Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Favorite cookbooks

Dan at Casual Kitchen has compiled a short list of bloggers' favorite cookbooks. I'm far from a foodie, so it was an honor to participate!

What is your favorite cookbook?

25 comments:

Susie said...

My favorite is not a cookbook, but rather a magazine. I love Cooking Light magazine. Most of the recipes that I have tried have worked out rather well. You have to be careful, though, since some of the recipes are not budget friendly.

Teresa said...

My favorite cookbook is The Joy of Cooking, I have a cupboard full of cookbooks but always go to this one.

Anonymous said...

This is a great one for learning how to cook, without recipes---great on a tight budget! "How to Cook Without a Book"---written by a woman who worked on the (or pre-) America's Test Kitchen PBS show

Anonymous said...

the old red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens.

Consistently good flavors/recipes. I'm not much of a cook, it's a necessary evil.

deb meyers

carandavis said...

i agree about Miss Daisy's! I have her celebrate tennessee book. it's been great for special occasions.

Anonymous said...

Anything by Peg Bracken.

Daniel said...

I'll also agree, the old red and white checked "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbook is a great one. A workhorse. It ALMOST made my list... it was a very close fourth.

Plus it has sentimental value: my mother gave it to me when I first moved out on my own.

Thanks for participating Meredith!

Dan
Casual Kitchen

Anonymous said...

we are having a no-school snow day; the concept has certainly lost its' luster after about 20 of them. Today, ice and rain mixed. NO ONE is enjoying the outdoors...

back to cookbooks and related thoughts:

1. Meredith, you find the most interesting blogs. I'm a shameless follower of your links, and appreciate learning about Casual Kitchen and CheapHealthyGood.

2. I really hate to cook or deal with food (except for having an adventurous palate). Turn me loose on the laundry or textiles.

3. Nevertheless, cooking well blesses our families beyond measure. So it is worth applying the effort.

thanks, debmeyers

Anonymous said...

My favorite must be the one that is falling to shreds - the Mennonite cookbook, More With Less. Terrific, low-cost, healthy recipes.
Vicky

Anonymous said...

amazing! Mr. Koontz likes the red and white! that makes my day : )

my momma was a home ec teacher in the late 50s, and BHG was her go-to book. she's a great cook.

dm

Amy said...

"How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. Such great recipes and I love the tutorials.

I found my copy at the local Goodwill for $4. :)

Shannon said...

I'm a cookbook collector - I love to spend a cozy evening thumbing through them - especially the ones that are more than just recipes. One of my favorites from early in my marriage is How to Cook Without a Book. It's a great resources for getting supper on the table with what you have on hand. Another one I love is Rao's COokbook from the restaurant. Really good Italian. Really good.
Meredith - I hope y'all are starting to feel a little better.

Anonymous said...

So many good ones! But Rose Elliot's Vegetarian Cookery, which I think is out of print, is my favorite. I love the way she introduces different sorts of ingredients and equipment in the beginning and has a huge range of recipes.

Renee said...

This one is real easy for me. Betty Crocker 1950 cookbook that was my grandmother's. My grandmother passed away because of cancer when I was in the 3rd grade. Everytime I open it it reminds me of how things use to be back in what they called the good old days when a lady was a lady and the men were men.
Renee

Anonymous said...

My favourite cookbooks are the Harrowsmith Cookbooks Volumes 1-3. We use them all the time. The recipes were all contributed by readers of the magazine back in the 80's and have all been well tested. Most use readily available ingredients.
Blessings,
Ann

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

The truth is that I very rarely use a cookbook because I usually google something I want to make. The three I use the most are my Bisquick cookbook, "The Complete Tightwad Gazette", and my high school cooking class textbook (that I found at a yard sale after graduation) "Guide to Good Food". The textbook is my go-to manual for cooking basic things like tortillas and pie crust.

Scribbit said...

I second the Cooking Light comment, that's my favorite. I also keep going back to the basic Betty Crocker red and white gingham one.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

My favorites:
More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre. Good, basic, lots of bread recipes.

The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook by Jane and Michael Stern. The ultimate in fattening Southern cooking!

Jan Karon's Miford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader. I've never even read the Mitford series, but I was drawn to this book. Good reading and excellent recipes. Another good book for all things Southern.

Edi said...

My favorite cookbook is the internet!

I have a few cookbooks but rarely use them instead I type in what I am searching for - sometimes tweaking the search by adding or subtracting ingredients I do or do not have like:

"low fat" "chocolate chip cookies" "applesauce" -cocoa

Works great for me - except the couple of so times I've tried a recipe that seems to have measurements incorrect and I have to try and figure out how much more to add.

Tracey said...

Hands down, my go to cookbook is The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I also used Super Baby Foods a lot when my little one started solid foods.

Anonymous said...

I love, love, love my Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites. It is the first cookbook I have ever been able to make a recipe from that did not require a trip to the store. I always sell that book too for that very reason. I love it!!
Elise

Hopewell said...

I love to just "enjoy" cookbooks. The more photos the better. I use my Taste of Home/Quick Cooking ones constantly for daily after-work stuff. I look forward to my Asian and Moosewood ones for times when I WANT to cook just for the joy of it. I also have many of my Grandmother's cookbooks which are fun to sit down with and just read.On www.amazon.com I have a Listmania!list of my favorite cookbooks.

Anonymous said...

More with Less cookbook (thirding what 2 other commenters wrote). I do love cookbooks and I read a lot of them, but More with Less is worn to shreds! If you want to be a healthy, frugal cook, then I recommend you get yours hands on this cookbook. Good luck finding it secondhand, though - most people I know just wear it out.
Margo

Martha A. said...

Just one? I love the "How to cook without a book and Perfect recipe" by the same author, but my favorite would be More with Less cookbook and then probably my old 1950's Betty Crocker. If I have them I will be fine!

I love cookbooks and collect them and really like the Taste of home and Quick cooking ones and use them alot!

Anonymous said...

I love cook books. But, my favorite is the Fannie Farmer cook book. It is so detailed, educational, and impressive. I highly recommend it to any one - beginner to expert.