Missy, Thanks so much for your imput. I was thinking of something like that myself. Maybe I'll send her a Christmas card. I guess she could have forgotten, it's been 4 or 5 years since then.

for sheer inspiration ...the unprejudiced palate by angelo pellegrini

marion cunningham's new fannie farmer cookbook is the one i use most often

there are so so many cooking books i love
simca's, margaret fox, richard olney, waverly root, calvin trillin, jeffery steingarten, the good cook/time life series! yes i kid you not, i think i just might have that whole set. if luck is on your side you can find them piecemeal in thrift stores. so informative, great recipes, techniques and pic's. there is an older set "foods of the world" and it is just as awesome.

Linda, let me guess who stole your cake and took credit? I'm not surprised.

I just bought Payard's new book... it's great. Also Boloud.

[m brown]

Jim, I thought I was the only antique freak refurring to books pre 1900's for some of the best ideas!The Epicurean is a book I found at a local shop and have been in awe of it ever since.

As far as having your ideas stolen, I have had interviews with news papers and they gave my quotations to better known chefs. maddening but flattering just the same, when you put something of worth out there it's nice to know it can stand alone without you.
Maybe send a light hearted note to the chef taking credit, and recount the origins of the formula. Focus on the fun of the situation.
Best of Luck to you.

Ok, m brown, I'm dying to know what you paid for your copy of the Epicurean. I found mine in a used bookstore in Montana for $9.00. It's in pristine condition and quite honestly, I had no idea what a great find it was until I took it in to work and showed it to the chef. I just thought it was fascinating the way the recipes were written...it is now one of my favorite treasures.

[Jim]

M Brown... I am a huge fan of the antiquarian cook book genre. I would like to share a quick story, if I may, about my copy of the Epicurean.
I cook in a little town in Delaware. Just after moving here, my wife (the baker) and I (the chef) were at our little pub working and some wary travelers came in for some pie. The pecan pie was hot out of the oven, so we told them it would be a while and we struck up a conversation. We found that they, too, had just moved into town. Well, we became good friends, as they too, were avid gourmets. They always would tell us about their great-uncle's cook book and that they had some proof copies of it. It never really peaked my interest until, one day, I put 2 + 2 together. You see the man's great uncle was Charles Ranhoffer!!! Well, needless to say when I actually said something, they quite frankly gave me a "I told you so" look. Sometime after that, I opened another restaurant in town. Well, as a gift from them for this event, I was given a signed copy of the Epicurean!
I would have to say that this book sits proudly on the shelf with the Charles Fellows books. It is a real show piece.
Well, I thought you wold like to hear the story of my brush with the Epicurean.

[m brown]

I think I paid $50 for the monster.
I don't have any stories except that people look at me like I have 3 heads for having such an "old" cookbook.

[Ruthy]

I have a huge collection and no one favorite as I tend to go through 'periods'. Petersons books are wonderful for reference but for actual cooking I tend to wander from Charlie Palmer to Susanna Foo with Bobby Flay and Jean-Georges on alternate weeks, etc. I have just bought Michael Ginor's "Foie gras..." which has the most incredible recipes from chefs all over the world. Some of them are crazy but I shall certainly be using the book over Christmas and New Year. Ariane Daguin's "Glorious Game" is another treasure trove which is already becoming a book I cannot live without.

I'm a big Cook's Illustrated fan (methodology and recipes) and refer to my back issues constantly. The book I have found most useful is The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook by Chris Kimball, the Cook's Illustrated Editor-in-Chief/Publisher. It doesn't try to be the definitive reference source on cooking but it covers so many basic food topics that I turn to it on a daily basis. The recipes are good to excellent, the sophistication is exactly what I want for daily cooking and it is interwoven with great stories about life in Vermont.