Books That Age Gracefully

[Snadra]

My candidate for aging gracefully is "Everyday French Cooking for the American Home" by Henri Paul Pellaprat (1960s) , NOT to be confused with the bastardised version released in Australia (sponsored, I think, by the Australian Womens' Weekly) some years later.

D'oh! Wrong title!

The book I'm actually talking about is "Modern French Culinary Art - Adapted for the American Kitchen". Too much cream and chaudfroid sauce on the brain, perhaps? Still not to be confused with the Australian version.

And to add to this:

Time Life Foods of the World books: just starting to collect them, but they really are fantastic.

Betty Crocker: I have a 1955 edition colour cookbook that belonged to my mother-in-law. I don't make many of the savoury dishes, but the cakes and breads always turn out perfectly, and it's the first one I turn to when I'm thinking of making a cake or cookies.

One of the things I like about the Time-Life books and the Betty Crocker book is that they also do a good job of illuminating their times (albeit from a narrow angle), something not all cookbooks do as effectively.

[CoyoteChef]

My current go to is the Flavor Bible by Dornenburg and Page. With fall approaching I pull ouyt Michael Wild's Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook, a wide variety of duck and pinot noir pairings and a Steamed Persimmon Pudding to die for.

Bill

[elliotw1]

If you're into making desserts, a book I highly recommend is "The Last Course" by Claudia Fleming (published by Random House). I'm fortunate to have a original hard-cover version (now out of print), but the publisher has recently re-printed the book in paperback.

[John Hammond]

I'm in my late 60s and still use my mother's old Joy and Fanny Farmer as the GO TO references for general purpose but half a dozen times a year I find myself pulling out "Pacifica Blueplates" from my collection of several hundred cookbooks.

[andiesenji]

My first (and last) post in this topic was Sept. 2, 1004 in which I mentioned the books of Peg Bracken and Mary Lasswell which I have re-read countless times.

Others have mentioned the books of Laurie Colwin - I think I have all of her non-cookbook titles and they too have been read and re-read.

I also return from time to time to the books of MFK Fisher and also those of Elizabeth David. But they don't have the sense of fun that permeates the books previously mentioned by me.

Another book that has occupied a place in my bedside bookcase for many years is The Good Fare and Cheer of Old England by Joan Parry Dutton. I recently picked it up and read through most of it. I've had it for close to fifty years and it definitely has been well read. I'm ashamed to admit that a few of the pages are dog-eared and I should be ashamed of myself for treating a book in this manner.

A more recent find, that I have already re-read twice, since first devouring it, is Cheesemonger A Life on the Wedge, by Gordon Edgar. This book struck a note that has convinced me that the author and I, if we ever met, could be great friends. His book has become a friend, especially in those middle of the night awakenings when I can't easily return to sleep.

[mbhank]

Irene Kuo's "The Art of Chinese Cooking" is one I refer to often. Both of Grace Young's books: "The Breath of a Wok." and "Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge" (not sure I have this title exactly right) are becoming standard references.

I agree with Time-Life "Foods of the World." Their recipe for Paella is my standard. The Cooking of France in that series has a recipe for chicken with artichokes that I have never seen surpassed. I have, as the years have gone by, spiced the recipes up a bit with aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes.

[plum tart]

I have used the Time Life Foods of the World cookbooks for over 40 years and I still return to them. Most of the little recipe books became tattered with pages falling off them so I ordered a whole new set from Amazon. These books taught me so much about cooking around the world and influenced me deeply. My mother was Danish and she used the Danish recipes in the Foods of Scandinavia and I do too. In fact whenever I want to cook a new dish from somewhere far away, I always refer to these books first.

Other cookbooks I cannot live without are:

Elizabeth David - all cookbooks

Irene Kuo's book on Chinese cooking

Marcella Hazan's first two books on Italian food

The Chez Panisse Book of Pasta, Pizza and Calzone

Miriam Cunningham's Breakfast Book

James Beard's Bread Book

Paula Wolfert - all her cookbooks

Diana Kennedy - all her books on Mexican food

Julia Sahni's books on Indian cooking

Madhur Jaffrey - all cookbooks.

Chez Panisse Book of Desserts.

None of these books gather dust in my house and in my house there are some very dusty places.

[melonpan]

i like reading and rereading my copy of white trash cooking. its a nice slice of another life.

[nickrey]

I'd second a number of books mentioned, especially Marcella Hazan's Classic Italian Cooking.

One book I always go to that was first published in 1968 is Claudia Roden's "A Book of Middle Eastern Food." I'd put it in the same class as the Hazan book.

Edited September 23, 2010 by nickrey (log)

[plum tart]

I agree. Claudia Roden's "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" should be on the list. Mine is worn and well used. I recently asked a Lebanese friend for recipes for dishes he cooked for me forty years ago. In those days he didn't use recipes - these were family dishes. This time, when he gave me the recipes they were from Claudia Roden's book!

[Darienne]

I agree. Claudia Roden's "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" should be on the list. Mine is worn and well used.

Ditto from me!

[catdaddy]

Wow, what a great thread.

As a culinary school graduate circa 1986 Larousse and La Repitoire are near the top.

Richard Olney and Julia Child come next.

The more I worked and understood my American-ness Beard, Greene, and Bayless became more important.

Then Bill Neal, Alan Scott, 7Fires, and the Hot Tamales.

