SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
katieob_gw

Must have cookbooks?

katieob
14 years ago

Hi all.

I am very excited to cook more (and hopefully better) in our new kitchen! We finally will have some shelf space for a cookbook collection!

Can you recommend your must haves?

Keep in mind I have two babies under 3 and a husband from Ireland (Chicken with a side of chicken, please)!

Thanks so much,

Katie

Comments (38)

  • beekeeperswife
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    With two kids and a husband who sounds like he's not interested in the veggies, I would take a look at Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. It has lots of great ideas for hiding veggies. A lot of the recipes are really good. I wish I had this when my kids were little.

    Other than that, I have so many cookbooks that I could never really recommend one over another. I love them all.

    A good way to check some cookbooks out and see if they are ones you want to own or not, is by getting them out of the library. I have done this many times. It gives me an idea if I will or won't want to make the recipes again and if it worth owning the book or not.

  • homepro01
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love Donna Hay cookbooks for their simplicity. New Food Fast and Classics has some really great recipes that are quick to prepare and always come out tasty. I also love Asian and Indian cooking and you may want to check out Madhur Jaffreys Simple Indian cooking. The recipes are simple and really tasty. I can also recommend Andreas Viestad Kitchen of Light for some great Scandinavian recipes.

    Good luck!

  • Related Discussions

    HAVE: Have Vintage (70's) Southern Living Cookbook Collection

    Q

    Comments (3)
    I would love some of your water lilies. We have a hugh pond in our side yard. You can email me directly and I will get your address and go ahead and send my end of the trade now. No since in them sitting around here when you could be using them. :0)
    ...See More

    Are there any cookbooks/authors that you just *have* to have?

    Q

    Comments (20)
    "I want to try and find Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in used bookstores. The movie made her book popular again, and I know they are in print again. One of our local stores is selling the hardcover for $60." Just bought a brand new one today in Costco for $25. "I **might** buy the Pioneer Womans cookbook if I saw it. I wouldn't find it in my town though I know that." You can find a LOT of her recipes on her web site The Pioneer Woman. And you can buy the book from Amazon.
    ...See More

    I must, must, must have ...

    Q

    Comments (2)
    Sounds good. Here's a thought. Pick up 2 (or 3). After you've eaten one, wrap the others and stash in the very back of your freezer. They heat up really well, and you'll be prepared for your next croissant emergency!
    ...See More

    have u found a great Cookbook Stand??

    Q

    Comments (8)
    The cheap acrylic cookbook holder is the only one I've ever found that works well for me. It's a bother if your hands are messy and you have to turn the page, because you have to lift the book out, but I find the pages will flip themselves just when I don't want them to in the kind that has the pegs. If I have a book too big for the stand, I find that it'll stay open on the counter well enough. I also have an adaptation for loose papers. I have a clear round "spatter screen" that's useless for its intended purpose, but makes a great removable backrest that holds printouts and magazines securely at the correct angle. Any rigid sheet would do. One of the things l like about this is that I can put two or three printer pages side by side (three overlap, but by covering margins can be made to work).
    ...See More
  • Cloud Swift
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax - everything I've made from it has come out great.

  • lovlilynne
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Funny, I read your subject line more like "Must . . have . . cookbooks" said like the "must have coffee/chocolate/cookies,etc. tone of voice VS must-have cookbooks. LOL

    For the record, in our electronic day and age, I'd say that you don't have to have cookbooks anymore. There are so many on-line cooking sites. My favorite is recipezaar.com. It's free, but you can pay for added features. You can search, then filter your search by ingredient, course, nutrition, etc. I love it.

    Anyway, if you are just starting out, there are some basics that you should have:
    1. Betty Crocker cookbook
    2. The Joy of Cooking (like the dictionary of cooking)

    After that, I would suggest (if it's still in print)
    1. Jane Brody's Good Food Book - this is a great book to read, and it also has a lot of great information about cooking in general.

    My most used cook book is the one my mother put together of all our family recipes. After that, my own recipe box and tried and true favorites. I suggest you ask your family what their favorite meals/dishes are, and develop your own list of tried and true. Everyone should have their own go to recipe for the comfort foods/stand bys: macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast, chili - you get the idea, I'm sure there are more (Shepherd's pie comes to mind, not a favorite of mine, but others seem to like it.)

    Another book that I've used several recipes from is the "365 Ways to Cook Pasta" which has all of the basic sauce recipes and lots of variations too.

