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Thread: Cookbooks

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    St. Louis

    Cookbooks

    I am the cook/meal planner/grocery shopper in our house, and have more time to cook since my recent retirement. I have lots of cookbooks, but there's one shelf that has my go-to ones. I thought I would give them a mention, and then ask for recommendations for others. I like cooking and comparing of various cultures and cuisines, and my bookcase reflects that.

    Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen
    Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seasoned America (his take on dishes from various regions of the U.S.; I use this one more than the Louisiana one. I have all of his cookbooks)
    Charmaine Solomon, The Complete Asian Cookbook. I have lots of books on various individual Asian cuisines, but I use this one a lot.
    Jim Fobel, Big Flavors
    The Silver Palate (and to a certain extent, The Silver Palate Good Times cookbook)
    I also have a Weber grill cookbook that is quite useful.

    Whenever I need to look up something technique-wise, I go to Julia Child's The Way To Cook (or sometimes, The Joy of Cooking). What I really like about Julia Child's cookbooks (and this is true of Paul Prudhomme's too), if she tells you to do x, y, and z, for this amount of time, this is what it will look like, and those reassuring observations are always correct.

    The most significant fairly recent additions to my collection are
    John Gregory-Smith, Mighty Spice
    Urvashi Pitre, Instant Pot Fast & Easy

    Also have a bunch of collections. One is The Beautiful Cookbook series and I have 8 of them (they are big and expensive but have great photographs): Italy, China, Thailand, Southwest, California, Mediterranean, France, Mexico
    We also have a set of Better Homes and Gardens books (about 30 of them) that we got as a wedding present (in 1978), and still use them some.
    My wife is the cheesecake expert in our house, and Mary Crownover's Cheesecake Extraordinaire is very good.

    Any suggestions? I am not wanting stuff just to be trendy. Also, not looking for 103 Ways to Cook Kale, or 72 Ways to use Quinoa, or 38 Ways to use Kale and Quinoa).

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    we're fans of Darra Goldstein's A Taste of Russia (formerly a la Russe) if you have interest in some Old World recipes. We too love the Silver Palate, a real mainstay for us.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Santa Cruz CA
    I use the internet more than anything for new recipes, but the two cookbooks I go back to the most are:

    How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
    Steak Lover's Cookbook by William Rice

    My HTCE is falling apart so I was gifted a newer one, but it's revised so I don't really use it. Some of the recipes are changed a bit for no apparently meaningful reason. I have the page numbers of my go to recipes memorized in the old one, but not the new one.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Thrill of the Grill is a nice one for your outdoor culinary work (and some other great recipes including Tidewater Cole Slaw).

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    There is The Joy of Cooking, and then there’s every other cookbook.
    It’s a fantastic, downright encyclopedic collection of excellent recipes, plus a great general education in ingredients and techniques.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    America's Test Kitchen cookbook - 19 seasons worth of well-tested recipes. Maybe not the fastest/easiest way to make something familiar, but if I'm trying something entirely new, I'll look for a recipe here first.

    I want to get a copy of this "no recipe" cookbook from Sam Sifton of the NYTimes: https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Co.../dp/1984858475 as I'm a huge fan of his NYTimes Cooking newsletter, as well as cooking by feel/general idea, rather than specifics.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by DevilAlumna View Post
    America's Test Kitchen cookbook - 19 seasons worth of well-tested recipes. Maybe not the fastest/easiest way to make something familiar, but if I'm trying something entirely new, I'll look for a recipe here first.

    I want to get a copy of this "no recipe" cookbook from Sam Sifton of the NYTimes: https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Co.../dp/1984858475 as I'm a huge fan of his NYTimes Cooking newsletter, as well as cooking by feel/general idea, rather than specifics.

