The books you can't do without

#1 04-20-2001, 01:07 PM

I was reading a cookbook review in the ChefTalk store. It talks about cookbooks you read once then put on the shelf and forget about. Then it mentions the favorite books you use so often, they have grease and food stuck all over the pages. I'd like to know what cookbooks you all can't do without. I keep going back to The Joy of Cooking.

kokopuffs · #2 04-20-2001, 01:29 PM

For me it's the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Pooh · #3 04-20-2001, 01:34 PM

My fav reference book is Madeleine Kamman's "The making of a cook".

All my Julia Child books are used pretty much too!

Madhur Jaffrey (have 3 of hers) are my favorite for Indian Cookery.

Can't keep my hands off The French Laundry somehow...

Ever since I purchased Alice Medrich's "Cookies and Brownies", I can't leave it on the shelf too long. Think I'll get a second one before it becomes out of print...

In the Sweet Kitchen never saw my bookshelf since purchase, a few weeks ago!

For Italian food, I usually turn to Lydia B. or Marcella Hazan. I like Bugialli as well.

For bread, Baking with Julia and Nancy Silverton.

There's more but that's all I can think of right now.

shroomgirl · #4 04-20-2001, 10:03 PM

Joy of cooking is a great reference, seems I like the baking recipes from older versions

L'Enotre pasteries

Maida Heatter!!!

Julia Childs...
Silver Palate the series but mainly the first...I'm going to have to buy another one cus this one is falling apart
The ones done individually are not as good
I don't use it anymore cause I memorized the recipes from Moosewood
Then there is the manilla enevelope with the baking cookbook from the 50's that lost it's plastic binder a few years ago and is now housed in an envelope....absolutely this one has all the great cakes, tea breads and candies.....

Pete · #5 04-21-2001, 10:33 AM

The ones that I have recently found myself going back to time and again are:
Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells
Any of the books by Paula Wolfert
Sauces by James Patterson
And any of my many Southwestern cookbooks

Kimmie · #6 04-21-2001, 04:28 PM

I do like Sauces from James Peterson, Madeleine Kamman is a great reference book. However, I'm ALWAYS going back to Julia Child!

#7 04-21-2001, 04:57 PM

Maida Heatter's Book of great desserts!

A little cookbook that I picked up on vacation, I think Martha's Vineyard, called the Alice Bay cookbook

Julia, of course!

I love Alice Waters!

And I must say, I tend to pick up Dom Deluises cookbook because he has the funniest little stories in it!

Isa · #8 04-21-2001, 07:26 PM

I really don't think I could just a few cookbooks. The all have something unique to offer.

logose · #9 04-22-2001, 07:54 AM

There are so many. The ones I go to most often are
Cookwise by Shirley Corriher
Professional Cooking by Gisslen
Professional Baking by Gisslen
All my Time-Life Series Food of the Worlds
Baking with Julia
Time-Life Series on Healthy Home cooking Fresh Ways With....
Marguerite Patten's Everyday Cookbook
All books by Jacques Pepin or Ken Hom
Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon
An old 1943 version of Joy of Cooking
Lately I have been getting alot of info from the "Ultimate" series of books by DK Publishing . Especially the Ultimate Bread and Ultimate Chocolate.
The Beautiful Cookbook Series as well.
That is just a good start.I am always doing research for my classes.

Jim · #10 04-23-2001, 06:54 PM

So many books... so little oven space.

The Culinary Handbook... Charles Fellows
The Epicurean... Charles Ranhoffer
Soufles... Anne Amernick
Cooking in America... Jeff Smith
American Food... Evan Jones
Curious Cook... Harold Magee
Essential Vegeterian... Diana Shaw

Latest Favorite...
Wildwood... Cory Schreiber! Highly suggested!

[ April 23, 2001: Message edited by: Jim ]

glutz · #11 04-23-2001, 10:37 PM

The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin Fei Lo.
William Morrow Inc. NY 1999.
Have just borrowed it from Local Library,
and will be ordering personal copy via Chapters.
Good layout and recipes. technique direct and accompanying comments and tales great.
***** Highly recommended !!!

My ecelctic non-chinese dishes omes mainly from magazines, and nowadays, the internet

Mezzaluna · #12 04-24-2001, 07:13 PM

All my Julias, Jane Brody's Good Food cookbook, all three of my Craig Claibornes, and Lidia B.

Marzoli · #13 04-25-2001, 08:51 AM

I keep opening the How to Cook Everything by Bittman a lot--I've forgotten so many basic things, it's awful! Have to look 'em up. Of course, Joy of Cooking gets a lot of attention. I keep checking out the McGee book from the library because I want to know why things work the way they do. Tom Colicchio's Think Like A Chef has helped me a lot. Theory and Practice of Good Cooking by Beard is out all the time. I have a lot of really nifty cookbooks and books about cooking that I will be getting into this summer.

Pooh · #14 04-25-2001, 12:20 PM

Sandy,

About the Bittman book, do you own the ed. with CD-ROM?

Love that book!

Isa · #15 04-25-2001, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim:
<STRONG>So many books... so little oven space.

</STRONG>

So well said Jim...

If I could have only one I would choose the Larousse Gastronomique. A few more The Cook And The Gardner because it reads like a novel.

For baking, Lenotre of course all three books and the Roux brothers. Professional Baking. In The Sweet Kitchen of course...

I can't stop, I need them all....

[ April 25, 2001: Message edited by: Iza ]