Here's a place to discuss cookbooks, both recent purchases, and old favorites. You can brag about how large your cookbook collection is, too.85 responses total.
I've been on a cookbook binge for the last couple of months. My two absolute favorites are both by Bert Greene. I bought "Greene on Greens" because I'm trying to find ways to cook vegetables that will actually appeal to me (I've disliked most vegetables all my life, but my mom basically boiled everything in an incredibly boring way). Then last week I got Greene's "The Grains Cookbook." I can spend hours reading Greene's wonderful prose. Apparently, he used to write plays, used to do all kinds of amazing things besides cook. Actually, he died about five years ago, which made me very sad when I realized it. The writing in here is very vital. So far I have only tried one recipe, for a wonderful risotto, but I have plans for lots more. For me, a good cookbook is not just a collection of recipes, but also a creator of atmosphere, spirit, whatever. Something that implies that food is magic... I'm reminded of when I first bought "The Vegetarian Epicure," back in 1982. The book and its author, Anna Thomas, seemed surrounded by hazy golden light, evoking the wonders of moderately counter-culture living, circa 1972 (when--I believe--the book was published). I wanted to *be* Anna Thomas, and to experience the wonders of her vegetarian food.
I'm not at all surprised you'd appreciate the descriptive or
prose part of a cookbook. You've always impressed me as a
"classical" type of person with a flair for the arts. Me,
on the other hand, I like to play kitchen chemist and gravitate
toward cookbooks which blend ethnic cusines and unlikely ingredients
to come up with something new. The narratives aren't what I'm
drawn to.
Leslie, next time you're in the cookbook section take a look at
"Cooking with Herbs" by Tolley. A little bit of history, travel,
gardening, and a lot of wonderful recipes. A bit pricey at $40
but a very nice book to have available, especially if you grow your
own herbs.
The last cookbook I purchased was "Cold-Weather Cooking" by Sarah
Leah Chase. A wonderful collection although (like her colleagues
Russo and Lukins) she tend to go well over the 30% suggested fat
content. But that's where you get to customize a recipe and make
it your own. I've also read that Russo ("The New Basics") is busy
putting together a new book with a healthy gourmet theme.
Hunt down a copy of _The Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs_ by Bob Blumer.
[Speaking of cookbooks, when's the Grex cookbook coming out in print? :-)]
Just yesterday I saw the "Cooking with Herbs" cookbook I mentioned marked way down at Borders. It's with other sale items, on a table at the top of the west stairway, and it's marked $14.95. Amazing.
Dang, and I paid full price for it last year.
OOOps, thanks for reminding me to get back on that one! I need to find access to a machine where I can print out files and such so that I can do some editing.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe, just maybe .......(thinking here) ...... uh, the Grex Cookbook Could be introduced into the New Center application process as a "go with." ...... hmmmmmmmm ........ creative thnkers couold run with that idea .......
One cookbook that I have that I like a lot is _James Beard's American Cookery_. It also has a lot of history in it, as Beard comments on early instances of a particular recipe and how the recipe has changed over the years. Another one that is destined to become a favorite around here is _The Romanchik Family Slovak Cookbook_. My sister, a Slovak friend, and I are working on it now.
I have my own version of an 'on-line' cookbook with recipes I've saved to my computer from AOL and other places [haven't gotten many from here yet since its long distance...]. I've put it into book form and now there are 3 books in print [mine, one I made for my parents and a modified one--> vegetarian version for part of a christmas present I gave to my friends [the Gursins, for those of you that may still remember them...]. If I think of it, I'll bring it along with me when Imake it up to MI next weekend...
Laurel, I found "The Surreal Gourmet..." at Little Professor. What a kicker cookbook. I especially like the recommendations for music to play while preparing the meal. Nice touch. Have you tried any of the recipes? Before I buy it I'd like to hear the book is more than just a funky concept.
I haven't tried them, but the guy who bought it for me did and said they were good.
Music while cooking - that's mandatory - thought it was common knowledge.
I ran across a cookbook the other day in Kitchen Port that came packaged with a CD. The title was something on the order of Romantic Dinners for Two. The usual war-horse music pieces were present, by a mostly under-known string orchestra. The whole thing was shrink-wrapped so I was unable to read any of the book. I'd suspect that anyone buying this probably knows precious little about cooking and even less about music. But probably subscribes to Cosmo, faithfully. ;-)
<<or Vanity Fair?>>
Julie Rosso's new cookbook, _The Good Food Cookbook_, is now available around town. I bought my copy today, at Kitchen Port. Not quite as exotic as the rule-breaking _New Basics_ but an interesting collection with an emphasis on lower fat cooking. For those who are into autographed copies, Russo will be at Kitchen Port on Saturday, April 24, for a book signing. 11:00 to something like 2:00, if I remember correctly.
Opps, goofed up the title. It's really, _Great Good Food_.
