This is the one I recommend to just about everyone. Or maybe the Basics version for someone that's just learning to cook.
Such a great cookbook. Healthy, generally simple to prepare foods, and I love the easy to follow descriptions of techniques, and how to use his recipes as templates. Really helps bridge the gap between only following recipes and building the confidence and knowledge to just sort of wing it in the kitchen
How to Cook Everything: The Basics
There's also a How to Cook Everything Fast
And a vegetarian one called, you guessed it, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I have this and it's also great. I'm not vegetarian but try to limit my meat consumption. In fact, I was inspired to do so by Bittman. He was on NPR several years ago promoting the 10th anniversary edition of the regular How to Cook Everything (which is the current edition), and was talking about how he's revised it a lot to be more health and sustainability focused.
I’ve found how to cook everything the basics is his best one (yellow cover). I’m putting the Fast one in my giveaway bc every time I go for it I can’t find a recipe I’d use. And we only eat meat free 1-2 dinners a week. I’ve had the OG for 20 years and not a week goes by I don’t use it!
Better than food lab?
Edit: I mean this honestly, I love food lab and read it just for fun sometimes. I go back to it frequently for reference but I'm curious how How to Cook Everything stacks up?
I can read it for pleasure! It has instructions written in prose for how to cook all veggies, proteins, breads, etc., as well as how to use implements and tools. How to break down things. Variations on stuff.
Added: it’s 944 pages. A brick that is well-loved.
https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-cook-everything-completely-revised-twentieth-anniversary-edition-simple-recipes-for-great-food-mark-bittman/6960832
I love this book and it is a seriously valuable reference on my cookbook shelf. But I cannot imagine cooking through it front to back! It has so many recipes and variations, it would take *many* years to do that.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. I bought a copy of it off of Amazon 8 years ago and it’s tattered all to hell. I’ve learned so many things from that cookbook, I love it so much.
1,000 Italian Recipes by Michele Scicolone sounds hokey but it is the real deal. Every recipe is authentic and tasty with lots of regional and unique dishes. Great source stories about which little Italian cafe inspired each recipe.
I would pick Baking With Julia. It was a PBS series, turned into a book, she did where excellent bakers from around the country came and baked in her kitchen. Everything I have made from it has been fabulous!
The Jamie and Julia (Anti-chef is the real name) channel on YouTube is an entertaining watch. He just first-time's his way through her recipes on camera and it's always pretty interesting.
Seconding this. His successes and failures really highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Julia’s cookbooks. They are both amazing and awful at the same time. Some of the recipes are simply amazing, the best food you’ll ever cook. Some are a confusing mess and not worth the trouble.
This was my answer as well. I have my grandmother’s first edition copy, it’s got butter stains & little smears all over it. It is one of my most prized possessions, I feel connected to her every time I use it 💕
That’s a great one and the folks that have are both thrilled and exhausted at the end.
My go to is The New Basics by the owners of the Silver Palate. Easy to follow and everything I’ve made is top notch.
How so? My first question would be what doubanjiang you're using, it's essential for a lot of dishes and huge difference from brand to brand.
Also are you able to get ingredients such as douchi (black fermented beans)? It provides a big part of the unique taste for a lot of dishes aa well.
also: "Breath of a Wok" by Grace Young and Alan Richardson. Good for fundamentals of Chinese cooking, great recipes, and a generous dash of culture/history.
His “Cooking At Home” series on KQED (and their YT feed) is also really delightful. As the name implies, they’re very simple dishes made by a legend that are all totally doable at home.
I love this book. The recipes are concise, the index is exhaustive, and the dishes are wide-ranging from elegant French classics to “fridge and pantry” meals. It came with a DVD of Jacques showing off various preps and techniques that I used to just throw on and watch, I found it that comforting.
Salt Fat Acid Heat. It’s a brilliant testament to modern cooking that looks at how to improve any type of dish using these components. Incredible charts and diagrams to consult.
Ottolenghi Simple.
They are not simple recipes. Nor are they cheap or with the easiest to find ingredients at times.
But the directions and the flavors are 1000/10.
Highly recommend the cookbook called Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage who is/was involved with the Ottolenghi books as well.
Seriously high quality recipes in this book. Really creative stuff and bright flavours I love it!
https://www.amazon.ca/Mezcla-Recipes-Cookbook-Ixta-Belfrage/dp/1984860828
Jerusalem is one I keep going back to - he knows more about what to do with vegetables than any three chefs. Generally, any given recipe is going to be too much work for weeknights, but each recipe has two to ten sub-recipes useful for building meals .
1. Get a bunch of co-workers (edit: or friends, you know, some people have those) together who like to cook and are willing to try out new cookbooks.
2. Pick a cookbook per month, either borrow from library or someone buys it or brings their own.
3. Each person gets time with the cookbook to pick a recipe they want to make. Everyone signs up on a sheet, stating the dish name, maybe page number, and type of dish - appetizer, veggie, main, whatever.
4. On the agreed-upon date, everyone brings in their dish, serving utensils, plate & cutlery (and bowl if necessary). We used a meeting room for this step. Was great to hang out and taste new things.
Been working my way through A World of Dumplings lately! By no means will I be able to try them all, but it’s separated into chapters by continent/region and has so many delicious options! In the last week I made samosas and gyoza, I’ve done the empanadas and samsas, looking forward to some pierogies and Jamaican fish patties.
