What Is Your Favorite Cookbook? On The Book Shelf

What is your favorite cookbook?

walkenbakery 16 years ago

My favorite is my Grandmother's copy of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. She used alot of the recipes as we grew up. Definitely a sentimental tome for me. How about you?

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kukla 16 years ago said:

Wow...DEFINATELY a tough one for me - too many to chose from.

My old, beaten, original Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1969) and it's "New and Revised" (1978) are two that I go back to when I don't want to cook the "big gourmet production" for supper....and my Good Housekeeping Illustrated is right beside them. I often compare the same recipe from the books.

Newer stuff? I adore my "The Cook's Book" ; each chapter is developed by a renowned chef, a pro in that subject. Deals with a lot of basics - complete with step-by-step pictures - then develops them into more complex recipes. EVERY home cook should have one of these!

Reader's Digest "The Encyclopedia of Italian Food" is brilliant, too. Sticks with rustic and authentic recipes, and explains the origins of things like Bread & Tomato Soup, or Panzanella; Sunday Gravy, Napolean Beef...all the traditional stuff! Which olive to use? Which pasta and why?

And the list goes on.....and on... :) :)

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debra47 16 years ago said:

If I define favorite cookbook as the one that I have referred to the most over the 30 years I have been cooking that cookbook would have to be my copy of Joy of Cooking.

Since I have a weakness for cheesecakes I would have to say another favorite is my copy of Joy of Cheesecake by Dana Bovbjerg and Jeremy Iggers. None of the cheesecake recipes in the book have ever let me down and it has been the cheesecake book that I use the most.

One of my newer favorites is It's All American Food by David Rosengarten. The shrimp cocktail recipe and buffalo wings recipe that I have used from the book were fabulous. Can't rave enough about this book.

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walkenbakery 16 years ago said:

Mmmmmmmmm I will definitely check out that cheesecake book!

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kukla 16 years ago said:

Joy of Cooking has a whole bunch of dedicated-topic books, some which I have read through and used often...

I agree with you, Debra; my Mom always had the original "Joy", and I learned a lot from that book (STILL use it now and again...) Now, I have the 75th Anniversary copy, and I love it (almost) as much :)

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debra47 16 years ago said:

Kukla what I found fascinating about the 1947 Joy of Cooking cookbook is when you compare that edition to later ones you see that certain recipes have disappeared due to the passage of time and cooking trends.

In regard to Joy of Cheesecake I can't recommend the book enough. Fortunately it can still be tracked down.

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sparow64 16 years ago said:

My favorite cookbook is one my Mom gave to me (she gave an identical one to my sister) one Christmas. It is handwritten, and every recipe in it was either hers, or one that she researched for through her hundreds of cookbooks. There are also little "thought for the day" notes and household tips throughout. At the time, she owned her own dress shop, and worked round the clock, and did this late at night. Took her 3 years to complete them. Every once in a while there will be a little handwritten blooper, where it was just too late at night for her to be up writing! I refer to this book often. Of course, it can't be purchased, but, it is wonderful. I have seen blank cookbooks in the stores, and now that my son is married and calling me every so often to ask "Mom, how do you make Mexican Chicken Pie", etc, I am starting to collect recipes to create one for him. If you have many family or favorite recipes, I would encourage anyone to begin collecting recipes in this format to pass down. It was very meaningful to my sister and I.

Other favorites:

The Cakemix Doctor has saved me more than a few times when I wanted to either take an impressive dessert or have one ready at home, but didn't have a lot of time.

Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
Paula Deen Celebrates
Racheal Ray's Open House Cookbook
The Silver Palate
and
First Come, First Served in Savannah (purchased this on vacation in Savannah last year)

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recipediva 16 years ago said:

Good Housekeeping Illustrate
Cooking: a to z A great reference book.

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debra47 16 years ago said:

I am hoping to make up a cookbook for both daughters of my favorite recipes. Seems now that I have many of them listed here on this site it might be easier to do now.

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kukla 16 years ago said:

Ya know that commerical???

"For everything else, there's MasterCard...." ???

Well, what your Mother (Sparrow)...and you (Diva) have done, that's the "priceless" part.....

XO

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recipediva 16 years ago said:

Being on this site is one of the reasons I am posting them all.
I just print them out...Add plastic to them and in a binder they go
I have a hand written one I have Been working on for 2 years...3/4 of the way done. it would be great to have one from each of us, lol
I love tried and true recipes that are handed down from generation to generation

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elle 16 years ago said:

So many...

The New England Cookbook by Brooke Dojny
Any of Ina Garten's books
Feast by Nigella Lawson
Gourmet (amazingly simple but delicious recipes)
An Edible Christmas by Irena Chalmers
Beat This, and Beat That, both by Aann Hodgman. If you read cookbooks like novels (doesn't everyone?), these are a MUST. She's hilarious, and the recipes are fabulous.
Eat This... It'll Make You Feel Better by Dom DeLuise
The USA Cookbook by Sheila Lukins
Mom's Best Crowd Pleasers by Andrea Chesman (great entertaining ideas and found, surprisingly, at a local apple orchard)

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recipediva 16 years ago said:

Your sweet. Just I am a silly mom who is addicted to cooking, cookbooks, endless recipes...I am always on a search for the best of the best. Ones own is not always the best. I always give new ones a try. LOL, no clue who will inherit my library!

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chezglenn 16 years ago said:

Has to be The Settlement Cookbook, published in 1895. Old fashioned but good hearty stuff.

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recipediva 16 years ago said:

It is a great book. Has tons of recipes for liquors and such.
I have 2 copies...I bought them over 30 years or so on the clearance table at a book store!
I love cookbooks! I Love this site.

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themechams 16 years ago said:

I have two...The Joy of Cooking where I can learn 'about' anything. Those of you who have it know what I mean with the 'about'.;-)
I also love my 1963 McCalls cookbook. It is a hand me down, so I treasure it.

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rakista 16 years ago said:

I love James Beard's American Cookery
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316085669?ie=UTF8&tag=srtcr-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0316085669

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lexluv101 15 years ago said:

For a cookbook I always loved the old Better homes and gardens. Some of the best recipes are in there. My mother makes Christmas candy every year, and almost every recipe is from that book, including her wonderful date balls, banana bread, and snowballs. It's simple but it tells loads of timeless information on nearly everything. I also had an illustrated microwave cookbook I adored, not because of only the microwave, but it included a lot of information no other cookbook seemed to possess.

Overall, though, Ive done away with cookbooks and just use recipe boxes. To me they're sentimental. I have three and one cookbook type binder. One of the boxes matches the book as a set my mother got me when I moved out. The other is a tin Hershey's collectable that came with 99 preloaded recipe cards that are delicious. In there I keep all deserts. I have basically compiled and cut out all needed info and recipes from the collection of cookbooks I had and put them in the boxes. I hated looking through every cookbook trying to find the right recipes to fit the mood. This way everything's in one place with that personal feel. The recipes I get from online go in the boxes as well.

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headcheerleader 15 years ago said:

I have to agree with elle

Any of Ina Garten's books

Also, I love my "The Food You Want To Eat" by Ted Allen cookbook and my Top Chef cookbook

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cabincrazyone 15 years ago said:

I like to find those little old church cookbooks with the plastic spiral bindings. At rummage sales. There are some really good recipes in them. The down side is that you need to weed through the dozens of donated recipes that are the same old stuff, not much good, or worse. But when you see a recipe that makes you tingle, like Lovejoy finding an authentic antique, it's all worth it. You've pulled a gem from the abyss of tuna casseroles and sloppy joes. You prepare it and it tastes great! You post it on GR and share it with ME. lol

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