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dem in texas

(2,672 posts)
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 05:04 PM Apr 2022

What''s Your Favorite Cookbook- - Any New Favs?

I know this subject has been covered on this site before, but I am interested in what my fellow Democratic foodies are favoring right now. I am always buying cookbooks on Amazon and Ebay plus at Half-Price book, estate sales and thrift stores. But my favorite is still the 1960's version of the Joy of Cooking. I have worn out two of these. It's a good basic cook that has stood the test of time.

I also love books about food history and can't pass of one these books by.

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What''s Your Favorite Cookbook- - Any New Favs? (Original Post) dem in texas Apr 2022 OP
Escoffier's Cookbook Turbineguy Apr 2022 #1
If the answer is based on use BigmanPigman Apr 2022 #2
LOL - I'm on my third "Betty Crocker Cookbook." And it's ragged. Vinca Apr 2022 #10
Mine is held together with tape and rubber bands. BigmanPigman Apr 2022 #15
I go to that pie crust recipe every single time I make pie. You'd think I'd remember it Vinca Apr 2022 #22
Any of the Moosewood editions are my favorites Nanuke Apr 2022 #3
"Henry Chung's HUNAN STYLE CHINESE COOKBOOK" fierywoman Apr 2022 #4
I cycle through a bunch of them Jilly_in_VA Apr 2022 #5
Breath Of A Wok by Grace Young HUAJIAO Apr 2022 #6
For me it was and is Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat... Taught me how to make food taste mitch96 Apr 2022 #7
Some suggestions (mostly Italian, of course) usonian Apr 2022 #8
Wasn't that titled "How to Serve Man"? BigmanPigman Apr 2022 #16
To Serve Man usonian Apr 2022 #17
So, at the dinner club they eventually "eat their own". BigmanPigman Apr 2022 #19
Spoiler! nt usonian Apr 2022 #20
New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants no_hypocrisy Apr 2022 #9
America's Test Kitchen MissMillie Apr 2022 #11
If I had to pick one, Larousse Gastronomique, 1st American edition sir pball Apr 2022 #12
I've been using my old 'Better Homes and Gardens' since the 1970's. Paper Roses Apr 2022 #13
the lookout cook book by the us forest service for their fire crews and tower lookouts in the 30s AllaN01Bear Apr 2022 #14
My favorite cookbook is on YouTube trof Apr 2022 #18
So Many favorites dem in texas Apr 2022 #21
I used to collect cookbooks a long time ago, but now hippywife Apr 2022 #23
Depends Retrograde Apr 2022 #24

BigmanPigman

(51,432 posts)
2. If the answer is based on use
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 05:18 PM
Apr 2022

I would have to say Joy of Cooking. Like you, I have two since I wore it out. My "Betty Crocker Cookbook" is also worn out since I have been using it since the 70's as a teen.

The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazen is another one that is on its last leg.

BigmanPigman

(51,432 posts)
15. Mine is held together with tape and rubber bands.
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 06:52 PM
Apr 2022

I still remember page 318 for pie crusts (that specific number is burned in my mind from over 45 years ago). I remember that number for pie crusts and and it also was my No School/Snow-Day number (which I would pray to hear on the radio after it snowed).

Vinca

(50,170 posts)
22. I go to that pie crust recipe every single time I make pie. You'd think I'd remember it
Sat Apr 30, 2022, 07:42 AM
Apr 2022

after decades of making the same pie crust. LOL. At least you remember the page number.

fierywoman

(7,641 posts)
4. "Henry Chung's HUNAN STYLE CHINESE COOKBOOK"
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 05:49 PM
Apr 2022

If you know his Hunan restaurants in SF from the 70's, the recipes taste exactly like the restaurant.