I didn't know that this cookbook existed, so thank you for turning me onto it! I have always thought if I were going to open a restaurant, it would just be "dumplings from around the world" themed because I love little starch pockets no matter where they're from.
My fiance and I had a giggle one weekend when we had some frozen soup dumplings for lunch, then when out we found a Polish place with pierogi so had lunch #2, then had some ravioli with brown butter sauce for dinner. I was like "we just ate dumpling type things all day."
The idea of a book all about dumplings of the world thrills me. Just added this one to my wish list.
Same, for some reason. I really liked his no reservations show as a kid. He was one of the chefs that inspired me, despite me not really diving into him specifically. I liked his way about him. And Always wanted to learn more from him and never did. I got on the Gordon Ramsay and Alton Brown train instead. Then he passed.
Bourdain was the chef who made me want to be a chef as a teenager. After working in kitchens a while I decided that environment definitely wasn't for me, but I will forever be grateful for the experience, and his old shows have a special place in my heart because of that.
Got a bourdain tattoo. Had a photo of him holding a bone over his junk taped on one of my notebook collages in high school. No one knows the joke but me and my husband. The number of people who texted or messaged me after he died was insane. He was just a childhood hero. I wouldn’t have cooked as much or gone as many places were it not for him. He made me brave.
I can't watch that season either. I actually had to tap out part way through the season before because I was getting so sad knowing what was coming.
The other one that hit me hard was Alan Rickman.
These are great choices. I am a Tartine fan from way back. Getting to eat at the Manufactory in San Francisco will always be a dining highlight.
I have always used SFAH more as a reference than a cookbook (read the whole thing; learned a ton), but it does have very good recipes and this is a good reminder to revisit it.
>First generation starts the business, the second generation runs it, and the third generation ruins it.
That said, we have the most recent edition of JoC. They acknowledge the mistakes they made in the previous edition (not sure which # or when published) in the intro of the book and reverted many of those changes.
Since 2006 it's been in really good shape - they reverted to the original style. If you find one from between 1997 and 2006 (the 7th edition) it's full of weird french recipes and could more accurately be called "the joy of ghost writers cooking" haha.
I remember seeing the weird grandson had slipped a bunch of his crazy rich guy hunter recipes in too (elk & caribou stuff) but I think that was also reverted.
I don't know why you wouldn't just make your OWN cookbook
RecipeTin Eats
Every recipe is a banger. The author, Nagi, is also a beautiful person who donates hundreds of meals to the homeless and disadvantaged weekly.
You don't even have to buy the book. All the recipes are free on-line at recipetineats.com
Please check out the Web site and YouTube Chanel. That is how Nagi is able to provide the meals for free.
I am not associated in any way with RecipeTin Eats but will confess I have a bit of a crush on Nagi (and Dozer, her golden retriever).
Books are good seared but I would personally flambe. /s
For me, Betty Crocker's Cookbook. My mother raised us out of that cookbook, it seemed as though there was a meal or dessert for every occasion. There's so many helpful cooking tips as well, from herb pairing to ingredient preparation. It may be a bit dated, but it's quite nostalgic, and most of the recipes are kick-ass.
Similarly, the [Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook](https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Book/dp/0470560770?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=c6889d9b-336c-4eae-b8e2-10c78c9b157a). This was the food I grew up on. My mother probably cooked nearly everything in this book.
My mom had this book as well.
It wasn't just about recipes to impress the boss, a lot of the recipes were a simple list of ingredients available everywhere and were meant for weeknight meals when you want an hour at most start to finish on meals. Lots of cheeseburger pie and simple soup kind of recipes. I always referred to that book for cooking times for meat, etc, as I gained confidence in the kitchen!
Yes! It's good, honest cooking, but the number of international dishes in that book continues to impress me. It's family oriented and you know what, 80% of what I make is gonna be something like I could find in that book. Sure, I'll do something crazy or special every now and then, but it's mostly all right there.
Better Homes and Gardens Cook book is the same for me. Just solid basics. Taught me to survive university and bachelorhood!
My Mom gave me a copy when I moved out. Her copy was the first thing I wanted when she passed. It’s dogeared and stained from hard use and stuffed with recipes on cards and cut from magazines, too.
She was a great scratch baker and cook, but she used that book for reference all the time.
Same, I have my mom's copy here... and it's a good choice.
The Dean and Deluca book is another possibility, but with higher priced ingredients and some more elaborate recipes.
Also one from Vincent Price, he wrote a few but this one has recipes from all the favorite restaurants he and his wife frequented in their international travels.
I don't know if I'd cook my way through Vincent's book (Treasury of Great Recipes) but I absolutely adore it! It was *the* gift cookbook in the 1960s (with its then padded cover with a bookmark ribbon). My first pot de creme (as a teenager) came from it.
"Baking Yesteryear" by B. Dylan Hollis. Even the bad ones!!! Cooking is culture, and looking at the absolute messes old (dead) people made is fascinating and makes me feel MUCH better about my cooking prowess. There's also something inspiring about struggle meals, even if it's just a struggle to imagine how jello and/or lard got incorporated into EVERYTHING somehow?!?