    Lynne

    Here is a link that might be useful: Recipezaar

  • momof3kids_pa
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i rely a lot on the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. aside from classic recipes it tells me how to cook eggs (hard soft boil etc) corn veggies just a lot of cooking basics.

    theres also a 5 ingredient or less cookbook that i like. theres a few versions of that book too (healthy etc)

    i am really using the ibternet mostly though. i love recipezaar i like having all the reviews and ratings.

    dh recently gave me the Kitchen Bible recently. looks like a great cookbook. just havent gotten around to anything in it yet!

  • buildinginva
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love the Martha Stewart cookbook (I don't know if there's more than one - I have the think hardbound one). I've never made anything out of it that wasn't fantastic. I also like the Silver Spoon for Italian food.

  • amck2
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's not a cookbook, but I'll put in a plug for the GardenWeb Cooking Forum. The people there are as helpful and fun as folks here are. I discovered it from someone's recommendation on this forum.

    There are many good cooks sharing loads of tried/true recipes. They will walk you through anything! I made my best Thanksgiving turkey ever last year w/ their help, took up bread and homemade pizza making with their tutoring. Just hit "Search" listing ingredients you want to use in a dish, or post asking for a "kid-friendly chicken recipe", etc.

  • Circus Peanut
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1. Betty Crocker Illustrated Cookbook
    2. The Joy of Cooking
    3. The Silver Palate

    :-)

  • Fori
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    O yeah, the Cooking forum is full of helpful people. Be sure to get a nice notebook for all the things you'll be printing. :)

    A book I wish I didn't have is Farm Journal's Homemade Candy. Very fattening!

  • cleo07
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The ones I consistently use are...
    The Best Recipe (or any book by the Cook's Illustrated publishers.
    Gourmet (new yellow edition came out a few years ago and got a lot of flak for the yellow titles but the recipes are delicious)

  • PRO
    puertasdesign
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great thread idea!

    I gotta second cloud's recommendation of "Classic Home Desserts" by Richard Sax. You can't go wrong there. I especially love the banana cake and the pecan pie recipes. Being allergic to chocolate, my dessert choices are somewhat limited...

    Alton Brown's "I'm just here for the food" for a totally different way to approach cooking in general. He has a very scientific approach and tries to explain exactly what is happening chemically to the food as different ingredients are combined and cooked. Not for everyone, but some will find this very fascinating.

    With 2 kids of our own, we often take advantage of Rachel Ray's "365: No Repeas" and Williams-Sonoma's "Food Made Fast - Weeknights". Nothing earth shattering here, but for someone who is just getting interested in cooking, these two can really jump start your repertoire.

    "The Joy of Cooking". A classic that has a recipe for every thing I've ever wanted to cook. I find this especially helpful after a trip to the farmer's market. If I don't know how to cook or even clean something, Joy has the info I need. I also refer to it when cooking cuts of meat I am less familiar with. It's indispensable.

    "The New Basics" by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins. This was actually the first cook book I ever bought, and it's full of great simple recipes from their Silver Palate restaurant, including the best Chili I've ever made!

  • carolinesmom
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Anything (or something like that!)

  • becktheeng
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you like italian and are looking for simple easy stuff for busy evenings, try Giada's Everyday Italian. Fresh simple ingredients. I also have her family dinners and I made the best turkey ever from her recipe in there (and I don't particularly like turkey).

  • emmatux
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Best "all-over" cook book that I actually use: America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It's huge, over 700 pages of great ideas.

  • plllog
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There are three kinds of cookbooks: The ones you read for inspiration, the ones you use for the recipes, and the ones you use for reference.

    I'll let the others suggest cook-out-of books (for me those are pretty far afield, like Jewish Cooking in America, the Black Family Reunion Cookbook, etc.) One must have in this category is Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I tend to disagree about "you can never have too much butter", and reduce that and the cream, but something people forget in all the hype currently surrounding this book, is that the recipes are really good! It's not for everyday dinner with the kids, but a terrific source for when you want to make something a little special.

    The internet is great for all of the above, but particularly for recipes, if you know what you want to cook. I was looking for a particular kind of Lebanese eggplant recipe I'd had in a restaurant, which included garbanzos and pomegranate molasses. Much easier finding a few on the 'net than finding a book.