Jilly_in_VA

(9,854 posts)
5. I cycle through a bunch of them
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 06:11 PM
Apr 2022

and have three shelves of the things, but probably the ones I'm using most are The More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre, Indian Instant Pot by Urvashi Pitre, The Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Lo Pinto (this was my first brush with Italian cooking when my mother got it from her sister), and believe it or not, a cookbook published in the 90s by my church in Tennessee. I also occasionally dip into an old cookbook that belonged to my mother called The American Woman's Cookbook that was published back around 1940. It has some great baking recipes in it. And yes, I own The Joy of Cooking, but I never much got into it. I was doing a lot of "poverty cooking" before I got it and it just didn't work for me. The More-With-Less Cookbook, OTOH, was right up my alley. I'm on my third copy of that.

mitch96

(13,821 posts)
7. For me it was and is Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat... Taught me how to make food taste
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 06:31 PM
Apr 2022

good and not just use a recipe. Does it have enough salt, Acid? what kind of fat.. Hot or not..
It's amazing how a cap full of vinegar can change the taste of a dish for the better..
Highly recommended..
https://www.saltfatacidheat.com

usonian

(9,425 posts)
8. Some suggestions (mostly Italian, of course)
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 08:14 PM
Apr 2022

These are my references, other than the Joy of Cooking and Fannie Farmer's (the earliest edition may be my Mom's) ---
IIRC, all from discount bookstores, and thrift stores.

Marcella Hazan
Classic and More Classic Italian Cooking
Marcella's Italian Kitchen


The Ramagnoli's
Meatless Cookbook
The Romagnoli's Table

Celli and Kretch
Naturally Italian

Nikki and David Goldbeck;s
American Whole Foods Cuisine

Julie Dannenbaum (I could only find paperback)
Italian Fast and Fresh

and this unusual book for cooks who need some liquid motivation:
Robert Ackart's
Spirited Cooking
(every recipe has some alcoholic ingredient)

I was in the thrift store looking for Italian Language books, "just in case" I go there ... I got
Everyday Italian,
turns out

usonian

(9,425 posts)
17. To Serve Man
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 07:38 PM
Apr 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
MY favorite Twilight Zone episode, and others rate it in their top ten.
The book "To Serve Man"



is de-crypted slowly (as befits the era) but that also makes it timely now.
Richard Kiel ( "Jaws" ) is the alien Kanamit benefactor.

Alternate ending: (fake, if you will)



Another great culinary-themed short is "Specialty of the House". Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
NO SPOILER GIVEN HERE.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508249/
IMDB is brief.
Robert Morely is delightful.

BigmanPigman

(51,432 posts)
19. So, at the dinner club they eventually "eat their own".
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 08:31 PM
Apr 2022

I get Hitchcock shows in my Cable Package. Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour run back to back. I'll be sure to check for this episode. Thanks!

no_hypocrisy

(45,774 posts)
9. New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants
Thu Apr 28, 2022, 10:06 PM
Apr 2022
https://www.amazon.com/New-York-Cookbook-Firehouses-Restaurants/dp/089480698X

New York is pierogi, pasta fagiole, and chicken soup: Avgolemono, Brazilian Canja, Kreplach, Soo Chow, and Ajiaco. New York is Sylvia's Ribs, plus Edna Lewis's Greens and Mrs. Kornick's Polish Corn Bread. And the New York Cookbook is all of this, and much, much more. Collected from all five boroughs by New York Times food writer Molly O'Neill, here are over 500 recipes--and over 700 photographs--that celebrate one thing: a passion for food and eating.

Deborah Markow's Braised Lamb Shanks and Mrs. Urscilla O'Connor's Codfish Puffs. Four-star chef Andre Soltner's Roast Chicken and Vernon Jordan's Jerk Style Jamaican Chicken. Robert Motherwell's Brandade de Morue and the Abyssinian Baptist Church's Long-Cooked Green Beans. Plus Katharine Hepburn's Brownies, Lisa's Mexican Flan, and Sally Darr's Golden Delicious Tart. Includes shopping guides, cooking tips, and walking tours.

