what’s your favorite cookbook?
After seeing this great post on Letters to Marc Jacobs the other day, we’ve been trying to decide which cookbooks are our favorites. It seems the right time of year for this debate, like our version of back-to-school books. Professionally, this a subject we have written about in print (like in last November’s Budget Living) (sniff), but personally we know there are a few more classics we should to our own collections. Here’s a few of our answers to the question: What’s Your Favorite Cookbook? What is yours?
Erica P. says:
Cookbooks — now this is something I can talk for hours about. My never-fail is still The Joy of Cooking (duh) but currently I’ve been in a baking mood and Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans is proving to be a huge hit. I’ve made a few of her recipes and always receive rave reviews. Of course, as the name suggests, these cookies are HUGE and since I can never eat just one cookie I find myself tweaking the instructions a bit and making twice as many smaller cookies. The ginger chewies were my most recent endeavor and they were fantastic (just ask Ashley and Jeff!).
Of course my favorite book to turn to is my own collection that I’ve filled with my tried and true recipes (most from my grandmother). If i try a new recipe and it turns out well I’ll write it out on a recipe card and put it in my book. That way I have my own “ultimate collection.”
Click through to the next page to read more answers and tell us about yours!
Megan K. says
You know, I really don’t have one. I guess if I had to choose, my most recent favorite is the Gourmet Cookbook because I love the quick, easy recipe for Katharine Hepburn’s favorite brownies. I made some important tweaks to it (doubling it for the pan size; using parchment paper to line the pan because these suckers stick), but let’s just say I like it so much that I made four batches in one week.
Arianne C. says:
I am the most useless cook known to mankind, though I’m beginning to think it’s because I’ve yet to crack open a single one of my cookbooks… I do, however, own a self-made cookbook from a family i used to board with, of all my favorite foods. I use that all the time.
Angela M. says:
I never really invested in a classic cookbook, but I have gathered a few through the years (that’s my stack in the photo). I have a couple that were given to me (Dean & Deluca and The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook) that I cross check with each other. I absolutely love Jamie Oliver’s recipes, and I did buy Jamie’s Dinners. I’ll have to make his apple pie for you all soon! And, just the other day, I was walking by Barnes & Noble and was enticed to pick up Food & Wine’s the Best of the Best. I’m excited to try something out from it… it’s like a smorgasbord of all the star cookbooks that have come out this year: Jamie’s in there, as is Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and many others. Stay tuned! I’ll let you know how I like it!
September 14th, 2006 at 8:12 am
i personally love, Love, LOVE Nigella Lawson. i was a bit disappointed in Feast, but the others are all highly recommended. The Silver Spoon is also fantastic!
September 14th, 2006 at 8:27 am
i just love Giada DeLaurentis’ Everyday Italian. Everything I’ve made from it is just really good. Plus, it’s all very simple and easy to make. Good for a busy person like me.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:52 am
I just love the Gourmet cookbook. Everything is just so delicious, particularly the Saltimboca. Yum.
September 14th, 2006 at 9:16 am
The Gourmet cookbook is a prime example of really bad design. That piss-yellow color they use for headings gets lost on the page, and the index stinks too. That said, there are some good recipes there.
My indispensible cookbook is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. It’s a good intro for the starting cook. It’s easy to follow. It explains the why, not just the how-to. It gives basic recipes and then lists of additions/changes/tweaks, which encourages experimentation. That, to me, is key because cooking is so much more than following a recipe to the letter. Most of the time you make stuff up as you go along.
That said, the other books I find myself turning to most are The New Basics Cookbook and the one Mom gave me when I moved out, The Betty Crocker Cookbook.
September 14th, 2006 at 9:34 am
My favorite cookbook tends to be whichever one I’ve gotten most recently, but certainly on the oft-consulted list are the Nigella Lawson ouvre — Nigella Bites, How to Eat, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and most recently, Feast; yesterday the good people at Amazon delivered to my door the latest in what will probably prove to be a succession of CSA/fresh food/seasonal cooking bibles, Judy Rogers’ Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
Next on my list of browsed-and-must-own cookbooks is Annie Wayte’s Keep it Seasonal, and Barry Correia’s Canyon Ranch Cooks. My husband and I have finally gotten around to joining a CSA, and I look forward to cooking more on the fly. Hence the flurry of new books incoming.