    Joy of Cooking is a great reference, and an excellent go-to for basic cookery. Not long ago I was in someone else's kitchen and she was bemoaning the fact that she had no biscuits for what she'd made for dinner. I couldn't remember the proportions, so I grabbed her Joy and whipped her up a small batch of biscuits. If you're interested in the recipes, you might want to get a few different editions--they change the recipes. Often the current hardbound and paper ones are different editions, and there are older ones at used book sellers. I like a lot of the older, traditional, basic recipes more than the current crop.

    Also, the King Arthur Flour, Baker's Companion. I have only had this a few years, so my recommendation is more from looking at it than working with it, but it seems like a really good compendium, pretty much like a Joy of baking.

    Another one that's excellent for reference is Jacques Pepin's how-to book. I can't get at mine right now (mid-remodel), but I think it's called Complete Technique. It has step by step photographs of what he's doing, and includes instructions for his famous how to bone a chicken in nothing flat.

    For inspiration: We're all different. Sometimes it's the pictures, sometimes it's the stories, sometimes it's just the ingredients that are inspiring. I've been known to buy cookbooks from the clearance bin which I knew didn't have good recipes, but which had great inspiration pictures, or interesting twists. With two tots you probably don't have time to be inspired, or at least not to stand in a bookstore letting your imagination run as you flip pages and decide whether you want the book--but if you're trolling the internet and see something that tickles you, print it and put it in an inspiration folder. If it's in the paper or a magazine, tear it out and add it. If it's in a book of yours, put a post-it flag on. Then you'll have a resource of ideas you want to try, garnishes you want to use, menus you want to attempt, or whatever, to refer to when company are coming and you're too tired to think.

  • rhome410
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My faves:

    Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (1968 or before)

    America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

    America's Test Kitchen Baking Cookbook

    Any of the "Best" cookbooks by Cook's Ill/Amer Test Kitchen

    Betty Crocker's Cookbook

    Taste of Home cookbooks

    Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

    and I love those little cookbooks put together by organizations in which everyone contributes their best/family favorite recipes.

  • hsw_sc
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like all of the above suggestions.

    My two favorites are The Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham and The Coastal Living Cookbook (the magazine's official book). Other favorites are Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa books.

  • megradek
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am lucky to have very good eaters, with 2 kids (2 1/2 and 4) and DH that will seriously eat anything. But whether or not you have good eaters, being a parent takes time and energy and doesn't leave you much for cooking. I absolutely love to cook and have a couple favorite books that I continue to go back to for more easy/quick meals when we've been at the park too long and they're STARVING :)

    1. Pilsbury Best of the Bakeoff (lots of great easy recipes that of course use pilsbury products, but makes it really quick!!)
    2. A good crockpot recipe book - I just found a really nice one for my brother (don't remember the name of course) but it seemed to have some good ones with lots of pictures
    3. The Williams-Sonoma books are really nice because there is a picture for every single recipe. I have a whole bunch of them but particularly like the Pasta and Soup books.
    4. I'll ditto all the old standbys already mentioned!

    best of luck cooking in the new space - it's so much fun!!

  • elizpiz
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So many to choose from! Although I do use sites like Epicurious, I love the tactile feel of a cookbook. I write comments in them, note how I've adjusted the recipe, whether its a "make again" or not...the cookbooks have become a bit of a history of the way my own cooking has evolved. And I just plain like reading cookbooks!

    I have a ridiculous number of cookbooks (according to DH...to me the collection is just starting :-), but I do have some trued and true favs that I go back to, and a couple of newer additions that I love. Many of these have been mentioned and are great:

    - New Basics - has everything!

    - anything by Cook's Illustrated

    - Donna Hay (love the fact that every recipe has a photo)

    - Back to Basics - Ina Garten. Her latest and best. Simple, delicious, easy and wonderful to look at.

    - Friday Night Dinners - Bonnie Stern. The Canadians on this forum will recognise Bonnie - she is a Canadian cooking icon. This last book of hers is simply wonderful, and built on the notion that putting together a Friday night dinner for friends and family should be easy and the food should be memorable. These recipes are simple, and simply delicious. I have made the lamb chops with harissa and charmoula (yum!) for just about everyone we've had over in the past few months. I've been lucky enough to eat at her house several times and when you watch how relaxed she is around entertaining it reminds you that good food and good meals are as much - no, more - about the people you're sharing the table with than the food itself.

    - Apples for Jam - Tessa Kiros. The book itself is beautiful, and features loads of photos. It focuses on cooking for and with her young family. Wonderful.

    - I also love and collect vintage cookbooks and find that they are particularly good for desserts.