Lately Mark Bittman for international techniques, Tony Bourdain for criticism, the CSA we just bought into, and the SE Asian things I'll be trying soon.

The world of good food writing is huge already and growing. So many books and so little time.

[patrickamory]

I'd like to second the recommendation for John Thorne. His books get you thinking about food and cooking - they're not just collections of recipes, and they don't just set food in its cultural context either - they are deeply intellectual, thought-provoking discussions of specific dishes, ingredients and traditions, set in wonderfully evocative prose about his own day-to-day life in Maine and Western Massachusetts.

My favorite is Serious Pg, followed by Pot On The Fire. But they're all superb.

I'll also second the recommendation for Madhur Jaffrey. I sometimes feel like she's taken for granted compared to other Indian cookbook writers, possibly because she's written so many pan-Asian cookbooks. But her Taste of India (sadly out of print) is an amazing introduction to the regional cuisines of the subcontinent. The photography and text help explain the different ingredients, traditions and ways of cooking - and the selection of recipes, though small, is amazing. Plenty of dishes I've never encountered elsewhere. I think the Kerala section blows the entire Curried Favors book out of the water.

Edit: Oh, and Patience Gray, Honey From a Weed! The apotheosis of writing about Mediterranean life and cooking.

Edited February 13, 2011 by patrickamory (log)

[Darienne]

It appears that no one has listed Mark Bittman's books. I have most of them and return to them over and over for his thoughts and tips.

[munchymom]

It's probably because I came of age in the early '90s, but the most battered, stained, ripped-up book in my kitchen is The New Basics by Rosso and Lukins. This was the book my parents gave me when I moved into my first off-campus apartment in college. I promptly made myself popular by bringing Chocolate Scotch Truffles to parties. It's not an all-time classic like Joy of Cooking or Julia Child's books, but it's very exemplary of its time. Tons of the recipes in there have become staples in our house.

[sheepish]

1968 : Jane Grigson, Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery. I'm probably a bit blasé compared to some eGulleters about saltpetre, but all of the recipes just feel right. I don't think pork preservation has gone to very many useful places since this was written. From a time when people didn't have humidity controlled drying chambers.

1978 : Delia Smith, Complete Cookery Course. Still where I look to remember how much lard I need in shortcrust pastry. Great for British comfort food. Not so sure about her curries!

1999 : Thomas Keller, The French Laundry Cookbook. OK, only 12 years old, but high end cooking has moved on a lot. But nothing beats cooking meat in a frying pan, and boiling veg in salt water. Still the most accessible 3 star recipes. Tells you how long each component of a dish will store for. So while it may take you a few days to make dinner, it's still very achievable, and to my mind gives you the best chance of nailing a dish on your first attempt.

[qrn]

Henri paul pellaprat, Modern French Culinary art,First cookbook back in the 60's still look at it from time to time,

great stuff...

Bud

[Rover]

Barbara Kafka's "The Opinionated Palate - Passions and Peeves on Eating and Food" a small collection of food-related essays, some of which are hilarious.

[Snadra]

Henri paul pellaprat, Modern French Culinary art,First cookbook back in the 60's still look at it from time to time,

great stuff...

Bud

I mentioned it upthread - I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this! Some of the photographs are quite beautiful, but a few of them are nearly frightening (there's a trout dish in particular that makes me think "horror movie" rather than "delicious" everytime I flick past it). The Beef Stroganoff recipe is really excellent, and very simple.

[nakji]

"Much Depends on Dinner" by Margaret Visser. I read it in when I was in university - a real page turner, and an inspiration, I suspect, for "The Omnivore's Dilemma". She takes a dinner with chicken, corn, rice, salad, and ice cream, and writes the history of each ingredient. The pieces on corn are particularly terrifying.

I noticed it was cited in the Saveur 100 recently.

[Darienne]

"Much Depends on Dinner" by Margaret Visser. I read it in when I was in university - a real page turner, and an inspiration, I suspect, for "The Omnivore's Dilemma". She takes a dinner with chicken, corn, rice, salad, and ice cream, and writes the history of each ingredient. The pieces on corn are particularly terrifying.

I noticed it was cited in the Saveur 100 recently.

Time for me to re-read Visser's book.

[gfweb]

Two by Beard; Theory and practice of Cooking and Delights an Prejudices.

[qrn]

Henri paul pellaprat, Modern French Culinary art,First cookbook back in the 60's still look at it from time to time,

great stuff...

Bud

I mentioned it upthread - I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this! Some of the photographs are quite beautiful, but a few of them are nearly frightening (there's a trout dish in particular that makes me think "horror movie" rather than "delicious" everytime I flick past it). The Beef Stroganoff recipe is really excellent, and very simple.

I have both ,including the "everyday"you mentioned, got me started well, back in the "olden days"

Bud

[Darienne]

Went to the local library looking for Margaret Visser. Much Depends Upon Dinner. It was out.

What I did find was also by Visser. The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners.

Absolutely fascinating. Mind-boggling. Am savoring each section of it.

It's the kind of book that I would take in the car on a long trip to read out loud to my husband (who loves being read to anyway. He has heard the entire Andrew Shotts. Making Artisan Chocolates and Peter Greweling's Chocolates & Confections: formula, theory,and technique for the artisan confectioner, the last title lasting the entire journey from Utah to Ontario.) It's an excellent way to learn stuff.