Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

What Cookbooks Will Be Under Your Tree?


ChaiLatte

Recommended Posts

Every year, I tell myself the same thing right before Christmas "I don't need another cookbook." This is true. I don't need another cookbook, but there's always that one book I really, really want -- no matter how many I already have. Sometimes, I think all the fun is in finding an out-of-print book (we've all got stories) or tracking down the perfect recipe in some obscure book.

What's on your Wish List this year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was given a Border's giftcard for Chanukah which i used to purchase (via Amazon.com):

The Ethnic Food Lovers Companion, and The Fearless Diner (Travel Tips for eating around the world.)

Add that to my present to msyelf: Latin & Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified. I found it on both half and amazon zshops as overstock for $4 and couldn't help myself. i went with half for cheaper shipping.

Yes, these are food books, and not actually cookbooks.

I checked my wishlist and since I bought most of the cookbooks on it a while back..I only found this:

Argentina Cooks: Treasured Recipes from the Nine Regions of Argentina.

I guess its time to update my list.

-Jason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Silverston's sandwiches for me too, tsquare! Um, well maybe it was a Hanukkah gift... I already have it, its great.

Also... the new Marcel Desaulnier book and "The Last Course. The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern" by Claudia Fleming.

Thanks for asking :biggrin:

"Things go better with cake." -Marcel Desaulniers

timoblog!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So restful..to be married to a man who loves to read, loves to cook, and loves to read cookbooks. Christmas shopping a snap, plus I get to co-own the books.

The new artsy Ripert/Ruhlman book(forget name)

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook...looks as if we will cook from it!

Edited by maggiethecat (log)

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mom told my entire family, NOT to buy me anymore cookbooks for X-mas, how's that for X-mas spirit ! :angry: Her reasoning is that I have already to many. (2 bookshelves worth). You can alwyas use new books, there is so much to read about. I've read everything I own already. Sigh. :smile:

Dan Walker

Chef/Owner

Weczeria Restaurant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cookbooks are the only thing under my tree this year!

I told my husband not to buy anything for me,that I would get everything I wanted. I am 2 1/2 weeks into my 4 week trip to the US and have lost count of the # of books I have bought. I stopped at 30!

Some of my favorites:

Babbo

Biba's taste of Italy

Asian Wraps and Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds

BBQ Bible and the next book on sauces

Thai Food by David Thompson

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini (Incredible book!!)

Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert

Off the Shelf by Donna Hay

The Classic Cookbook (Christopher Kimball's The Cook's Bible and the Dessert Bible in one volume) only $15.99 at Costco

Still waiting to get (haven't arrived yet)

New Book of Middle Eastern Cooking by Claudia Roden

Alton Brown's book

A new way to Cook by Sally Schneider

Some of the books were bought on ebay and the others were bought at half.com with their $15 off a $50 purchase special. Used it three times with a different sister's name and address each time. I really got some great deals!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I purchased for myself recently, not necessarily for X'Mas:

"La Cuisine Acidulee de Michel Troisgros" (Michel Troisgros' Cooking With Acidity)

A used copy of Jean Ducloux's "Cuisinier a Tournus: Une Vie Passionnee" (Chef at Tournus: A Passionate Life)

A used copy of Francois Simon's book on the cooking of chicken

A used copy of Alain Chapel's "La Cuisine. C'est Beaucoup Plus Que Des Recettes" (Cooking. It's Much More Than Recipes")

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm getting Eric Ripert's new book. I know because I ordered it from Amazon myself. The wife is going to wrap it up, though I won't be acting all surprised when I open it.

Having a cookbook to browse through over a glass or 7 of wine after all the Xmas duties are out the way is the major thing I am looking forward to this festive season. Apart from my little kiddies faces lighting up as they open their presents of course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

so, christmas is over...and i didn't get the cookbooks i wished for. from reading on egullet, several were on my list:

dornenburg/page: "culinary artistry"

pepin's "complete techniques"

c.i.a.: "the professional chef"

the dornenburg book seems to be a must-own, so i'll get it through e-bay. but the other two...will they cover the same ground, and which is the most versatile or perhaps the most useful for a humble home cook? should i have both or only one?

christianh@geol.ku.dk. just in case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...but the other two...will they cover the same ground, and which is the most versatile or perhaps the most useful for a humble home cook? should i have both or only one?

Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Trust me. Get the Pepin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...but the other two...will they cover the same ground, and which is the most versatile or perhaps the most useful for a humble home cook? should i have both or only one?

Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Trust me. Get the Pepin.

When my mother-in-law asked Diana what she wanted for Christmas, she said "a cooking book. But not a recipe book." She received the Pepin, and it is wonderful. I received Culinary Artistry. Another keeper.

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

suzanne & snowangel: thanx a lot for advice.

but, er, ahem,...do you know the cia book? does anybody else?

Yes.

It's fairly thorough - as you would expect a textbook to be - and covers a lot of ground that you might not find useful (or maybe you would) - - things like meat fabrication, some restaurant economics and other topics which are really geared toward a professional kitchen. But the pictures are really nice and it's a fun book to leaf through.

Depending on how humble you are being when referring to yourself as "...a humble home cook..", Pepin's book may be better. It gives a really nice explanation of a lot of the fundamentals...the only thing that could make it better are color pics.

But if it was me I'd get both...the CIA book can be attractively priced at times on eBay and it is a great tome to pick up and browse when you have nothing else to do.

...I thought I had an appetite for destruction but all I wanted was a club sandwich.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ah, thanx sladeums. from amazon.com, i got the impression that the cia book connects technique and dishes more than does pepin. and all the other stuff might be interesting. so, right, i'm tempted to buy both (and though english is sometimes an obstacleous language, what am i to do when i can't find any danish equivalent(s) of those books?). they're not that expensive, anyway.

christianh@geol.ku.dk. just in case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mom told my entire family, NOT to buy me anymore cookbooks for X-mas, how's that for X-mas spirit ! :angry:  Her reasoning is that I have already to many.  (2 bookshelves worth).  You can alwyas use new books, there is so much to read about.  I've read everything I own already.  Sigh.  :smile:

There is no such thing as too many cookbooks! Always a new idea, a new technique...heck, even a better brownie recipe.

I can't off hand imagine how many cookbooks we own.

Typical wait-for -dinner break with aperitif: he's reading a cookbook (old or new) and so am I. And it's not just the recipes. It's literature, history, geography, physics, chemistry, art history, math, design, popular culture.....

And everyone: Get the Pepin!

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...