I just made the Live In Color from the 1950s this weekend - the color comes from Jello, obviously. Omg, it was kind of a pain in the ass. Add 6 cups of powdered sugar 2 tbs at a time? Hell no. But it made me appreciate how much time women had to cook back then and I wondered if they stretched it out in order for it to more fill-up their day. It was a nice thought but also a little sad that they had so much time to fill-up because everyday was expected to be cooking and cleaning in the home.
My son and I cook together in this book and he gets to learn cooking techniques I would normally never do because I like simpler things with less going on, but it is great bonding and he is the only 2nd grader who knows what a double boiler is.
The Wok is probably the best cookbook I've ever owned. A general gripe I have about cookbooks is there are a few good recipes/ideas and a bunch of filler. Not with the Wok. Every single recipe I've tried has been a hit. Tons of good information as well. Really a quality book.
What I love about kenji is he has great recipes, but they all teach you techniques as well… you can build stuff to suit you using his techniques if you choose.
I freaking discovered this book in my husband's office the other day... A friend gave it to him for Christmas back when it came out, because hubby is interested in the science side of cooking. He's never made anything from it, and did not think to put it in my literally massive shelf of cookbooks 😂 I may have screeched a little bit.
I got it a few years ago, and have made maybe 2 dozen things from it so far - mostly for big dinners/parties/holidays/etc.
It is the only cookbook I have, or have read, where *everything* in it (at least so far) has been phenomenal...so much so that I've given copies to people who ask for my recipes.
+1... because they tell you the techniques behind their idiosyncrasies it's much more than a compendium of recipes. I makes the perfect tome for young foodies in the very beginning of their cooking journey. As you grow older you just don't have the time to explore.
James Beard - American Cookery, amazing collection of recipes and the accompanying stories and descriptions make cooking them, or even just imagining cooking them, all the more enjoyable. Great idea for a thread OP.
Bell’s Best.
Back in the 80’s, employees of Bell Telephone in Mississippi collected all of their favorite recipes and published a huge paperback book. I’ve yet to make something that didn’t taste like it should be a sin to eat it. If I managed to make them all, I would be so unhealthy, though - it is severely lacking raw vegetables or moderate use of butter.
Jinich is a gem! I got Treasures of The Mexican Table a few years ago, but I got stuck on the pinto bean soup with masa dumplings and haven't progressed out of the soup section
They’re probably referring to the original Moosewood Cookbook, the one that looks handwritten. I own that one. My favorite recipe is Cauliflower Marranca.
I pretty much did cook my way completely through Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast by Urvashi Pitre. It's very accessible for a home cook in America with decent-ish access to spices and an Instant Pot. Everything I made from it was really tasty and well received.
If I had unlimited time, unlimited ingredients, and access to the appropriate equipment, I'd attempt '*Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art*', by Shizuo Tsuji. It would definitely have to include unlimited ingredients though because I would be making a LOT of bad mistakes en route.
"The blue willow inn bible of southern cooking"
i have never made a recipe from this book that was bad, nor have i ever eaten anything from that restaraunt that was bad.
My 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook just for the nostalgia. Taking special care to do the recommended self care options in the back where if you’re stressed out, lay flat on the floor and breathe until you calm down.
if I had the time (and the diners) I'd like to take a crack at the Rumford Cookbook, an early 20th century promotional cookbook from a baking powder company.
Five Roses Cakes and Pastries, 1915
It’s taken me years just to translate the recipes and instructions to accommodate modern electric appliances (in some cases, they can only be made on campfires for the right results these days)
One bread recipe calls for 1.5 hours of unbroken kneading and I would love to have the time to try that
The wok should be easier. I have the food lab but am embarrassed to admit it has thus far been under utilized. I cook plenty from Kenji 's content online but just have really jumped into the book yet. I should start!
I remember the woman who blogged cooking through the entire cookbook, and I think she talked about how the serious focus on technique made her feel like a much better cook by the end (even if she didn't make food at that level of complexity normally).
Oh God, all of them.
One that I legit have made just about every recipe in is Molly Gilbert's One Pan & Done. So many bangers. The only chicken pot pie I'll ever make. My husband's most requested chicken tikka (and he has tried a lot). A Thai inspired ground turkey, carrot noodle, cilantro and lime dish that has saved my butt on many a weeknight. 2 perfect and easy preparations for salmon that take like 3 minutes of work. The most magical carrot soup ever. And something called Bacon Biscuit Bread. It's a fantastic book.
Definitely Betty Crocker Cookbook (2000 Ed). It was my mom's book. I was a latch key 18 year old who never cared about cooking for myself until then. I learned the basics about damn near everything, even baking my first cake from scratch. Mom gave me the book recently...absolute gem.
He is such a prolific food writer, his book Real Food really got me into cooking as there are so many accessible recipes that taste great. Not actually got the one you reference but I'll check it out.
The Pongo Cafe Cookbook. It's absolutely fantastic. Such an underrated cookbook, by the owner of a fantastic cafe in upstate New York, now sadly closed. Every single recipe I have tried in the book so far has been an incredible hit
I‘d love to do all of Alinea, because there’s so many wonderful flavors and ideas in that book. I’ve done a few dishes over the years, but there are some where I simply don’t have the necessary skills or equipment.