However, my all time favorite cookbook has to be Betty Groff’s cookbook — my Dad is from Lancaster County, and I grew up on that stuff.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:02 am
I love Pam Anderson’s (not the actress) “How to Cook Without a Book”. She’s got great recipes, but she really empowers you be creative and try things out on your own with her guidance.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:29 am
I like the Silver Palate Cookbook and also my ever-growing (I bought 2001 and 2002 yesterday for $2 each!) collection of Sunset Magazine Annuals which have every recipe from the previous year’s magazine. The beautiful thing is they are arranged by month so it’s easy to cook things that are in season.
My Joy (1970s version) is falling apart and has actually caught fire a few times but I turn to it for basics and conversions all the time.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:34 am
My favourites are an old copy of a Robert Carrier book called ‘Cooking for You’ which has amazing recipes in it and has never failed me once! It was my mom’s and I shamelessly stole it from her. Another one I stole from my mom is Marguerite Patten’s ‘Family Cookbook’ published by Hamlyn.
They’re both from the 1970s but what I love about them is that they just have good, decent food that everyone likes, plus the techniques are explained simply and a good result is easily achievable.
My most recent cookbook purchase that I love, and that I use all the time is the Food Processor Bible by Norene Gilletz. I bought a processor a while ago and didn’t have the first idea of how to make it work best for our family. This book has great recipes - not a single failure yet - and now I can use my processor properly.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Word on The Silver Palate cookbook. I made profiteroles for the first time out of that one. I loved just sitting and reading those cookbooks.
I have paperback editions of Joy and I refer to them every now and then.
For the very basic stuff, you can’t beat the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. I got it for a wedding present and I still use it, 11 years later.
The other one I refer to a lot is Rachael Ray’s 365 No Repeats. There are lots of excellent suggestions in there. I consult it frequently on days when I have no idea what to cook.
I have Barefoot Contessa and Giada DeLaurentis but have not cooked out of them yet.
I’m currently trying to compile a cookbook of my grandmother’s best recipes and give copies to all the women in my family.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:45 am
my favorite book lately is “Cook 1.0: A Fresh Approach to the Vegetarian Kitchen”, by Heidi Swanson. the recipies are laid out in a neat chart fashion to make things clear and encourage mixing, matching, and improvising. I love how lushly photographed and colorful everything is, particularly since some of the food is more “everyday” (easy, tasty basics).
I also heart Nigella! “How to Be a Domestic Goddess” is one I bring out often.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I agree with growler, How to Cook Everything is my favorite basic “how-to” cookbook. I’m all the time looking up some particular ingredient or dish, yet I’m also inspired just by flipping through it.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:58 am
I agree with How to Cook Everything, the Betty Crocker Cookbook, Better Homes & Gardens, and The Joy of Cooking. They’re all reliable.
September 14th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I love my old Betty Crocker Cookbook. It an old copy from the 60’s but great for old standbys or when I want to remember a favorite recipe of my mother’s.
September 14th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Yeah, Claudia, the one from the ’60s is the best version. I’ve got the ’50s one and the ’70s one, but I searched for more than a year on eBay to get the ’60s version, which has the best illustrations and I think the most recipes. My mother used it all the time.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I use The Joy as a reference all the time, and would not do any experimental cooking without it. My other regulars are a Betty Crocker from the 70s that my mother used, and a collection of recipes from Sunset, Cooks Illustrated, and The Spendid Table. Usually my favorite cook book is usually one that I have most recently purchased or been given. Right now that’s “Pasta” by Vincenzo Buonassisi from 1973, purchased at a garage sale.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
The one that I love the most, and use the most, is a little known one called “Southern Traditions” by Magaret Agnew. I return to it again, and again.
I am Southern, and I love Southern food - but so many times I’ll look through a so-called “Southern” Cookbook, and I’ll think ‘What the heck is this? Who eats like this?’ “Southern Traditions” features real food, and real good food - the kind that my momma made and my grandmommas before her!
The recipes are spot on, the photography is gorgeous, and the book is thoughtfully laid out. Agnew’s obvious love of the South comes through on every page. I highly recommend it….
