can use products other than the boxed mixes they were intended to sell--there is the recipe for meatballs with grape jelly, different Rice Krispie treats, and marinades.
I love kid's cookbooks--Betty Crocker's whimsical sandwich decorations was a favorite, and the Little House Cookbook is a good 'cliffnotes' to the entire series.
HeartofGlass at 7:24PM on 08/03/09
An impulse buy at a bargain store for less than $5 - David Rosengarten's "It's All American Food"
I had no idea who he was, but as soon as I picked it up and flipped through it I thought at least the food histories would be good.
Turns out every recipe I've tried from this book has been terrific!
yayfood at 8:48PM on 08/03/09
Oh, I should mention what it is. The idea behind "It's All American Food" is that the act of making what we know out of what we have, creates an entirely new cuisine in itself.
Rosengarten explains that American cuisine is not only the outcome of many cultural influences, but the outcome of using ingredients that come from here. Mozzarella not available? We'll use what we can find. And boom. Another thing altogether, that's just as great is born.
What's great too is that he makes it okay to love the totally Americanized Italian and Chinese foods (for example) of the 20th Century that I grew up on - even though they are not authentically Italian or Chinese - because we can now recognize them as not authentic, but a totally new cuisine.
yayfood at 9:15PM on 08/03/09
@yayfood: I've been recommending It's All American Food to everyone, all the time. I love it, and all the recipes I've tried have been great, too!
The "hidden gem" cookbooks that I like are vintage Junior League cookbooks from anywhere there's a JL.
FoodieSearching at 11:22AM on 08/04/09
I have a small paperback cookbook from 1955. It's for the happy housewife who needs to keep her kids and husbands lunches new and exciting. Believe it or not it has some great recipes for sandwich fillings, soups and breads in it. There is a liversausage sandwich recipe that is simply delish! I even converted the boyfriend and he really dislikes liversausage.
Martini Me at 3:36PM on 08/04/09
@teachertalk - I love the Antoinette Pope cookbook! Wonderful dessert recipes. Didn't know it was unheard of, perhaps it's a regional thing? I'm from the Chicago area. When I was little I thought it was THE Pope's Cookbook, like what he ate for dinner every night.
travers at 9:01AM on 08/05/09
i'm also from chicago and my mom had the antoinette pope book.
@MMinNYC, no need to look for craig claiborne on ebay -- the strand often has a copy.
cybercita at 9:23AM on 08/05/09
One of my very favorite chicken recipes comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Mexican cookbook...Chicken Aguacentalies...(sp) and my favorite meatloaf recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Hamburger cookbook.. both little thin cookbooks that I picked up at a yard sale, many moons ago.
sammie at 10:28AM on 08/05/09
engmcmuffin, omg, I was clicking on this thread to post the exact same cookbook recommendation! I LOVE his cookbook! Some wonderful recipes and memories. The food is all of the stuff that I grew up eating. I make the escarole and bean soup all of the time, as well as the lentil soup.
italiagirl84 at 10:56AM on 08/05/09
There's also one called "Italian Regional Cooking" by Ada Boni that is very good. Has sections for each area of Italy, and it's interesting to see the distinct differences between Tuscan cuisine and Sicilian cuisine.
Oh, I have the Pope cookbook as well. Another gem.
italiagirl84 at 11:03AM on 08/05/09