Well, I've been on another cookbook binge for the last couple of months, yet neglected to mention any of them here. Just last week I got a book by the authors of "Bread Machine Magic." It's called "The Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints," and gives lots of problem-solving and troubleshooting techniques for bread machine owners. I haven't perused it too thoroughly yet, but it looks very helpful. I also recently bought "The Bad For You Cookbook," but I find I am uninspired by it. I was hoping for an antidote to all the food police I feel surrounded by lately, but it just hasn't lit my fire (probably too many recipes with mushrooms in them--I *hate* mushrooms). Then there's "The Back of the Box Cookbook," which collects many of those classic recipes clipped from Ritz cracker or Cornflakes, or Rice Crispies etc. boxes. They include the long sought after Mock Apple Pie recipe that used to be on the Ritz boxes (but which hasn't been printed in awhile). Well, there are a few more I could talk about, but I'll save them for next time. I think I'm drowning in cook books!
but... mushrooms are *good* for you!
I bought _The Back of the Box Gourmet_ (mentioned in #18) on Friday. Neat book! It seems like the kind of book someone could collect up really easily and publish it solely as a moneymaking venture, which would be fine, but actually the author seems to regard these recipes as beloved bits of Americana. He's written an intro for each recipe that talks a bit about the history of the recipe or of the company that makes the product. Did you know Hellman's mayonaise started at a Mr. Hellman's delicatessen in NYC many years ago? Their mayo was so popular that people used to come by and buy it instead of trying to make their own at home. Eventually, the mayo became the whole business. This is described in the intro to a "mayonaise cake" recipe. The idea of a mayonaise cake sounds Really Gross until you think about the ingredients in mayonaise: eggs, oil, and lemon juice, all of which are normal cake ingredients. The cookbook says the final cake doesn't taste at all mayonaise-y, just moist. I can't wait to make some mock apple pie! There isn't enough lead time to do it for today's Grex birthday picnic, but one o' these days I'll make some and bring it to a Grex event.... :)
YUM! I haven't had mayonnaise cake in forever. Try it...It is really terrific. Hi popcorn!
There is now a "Back of the Box, II" cookbook out. I haven't purchased it, but I browsed it in the bookstore. Looks like fun, but I'm trying to keep my cookbook purchases to a minimum for awhile.
I saw a bread cookbook somewhere that had recipes that were made with
malt (sprouted grain) instead of sugar or honey. But I forget what it was
called or who wrote it. Has anyone seen this that could tell me what it
is?
I am drastically changing my diet to deal with hypoglycemia, and
I want to make my own bread anyway. This sounds really good, but when
I saw it, I didn't have the motivation I have now to buy it. :(
Thanks for any help you can give me.
It might have been the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. Or book 4 of the Donna German series of breadmaker cookbooks. Hm. By the way (you may already know this) when you bake bread, the yeast eats the sugar in order to form the carbon dioxide bubbles that make the bread rise. So, just because you're eating a loaf of bread that started with, say, two tablespoons of sweetener doesn't mean that you're actually eating a whole two tablespoons of sweetener in the finished loaf. Also (and this is also probably a topic you know more about than me, and I could well be wrong here) I've read that sweetener is sweetener -- it's still basically one form of sugar or another. So substituting another sweetener for white sugar isn't the same as avoiding sugar. But I might be remembering wrong, or for hypoglycemia it might be helpful to use a type of sweetener that takes longer to digest. I don't know. I'd be curious to learn more. Good luck with the radical diet change -- those are never easy!!
I like Hom's "Fragrant Habour Cuisine," he has good receipe for food I grew up eating in resturants, well written too.
I bought _The New Vegetarian Epicure_, by Anna Thomas last night after a cooking class at Kitchen Port. The class had nothing to do with this book but when you enroll for a class you get a discount coupon for 10% on anything you purchase that day. Evidently, this book is an updated version of Ms. Thomas' first version, _Vegetarian Epicure_. Has anyone here ever tried any of her recipes? The recipes look interesting, non-traditional, mostly healthy, and not particularly difficult to assemble.
That was the second vegetarian cookbook I ever bought, way back in maybe 1988 or so. To tell ya the truth, I made a few recipes out of it, found *all* of them disappointing, and have left the book sitting in my cookbook collecting, taking up shelf real estate, unused ever since. I should look back at it again and see if it's more interesting now. Lots of other people have good things to say about it, so it must have some redeeming features. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it, Mary.
We had guests over this evening and when one spotted _New_ on the kitchen shelf she pulled it off and all the while thumbing through it raved about the earlier edition and how it brought her some of her favorite recipes - especially the bread recipes. But cookbooks are like lids and pots. ;-) I'll let you know how the recipes come out. I'm looking to make one of the soup recipes later in the week.