    - Bon Appétit cookbook. Similar to Gourmet that has been mentioned. Great collection of home-friendly recipes.

    - Anything by Barbara Kafka - especially her soup book!

    - Marcella Hazan for good old fashioned Italian (Biba Caggiano too)

    Okay I better stop now before I list all 300!

    There was a similar thread a while ago that I've linked below. Have fun stocking up.

    Eliz

  • annanna
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good books without addressing specific categories:

    Anything at all from Cook's Illustrated, especially the Cook's Bible (sent my son off to grad school with a copy)

    Joy of Cooking (ditto on the son!)

    I have two King Arthur baking books which are handy. The recipe for Toaster Pastries (think PopTarts) in the Baker's Companion is worth the price of the book!

  • southernstitcher
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you like to use a slow cooker, a good one is "Slow Cooking in the Fast Lane", by Julie Kay. It's not a huge cookbook, and uses ingredients you'll probably have on hand, designed for a busy cook. Family friendly recipes, tips, and some Cajun recipes that are really good, too!

  • steff_1
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The TKO post on Julia's kitchen reminded me that one of the most used books in that kitchen was Joy of Cooking. Definitely a must have. Anything I cook from The New Basics gets compliments from guests.

  • alicia58801
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love my Cook's Illustrated "The New Best Recipe" book - it has tons of recipes and everything always turns out well!

    Sounds like I need to pick up the Joy of Cooking!

  • conate
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Delia Smith's _Complete Illustrated Cookery Course_

  • gizmonike
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    For many years I relied on Better Homes & Gardens recipes, from the big "binder" cookbook & many of the smaller "subject" cookbooks (1/2" binding) BH&G published.

    Now I like:

    America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (another big "binder" style book)

    Barefoot Contessa/Ina Garten cookbooks, especially her first one, Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and her latest, Back to Basics. However, there are so many good recipes in all 5.

    Eating Well is the Best Revenge, by Marian Burros.

    Pam Anderson cookbooks, especially The Perfect Recipe and Perfect Recipes for Having People Over.

  • grendal_fly
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In no particular order:
    Joy of Cooking
    Silver Spoon
    Sauces by James Peterson
    Splendid Soups by James Peterson
    Seafood by James Peterson

    Then of course you need good Indian, Thai and Moroccan cookbooks.

  • Gina_W
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, visit us at the Cooking Forum - people post their T&T (tried and true) recipes.

    I have too many cookbooks. I can't stop buying them.

    I have Thomas Keller's Bouchon and French Laundry, as well as Tony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, Mario Batali's Molto Italiano. But I wouldn't classify any of those as must-haves or recommend any of those for a beginner.

    The large "encyclopedia" type books like Joy of Cooking are good to have, but don't do much for the sensual part of me.

    Here's what I DO recommend for a busy mom:

    Rachael Ray (YES, don't be a hater, LOL!)
    - 30-minute meals
    - Express Lane Meals
    - 365 No Repeats

    Her books are down-to-earth, non-frou-frou and stuffed with her own unique but do-able recipes for busy people who still want to cook.

    "The New Basics" by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, mentioned a couple times above, is a good, manageable book for a young mom.

    Rosso & Lukins' Silver Palate and Silver Palate Good Times are classics. The recipes are higher in sophistication but presented in a way that is not intimidating.

    Julia Child's The Way to Cook is a wonderful educational book, and not as intimidating as her Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

    More very accessible cookbooks come from Ina Garten and Giada DeLaurentiis.

    To drool over pictures, you can't have too many of "The Beautiful Cookbook" series, and these can be found used - they are expensive new.

  • rubyfig
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You mean I have to pick favorites? (bear in mind, we are mostly veggie heavy on the spices and no kids, but most meals are put together in about 40 minutes).

    Silver Spoon
    Mediterranean Food of the Sun
    1080
    The "Moro" series
    Almost anything by Madur
    Most by Claudia Roden

    Good basic ones have been mentioned before: How to cook anything, and The new basics.

    My favorite for desserts: The cake bible (but I am a techie that way ;))

  • willowdecor
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My most favorite is Union Square Cookbook - Every single recipe is fabulous!!
    The best baking book is Rosie's All Butter Sugar Packed Baking Book - My copy is literally falling apart. Best brownie recipe ever!

  • gglks
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    love this thread.....there are a few i haven't heard of and will go out and get. i read cookbooks like magazines!!!!

    for fast, easy, but good enough for entertaining, i really like martha stewards "great food fast" cookbook. she breaks in down by seasons which i really like.

