Favorite cookbooks

[Todash]

Just recently I bought this AMAZING cookbook, The Lost Art of Real Cooking (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FT he-Lost-Real-Cooking-Rediscovering%2Fdp%2F0399535888%2F). It's really interesting reading; I read it from cover to cover--I may have skimmed some of the bits about making sausage--which I don't normally do. The funny thing is, it's not really like a cookbook at all. It's more like "a little of this, a little of that," and most of what it gives directions for I've never tried: wild yeast bread, koji pickles, and so on. I've bought the groceries to try several of the recipes (going to do three versions of the sourdough starter), and last night I actually used the book for the first time. I made French onion soup. The best French onion soup I have had IN MY LIFE. My ugh-I-really-really-don't-like-French-onion-soup-don't-bother-giving-me-a-bowl husband ate every last drop of his. I did two versions, actually, one with chicken stock and one with water, and although they were both delicious, I slightly preferred the one made with water; the flavor was so sweet and pure. I'll post the recipe. (Yes, I know it's usually made with beef. Trust me on this one: chicken stock or water, water being my personal preference.)

French Onion Soup
Adapted* from the fine cookbook The Lost Art of Real Cooking by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger

1 baguette
yellow onions, one per person
dried thyme
butter
salt
chicken stock (not broth) or water (I tried both, and both were wonderful, but I slightly preferred the water version)
Gruyere or some other stringy, fun, flavorful cheese you like, coarsely grated


Bisect your onions from root to top, then remove top, bottom, and skins. Lay each half face down on a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible; they'll of course fall apart into shreds. Place the onions in a saucepan with butter (a pat or so for each onion) and a few pinches of salt and thyme. Cook slowly for an hour or so, until the onions are brown and sweet smelling. (Don't rush this part; it's what makes the soup.)
Cover with water or chicken stock to a few inches. If you want thicker soup, use less. (I did about an inch, and it was fabulous.) Cook an additional half hour, then add salt to taste.
Ladle into oven-proof bowls with narrow tops (think chili bowl, not soup bowl), top with buttered toast slices made from your baguette, and on top of that, add a good handful of the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with a robust red wine if desired. (I used a Merlot, and it was perfect.)

*By adapted, I of course mean blatantly and unrepentantly stolen.

I'll post about some other cookbooks I love, but I didn't want this initial post to be 100 miles long. (I know, I know: when has that ever stopped me before?) Some of you must have favorites too. Spill it! :biggrin2:

[Dana Jean]

I love Ellie Krieger cookbooks and Naomi Judd's cookbook is good too. Dr. Weil has a cookbook with some gal (can't remember her name) that has very healthy and tasty recipes.

[Dana Jean]

I forgot, my absolutely favorite cookbook is the one where my mom wrote down family recipes for me and I have them collected in a cute little card insert album.

[fljoe0]

As someone with limited cooking skills, I think this book is great

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0764578650/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359048447&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+cook+everything

You really can find just about everything in here.

[Out of Order]

I always make French Onion Soup with Beef Broth, never tried chicken.........

[Spideyman]

In the late 1960's early 1970's there was a TV show called The Galloping Gourmet with Graham Kerr which had a series of cookbooks. Showed many of the basics of cooking as well as all these tempting rich meals. After his wife had a heart attack in 1990, he did a new TV series and sets of cookbooks Smart Cooking scaling down many of the original recipes to heart healthy meals. What a difference cooking smart has made.

[Todash]

I always make French Onion Soup with Beef Broth, never tried chicken.........Same with most people, I suspect. The author said that although beef is good, he finds it overpowering. I was hesitant but decided to trust him, and it worked out amazingly. I actually liked the water version even better. When you slow-sauté the onions in a little butter for an hour with just a little salt and thyme, they develop a deep, rich flavor, and the water or chicken stock lets them be the star of the show. I would classify it as one of the best things I've ever eaten.

A nice thing about the water only version, too, is that you can serve it to your vegetarian friends (not vegan, though, unless you substitute the butter and cheese).