September 14th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Oh I LOVE cookbooks - my pantry actually holds my cookbook collection. My favorite standby is The Pillsbury Cookbook (that’s falling apart at the seams!) & Dad’s Own Cook Book by Bob Sloan keeps things really simple & everything comes out good. The best in-a-pinch/vegetarian cookbook where EVERYONE (non-vegans, too) love EVERYTHING I’ve ever made from it is the Lean & Luscious & Meatless by Hinman & Snyder. Hundreds of cookbooks & these are the ones I use the most.
September 14th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
I go straight for the Cooking Light annual cookbooks–since they are divided by month (like the magazine, obviously), it points me in the right direction for food that is in season, and they have a lot of complete menu suggestions. And I know that the recipes are at least halfway to healthy, which is nice. The index is sorted a couple of different ways, too. My mom gets me one every year for my birthday.
September 14th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
Patricia Wells’s Trattoria is my no-fail book for pasta and risotto. There are very few recipes that call for more than seven or eight ingredients, and the results are always spectacularly good.
When I’m feeling more energetic (and vegetarian), I pick something out of Anne Somerville’s Fields of Greens. It introduced me to the best ratatouille and stuffed peppers ever!
And I can’t wait for winter so I can dive into my new Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen…
September 14th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
How to Cook Everything is my go-to cookbook when faced with a new vegetable or mysterious ingredient. Other favorites are Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook, one of Christopher Kimball’s lesser known books. Yellow Farmhouse is great for any kind of recipe with a lot of carbs and/or cholesterol: pot pies, mac and cheese, snickerdoodles, waffles, etc. Mmmm I love me some carbs and cholesterol.
I think The Silver Palate is next on my purchase list, though.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
A tip: Your public library probably has many of these cookbooks. You can check them out for a few weeks and try them out before you make the investment of buying them.
I love to browse through cookbooks and take advantage of my library’s collection often.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:40 pm
I love The Best Recipe by the Peops at Cooks Illustrated.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
You talk about something like cookbooks and the people come out of the woodworks!
I have a small confession when it comes to cookbooks….. ready?… take this moment to sit down if you want, I don’t want to rush things…….
90% of them aren’t worth your money.
Seriously. With the advent of the internet and amazing food blogs and real life test kitchens on all of our favorite blogs, they don’t hold the same cherished place in our heart any longer.
People have a new form of communication when it comes to food.
REAL LIFE TRIAL AND ERROR. A half hour can yeild exactly what you want with rave reviews.
Cooking itself has taken on a new state. Once only a few had the interest to become in the elite club of those who didn’t want to be lawyers or doctors, and wanted to be chefs… now… Chefs are celebrities and rock stars, sex symbols and role models to hundreds of thousands of kids around the community. (Of course so is Paris Hilton, so I guess it’s a wash)
There has been a backlash from this rather cool new trend, and it’s the Celebrity Chef cookbook of the month. But your local Food Network star putting out a book doesn’t mean it’s really worth your time.
Most people flock to them like white on rice, but most of what’s in them isn’t practical in your own kitchens. For example:
Tyler Florence, although great to look at, has some of the worst written cookbooks on the market and needs to hire an editor… quick. He does know what he’s talking about, but it doesn’t translate into book form.
Rachel Ray, bugs me to no end, but I won’t hold her obsessive yummy noises against her. Her cookbooks however, are full of expensive ingredients, or a plethera of ingredients, and even if they started out cheap, you have to buy so many of them, it isn’t worth your time in the end.
Alton Brown (i am a total groupie for the man, so don’t get me wrong), is into the true Science of cooking, and therefor is a bore to most readers, and his food involves too many steps to really warrant your time spent unless you are a geek and really want to suffer the pain of his books. His tv shows aren’t as painful, nor his dvds, but his cookbooks unfortunately don’t hold their own.
Jamie Oliver, everyone loves their chef with an accent and a smile that lights up all of England right? Sure they do, but his cookbooks, unless you live right next door to an extensive garden, or farmers market, don’t hold much value. He is an amazing cook, but the taste of his dishes are based upon ingredients that are picked within hours of the table, and not hours from the grocery store. His show is usually more productive for the home chef instead of the books sadly enough.
But feel free to use the pictures as uh… inspiration in the kitchen.
Emeril… bigger and more isn’t always better. Enough said.