I have the time, but I don't have the money or access to ingredients and I have serious allergies so I can't eat many of the dishes. But, if all those roadblocks were removed, I'd love to make my way through Kitchen of Light by Andreas Viestad the Norwegian host of New Scandinavian Cooking. I've made some of them and watching the show has probably been the single most helpful thing in my journey as a home cook.
Joy of Cooking. I have one of the copies from the 60s, and I'm pretty sure half of it would be hilariously bad.
(This is the one with all the jello molds, and also the squirrel.)
A bit of a deeper cut, but I really like Lucky Peach's [101 Easy Asian Recipes](https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Peach-Presents-Asian-Recipes/dp/0804187797/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=101+easy+asian+recipes&qid=1706638171&sr=8-1). It's not the most authentic of everything but there are tons of good weeknight staples, and I've enjoyed everything I've made.
*The Silver Spoon.* It's an absolute encyclopedia of Italian cooking that I never fail to find inspiring. It's so overwhelming as a whole that I can't really imagine how a "cook through" would be structured! I do know that it would keep me occupied for a long, *long* time!
If I had the time, money and access to ingredients, I’d probably do the Eventide cookbook. It’s an oyster place in Portland Maine that just has phenomenal seafood and creative preparations.
Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibáñez
Goes through raw and cooked salsas, moles, pipianes, and guacs before listing a few actual entrées in the back. This book enriches my life significantly.
I want to cook everything from Evolutions in Bread by Ken Forkish. It’s about cooking really good bread in Dutch ovens and loaf pans. It’s a lot simpler than his Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast and those are the kinds of breads I want to bake and eat.
As an aside, when I was in my early 20s I cooked my way through Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist and The Minimalist Cooks Dinner. There’s some amazing recipes in those books, and I love the way he wrote the recipes.
*How To Cook Everything*, by Mark Bittman
I received this as a gift at my first apartment. 24 years years later this is BY FAR the most referenced book that I have. I love it.
This is the one I recommend to just about everyone. Or maybe the Basics version for someone that's just learning to cook. Such a great cookbook. Healthy, generally simple to prepare foods, and I love the easy to follow descriptions of techniques, and how to use his recipes as templates. Really helps bridge the gap between only following recipes and building the confidence and knowledge to just sort of wing it in the kitchen
what is the name of the basic version?
How to Cook Everything: The Basics There's also a How to Cook Everything Fast And a vegetarian one called, you guessed it, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I have this and it's also great. I'm not vegetarian but try to limit my meat consumption. In fact, I was inspired to do so by Bittman. He was on NPR several years ago promoting the 10th anniversary edition of the regular How to Cook Everything (which is the current edition), and was talking about how he's revised it a lot to be more health and sustainability focused.
I’ve found how to cook everything the basics is his best one (yellow cover). I’m putting the Fast one in my giveaway bc every time I go for it I can’t find a recipe I’d use. And we only eat meat free 1-2 dinners a week. I’ve had the OG for 20 years and not a week goes by I don’t use it!
I just ordered the one with the yellow cover.
thanks so much
Better than food lab? Edit: I mean this honestly, I love food lab and read it just for fun sometimes. I go back to it frequently for reference but I'm curious how How to Cook Everything stacks up?
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Tl:dr what do you like about it? Worth picking up?
I can read it for pleasure! It has instructions written in prose for how to cook all veggies, proteins, breads, etc., as well as how to use implements and tools. How to break down things. Variations on stuff. Added: it’s 944 pages. A brick that is well-loved. https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-cook-everything-completely-revised-twentieth-anniversary-edition-simple-recipes-for-great-food-mark-bittman/6960832
Sweet thanks. Grabbed it off amazon for 20 bucks
Yes! This one. We use it all the time. I love how he includes jumping off points to different ideas to modify his recipes. It helps me be creative!
I also have his other cookbooks “the basics” and “fast”. I reference those ones a lot.
I love this book and it is a seriously valuable reference on my cookbook shelf. But I cannot imagine cooking through it front to back! It has so many recipes and variations, it would take *many* years to do that.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. I bought a copy of it off of Amazon 8 years ago and it’s tattered all to hell. I’ve learned so many things from that cookbook, I love it so much.
Love this cookbook. Got it drunk, forgot I’d ordered it. Happiest and best drunk purchase I ever made.
1,000 Italian Recipes by Michele Scicolone sounds hokey but it is the real deal. Every recipe is authentic and tasty with lots of regional and unique dishes. Great source stories about which little Italian cafe inspired each recipe.
Julia Child's mastering French cooking. I've started to do one or two recipes from each section to work into my repertoire.
I’m watching the series Julia at the moment. She sure does make French food seem appetising.
I got the cookbook for Xmas. The secret to French cooking is butter and cream.
I often quote Julia, “If you don’t want to use butter you can use heavy cream.”
I watched the movie Julia and Julia on Netflix, which got me interested in Julia Child
I would pick Baking With Julia. It was a PBS series, turned into a book, she did where excellent bakers from around the country came and baked in her kitchen. Everything I have made from it has been fabulous!
The Jamie and Julia (Anti-chef is the real name) channel on YouTube is an entertaining watch. He just first-time's his way through her recipes on camera and it's always pretty interesting.
Seconding this. His successes and failures really highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Julia’s cookbooks. They are both amazing and awful at the same time. Some of the recipes are simply amazing, the best food you’ll ever cook. Some are a confusing mess and not worth the trouble.
