Your 10 Favorite Cookbooks

[hannahcooks]

I go through phases- right now I'm cooking a ton from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. When I'm in a rut or uninspired, though, I always turn first to A New Way To Cook.

[Holly Moore]

"Theory and Practice of Good Cooking" by James Beard. A very solid reference.

[marie-louise]

That's like asking which one of your children is your favorite. Impossible. I need and use all of my 150 or so cookbooks.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Alex]

1. The Cook's Bible

2. The Silver Palate Cookbook

3. The Splendid Table

I refer to my bound Cook's Illustrated volumes a lot, but that wouldn't count as one cookbook.

[estherschindler]

I, too, have about 200 cookbooks. But the ones whose binding is most worn-out, and which I really ought to replace before all the pages fall out, are:

* the original Moosewood Cookbook (not the later version which tried to be fat-free)

* Irene Kao's Key to Chinese Cooking (gosh, can't imagine why the book opens to her hot-and-sour soup recipe)

* The Common Ground Dessert Cookbook (everything used honey and maple syrup -- alas the book's out of print, but it has the best cheesecake recipe I've found anywhere)

[ExtraMSG]

I first look at The Best Recipe or its newer sister book The Quick Recipe (or check cooksillustrated.com). The recipes are consistent (and the books very fairly priced), but one of the great things about it is that before each recipe is a long discussion of what the goals were and what worked and what didn't and why. It's like watching an episode of Good Eats. It's as much about understanding the foundations and science of cooking and baking as it is about a recipe. I don't use recipes that often except for baking (or for ideas about combinations of flavors, etc.).

Joy of Cooking is a great book to have, too, but I find that the times and temperatures are often off.

Another excellent book that's not really a cookbook, but a wonderful resource is Culinary Artistry.

[mikeycook]

I know the question asked for 1, but there are 4 books I consistently cook from (then a smattering of others).

MAFC, Vol. 1

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

The Cooking of South-West France (P. Wolfert)

Cooking from New England (Jasper White)

[joiei]

It changes monthly, my bookcase is always in rotation and never in order.

James Beard

The Zuni Cafe

Weightwatchers 2002 Annual

[helenjp]

Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Food.

There's always something in there that looks good to eat, and there's always something in there that corresponds with what is in my kitchen...

...or do the contents of my kitchen just reflect the fact that I've been reading this book for about 20 years now?!

[bourdain]

NOSE TO TAIL--by Fergus Henderson

Coming soon in new US and UK editions. (Ecco US..Bloomsbury UK)

[Craig]

Mary Molt's "Food for 50" .. latest addition. Would be lost without it!

[Verjuice]

The Dean and DeLuca cookbook is a great resource, and I generally reach for it first, especially if I'm either unsure about what I want to eat or if I'm cooking for a crowd. It's an excellent primer and full of ideas, but most of the recipes are a bit luxurious (in other words, fattening) for my everyday taste, so I end up adjusting a lot of the recipes to better suit me. This doesn't always work, mind you, and I think D & D would baulk at some of my results, but what the heck. The Last Course by Claudia Fleming for desserts, hands down.

[exceptinsects]

Definitely How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

I hate those highbrow cookbooks with fancy pictures where I have to figure out where to find cardoons in my tiny hometown in the mountains.

Bittman's recipes always seem to include stuff that I already have, and lend themselves easily to improvisation.

[Larry]

Currently using Donna Hay's collection the most for new ideas. They are quick, easy and beautiful recipes.

[exceptinsects]

I pretty rarely use actual recipes unless I'm baking, in which case Joy of Cooking is it.

For regular cooking, I often consult How To Cook Everything (AKA The Gospel According To Mark) but I usually end up making something that only somewhat resembles the actual recipe.

I have a bunch of those big glossy ones, and a bunch of the ladies' church volunteer supper ones, but I hardly ever cook from them, if at all.

[fresco]

Don't you find that some books, while ostensibly cookbooks, are actually meant to be read and enjoyed, and not to be used as a guide? I put pretty well anything written by Elizabeth David in this category.

