Your favorite Cookbook

[Summer]

Please share your favorite Cookbooks

[Camille]

I was born and have lived in the South my entire life. I was raised on butter and lard and real sugar and white flour. So, my all time favorite cookbook is Bell's Best (here's the link to the newer version of it) Best of the Best from Bell's Best Cookbook. It is filled with all the "old" recipes my grandmother used to use and the comfort foods I grew up enjoying.

[Emily]

I am a former children's book illustrator reverted to a stay-at-home mom of six. I'm continually on a quest to find healthy, hearty, and delicious meals to satisfy and please my little crew. But with two or three picky eaters (depending on the moods of the day) I need to cook food that's nutritious and will draw hungry bodies to the table.

My five all-time favorite cookbooks are: The Food Nanny, The Family Dinner, Good to the Grain, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and the Joy of Cooking.

Whenever I've got fifteen extra minutes before making a meal--doesn't happen often with half a dozen kids running in and out of the kitchen--I like to read a few pages about the details of preparing whatever food it is that I'm making in the encyclopedic "The Joy of Cooking."

I get a thrill from grinding whole grains like buckwheat, spelt, red wheat, barley, flax, and quinoa, to give baked goods like banana waffles, zucchini cupcakes, oatmeal scotchie cookies, and pumpkin cardamom doughnuts a little more oomph to get my kids through the day.

I look forward to checking out all of your favorite recipes and cookbooks!

-Emily

[Barbara]

I have many "favorite" cookbooks. I've been using "The Mom 100" quite a bit lately, even though I don't have any youngsters at home anymore. I also like "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School" which is part memoir and part cookbook. I like the recipe for roasting a whole chicken and the artisan bread in 5 miunutes a day recipe.

[Holly]

My favorite cookbook is "Out of Our League", a fundraiser compilation put together by the Junior League of Greensboro, NC. While I have a lot of specialty cookbooks, this is a great all-purpose book and I have gotten most of my best non-family recipes from this one.

[Glenda]

Most anything by Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa) because the recipes tend to be great and also not lots and lots of ingredients, so practical to make. Her roasted veggies and winter soup are two of my staples.

"Love Soup" by Anna Thomas is great if you like soups.

More to come after I review my shelves!

[Tjaša]

My favourite cookbook is "The Italian Diet" by Gino D'Acampo - I don't eat that much pasta, but I love the salad recipes and the deserts (his riccota tiramisu is to die for :)). This is pretty much the only cookbook I love - I find other recipes on the internet/blogs.

[Betty]

That's kinda like asking a Mom which kid is her favorite, isn't it???? :-)

I will commit to really trusting the Cook's Illustrated / America's Test Kitchen books for well researched, sound information.

[Jessica]

I'm so into Jamie Oliver's older stuff, but I find his newer stuff great, healthy, fairly balanced, easy! And his newest "save with Jaimi" is going to be great when hubby and I move into out new home and need to save a little!

[David]

My favorite cookbooks -- two of them.

1. The Moosewood Cookbook -- The Moosewood Restaurant opened in Ithaca, NY in 1973, and is the product of "The Moosewood Collective." This is the original Moosewood cookbook and is handwritten, hand drawn, and incredible. The recipes are incredible, mainly vegetarian or vegan, delicious, and simple. Their soup recipes are stunning. My old standby for whenever I need to make a cheap, healthy, delicious meal.

2. Simple to Spectacular -- This is a more modern cookbook that follows a specific formula. Each recipe (mainly French or French-influenced) starts with a really simple version of the dish, and moves on to 3-5 progressively more complex/different versions. For example, one recipe for provencial fish starts off with a fish baked in white wine and moves on to nut crusted fish, etc. It's a great way to learn fancy dishes progressively, and also gives you an excellent arsenal of flavor understanding going forward. And even the simple versions are mouth watering. The Steak au Poivre is particularly excellent (peppery steak sauteed in a red wine sauce).