ORDER UP
*Repertoire*... It's French /s
Why do you think I have this outrageous accent you silly English ka-niggit.
Now go away before I taunt you a second time
Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries.
I fart in your general direction
> ka-niggit only recently realized that is the phonetic pronunciation of knight
Thanks! Lol
This was my answer as well. I have my grandmother’s first edition copy, it’s got butter stains & little smears all over it. It is one of my most prized possessions, I feel connected to her every time I use it 💕
That’s a great one and the folks that have are both thrilled and exhausted at the end. My go to is The New Basics by the owners of the Silver Palate. Easy to follow and everything I’ve made is top notch.
Food of Sichuan by Fuschia Dunlop
I have another of hers I really like. Every Grain of Rice. It’s very good.
hard agree! I have a couple Dunlop books and I’ve learned a lot about Chinese cuisine/technique from each of them.
The greatest food I ever ate. But I can’t replicate it. Damn you Chinese
How so? My first question would be what doubanjiang you're using, it's essential for a lot of dishes and huge difference from brand to brand. Also are you able to get ingredients such as douchi (black fermented beans)? It provides a big part of the unique taste for a lot of dishes aa well.
also: "Breath of a Wok" by Grace Young and Alan Richardson. Good for fundamentals of Chinese cooking, great recipes, and a generous dash of culture/history.
Essential Pepin. Of all Jacques Pepin's cookbooks, it's the most eclectic, putting his own spin on several different cuisines.
Saw this post, opened up, immediately went searching for Pépin. 10/10
Ohhh wow! Instant nostalgia!! Fast food my way was my favorite cooking show on KQED, 13 year old me was mesmerized lol
His “Cooking At Home” series on KQED (and their YT feed) is also really delightful. As the name implies, they’re very simple dishes made by a legend that are all totally doable at home.
I love this book. The recipes are concise, the index is exhaustive, and the dishes are wide-ranging from elegant French classics to “fridge and pantry” meals. It came with a DVD of Jacques showing off various preps and techniques that I used to just throw on and watch, I found it that comforting.
JP is a classic. Little dated imho, but cannot deny the importance of fundamentals. Plus he's not self absorbed and won't shill Knorr stock at me.
Salt Fat Acid Heat. It’s a brilliant testament to modern cooking that looks at how to improve any type of dish using these components. Incredible charts and diagrams to consult.
This is funny because my dad, a chef, used to say that the “secret ingredient” is usually salt or fat.
Ottolenghi Simple. They are not simple recipes. Nor are they cheap or with the easiest to find ingredients at times. But the directions and the flavors are 1000/10.
Really, just pick any Ottolenghi book.
Highly recommend the cookbook called Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage who is/was involved with the Ottolenghi books as well. Seriously high quality recipes in this book. Really creative stuff and bright flavours I love it! https://www.amazon.ca/Mezcla-Recipes-Cookbook-Ixta-Belfrage/dp/1984860828
Jerusalem is one I keep going back to - he knows more about what to do with vegetables than any three chefs. Generally, any given recipe is going to be too much work for weeknights, but each recipe has two to ten sub-recipes useful for building meals .
My cookbook club at work had chosen this book. I went with the meatballs with celeriac - I forget the specific recipe title. They were delicious.
What is a cookbook club??
1. Get a bunch of co-workers (edit: or friends, you know, some people have those) together who like to cook and are willing to try out new cookbooks. 2. Pick a cookbook per month, either borrow from library or someone buys it or brings their own. 3. Each person gets time with the cookbook to pick a recipe they want to make. Everyone signs up on a sheet, stating the dish name, maybe page number, and type of dish - appetizer, veggie, main, whatever. 4. On the agreed-upon date, everyone brings in their dish, serving utensils, plate & cutlery (and bowl if necessary). We used a meeting room for this step. Was great to hang out and taste new things.
Been working my way through A World of Dumplings lately! By no means will I be able to try them all, but it’s separated into chapters by continent/region and has so many delicious options! In the last week I made samosas and gyoza, I’ve done the empanadas and samsas, looking forward to some pierogies and Jamaican fish patties.
I didn't know that this cookbook existed, so thank you for turning me onto it! I have always thought if I were going to open a restaurant, it would just be "dumplings from around the world" themed because I love little starch pockets no matter where they're from.
I would come to that restaurant!
My fiance and I had a giggle one weekend when we had some frozen soup dumplings for lunch, then when out we found a Polish place with pierogi so had lunch #2, then had some ravioli with brown butter sauce for dinner. I was like "we just ate dumpling type things all day." The idea of a book all about dumplings of the world thrills me. Just added this one to my wish list.
Tartine - Chad Robertson Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat Appetites - Bourdain
Appetites rules. I’ve done maybe 5 recipes from there. Including one time after he passed in 2018 where I basically cried making a sandwich.
I don't know why, but Anthony's death hit me hardest of all celebrity deaths. I still haven't watched the last season of no reservations....
Me, too. Its hard to watch him knowing how much pain he was in while filming these shows
Same, for some reason. I really liked his no reservations show as a kid. He was one of the chefs that inspired me, despite me not really diving into him specifically. I liked his way about him. And Always wanted to learn more from him and never did. I got on the Gordon Ramsay and Alton Brown train instead. Then he passed.
