Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 4)

[Rebecca263]

3 additions to my own collection today, Indian Cookery, by Dharamjit Signh, a paperback which I have yet to peruse; as my daughter is currently adoring curries and mild dahls, this will be a welcome addition to our kitchen. Next I found Michel Guerard's books, Cuisine Minceur and Cuisine Gourmande. Lovely looking copies, and I think I'll read them this weekend. I do adore finding older books that I've never read!

[judiu]

I'm headed back to the library tomorrow and am hoping to find "Mastering..." Vol 2 as easily as I did Vol. 1 ( and as cheaply!)

[heyjude]

I priced books for the Friends on Friday and came home with 6 books including unopened copies of Cookies Galore and Cupcakes Galore.

[judiu]

Well, I got my two books from abebooks, but they're not what I was looking for, dammit! The ones I had were large "trade size" paperbacks with real crappy paper, but ahd great recipes from suppliers like Angustora Bitters, New Zealand Lamb Council and other unususal sources. The first book had a yellow cover, and the second was red, or vice versa. I'm FRUSTRATED!

[ruthcooks]

Four new ones for me: "Two for the Road" by the Sterns, the two "Food That Really Schmecks" books that I read about on this forum, and I just ordered Gael Greene's tell-all.

[heyjude]

I received a box of 25 used books from a friend. A great selection, in great shape. They include everything from a new Williams-Sonoma Florence to Country Food by Miriam Ungerer(1982) to Paula Wolfert's The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen to Plum Crazy A Book About Beach Plums and many more. It's perfect weather for cooking here. Sunny and 70.

[Linda Griffith]

Over 3,000 ...As a new member here...I just found this string. I've not counted in a long time and I've not opened a bunch of boxes since we moved almonst three years ago!

But I'll admit that I have a leg up on many of you...since I've been cooking since before many of you were born.

I also began seriously collecting very old books when I began writing cookbooks and knew that I needed reference material, since good libraries weren't nearby. With the help of culinary historian Jan Longone, I've delveloped a marvelous collection that includes a vast amount of old ephemera---those splendid recipe pamphlets that were written by superb cooks/writers to accompany food products.

Anyway, most of my antique books are not of great value because they are in very poor condition, but they have wonderful information. But I find them to be of special charm with views into the way people lived in other centuries, especially when most folks had cooks. I also like to know how they cooked, of course. And I often get ideas for recipes from them and write about these in our books.

Someone also mentioned Alice, Let's Eat...which I adore. And always have within reach, just to make me laugh. Bud Trillin's magazine pieces are always extraordinary, but this collection will remain my personal favorite.

Craig Claiborne's original "NYTimes Cookbook", with its missing spine and stained pages is my first cookbook. It's what gave me courage to host a party for 100 people as a bride of 6 months (I was nuts!)...and made me into a confident cook from the start. He signed this book in 1980 and loved the way it looked.

Like most of you, I'm sure, I read my cookbooks and use them for inspiration, more than anything else. It is how I want my own cookbooks used, as well. They shouldn't be the Holy Grail. But insights and encouragements.

[BarbaraY]

A few weeks ago a couple of friends and I stumbled across a tiny Afghan restaurant in a small valley town where we least expected it. The food was delicious and only the second time I had had Afghan food. Of course I had to research this so I ordered two books from Amazon, Afghan Cuisine by Nafisa Sekandari and Afghan Food and Cookery by Helen Saberi.

[ruthcooks]

And three more: My Life in France, Bill's Food and The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking.

See what happens when the rest of the family goes on vacation? Idle hands get busy on the computer and order cookbooks.

[Kim Shook]

My husband gave me a Sandra Lee cookbook for my birthday as a goof. I love the man. The book is spectacularly awful. I am having a ball reading it late at night in bed - poor Mr. Kim, I sock him awake and read him some new atrocity every 5 minutes. He is an angel.

[maggiethecat]

118,349.

[SuzySushi]

118,349.

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118,350 -- I picked up one while on vacation in California, Saveur Cooks Authentic French.

[heyjude]

I got several (let's say 10) used books while I was out looking for a wedding gift. I love stores that sell both new and used. Best among them are Classic Asian Cakes and Desserts and Enoteca by Joyce Goldstein. The desserts book has some recipes that seem very close to those served at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant.

[maggiethecat]

118,360. Great scores all. Wait! Make that 118,361. I picked up Elinor Kiivan's cupcakes! yesterday.

[mochihead]

I just got Kafka's Roasting. Great read!

118,362!

[Kerry Beal]

I just received Ruhlman's Charcuterie from Abebooks.

118,363

[Alex]

Two more. Will the madness never end?

1) From the used book shelf at a Barnes & Noble: Eat Right, Eat Well -- The Italian Way, by Edward Giobbi and Richard Wolff, M.D. Touted as a "low-fat, low-cholesterol cookbook," which normally would sent me running in the opposite direction, it's actually a very useful companion to Giobbi's wonderful Italian Family Cooking. The recipes are authentic and straightforward, and the book is filled with his pen and ink (I assume) sketches. (Giobbi was best known as an artist.) I recently made his Pistachio Sauce (pistachios, pine nuts, anchovies, oil, lemon juice, mint, pepper), which partnered sautéed chicken breasts very nicely.

2) From eBay, to fill a large gap in my collection: Larousse Gastronomique, the first American edition, 33rd printing.

[heyjude]

15 more, some new, some used. I rejoined The Good Cook and got Italian Two Easy, Pie, Luscious Berry Desserts and a couple others. I also got Parma by Giuliano Bugialli at the Cooks and Books events we did with him. I was his escort for 4 days. He's a peach. And used: a signed Tom Douglas and a perfect Dine With Europe's Master Chefs Pastries. It's time to stretch some shelves.

[maggiethecat]

118,380.

[lovebenton0]

add one for me... the lovely (and delicious) Fonda San Miguel, Thirty Years of Food and Art.

[maggiethecat]

118,381.

[annachan]

Put down 200 for me.

[maggiethecat]

Put down 200 for me. 

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118,582, including Nigella Lawson's Feast snapped up on sale by moi.

[bluechefk]

please add 317 for me - if we're including food-related books, too (mfk fisher, calvin trillin, etc.) then that's another 14

[maggiethecat]

Food-related counts, so we're up to 118,913.