[Vikram]

My favourite cookbook is Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook. The day i got this and started cooking from the book it has richly contributed to my cooking techniques, appreciation of flavors and philosophy ...it has truly served as an inspiration. The recipes are very involved, time consuming and exacting but they challenge you into pushing your own boundaries as a cook. Other times i just sit with it and admire the genius of the creations by looking at the photographs. This can be an excellent coffee table book as well.

[Betty]

Thomas Keller's books are lovely, I am not usually interested in devoting myself to the actual preparation of his dishes, but I LOVE reading about them!

[Vikram]

very true Betty, sometimes i feel transported to the restaurant just after reading them :)

[Steve]

I know this probably goes against the intent of this group (healthy eating and lifestyle, and all that), but Eat What You Want And Die Like A Man is my favorite cookbook. :D

[[deleted user]]

I don't know what the cookbook is about but it should go eat what you want and live in misery and die a little everyday. Most men who eat what they want stop being men and turn into great slobs of blubber.

[Marc-Antoine]

At the moment I am really enjoying Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and Other Smokers: An Independent Guide with Master Recipes from a BBQ Champion by Bill Gillespie, but I also tend to get a lot of recipes off of the Internet. Rotisserie Grilling by Mike Vrobel is another favourite of mine.

[Kelly]

Right now I'm enjoying recipes fromRose Reisman's Family Favorites

[Glenda]

I recently discovered Thug Kitchen and their cookbook. It's not for the easily offended, but IMO it's hilarious - and so far the few recipes I've tried have been great. Highly recommend giving it a shot.

[Sandy]

I like Thug Kitchen and it's blog. Also, blog/book combo of The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out

Another favorite is anything by Laura Calder French Food at Home. She manages to make even the most mundane tasks feel elegant. I hope she comes out with a vegetarian cookbook someday.

[Mickey]

If it has to be one cookbook/baking it is:
The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

My favorite how-to:
Ruhlman's Twenty: The Ideas and Techniques that Will Make You a Better Cook

For the basics:
How to Cook Everything: The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food -- With 1,000 Photos

Most referenced:
Good Eats: Volume 1, The Early Years
Good Eats: The Middle Years
Good Eats 3: The Later Years

Bread:
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

Chocolate:
Chocolates and Confections at Home with The Culinary Institute of America

Pasta:
Making Artisan Pasta: How to Make a World of Handmade Noodles, Stuffed Pasta, Dumplings, and More

Latest book of interest is:
The Vegetable Butcher: How to Select, Prep, Slice, Dice, and Masterfully Cook Vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini

[Nur]

Laura in the kitchen by Laura Vitale!! That’s very good book!!

[Tara]

I love reading anything by Nigella, particularly her earlier books such as Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration Nigella's Christmas Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home Nigella Bites and Nigella Express.

I also love just about everything from Gina Homolka, particularly The Skinnytaste Cookbook: Light on Calories, Big on Flavor and The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook: The Best Healthy Recipes for Your Air Fryer. She also has a food blog: https://www.skinnytaste.com/

I also have this weird thing about book themed cookbooks and like to collect those.

[Jennifer]

right now I am hooked on Jamie Oliver's veg cookbook.

[Sarah-Hope]

I am loving Milk Street Vegetables: 250 Bold, Simple Recipes for Every Season. It's my "if I could only have one cookbook this would be it" book.

[Sarah-Hope]

I've been a type 2 diabetic for over 20 years now, and For Good Measure is one of the best cookbooks I've found in that time, providing tasty recipes and giving me the nutritional data I need to make smart choices. The photos are gorgeous. The recipes are reasonable in the best of ways—interesting, but not overly involved. If you're a recently diagnosed diabetic or a long-term diabetic trying to feed your body in a more healthy and loving way, this book is a great resource. For Good Measure: A Diabetic Cookbook: Over 80 Healthy, Flavorful Recipes to Balance Blood Sugar

[Colleen]

Thank you for the information. I too was recently diagnosed and appreciate your recommended cookbook.