Bobby Flay’s books are based more for the home cook, however have enough ingredients in them that unless you have them onhand at all times will cost you a fortune at the store. He does however cook with the same 15 ingredients most of the time.
Martha Stewart even has been accused of having cookbooks that don’t yeild good results. Her recipes have been said to be written so that you fail slightly every time. Although this hasn’t been my personal experience, there are actual websites and blog forums devoted to this. (the fact that I know that, probably puts me in an internet junkie catergory, I wouldn’t want to admit to). And although the is the queen when it comes to many things (can we talk about the love for Blue Print magazine?) her ingredient list isn’t every frugal, and it isn’t anything that can’t be found in other resources.
The list can go on and on. But when you buy a celebrity cookbook, even though they are shiny and new and all the bookstores will attempt to persuade you to buy them (especially coming up on holiday shopping season), really don’t provide anything in your kitchen other than dust.
Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks have their place, as they are simple, and easy to understand to a person just getting their feet wet in cooking, but their cookbooks try too hard to focus on simplicity, and leave out flavor 9/10.
They also don’t teach anyone to have the spirit of the kitchen. To add a pinch of this, or a dash of this. There isn’t any learning that actually goes on with them, just a standard, add these, beat these and bake at 350.
No inspiration.
King Aurthur Flour cookbooks (there are several now) are ok, I have the bakery, cookies, and have ordered the new Whole Wheat one. I was saddened by the lack of info in the bakery cookbook when it comes to something simple like bread, and the lack of explanation of other items such as tarts and pies. It’s an industry standard book where you make what the page says and you get a product. There are some tips and tricks and thoughts on some things, but more are so basic that if you are tackling a cookbook of that calibur that you already knew it anyway.
So what’s left then? Apparently I hate everything.
Not true!
My standard shower gift is now The New Best Recipe Cookbook.
I swear by it. For everything…. no really… EVERYTHING.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0936184744.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
My husband makes fun of me, because before sit down to make something, I always read about it. The book follows a format almost when it comes to each new dish, or ingredient or technique. It tells you what you are going to make, then the alterations they made to try and tweak it, what worked, what didn’t and WHY.
Which for someone like me is a fabulous thing. It tells me they tried recipe X with two sticks of butter, 1 stick of butter and 1 stick of margarine, and half lard half butter…. but it also tells me which of those failed, and the results it yeilded (too watery, too crumby, no taste exc) so that I can asses what I make and make corrections, or lessen my substitutions if I am running low on something.
This book will teach anyone how to cook. And it will teach people who already do cook to love the sport (it’s a sport now right Iron Chef?) and art of it to love and aspire to think for themselves.
It has explicit instructions on anything you need to know about the recipe, or a technique used in a recipe.
When looking for a specific recipe, I always consult this book before I look anywhere else, and it hasn’t ever failed me. I have taken recipes from other places, but I end up coming back to techniques and flavorings that I learned from this great read.
Thus ends my love letter (of MASS proportions) to a cookbook, nothing about it is bad, wrong, or leaves you hanging, and will teach you how to cook 98% of all things home cooks will need to make in their life time.
September 15th, 2006 at 5:11 am
I so agree about Alton Brown. The show is great, the recipes themselves are good, the books are terrible. Nice graphic design, but I do not like reading science textbooks.
September 15th, 2006 at 6:06 am
I really love my Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook and use it frequently for a variety of recipes. I’m not vegan or vegetarian anymore, but still find the recipes useful and very flexible. Plus, she tells the funniest stories about being punk, which I can relate to, having been one myself.
September 15th, 2006 at 6:32 am
Love The Joy, want to get How to Cook Everything and have been cooking up a storm from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons (a fellow cardamom lover!)
September 15th, 2006 at 6:59 am
I agree on the Alton books. I love the man dearly and truly enjoy his show, but his books are definitely textbooks. If you’re interested in the science behind cooking, they can be very helpful. But if you just want to make a batch of brownies & get it over with, his books are not for you.
I am a huge fan of Cooks Illustrated (AKA America’s Test Kitchens). I recieved the America’s Test Kitchen’s Family Cookbook as a house-warming gift and everything I’ve made from it has come out perfectly. In fact, whenever I’m trying a new recipe, all I have to tell my husband is that the dish comes from that book & he’ll smile because he *knows* it’ll be good!