[Nick]

This summer I had to move out of my house so that some work could be done to finish off the interior. Since I moved back in I've only put three cookbooks back on my shelf.... The Pro Chef, Joy of Cooking, and the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

[fresco]

This summer I had to move out of my house so that some work could be done to finish off the interior. Since I moved back in I've only put three cookbooks back on my shelf.... The Pro Chef, Joy of Cooking, and the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

It's truly amazing the range of stuff covered in Joy of Cooking. Whenever there's a question not easily answered elsewhere, Joy usually has the solution. It may be, paradoxically, the best loved and most underrated cook book around.

[Nick]

It's truly amazing the range of stuff covered in Joy of Cooking. Whenever there's a question not easily answered elsewhere, Joy usually has the solution. It may be, paradoxically, the best loved and most underrated cook book around.

Amen. I couldn't do without Joy. Between that and the Pro Chef almost any answer can be found.

Edited to say, that is, in every day cooking. Zuni Cafe is wonderful for branching out. For Thanksgiving I decided on a leg of lamb and Judy's recipe for that and lamb stock were great. I followed her directions for "corkscrew" boning and it worked perfectly.

Edited December 7, 2003 by Nick (log)

[jo-mel]

Often I research a recipe from several books before I decide how to make it that particular time. (Similar to what someone wrote earlier)

Of my 300+ books I probably use 10 regularly - if that many. But I refer to many of them often -- not for cooking, but for information.

[EdS]

The Professional Chef, CIA

Runner-up: Complete Techniques, Jacques Pepin

I know those are more "cooking" books than recipe books. For recipes:

Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells

Runner-up: Simple French Food, Richard Olney

Edited December 7, 2003 by esvoboda (log)

[ludja]

Chez Panisse Vegetables (Chez Panisse Fruits less so..

(Whenever I'm thinking of cooking some seasonal vegetable I check here for description of varietals, signs of quality, peak seasons, etc; then browse through recipes for ideas; variations. Whenever I come across inspired ideas, combos for vegetables I pencil it in to this book; have ideas all in one place!)

When I'm thinking simple french:

Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells is failure proof; second excellent resource is: French Farmhouse Cooking by Loomis.

[Big Bunny]

I enjoy collecting cookbooks as much as I enjoy eating, maybe more.

My rule is to try at least two recipes from each book. Of course, a lucky

trip to a used book store or a cut-out table will lead me astray.

For about two-and-a-half years, I have been delving fairly seriously

into Vietnamese cooking. Because there are relatively few books, I

have studied each more carefully. I like it when I "feel" that the cook

is actually talking to me - definitely get this from Routhier and Pham.

My real cookbook is my journal. I like to work from recipes written

in my own style. Everything goes into a note book - often several

versions of the same dish. Then I cook from that.

edit - remove unneeded word

Edited December 7, 2003 by Big Bunny (log)

[laurenmilan]

Harry's Bar Cookbook, by Arrigio Cipriani, I've been a fan of the place and its history (and its drinks) for years, and as a young cook, learned a lot about quality and pleasure in cooking from this relatively thin volume. Must-try recipes would have to be:

- Harry's Bar Rolls

-Croque Monsieur (these always disappear fast when I put them out as appetizers)

- Chocolate Cake (a dense, indulgent affair that always necessitates a trip for Callebaut)

- Bellini (big surprise there) and well any of the martinis

- Osso Buco

- Risotto Parmagiana (this & osso buco are just the thing on a raw, miserable winter's day)

About 1/3 of the books on my shelf are from restaurants, bakeries, or caterers - they seem to be so much more in sync with my own philospohy of cooking. It's about comfort, not awe, in my "book".

[Red Bean]

I've been splitting time between two places, cooking at both; The Zuni Cafe Cookbook goes with me from place to place. Great for recipes, but Judy Rogers is an able, articulate teacher as well. In particular, her discussions on methods of salting food really hit home with instincts I have (as a home cook) but never heard from anyone else before. My cooking has really improved because of her book, which I can't necessarily say about other cookbooks I refer to for recipes alone.

L.R.