Favorite Cookbooks

[IlovemyAKA]

Does anyone know of a good Meat and Potatoes kind of cookbook? My bf doesn't like the fun things that I like to try.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by IlovemyAKA

Does anyone know of a good Meat and Potatoes kind of cookbook? My bf doesn't like the fun things that I like to try.

The Better Homes & Garden one is good for that.I imagine the basic Betty Crocker one is as well.

[IlovemyAKA]

Originally Posted by AGDee

The Better Homes & Garden one is good for that.I imagine the basic Betty Crocker one is as well.

Thanks

[agzg]

I have the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and the Betty Crocker cookbook.

Betty Crocker was good as I was learning how to cook, and it's nice because it's a binder so I can take specific recipes out without bringing the whole book into the kitchen. I can also print recipes from the internet (allrecipes, cooks.com, and Mr Food are among my favorites).

BH&G is fantastic - I bought it because it has the stuffing recipe that my mom used for years and years for Thanksgiving, and I was missing mom one year so I bought it so I could bring it home. Since then, I've put about seventy five little tabbies in to mark recipes I want to try. I've tried about half of them, and most of that half have been absolutely fantastic. Today I made potato soup out of that cookbook (actually, cream of potato) and I will definitely be taking that with me to the office this week for our potluck.

I do have two recommendations with cookbooks that I think anyone who uses them must do: First, keep a pen (ballpoint, so it doesn't smudge or run when it gets wet) in the kitchen and don't be afraid to write in the margins. Keep the cookbook out while you're eating and clean it up after you're done. Write in the margins what you'd change, what conversions were (for example, you get 12 oz of tomato juice in a can, but you need three cups - that's two cans - do the conversion before you shop because it's a lot easier that way), and whether or not you liked it.

Second, get post-its or tabbys (I use post-it durable index tabs) and mark any recipe that you're thinking about making, have made and liked, will need for special occasions (like Thanksgiving), or will use often (like mashed potatoes or something).

I've tried so many new recipes this year - it's been very successful and both of us are happy with the amount of leftovers we have AND the new and exciting things we've tried!

[Gusteau]

I have a fantastic Italian cookbook that I will have give you the information on when I get back to my apartment. I like it because it's really authentic and has a good mix of Northern and Southern Italian recipes - which is nice because Northern Italian food is not what I was raised on/cook typically.

[summer_gphib]

I love my Southern Living cookbook. Most of the recipes are easy and delicious! And there is a "sweet and sour salad dressing" that everyone in my family goes nuts for!

[KSUViolet06]

I would say my grandma, but she can never tell me HOW MUCH of something to put in a certain dish. She is southern and doesn't believe in measuring cups/spoons/etc (never used them).

So the convo goes like this:

"Granny, for that gravy, how much flour do I need?"
"Just a lil bit"
"How much is that? Cup? half cup?
"Darlin' I don't know. I've been making this for 50 years and I never measured it before."

lol.

[aephi alum]

I love to cook. When my husband and I redid our kitchen, I had a small bookcase built in for all my cookbooks.

My go-to cookbooks are:

- Curries Without Worries by Sudha Koul (because I love Indian food)
- Master Recipes by Stephen Schmidt (I took a cooking class from him once - the book emphasizes the idea that you can take a "master recipe" like chicken with white wine sauce, and vary it by deglazing with lemon juice instead)
- The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

I have a bunch of recipes that my mother has written out for me. I also have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated (thanks Mom - I got my love of cooking from her), and I get the Penzey's Spices catalog. I go through each magazine and catalog and cut out the recipes that interest me. I also come across recipes on web sites like epicurious.com, and I print them out. I started out with one small binder and a few sheet protectors that I pinched from my office's supply room - I'm up to three large binders and I buy my own sheet protectors. The sheet protectors help me avoid the problem BraveMaroon mentioned, where the paper gets water or oil on it and the recipe becomes illegible - I just wipe off the plastic.

[AGDLynn]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I would say my grandma, but she can never tell me HOW MUCH of something to put in a certain dish. She is southern and doesn't believe in measuring cups/spoons/etc (never used them).

http://www.surlatable.com/product/id...a-001b2166c2c0

Tad Smidgen Pinch Dash measuring spoons

[SMTTT]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I would say my grandma, but she can never tell me HOW MUCH of something to put in a certain dish. She is southern and doesn't believe in measuring cups/spoons/etc (never used them).

So the convo goes like this:

"Granny, for that gravy, how much flour do I need?"
"Just a lil bit"
"How much is that? Cup? half cup?
"Darlin' I don't know. I've been making this for 50 years and I never measured it before."

lol.

I'm convinced we have the same grandmother I can't learn any of her recipies unless I'm there helping her make it to make a mental note of all the measurements. She's always saying, 'a handfull, just a tad, a litte bit, a pinch, or a good bit' and is never specific either. But somehow, granny's food will always turn out better then mine Gotta love Gran.

[honeychile]

I'm a firm believer that any cookbook, Junior League or otherwise, that has a woman's name at the end of each receipt is going to be the best you'll ever get. Only an idiot signs her name to a bad receipt! One of my favorites is one I picked up at a church bazaar while on vacation: Just Three. Every receipt is comprised of three ingredients, plus any common spices.

If you can get someone older to give you a cookbook, you have made a true friend! Let the cookbook open at will, or notice where the stains are - those are the better receipts.

Obviously, I collect cookbooks. The Better Homes & Gardens Pink Plaid Edition gets another vote from me, as does the 1970's Betty Crocker - perfect for the beginning cook. PS: the Betty Crocker has a whole section on tea sandwiches!

[AlphaFrog]

I tend to get my recipes online, and have had good luck with allrecipes.com and The Food Network's website...however, I've had terrible luck with cooks.com. I've only had two or three recipes from there turn out well. Some of their recipes don't even make sense - I made a bread using directions from there, and while I knew 3 Tbsp of salt sounded like waaaaaay too much, I did it anyway. It probably should have read 3 tsp....which brings me to my next point: 3 tsp = 1 Tbsp, and I've noticed that recipes that don't know their conversions and say 3 tsp instead of 1 Tbsp generally don't turn out well.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I tend to get my recipes online, and have had good luck with allrecipes.com

I LOVE that site.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I tend to get my recipes online, and have had good luck with allrecipes.com and The Food Network's website...however, I've had terrible luck with cooks.com.

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

My favorite thing to do however is get on Epicurious.com.

NPR's "Morning Edition" this week is doing a series on the chaging book industry in the digital age. Yesterday it was about e-books and the local bookstore, today it was about interactive books for young people (books with associated stuff on the web, like The 39 Clues or The Amanda Project), and tomorrow:

Cookbooks in an internet/app world.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I'm a firm believer that any cookbook, Junior League or otherwise, that has a woman's name at the end of each recipe is going to be the best you'll ever get. Only an idiot signs her name to a bad recipe! One of my favorites is one I picked up at a church bazaar while on vacation: Just Three. Every recipe is comprised of three ingredients, plus any common spices.

If you can get someone older to give you a cookbook, you have made a true friend! Let the cookbook open at will, or notice where the stains are - those are the better recipes.

Obviously, I collect cookbooks. The Better Homes & Gardens Pink Plaid Edition gets another vote from me, as does the 1970's Betty Crocker - perfect for the beginning cook. PS: the Betty Crocker has a whole section on tea sandwiches!

Me too. It's my guilty pleasure. I have had to hide some of my stash, and I've started letting go of some of them, reluctantly. That said, I'll recommend Marcella Hazen for Italian cooking. She's my Bible, and I grew up in an Italian household.