    America's Test Kitchen is a fantastic answer.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Dur'm
    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    America's Test Kitchen is a fantastic answer.
    Related to that is Cook's Illustrated "The Science of Good Cooking". That's an ATC product, and what I like about it is not just that the recipes are fantastic, but they tell you why you have to do what you are doing. That's important for folks like me with a low attention span who are tempted to take shortcuts. Doing it their way is better, and now I know why.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Less prestigious and more nostalgic but I received one of the Foster's Market (of off Duke Campus fame) cookbooks and have enjoyed a number of recipes from it.


    I get cookbooks as gifts on the regular --- I tend to treat them like a buffet and sample a little bit here and there on the first pass then only return for the good stuff.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Oregon
    Quote Originally Posted by BigWayne View Post
    I use the internet more than anything for new recipes, but the two cookbooks I go back to the most are:

    How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
    Steak Lover's Cookbook by William Rice

    My HTCE is falling apart so I was gifted a newer one, but it's revised so I don't really use it. Some of the recipes are changed a bit for no apparently meaningful reason. I have the page numbers of my go to recipes memorized in the old one, but not the new one.
    somehow it seems like Rice ended up in the wrong aisle at the grocery.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by BigWayne View Post
    I use the internet more than anything for new recipes, but the two cookbooks I go back to the most are:

    How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
    Steak Lover's Cookbook by William Rice

    My HTCE is falling apart so I was gifted a newer one, but it's revised so I don't really use it. Some of the recipes are changed a bit for no apparently meaningful reason. I have the page numbers of my go to recipes memorized in the old one, but not the new one.
    This. How to cook everything is amazing. Maybe even better than the joy of cooking. If you like to cook, you should have this book in your house.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Excellent thread. Some of my standbys have been mentioned above, but here are a few additional books with a slightly more specialized focus but still very approachable and cookable.

    Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan (I am not a baker, but several home bakers I know rave about her Baking cookbook, too)
    Salt to Taste, Marco Canora
    Tender, Nigel Slater (note, this is very vegetable forward and very British)
    Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan (think of her like the Italian Julia Child)

    And then I think this is the one DA originally cited above, but if not, it's an excellent full service resource:

    The New Best Recipe, from the American Test Kitchen

    Finally, not a cookbook, but I have made several very tasty recipes from the Half Baked Harvest food blog (although I will note that several recipes feel like they have 2 or 3 more ingredients than they need and I find that the prep times are frequently understated - and not just in an "I'm slow in the kitchen it takes me longer" way, in a "all the individual step cooking times you list in the recipe add up to more than the total cooking time you put at the top of the recipe" way).
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    One I really love and have only gotten part-way through is J. Kenji López-Alt's The Food Lab. It's got some good, basic recipes at the end of the chapters that demonstrate the science behind cooking. Mostly, though, it's very useful for all the experiments to prove (or disprove) commonly-held cooking beliefs and why all my shortcuts are really shortcomings. He explains it all with a great sense of humor. He's raised my level of cooking. He's a contributor to the website SeriousEats.com, and those recipes are invariably fantastic.

    One cookbook that has been at the top of my list recently is My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India Into a Southern Kitchen. The Country Captain chicken is amazing. Also at the top of my list is Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast by Urvashi Pitre (different than the one that rasputin posted). The Butter Chicken is amazing, especially when made with freshly-ground spices. Her recipe for garam masala is wonderful.

    Otherwise, I tend to hit up websites for recipes. Serious Eats is my go-to. For global recipes that have a lot of Instant Pot, air fryer, Keto, and/or vegetarian recipes in addition to meaty, traditionally-cooked recipes, TwoSleevers.com is another one I tend to frequent, which I found when searching for Urvashi Pitre -- her Butter Chicken and garam masala recipes are there, too. I've gotten some of the best recipes from random bloggers, too.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    One other recommendation if you want to try something that veers in a more Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern direction is Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi, an Israeli chef with restaurants in London.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    I didn't want to steer this thread into the wrong direction until enough legitimate replies were posted.