[Dana Jean]

My mom and I watched him (mom was more the devotee at the time) and she loved Jeff Smith (until it turned out he was a molester). She was huge on every cooking show out there. She would always try one of their recipes and tell us, "This is a new dish but..." And then she would go on to tell us how she didn't like this particular ingredient and substituted this or that. It always made us laugh because she never followed their recipes and ended up cooking stuff pretty much the way she always did. (Which was delicious, but still not technically "new." :laugh:)

[Out of Order]

In the late 1960's early 1970's there was a TV show called The Galloping Gourmet with Graham Kerr which had a series of cookbooks. Showed many of the basics of cooking as well as all these tempting rich meals. After his wife had a heart attack in 1990, he did a new TV series and sets of cookbooks Smart Cooking scaling down many of the original recipes to heart healthy meals. What a difference cooking smart has made.

My mother LOVED his show! I'll have to ask her if she remembers watching it.


Same with most people, I suspect. The author said that although beef is good, he finds it overpowering. I was hesitant but decided to trust him, and it worked out amazingly. I actually liked the water version even better. When you slow-sauté the onions in a little butter for an hour with just a little salt and thyme, they develop a deep, rich flavor, and the water or chicken stock lets them be the star of the show. I would classify it as one of the best things I've ever eaten.

A nice thing about the water only version, too, is that you can serve it to your vegetarian friends (not vegan, though, unless you substitute the butter and cheese).

Thanks Todash, I'm going to give it a try. Maybe this weekend......seeing that it was 10 below this morning I need something to warm me up!!

[not_nadine]

I used to watch Jeff Smith too. Wasn't he a minister? I don't remember if he was convicted or not.

Me, I like "Semi-Ho with Sandra Lee"" NOT! :tongue:

[blunthead]

My favorite cookbook is titled "To Serve Man".

To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)

[Dana Jean]

Sandra Lee enjoys those cocktails a little too much. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet, was a minister and was never charged or convicted of a crime. But, he did do a payout to his accusers. The thing that I remember from him?

"Hot pain, cold oil."

[Haunted]

I have been compiling a 'cookbook' from recipes I find on allrecipes.com. I type in what I am defrosting and, voila, up pops 600+ recipes using that ingredient. Most recipes are portioned for 4 eaters but allrecipes has a place where you can change that number to how many mouths you will be feeding and the recipe adjusts accordingly.

Todash, thank you for the recipe, it's already in my 'cookbook'!

[do1you9love?]

That sounds delish! Thank you for sharing it!:grinning:

When I got my first apartment (with postage stamp sized kitchen) my mom gave me a copy of The Joy of Cooking. 22 years later, I still find I flip through it anytime I am looking to do something new or a technique I haven't tried before. It's a classic for a reason!

[Lily Sawyer]

Joy of Cooking is great for basic recipes and explanations. (How to debone something, cuts of meat and where they are on an animal, why chocolate and water don't mix, etc.)

My favorites are

-the Foods of the World series published by Time-Life in the late '60s and early '70s;
-the Red Sage cookbook (defunct restaurant in Washington, D.C.);
-Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child)

...and a metal recipe box full of family recipes, friends' recipes (there's even a prized one in there from PatIntheHat!), and ones culled from Gourmet.

[Evil Queen]

I have an old Betty Crocker cookbook that was my grandmother's then my mother's and now it's mine...it's almost falling apart, but instead of buying a newer version, I want to keep this old one. Maybe I'll tape it up and my daughter can have it later on down the line..she likes baking and we both refer to it regularly.

[Neesy]

Nellie Lyle Pattinson's Canadian Cook Book (inherited from my Mom) and my second favourite is "Food that Really Schmecks" by Edna Staebler. Can we put down a third or fourth? I like the old Betty Crocker cookbook and I often pull out the Better Homes and Gardens one as well. Hubby just has all his recipes memorized but he has been cooking for over 40 years as a profession. I never memorize any recipes (brain has limited memory capacity) :blush:

[GNTLGNT]

:eek2:http://www.thesharkguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/testicle-cookbook-cooking-with-balls.jpg

[Shasta]

Todash - Are there enough recipes for veggies that I should spend the money? I hate buying a cook book and being able to use three pages.

[if-so-Grrl]

My mom has a cookbook that I love and need a copy of. I think it's called Crème de Colorado, and has loads of delicious recipes.

