Thursday, September 17, 2009

What's Your Favorite Cookbook?

Big Sur Bakery Cookbook -- Currently at the top of my list...

Now that we're gearing up for the Online Cooking Club, I've been poking through all my cookbooks for new recipes to try. My current go-to is Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food + The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook -- an über practical book given to me by my friends Julie and Tim, both excellent cooks.

But I'm hankering for a couple of new cookbooks, less practical and more inspiring... killer photos, great text... the whole deal.

Here are a few more on my wish list.

16 comments:

  1. i always, always pick moosewood restaurant's, "simple suppers" when i need to be inspired or just want a delicious and simple meal. it has yet to fail me!

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  2. Love the river cottage family cookbook. The chocolate chip cookies are sooo good. Plus there's lots of simple recipes for kids to help with or make themselves. I would definitely recommend it.

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  3. So funny -- I have all the cookbooks you posted. I looooove Falling Cloudberries and Baked. I've used recipes from both many times. All of these have the great photos and text you are looking for.

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  4. please get the big sur bakery cookbook! my mother in law gave it to me a few months ago and as soon as i opened it i couldn't put it down. the little stories and interviews really make it something special, so much so that as soon as i finished it, i immediately planned a road trip there and oh geez, the place is wonderful.

    as for my current go-to, alice has yet to dissappoint.

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  5. Boring, but true, I heart Ina Garten. Her recipes are usually pretty easy and my kids eat a lot of them.

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  6. Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
    And all the Moosewood Cookbooks.

    That Big Sur book is on my list to get, can't wait to get it!

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  7. We like Vegan Planet and Veganomicon the most currently...

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  8. Nigella Express, Good Food Fast (the Everyday Food Magazine book), How to Cook Everything, Joy of Cooking

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  9. My current cookbook crush is The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. I learned to cook from the original How to Cook Everything but I am thrilled with the expanded veggie section in the new version. I also like the cookbook that came with our first CSA enrollment. Otherwise I mostly use the internet.

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  10. I like Jamie Oliver, and his book "Jamie Oliver at Home" is gorgeous. I'm slightly annoyed by how commercial he's gotten, but I still have a crush on him and like his approach to cooking and eating. Like one of the readers I too love good old Ina Garten. Many of my go-to recipes are from her books.

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  11. i recently moved to the south (memphis) from Utah and a week or so after I got here I had a surprise package from my mother, a cookbook, called "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea" by Martha Hall Foose. On a note slipped into the cover she wrote "This book is as fun to read as it is to cook from." It's absolutely true. Stories of growing up in Mississippi and the relevance of each recipe in her life. It's quite lovely.

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  12. I really want to check out the "Baked" cookbook too, haven't previously heard of the others but they sound delicious as well!

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  13. i'm so inspired to get ALL of these books now! :)

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  14. I just ordered the Big Sur Bakery cookbook sight unseen because I love the place so much, but I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. It's organized sort of strangely, and it just isn't making me want to get in the kitchen. I love the River Cottage Family Cookbook - I bought it to cook with my nieces. Other all time favorites are Zuni and Sunday Suppers at Lucques, and I love Jamie Oliver - the Family Dinners and Italy books are great - simple and practical but also interesting food. I also bought the Splendid Supper's How to Cook Dinner, and fond it disappointing, but maybe I'll have to take another look at it. Chez Panisse vegetables is at the top of my list right now, since we just planted our garden, and I really like Pim's new book, The Foodie Handbook.

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  15. I have a lot of cookbooks, but there are three in my collection that I go to again and again.

    Martha Stewart Quick Cook have three that I go to again and again.

    The New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill - more than a wonderful collection of recipes, the book is filled with great stories and traditions. The most bookish of my cookbooks.

    Martha Stewart's Quick Cook Menus - Printed in 1998, I've cooked about 2/3 of the main courses in this book and I haven't found a dud yet. Recipes are organized by season, and every menu is accompanied by stunning photos and styling.

    Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes - I love his no nonsense style, I love the spiciness, I love his humor and confidence. No ingredient, no cuisine on the planet phases him.

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  16. I think Nigella is a modern day goddess! All of her books are fabulous. My tip is to make something once, then figure out how much you can cut the sugar and butter by and still have it taste good - I'm no purist but some of the recipes are a little rich for everyday...

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