What is your favourite cookbook?

Question

I am looking to put a favorite cookbooks page on my website, what books would you recommend and if possible, why? Thank you for your time. Kay

Answer 1

Better Homes & Gardens Red Plaid cookbook

Womens Home Companion cookbook (this is an old standard...not published anymore)

any church/community fundraiser cookbook with home style recipes

Answer 2

I have a bunch of favorite cookbooks!

We rely heavily Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pepin. This cookbook is amazing! Whenever I sit down to dinner with one of its recipes, I'm floored that I cooked something so elegant and delicious without even breaking a sweat. The first time I ate Mr Pepin's chicken supreme, I looked around the kitchen to see if someone else really did the cooking--I can't cook that well, I said! But I did.

For baking, I use The Tassajara Bread Book (a classic) and The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion. These books taught me to make yeasted breads.

And, when I need something especially healing, I cook from Recipes for Self-Healing by Daverick Leggett. Mr Leggett took the concepts of eating from Chinese Medicine and used them to compile recipes delicious to a Western sensibility. So often "food energetics" cookbooks rely to heavily on the same old, quasi-Asian flavorings, but not this one.

French Farmhouse Cooking by Susan Herrmann Loomis is also excellent, as is Portuguese Homestyle Cooking by Ana Patuleia Ortins.

Cheers.

Answer 3

The All New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook - this has wonderful recipes, beautiful pictures, notes like "family favorites, make ahead, low calorie" and great kitchen basic section. These recipes are easy to make and have meal or party ideas. I'm getting a copy for my future daughter-in-law ... to me it's like a modern version of the original Betty Crocker cookbook - which is also a must have cookbook for anyone who is starting to cook.

Answer 4

I received The Good Housekeeping Illustrated cookbook when I first got married, and even though I use the internet often, I open that book all the time to get simple, tasty classics. I'm thinking of investing in that Southern Living Cookbook myself...the recipes look fabulous.

Answer 5

Have a range that I go back to time and time again
Any of Jamie Oliver's - simple dishes that work
Same for Nigel Slater, but favourite of these, both for the recipes, but also for the sheer pleasure of the book itself is the Hardback edition of The Kitchen Diaries
I love middle Eastern food, so Claudia Roden but also a great book called the Complete Middle Eastern Cookbook by Tess Mallos.
The Moro cookbooks - great restaurant and great recipes
And - not a cookery book, but a book you can lose yourself in for hours at a time - The Oxford Companion to Food.

Answer 6

The best cookbook I have ever found is Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. Even if you aren't vegetarian it has great tips for making almost any vegetable or grain. It's easy to read and has great little stories and descriptions as well as recipes and suggestions for different foods. For example it tells the differences between all the different grains and then gives recipes for each kind. I would never have tried Quinoa or millet if it wasn't for this book and they are both great tasting grains.

Answer 7

Mrs Fields Cookie Book!

my favourite cookbook EVER!!!

Answer 8

1. "Help! My Apartment has a Kitchen!" Kevin & Nancy Mills - these recipes are simple enough for a new cook. It's also chock-full of "Mom Tips" that help you out even more. I'd recommend it for someone going off to college for the first time or moving out on their own without lots of cooking experience.

2. "Best Recipes from the Back of Bottles, Boxes, Cans and Jars" by Ceil Dyer - This book has many, many recipes, some of which are really old classics. I enjoy it because there's a wide variety and they range from simple to complicated.

Answer 9

Hi there, I love cooking, it's in my latin blood. I have over 150 cookery books currently (they include all the Top chefs). My favourite ones (which are my bibles) out of these are Delia Smith, Jamie Oliver, Gary Rhodes and most of the Good Housekeeping range. Also, not forgetting the Cheeky Nigella Lawson. My reason: - These Books offer quick, simple no messing recipes. All the ingredients are easy to find and the recipes are generally easy to prepare! When I cook I always think "KISS", Keep It Sensible and Simple!!! you cannot fail.

Answer 10

I have tons, but my most useful ones are the BH&G plaid book, and Betty Crocker. Then the series of "365" books. And then The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. There are more, they just all have their own merits.