    That said, this one changed everything:

    toserveman.jpg

    There's the world's saddest cookbook, Microwave Cooking for One (1985), but I might nominate Smash Mouth's Recipes from the Road (2013). The foreword is by Guy Fieri, which is deliberately confusing because many people think he is the lead singer of Smash Mouth.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Santa Cruz CA
    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    One I really love and have only gotten part-way through is J. Kenji López-Alt's The Food Lab. It's got some good, basic recipes at the end of the chapters that demonstrate the science behind cooking. Mostly, though, it's very useful for all the experiments to prove (or disprove) commonly-held cooking beliefs and why all my shortcuts are really shortcomings. He explains it all with a great sense of humor. He's raised my level of cooking. He's a contributor to the website SeriousEats.com, and those recipes are invariably fantastic.

    One cookbook that has been at the top of my list recently is My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India Into a Southern Kitchen. The Country Captain chicken is amazing. Also at the top of my list is Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast by Urvashi Pitre (different than the one that rasputin posted). The Butter Chicken is amazing, especially when made with freshly-ground spices. Her recipe for garam masala is wonderful.

    Otherwise, I tend to hit up websites for recipes. Serious Eats is my go-to. For global recipes that have a lot of Instant Pot, air fryer, Keto, and/or vegetarian recipes in addition to meaty, traditionally-cooked recipes, TwoSleevers.com is another one I tend to frequent, which I found when searching for Urvashi Pitre -- her Butter Chicken and garam masala recipes are there, too. I've gotten some of the best recipes from random bloggers, too.
    I use the SeriousEats stuff a lot when researching recipes. A lot of the experiment type stuff is very interesting. I don't remember the details, but I don't agree with all of his experimental conclusions. Mostly this was because his desired outcome was different than mine.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, NC
    I found a couple of Silver Palate cookbooks at the Nearly New Shoppe (thrift store) for 25 cents each. A little musty, but still good.

    The best country cooking recipes will always come from a Southern church cookbook. Especially when it's filled with my grandmother's recipes.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by BigWayne View Post
    I use the SeriousEats stuff a lot when researching recipes. A lot of the experiment type stuff is very interesting. I don't remember the details, but I don't agree with all of his experimental conclusions. Mostly this was because his desired outcome was different than mine.
    I tend to disagree with the ones that take more time, effort, and dishes and agree with the ones that take less time, effort, and fewer dishes. Maybe it's not "disagree" so much as "don't put into practice." I do love how he takes a scientific approach, though. His sous vide experiments have been extremely helpful and I tend to agree with all of it. He's also got a YouTube recipe showing the best way to make fried rice at home depending on what kind of stove one has. THAT has been a revelation! So simple and so tasty.

    To be fair, I'm one of those that thinks that recipes are more of a suggestion than hard-and-fast rules. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, so I leave it out or substitute parsley or something. If I really like one of the ingredients, or have a lot of it, more goes in, particularly garlic and ginger. And with Kenji's experiments, I remember the ones I agree with and conveniently forget the ones that take too long! And sometimes I just like my food a little more or less cooked/browned/sweetened/flavored than he does.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    I tend to disagree with the ones that take more time, effort, and dishes and agree with the ones that take less time, effort, and fewer dishes. .
    This. I find that too many of the "new" and trendy recipes out there are way more complicated than they need to be. Way too many ingredients. I find most of the time, less is more. too many seasonings start to mask each other and completely miss the point.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    I'm usually looking for ideas, and I like Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, referenced above by Big Wayne. Moreover, there are gems buried inside. For example, I found Mark's discussion of caramelized onions to be a revelation -- many stages and outcomes depending on time in the pan. Bittman is a believer in "outstanding ingredients and simple recipes."

    On a note of THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE CITED: Bill Neal's Southern Cooking brought the recipes of Southern cooking into the class of gourmet food. Bill, who passed away 30 years ago, was a Duke grad and founder of the recently closed Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. In addition to re-imagining shrimp and grits, he did meticulous research in Charleston and New Orleans for French-based Southern cuisine and in Georgia for country Southern dishes. These are old-style recipes (as in "pre-mayo") that are a font of ideas. And, of course, it's a good read.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

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