[doowopgirl]

I have a lot of cookbooks that I find I only use bits and peices. So now my favorite cookbook is Allrecipes.com. I get ideas for all sorts of things I never would have tried. The ones that I really like I write down and keep in a box and that is turning into my favorite cookbook.

[Evil Queen]

We go on allrecipes.com too, doowopgirl..it is a good site full of many great recipes. :)

[Todash]

Todash - Are there enough recipes for veggies that I should spend the money? I hate buying a cook book and being able to use three pages.

My gut says yes, but you know what, I will do a quick review with an eye to that and let you know. How do you feel about fresh bread?

[Shasta]

My gut says yes, but you know what, I will do a quick review with an eye to that and let you know. How do you feel about fresh bread?

LOVE IT. Happy to spend a long time kneading!

[shipwreked]

united methodist.. his accusors all settled out of court so I don't think he was ever charged. I used to watch his shows too, still cut my onions the way he taught.

I'm a bonafide cookbook hoarder. This book is by far the most beatup and messy in my collection, second to my private cookbook http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Paul-Prudhommes-Louisiana-Kitchen/dp/0688028470

the fat man knows his food.

[Todash]

Okay, Shasta, I would say yes, buy it, but ... you're not going to find a lot of recipes for anything. :smile2: Meaning, it's not page after page of recipes. There are probably fewer than a hundred of what could be called recipes in the entire book, most of which (by the by) have nothing to do with meat or fish. But the value of those 70 or what have you that could be classified as vegetarian is considerable.

It's less a cookbook than an effort at seduction--and a successful one at that--an attempt to lure you into being fully present in the kitchen. Wednesday evening I spent two hours making French onion soup (well, the soup took that long; the time it took from me was considerably less), and not only was the soup delicious, but making it was so thoughtful and focused a thing, yet so relaxing, that it felt very similar to what I imagine successful meditation to be like. I almost regret not making more, but the experiencing of creating it was such that I rather look forward to doing it again. A friend of mine taught me the very applicable Greek word meraki (pronounced may-rah-kee): Doing something with soul, creativity, or love. That is what this book is about.

This weekend, inspired by this book, I'm going to start some sourdough starters. One with a commercial starter that I've had for a while but haven't used, one with just flour and water (so, using only whatever wild yeast I have floating around my kitchen), and one flour and water with some grapes tossed in. (Did you know that powdery stuff on the outside of grapes was yeast? Me neither.)

[Dana Jean]

Uh, I meant "Hot pan, cold oil." :rofl:

I'm not interested in hot pain.



Sandra Lee enjoys those cocktails a little too much. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet, was a minister and was never charged or convicted of a crime. But, he did do a payout to his accusers. The thing that I remember from him?

"Hot pain, cold oil."

[not_nadine]

:laugh: There is a Frugual Gormet joke in there somewhere

[kingricefan]

Fannie Flagg of 'Fried Green Tomatoes' fame put out a cookbook with lots of old-fashioned yummy recipes and yes, there is a recipe for fried green tomatoes. Be forewarned- the recipes aren't for those who are watching their waistline!!

[shipwreked]

This weekend, inspired by this book, I'm going to start some sourdough starters. One with a commercial starter that I've had for a while but haven't used, one with just flour and water (so, using only whatever wild yeast I have floating around my kitchen), and one flour and water with some grapes tossed in. (Did you know that powdery stuff on the outside of grapes was yeast? Me neither.)

I've been spending years murdering yeasts by species and generations. I've never produced anything better than a dense doorstop, at least using pure sourdough yeasts without cheating. Best of luck!

[mustangclaire]

Hello there... My favourtie cookery writer is Nigel Slater. He writes in such a loving descriptive way that I tend to read his recipe books like novels. And it's pared back basic stuff, with the focus on good ingredients. His end chapter in "Appetite" about him washing up at the end of the day is a joy to read.

[Haunted]

Justapinch.com is another good one. What I like about these web pages is that the recipes are submitted by people from their home experience. Also, reading the ratings submitted on a recipe gives a broader spectrum of how to.

[Todash]

I've been spending years murdering yeasts by species and generations. I've never produced anything better than a dense doorstop, at least using pure sourdough yeasts without cheating. Best of luck!Thanks! If I succeed I will post about it. (I actually haven't gotten around to doing it yet; I've been distracted by 20 other things. As per usual.)