I’m loving the recomendations for vegetarian cookbooks. The more vegetarian options, the better!
September 15th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
The first has to be Simple Flavours by Geoff Slattery - he’s my biggest cooking influence, he taught me to cook when I left home. I gave my sister a copy when she left home too. And the man can write, he makes you want to give something a go. Published in 1991, I’m not sure you could get a new copy, nor am I sure it could be found outside of Australia but it should be!
The second is The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander - a monster book, that brags it is the complete book of ingredients and recipes for the Australian kitchen. I think it is - it’s never let me down for reference or recipe - weights a tonne though!
September 17th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
I am so glad that someone brought up The New Best Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. (I think the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook is mostly just a simplified repackaging.) There is only one thing I don’t like about this book and its siblings, and that is that the authors assume that you own a food processor and certain other pieces of equipment (good dutch oven, which costs like $200, v-rack, which costs almost nothing).
But as to the rest of it… I never regret following its advice. Everything I make as they suggest comes out delicious. Last year’s Christmas dinner was a serious step up from all previous years, because I deviated from family tradition to do exactly what they said with the turkey and potatos. They even explain why they don’t do certain things, and what happens if you do them. Since I’ve never had a clunker from them, or unwittingly tried a recipe that was too difficult for me, I feel confident in trying anything in the book, knowing that unless I mess it up very badly, it’s going to taste good.
I have spent some time with How To Cook Everything, and it’s OK - a distant second, for me - but some of the recipes are just weird. All you have to do is contrast the New Best Recipe info on hard-boiling eggs with Bittman’s.
September 17th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
PS - also, Bittman isn’t necessarily better - it seems largely like his publisher spends a lot more on advertising than the Cook’s Illustrated people do, since large chain bookstores seem to have How To Cook Everything standees every so often. It shocks me how often stalwart Cook’s subscribers seem to forget that they publish a whole line of books, and hop right to recommending Bittman.
It’s a different approach. If you just want a straightforward recipe and don’t mind occasionally being directed to do unnecessary things, without always being told why you’re doing them, Bittman is great. Most of the recipes are tasty. I just don’t think you’ll learn much about cooking on your own, which you will, with the Cook’s Illustrated books.
September 18th, 2006 at 5:58 am
I agree with the other posters about the 1960s Betty Crocker…I’ve used it so many times, although always at home (my mom refuses to part with it!)
Since I like a little company when I’m all alone cooking in the kitchen, I love cookbooks with lots of extra text: descriptions, suggestions, praise of various recipes, stories, etc. I like having something to read while I’m standing at the stove!
So, another favorite is the Moosewood Low Fat Favorites. Folksy, charming, upbeat and very creative. My mom loves it, too!
September 18th, 2006 at 8:26 am
he’s not very well known in the US but I love Appetite by Nigel Slater. His real fast food isn’t great but I’ve always had success with Appetite. and I love his writing style and philosophy. I also like some of Donna Hay’s books but again she’s not that well known in the US. bought the silver spoon recently - not sure how much use I’ll get out of it but I love having in.
September 20th, 2006 at 3:20 am
I just wanted to throw in what I’ve found to be the most instructional and authentic Italian cookbook, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I’ve used it both as a textbook (from everything for a descriptionessential Italian ingredients, to a primer on types of pasta and what sauces go best with each one), and I’ve also found it fabulous for finding an Italian way to cook something I’ve found fresh at the farmer’s market. From novice to expert, this cookbook is an invaluable tool for anyone’s kitchen.
September 20th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
My go-to book is The Joy of Cooking. I do love Julia Child’s books, and Jamie Oliver’s are lovely simply for the gorgeous food porn shots. I’ve toyed with the idea of purchasing some books from the Cook’s Illustrated series, but as I have a subscription to the website, they hardly seem worth the expense.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:33 am
I too love both the Best Recipe and How to Cook Everything. How to Cook Everything was my best tool in learning how to cook, and I always go back to recipes there (Bittman’s pork chops are the best!). The Best Recipe hasn’t let me down yet. For veggies I love Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop, I use this as both a reference and for recipes.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
My favourite ever is The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. As well as going into great detail on cooking all kinds of meats in all manner of ways, it’s a very hard-hitting look at the intensive way much of our meat is produced today.