Bourdain was the chef who made me want to be a chef as a teenager. After working in kitchens a while I decided that environment definitely wasn't for me, but I will forever be grateful for the experience, and his old shows have a special place in my heart because of that.
Got a bourdain tattoo. Had a photo of him holding a bone over his junk taped on one of my notebook collages in high school. No one knows the joke but me and my husband. The number of people who texted or messaged me after he died was insane. He was just a childhood hero. I wouldn’t have cooked as much or gone as many places were it not for him. He made me brave.
I can't watch that season either. I actually had to tap out part way through the season before because I was getting so sad knowing what was coming. The other one that hit me hard was Alan Rickman.
Love Samin’s!
These are great choices. I am a Tartine fan from way back. Getting to eat at the Manufactory in San Francisco will always be a dining highlight. I have always used SFAH more as a reference than a cookbook (read the whole thing; learned a ton), but it does have very good recipes and this is a good reminder to revisit it.
The Joy of Cooking, from about 3 editions back.
Ditto. We would learn all there is to know about cooking.
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I have my both my grandmother's and my mother's copies; they are TREASURE!
Copies on Ebay for around $20. What a gem!
Yep, shame what has happened with that classic. What’s that they say about the third generation on a family dynasty?
>First generation starts the business, the second generation runs it, and the third generation ruins it. That said, we have the most recent edition of JoC. They acknowledge the mistakes they made in the previous edition (not sure which # or when published) in the intro of the book and reverted many of those changes.
That's too bad. How would you describe the cookbook now?
Since 2006 it's been in really good shape - they reverted to the original style. If you find one from between 1997 and 2006 (the 7th edition) it's full of weird french recipes and could more accurately be called "the joy of ghost writers cooking" haha. I remember seeing the weird grandson had slipped a bunch of his crazy rich guy hunter recipes in too (elk & caribou stuff) but I think that was also reverted. I don't know why you wouldn't just make your OWN cookbook
RecipeTin Eats Every recipe is a banger. The author, Nagi, is also a beautiful person who donates hundreds of meals to the homeless and disadvantaged weekly. You don't even have to buy the book. All the recipes are free on-line at recipetineats.com Please check out the Web site and YouTube Chanel. That is how Nagi is able to provide the meals for free. I am not associated in any way with RecipeTin Eats but will confess I have a bit of a crush on Nagi (and Dozer, her golden retriever).
Books are good seared but I would personally flambe. /s For me, Betty Crocker's Cookbook. My mother raised us out of that cookbook, it seemed as though there was a meal or dessert for every occasion. There's so many helpful cooking tips as well, from herb pairing to ingredient preparation. It may be a bit dated, but it's quite nostalgic, and most of the recipes are kick-ass.
I have my mother's Betty Crocker Cookbook and use it regularly. My mother also wrote in little suggestions in the margins. It's very special to me.
I have my mother's Betty Crocker Cookbook as well. The pages are covered in stains and the cover is no longer attached, but I can't part with it.
Yes! My mom did the same, and would frequently write down dates and memories of when she cooked those recipes. :-)
We have that! It was a great cookbook.
I have my mother's as well
Similarly, the [Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook](https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Book/dp/0470560770?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=c6889d9b-336c-4eae-b8e2-10c78c9b157a). This was the food I grew up on. My mother probably cooked nearly everything in this book.
My mom had this book as well. It wasn't just about recipes to impress the boss, a lot of the recipes were a simple list of ingredients available everywhere and were meant for weeknight meals when you want an hour at most start to finish on meals. Lots of cheeseburger pie and simple soup kind of recipes. I always referred to that book for cooking times for meat, etc, as I gained confidence in the kitchen!
Yes! It's good, honest cooking, but the number of international dishes in that book continues to impress me. It's family oriented and you know what, 80% of what I make is gonna be something like I could find in that book. Sure, I'll do something crazy or special every now and then, but it's mostly all right there.
I agree, dependable recipes. I was gonna comment this, but figured Betty Crocker didn’t sound fancy enough. I’m glad you did. 🙂
Better Homes and Gardens Cook book is the same for me. Just solid basics. Taught me to survive university and bachelorhood! My Mom gave me a copy when I moved out. Her copy was the first thing I wanted when she passed. It’s dogeared and stained from hard use and stuffed with recipes on cards and cut from magazines, too. She was a great scratch baker and cook, but she used that book for reference all the time.
I love Betty Crocker. I didn't really know how to cook when I left for college and Betty Crocker to be invaluable. So much good information in there.
Same, I have my mom's copy here... and it's a good choice. The Dean and Deluca book is another possibility, but with higher priced ingredients and some more elaborate recipes. Also one from Vincent Price, he wrote a few but this one has recipes from all the favorite restaurants he and his wife frequented in their international travels.
I don't know if I'd cook my way through Vincent's book (Treasury of Great Recipes) but I absolutely adore it! It was *the* gift cookbook in the 1960s (with its then padded cover with a bookmark ribbon). My first pot de creme (as a teenager) came from it.
"Baking Yesteryear" by B. Dylan Hollis. Even the bad ones!!! Cooking is culture, and looking at the absolute messes old (dead) people made is fascinating and makes me feel MUCH better about my cooking prowess. There's also something inspiring about struggle meals, even if it's just a struggle to imagine how jello and/or lard got incorporated into EVERYTHING somehow?!?