  • katieob
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow!
    This forum could move mountains....

    Thank you for your responses!
    I've jotted down all the titles.
    I'll report back on this thread after our first "new kitchen/new cookbook" meal!

    Much appreciated,
    Katie

  • kateskouros
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    anything and everything by ina and the silver palette cookbook. i have a lot more that i LOVE but they've been in storage for the past three years until our build is ready.

  • Stacey Collins
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am going to answer without reading the thread first... be interesting to see if anyone says the same things!

    1) ***** The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. I bought this for friends, at first thinking it was too basic for me, but now it is my absolute FAVORITE go-to book. It contains very simple basic recipes for the most fabulous, simple, fresh-ingredient foods, with suggestions to modify/dress up/change flavors. I find Ms. Waters' food philosophy to be absolutely right on and her food sense wonderful.

    2) Joy of Cooking. I have an older version that still has weird game recipes and stuff.

    3) The Way to Cook by Julia Child. Simply maaaahvelous French cooking. Also has some good "basic" techniques to riff on, plus the best Tarte Tatin and Chocolate Mousse ever!

    Those are my three must-haves. I probably have 20 others!

  • november
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm another Joy of Cooking girl - I use it almost every time I cook, either for ideas or reference (exactly how long to soft-boil an egg, that kind of thing). Other ones I often use - Jamie Oliver, Barefoot Contessa, Silver Palate, and Six O'Clock Scramble (I also have little kids, and this one is for them).

  • pupwhipped
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, I enjoy the Southern Living Cookbooks, but in this day and time there are so many places on the Internet to get recipes. I like the idea of using a slow cooker to prepare meals...easy and you don't have to baby sit it. I especially like it in the winter time. Anyway, I think this slow cooker blog site looks great. I may have even found it through some earlier post on GW. Anyway, I'm passing it on. Scroll down a bit and look at all the categories on the left hand side. Mind you though, I have yet to slow cook one single recipe from this site.....but I will!

  • mindstorm
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    www.epicurious.com

    Read the reviews also for any adaptations or simplifications or things to watch for.

    I've made a lot of things from there and they've been outstanding.

    I've got a few cookbooks also but aside from epicurious, the one I absolutely adore is one on Provence cooking - even basically "boiled beans" from there are amazing ... if I do say so myself ;-)

    Anyhow - epicurious is indispensible.

  • flseadog
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is a basic philosophy I've evolved: some cookbooks are reference books for techniques, nutrition, or how to make something, jelly, for instance. Joy of Cooking, Jane Brody, and Better Homes and Gardens fall into this category. Other cookbooks can give technique as well as provide a unique "taste bud experience". For me here are some of the books that fall into this category: 1) a 30 year old, probably out of print, Barbara Kafka book, the Microwave Gourmet, even when I don't do her recipes in the microwave her tastebud choices are so awesome, tasty, interesting that I pull out this book all the time to consult; 2) Emeril's New, New Orleans Cookbook (at least I think that's the name since I'm not at home), an interesting combination of flavors and techniques that I've learned that I don't need to follow every ingredient or technique exactly to create a great meal very quickly. I wasn't surprised at how good this cookbook turned out since I ate at his restaurant in New Orleans before he was famous and went back again in the same week because I was so impressed; 3) Gordon Ramsey's A Passion for Seafood for which I had very low expectations since I just knew him as someone who yelled on TV. This cookbook is also one that you can pull out techniques and ingredients without treating it as gospel and still come up with a meal that both family and guests will appreciate; 4) someone has already mentioned Julia Child's The Way to Cook and if you don't have anything else this is the one to have. My mother was a great cook and never used a cookbook and none of her recipes were written down. I was in despair that i would never be able to replicate her cooking. After I started using this cookbook I realized that dear Julia had compiled the wisdom of all our mother and grandmothers in one beautiful and well written book.

  • celticmoon
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The Best Recipe - Cook's Illustrated
    The Way to Cook - Julia Child
    The Joy of Cooking

    and

    my big black binder of bits and pieces!

    A while back I gave away hundreds of cookbooks and years of cooking mags to the local library. Come to think of it, I set aside one box I couldn't part with, but I'm not really sure where it is or what is in it.... mostly I go to the Internet or one of the above books or a tried-and-true.

    Oh and Cook's Illustrated has a Poultry volume you may want to check out.