MissMillie

(38,454 posts)
11. America's Test Kitchen
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 08:37 AM
Apr 2022

full title: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2021

It's a beast of a book (more than 1000 pages) and contains the recipes for 21 seasons of the show. But not just the recipes--product and equipment reviews.

WIDE range of recipes from many different cultures (Italian, Indian, Spanish, Mexican,... etc.).

https://shop.pbs.org/WD5652.html?p=1&websource=PBSPIN&source_code=PBSPIN&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&msclkid=b933723531871a1610e0105eedd19268

Paper Roses

(7,468 posts)
13. I've been using my old 'Better Homes and Gardens' since the 1970's.
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 08:56 AM
Apr 2022

Still make reference to this real oldie, Good Housekeeping Cookbook, circa 1955.
Since I am now a widow, I don't cook like I used to. I try to make things that will last a couple of days or that will freeze.
I've found a wonderful new site for Italian food, simple stuff, no exotic ingredients. I'm from an Italian family and have found things on this page that I've forgotten about. Foods that my grandmother and mother cooked years ago.
Take a look if you like Italian food. Web page and daily on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/sipandfeast
https://www.sipandfeast.com/

The Facebook has daily recipes, the web page has great pictures and instructions of all of the recipes to date. Easy to follow.

AllaN01Bear

(17,383 posts)
14. the lookout cook book by the us forest service for their fire crews and tower lookouts in the 30s
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 12:19 PM
Apr 2022

40s.

https://www.amazon.com/Lookout-Cookbook-Collection-Lookouts-Throughout/dp/097233565X


they had district and local varints . note : most of the recipies called for cans but u can add fresh ingredents . great for one or 2 ppl wit h basic recipies .


u also can get it on line free via pdf downloads .

trof

(54,255 posts)
18. My favorite cookbook is on YouTube
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 07:47 PM
Apr 2022

Chef John
"Food Wishes"
https://www.youtube.com/c/foodwishes

We have made several of his recipes.
Every single one was a winner.
Not a dud in the bunch.

And Most are fairly simple.
No list of 23 ingredients.

dem in texas

(2,672 posts)
21. So Many favorites
Fri Apr 29, 2022, 11:34 PM
Apr 2022

I listed Joy of Cooking because I keep that one ion my kitchen counter, so I have there for quick reference. I also like the book, Salt, Fat. Acid, heat. My real love is Texas-Mex, New Mexico and True Mexican cooking. I am always happy to find cookbooks with recipes from these areas:. The first cookbook published by the El Paso Jr. League, the Jamison's books on Texas and Border cooking, All of Patricia Quintana and Dianne Kennedy's cookbooks on Mexican cooking So many I can't name them all.

hippywife

(22,767 posts)
23. I used to collect cookbooks a long time ago, but now
Sat Apr 30, 2022, 09:42 AM
Apr 2022

mostly cook from long term habit and memory. If I'm looking for recipes for something new, I have go-to websites. If they don't have what I'm wanting, I google for it, looking at the recipes that have the highest rating with the largest number of reviews and read them before selecting which to use.

The bane of my existence are just comments in the reviews about how good a recipe looks or sounds, especially those who give the recipe a star rating, without even trying it yet! Actual reviews of the recipe are so helpful, and I can usually find the answers to any questions I might have by reading the reviews of those who have actually made it.

Retrograde

(10,073 posts)
24. Depends
Sat Apr 30, 2022, 11:18 AM
Apr 2022

My favorite to read is "Last Dinner on the Titanic". For actual cooking, I use the Moosewood cookbook or Jeff Smith's frugal gourmet books. I've recently discoverd Bryant Ferry's vegan cookbooks.

Never got into Joy of Cooking, but I have several editions of Fanny Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook, from 1890s (a reprint) to 2000. It's interesting to see how recipes and cooking styles change. My 1918 version has an intro by Herbert Hoover telling us how important it is to save food - especially wheat - for the soldiers on the front and has recipes for breads using alternative grains.

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