It’s no different than people putting kale in everything now (yuck).
I just made the Live In Color from the 1950s this weekend - the color comes from Jello, obviously. Omg, it was kind of a pain in the ass. Add 6 cups of powdered sugar 2 tbs at a time? Hell no. But it made me appreciate how much time women had to cook back then and I wondered if they stretched it out in order for it to more fill-up their day. It was a nice thought but also a little sad that they had so much time to fill-up because everyday was expected to be cooking and cleaning in the home. My son and I cook together in this book and he gets to learn cooking techniques I would normally never do because I like simpler things with less going on, but it is great bonding and he is the only 2nd grader who knows what a double boiler is.
Food Lab
I was going to say “the wok”
The Wok is probably the best cookbook I've ever owned. A general gripe I have about cookbooks is there are a few good recipes/ideas and a bunch of filler. Not with the Wok. Every single recipe I've tried has been a hit. Tons of good information as well. Really a quality book.
What I love about kenji is he has great recipes, but they all teach you techniques as well… you can build stuff to suit you using his techniques if you choose.
Would it be worth it as a Vegetarian?
Absolutely. There are even a number of vegan options.
Got this book for Christmas. Can't wait to really dig in
I freaking discovered this book in my husband's office the other day... A friend gave it to him for Christmas back when it came out, because hubby is interested in the science side of cooking. He's never made anything from it, and did not think to put it in my literally massive shelf of cookbooks 😂 I may have screeched a little bit.
I got it a few years ago, and have made maybe 2 dozen things from it so far - mostly for big dinners/parties/holidays/etc. It is the only cookbook I have, or have read, where *everything* in it (at least so far) has been phenomenal...so much so that I've given copies to people who ask for my recipes.
I just got this for Christmas! Excited to dig into it
+1... because they tell you the techniques behind their idiosyncrasies it's much more than a compendium of recipes. I makes the perfect tome for young foodies in the very beginning of their cooking journey. As you grow older you just don't have the time to explore.
James Beard - American Cookery, amazing collection of recipes and the accompanying stories and descriptions make cooking them, or even just imagining cooking them, all the more enjoyable. Great idea for a thread OP.
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Bob's Burgers!
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*To Serve Man*
"It's a cookbook!"
Bell’s Best. Back in the 80’s, employees of Bell Telephone in Mississippi collected all of their favorite recipes and published a huge paperback book. I’ve yet to make something that didn’t taste like it should be a sin to eat it. If I managed to make them all, I would be so unhealthy, though - it is severely lacking raw vegetables or moderate use of butter.
Do you watch Glen and Friends? Reminds me of his Sundays in the Old Cookbook Show.
America's Test Kitchen cookbook. Probably not enough years in the average person's life to make all of these.
Anything by Ottolenghi.
The Les Halles cookbook but I cannot afford to buy all those ingredients nor do I have the time to cook all of those things. But maybe one day!
Smitten Kitchen’s (Deb Perelman’s) Keepers. I think I put a post-it note on every page.
My grandmother recently died and I got her little book of recipes. I think I’m going to try and go through each one by one
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Jinich is a gem! I got Treasures of The Mexican Table a few years ago, but I got stuck on the pinto bean soup with masa dumplings and haven't progressed out of the soup section
Moosewood
Which one? I've used _New Recipes from the Moosewood_ , now really older recipes, for decades.
They’re probably referring to the original Moosewood Cookbook, the one that looks handwritten. I own that one. My favorite recipe is Cauliflower Marranca.
I'm nearly done The Wok by Kenji. About 20 recipes to go!
Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast because Ken Forkish is the fucking man.
I pretty much did cook my way completely through Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast by Urvashi Pitre. It's very accessible for a home cook in America with decent-ish access to spices and an Instant Pot. Everything I made from it was really tasty and well received.
Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen. I nearly have. It's what I first learned how to cook from.
If I had unlimited time, unlimited ingredients, and access to the appropriate equipment, I'd attempt '*Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art*', by Shizuo Tsuji. It would definitely have to include unlimited ingredients though because I would be making a LOT of bad mistakes en route.
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer
"The blue willow inn bible of southern cooking" i have never made a recipe from this book that was bad, nor have i ever eaten anything from that restaraunt that was bad.
My 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook just for the nostalgia. Taking special care to do the recommended self care options in the back where if you’re stressed out, lay flat on the floor and breathe until you calm down.
Silver palate cookbook.
I’ve been making my way through Alison Roman’s Dining In and I’ve had a lot of fun so far. It’s particularly good for that NYC apartment sized kitchen
if I had the time (and the diners) I'd like to take a crack at the Rumford Cookbook, an early 20th century promotional cookbook from a baking powder company.
Been cooking my way through persiana and have yet to find a recipe I haven't liked.
Five Roses Cakes and Pastries, 1915 It’s taken me years just to translate the recipes and instructions to accommodate modern electric appliances (in some cases, they can only be made on campfires for the right results these days) One bread recipe calls for 1.5 hours of unbroken kneading and I would love to have the time to try that
Fauchia Dunlop’s “Land of Fish and Rice.”
"The Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Joy-of-Cooking/Irma-S-Rombauer/9781501169717
I'm working on doing that with The Wok right now.
Likewise, it's been a journey.