I made my first recipe out of _New Vegetarian Epicure_, a sweet potato and corn soup. It is delicious - thick, not too sweet, with a single diced jalapeno pepper for accent.
i'm getting "baking with julia childs" for christmas...i'm VERY excited...:)
<abchan wonders how eeyore knows what she is getting for christmas, unless she is getting it for herself...> When I was about nine, my mama's biggest cookbook, a book called "Cooking For Today" attracted my attention and I told her then that I would someday take it and she said fine. I still want to get it. It's got a littl bit of everything. I wonder if it's dated though. I believe it's older than me... Is there a Grex Cookbook? There's a Recipe Archive online (I have a link from my homepages) that I've taken some recipes off of but with my tiny kitchen, I haven't had a chance to try any of them yet.
Re knowing ahead of time what you're getting for the holidays: In my family, none of us knows each other well enough to have much idea about what kind of holiday gift the others would appreciate, so we all tell each other what we'd like. It's pathetic, but it's also a lot easier to get someone a gift they'll actually use and enjoy if they choose it. My sister and I usually make a shopping expedition together to get each other a Hanukah gift. Actually it's a lot of fun. We see so little of each other that it's wonderful to have an excuse to do something together. Nope, Grex has recipe archives, but there is no Grex cookbook. People have talked from time to time about putting one together, but so far it's never happened. Hey, that could make an interesting holiday-time gift. Hm.... The hard part is finding a volunteer to put it all together.
It wouldn't be that hard for me, since I have the time (I'm unemployed) and my computer can do desktop publishing. Just say the word, and I'll begin work on it.
Re 31/32 - My parents have already gone over the major things they want to get me for Christmas, to make sure I'd want them. A situation made more bizarre by their not telling me what I'm getting for my birthday next week. >8)
i saw the cookbook about a week ago, and called my parents instantly to tell them that it would make a WONDERFUL x-mas present. the next night, they stopped by work to say hi, and my mother was hiding a bag under her jacket (enough was sticking out to see that it was from barnes and noble), and she made the commant that if i wanted to use their NEW discount card there, to go ahead. i think this nmeans that i'm getting the book for x-mas. :) (my parents are really cool about stuff like that....:)
In my family, nobody can figure out what anybody else wanted so nobody gave anyone presents. It made life a lot easier when growing up. Now I have to remember silly things like getting *cards* for people for their birthdays. I still forget 99% of the time and send off a rushed e-mail. I know it's just because of my different upbringing but still, I can't help feeling guilty when looking at the nice jewelry that a very special someone has since gotten for me...
I did a little test on this, and it doesn't look like it will be all that hard to do. Can't laser print, but I can make it look really nice, or maybe someone can take the formatted pages and run from there.
Cool! Jim, go for it! Yell if you want a volunteer to edit/proofread/ whatever. Neat!
A Grex cookbook would be a really neat project. I'm sure we could find plenty more volunteers in we asked. (Hey, I'd even volunteer, but I'm not sure what I could do.)
Actually, the prohect has turned into a nightmare for me. I don't have the appropriate software/patience for this sort of thing.
Is this cookbook made up of the recipes in the Grex recipe archives, or are there other sources, too?
The ones in the archives.
Instead of going back into archives would it be any easier to assemble a Grex cookbook by asking everyone who cares to to submit three (current) favorite recipies. I'd think the recipies might be somewhat healthier as this has been the trend over the past 4 or 5 years. Also, you'd tend to get only the best recipies this way - tried and true favorites.
s/recipes/recipies. I think I made too many pies yesterday and my typos are a dead giveaway.
My comments above in now way suggest I'd be able to organize this project. ;-)
I'm currently putting together a 'cookbook' into a 'hard copy' format from recipes that I've gathered from online... Mostly stuff I've gathered over the years from AOL but I also want to include stuff from here, too [hmm, I'm going to have to go back and find the command of how to use the archives, will also reread some of the current active items]. Of course, I'll make myself a copy, too. Depending on how this comes out, I'd be happy to make this available to people here, if interested! The recipes WILL all be from online sources, just not all Grex-Online stuff. I haven't a clue yet as to how much it will cost for printing, bindings, etc.
Ah, _The Virtual Gourmet_.
I've been thinking to update the Grex recipe archives in January, with all recipes posted in this conference through the end of 1996. (If someone else is willing to do this, that would be great too! It would consist of doing a "read all" on the kitchen conference and then using commands like "extract kitchen 33 47 > veggie/tofu.burgers-robh" to add robh's tofu burger recipe to the recipe archives. [Disclaimer: As I understand it, robh wouldn't be caught dead eating a tofu burger. ;) ]) Would that be helpful to a cookbook project?
I'd have no problem eating a tofu burger, provided there was lots of meat on the burger as well. >8)
(Remember, you're talking to the person who actually ate a hot-fudge-sundae burger back when Silverman's used to serve them. