Cook Books
 

It occurred to me that as long as we're sharing all these recipes maybe we should share a few of our favorite sources for them. So, if you have a cookbook or two that you think is excellent post it here and let us know what we should be looking out for at the bookstore.

I have one real staple, Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book volume 1. I ran across it in a tiny little used bookstore, and it's the best cookbook I've ever found. It'll be difficult to find with a copyright of 1969 and a chinese publisher, but it's well worth the effort.

Another cook book that I've been experimenting with is: Thai, the essence of Asian cooking by Judy Bastyra. The recipes can be fairly complicated, require some pretty specialized ingredients, and the book itself is one of those annoying things that doesn't fit on a shelf, but what I've made from it has ranged from pretty good to excellent. If you like thai food this is probably a good one (even if it doesn't have paad thai in it).

Other than that, for a general cook book with more american food in it, can't go wrong with the New York Times cookbook.

I couldn't tell you where I've gotten my recipes from in terms of cookbooks... Mine are from a collection that spans 3 generations. Some come from books (maybe), some come from places on the Internet. Others have been modified from whatever source they came from by friends and family.

So, I guess you could say that my favorite cook book is my own personal one.

One of my favorites, that I found when I was low-carbing, is "500 Low Carb Recipes" by Dana Carpender. There's a few in there that are so terrific, I've made them many times since I quite Atkins.

I've flipped through Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food. The Good Eats guru's cookbook is a scientific and amusing blend of information and recipes. For the technically minded, this is the perfect cookbook to learn all the techniques you'll ever need.

I'm getting it for Christmas, it's just sitting there in Ohio waiting for me. *impatient*

I will always recommend "Better Homes and Gardens" for new cooks. The recipes are tried and true, the ingredients are not something you need to spend half your Saturday searching for, and, most importantly, the book takes the time to show you how to do things like "reduce a sauce" or "make a rue" (or imper if you share my cultural background). :D

For more advanced cooks, I like cookbooks that are sold for charity. You know the ones, that have the person's name who donated the recipe, etc. I think these are the greatest because here are people giving their family favorite to the cause. So you end up with a whole book of chesrished, practical recipes. My current favorite is the "Angels and Friends" series. The first two in the series are the best, the books benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (I believe), and some of my best stuff comes out of their pages.

the new basics cookbook, by julia rosso is great. it's big, has a bit of everything in it, and it has some stuff that isn't TOO basic.

Moosewood cookbooks are really good vegetarian cookbooks.

I am a basics guy that likes to start from the beginning then dwelve off, I start with my Joy of Cooking for alot of the basics, then combine and change to my own tastes.

What a good idea davik!
While the Joy of Cooking is sorta the "bible" of cooking, I get most of my recipes now off of the internet. I have way too many cookbooks at home but my favorites are "NorthWest Fresh" a tiny little one from Yakima, WA (sorry, at the moment the author escapes me but I'll edit later and post the name) which has the best enchilada recipe in the entire world in it.......and all the "Best of...." series. My Mom has almost all of them and oh boy the food in all of them is to die for! You see them a lot at the checkout stands in your grocery stores and I highly recommend them.

Oh...and as gov said - the Better Homes and Gardens ones just rock. Especially if you can get you hands on an old old one. I'm still using the same recipes from the one my Mother got as a wedding gift! :)

Soup - a way of life by Barbara Kafka has just about any soup you'd ever want, in easy to follow recipes. Plus the front of the book and scattered out the book, she's got stories. It's a good read with great recipes.
The Bread Bible by Beth Henspergers
If you are a bread lover, especially a fresh bread lover, this is the book for you. It contains 300 recipes of the yummiest recipes. It also has a whole bunch of recipes designed for a bread machine for those who are pressed for time when it comes to that fresh bread thing.


I'm not a big fan of "celebrity" cookbooks, but Molly O'Neill's (food columnist for the NY Times Magazine (and big sister to former Yankee Paul O'Neill) first cookbook, The New York Cookbook, is fantastic, if you are a food lover. The recipes are easy, eclectic, and the book is just a lot of fun to read.

i just love teh NY times cookbook..for some reason everything in there just works...oh and great cookies by carole walter..AMAZING chocolate chip

The Joy of Cooking is a great beginners bible. It covers a lot of cooking essentials to go w/recipes. Recipes are a guide. Start w/one, then adjust to taste.

..on the topic...my friend had one all about like chocolate but i can't find it ANYWHERE..and i dont know the name...any ideas on the name of it or where i can find it...

My favorite cookbook is one my grandfather brought over from Norway called "The ABC of Church Cooking" I am not sure what it has to do with a church, but has some awesome norwegian recipes in it.

The Gourmet Cookbook. It's a compilation of 1,000 or so recipes from Gourmet Magazine, ranging from simple 5-minute meals to complex creations that take several days to put together. Every couple of pages the book stops to talk about how to use certain exotic ingredients or pieces of equipment. It's one of the most comprehensive food books in my library.

I agree, the Moosewood cookbooks are fantastic veggie cookbooks but try to get the most recent ones, the earlier ones had too much cheese and fat in them!

The "Man, a Can, and a ..." series are great, especially for those with little to no experience in the kitchen.

another one I noticed on my shelf was LooneySpoons - -it's a Low Fat cookbook, but it's got some great fun easy recipes that are quick to preparae, and have some really entertaining names.

Also, check out the Williams Sonoma collection that they release every year. It is usually a boxed 4 volume set, but you can buy the books individually. I have never had a recipe turn out bad with these books. And they are attractive to boot. I have always tried to replicate a Thai dish (Pad Prik Pao) from a restaurant in town, but I could never seem to bring the sauce together. The WS Thai cookbook had a recipe that got me closer to replicating that sauce than anything I have ever had before.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Many good, simple, and healthy living recipes in this one with photos that make it nice to know what you should end up with an calorie counts so you can easily track what you put into your pie hole :D

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Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet: Recipes and Menus for Delicious and Healthful Entertaining -- this one gives you entire planned menus for entertaining which is nice. Contrary to the title there are some DEVIANTly good recipes in this one (fusseli w/ corn & spicey sausage is amazingly delicious) I won't post a pic of it but I also use her seafood cookbook and it's worth a look.

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For a taste of the southwest I love this one titles Flavors Cookbook by the San Antonio Junior League. It gives many hearty dishes and tastey deserts featuring rich flavors of the southwest. One of my favorites is the oven baked BBQ Beef Brisket. It's simply amazing...:thumbsup:

http://www.jlsa.org/ama/orig/jlsa_cookbook1.jpg


I've also thankfully accumulated a great collection of homegrown recipes from all the diverse corners of my Irish family.