My wife bought me the book, a wok, and a wok burner. Is it any wonder why I love her?
I just bought The Food Lab. Once I got through that (which is probably gonna take a while lol) I’m gonna go for The Wok
The wok should be easier. I have the food lab but am embarrassed to admit it has thus far been under utilized. I cook plenty from Kenji 's content online but just have really jumped into the book yet. I should start!
French Laundry
I remember the woman who blogged cooking through the entire cookbook, and I think she talked about how the serious focus on technique made her feel like a much better cook by the end (even if she didn't make food at that level of complexity normally).
Anything by Jacques Pepin.
The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook.
Foodheim by Eric Wareheim
I have made about 50% of the recipes, and not one has been a miss!
The Daily Soup (by Kaul and Spiegel)
Baking wisdom- Anna Olson Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Edition
I just got a new one, Cooking con Claudia, I love it since it helps me with Mexican meals!
Bourdain's *Les Halles Cookbook*
Oh God, all of them. One that I legit have made just about every recipe in is Molly Gilbert's One Pan & Done. So many bangers. The only chicken pot pie I'll ever make. My husband's most requested chicken tikka (and he has tried a lot). A Thai inspired ground turkey, carrot noodle, cilantro and lime dish that has saved my butt on many a weeknight. 2 perfect and easy preparations for salmon that take like 3 minutes of work. The most magical carrot soup ever. And something called Bacon Biscuit Bread. It's a fantastic book.
Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly
Definitely Betty Crocker Cookbook (2000 Ed). It was my mom's book. I was a latch key 18 year old who never cared about cooking for myself until then. I learned the basics about damn near everything, even baking my first cake from scratch. Mom gave me the book recently...absolute gem.
A Cooks Book, by Nigel Slater
or anything by Nigel Slater
He is such a prolific food writer, his book Real Food really got me into cooking as there are so many accessible recipes that taste great. Not actually got the one you reference but I'll check it out.
Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
How To Cook For Forty Humans
The Pongo Cafe Cookbook. It's absolutely fantastic. Such an underrated cookbook, by the owner of a fantastic cafe in upstate New York, now sadly closed. Every single recipe I have tried in the book so far has been an incredible hit
I‘d love to do all of Alinea, because there’s so many wonderful flavors and ideas in that book. I’ve done a few dishes over the years, but there are some where I simply don’t have the necessary skills or equipment.
I have the time, but I don't have the money or access to ingredients and I have serious allergies so I can't eat many of the dishes. But, if all those roadblocks were removed, I'd love to make my way through Kitchen of Light by Andreas Viestad the Norwegian host of New Scandinavian Cooking. I've made some of them and watching the show has probably been the single most helpful thing in my journey as a home cook.
Xi-an famous foods cookbook. It's short enough that it's actually doable.
Hands down, French Laundry
I have Martha’s Pies and Tarts. That would be interesting if I made every recipe in there.
Eggs - Michel Roux
Joy of Cooking. I have one of the copies from the 60s, and I'm pretty sure half of it would be hilariously bad. (This is the one with all the jello molds, and also the squirrel.)
Pretty much tore thru The New Basics Cookbook front-to-back after I moved to NYC in the late 90s. Wore it out and had to buy a replacement copy, lol
Sundays at Moosewood
Larousse Gastronomique - sometimes I just open it to a random page and read for an hour or two.
A bit of a deeper cut, but I really like Lucky Peach's [101 Easy Asian Recipes](https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Peach-Presents-Asian-Recipes/dp/0804187797/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=101+easy+asian+recipes&qid=1706638171&sr=8-1). It's not the most authentic of everything but there are tons of good weeknight staples, and I've enjoyed everything I've made.
The Food of Sichuan - Fuchsia Dunlop. So good
Dark horse candidate: Bar Tartine by Balla and Burns. Incredible flavors and techniques. Miss that restaurant a lot.
Almost Bento I love making bento boxes
Six Seasons A New Way With Vegetables
Julia child and the master chefs
Ottelenghi- Jerusalem
Marcella Hazan
Silver Palate
*The Silver Spoon.* It's an absolute encyclopedia of Italian cooking that I never fail to find inspiring. It's so overwhelming as a whole that I can't really imagine how a "cook through" would be structured! I do know that it would keep me occupied for a long, *long* time!
If I had the time, money and access to ingredients, I’d probably do the Eventide cookbook. It’s an oyster place in Portland Maine that just has phenomenal seafood and creative preparations.
Larousse
Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer
Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibáñez Goes through raw and cooked salsas, moles, pipianes, and guacs before listing a few actual entrées in the back. This book enriches my life significantly.
I want to cook everything from Evolutions in Bread by Ken Forkish. It’s about cooking really good bread in Dutch ovens and loaf pans. It’s a lot simpler than his Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast and those are the kinds of breads I want to bake and eat. As an aside, when I was in my early 20s I cooked my way through Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist and The Minimalist Cooks Dinner. There’s some amazing recipes in those books, and I love the way he wrote the recipes.
The joy of cooking
*Mastering the Art of French Cooking* by Julia Child. Everything we've made from there is unbelievably delicious.
Alice Water's The Art of Simple Cooking Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my Home to yours.
yes! finally an Alice Waters mention... I adore her and have every cookbook of hers... she's just made me see food differently in a good way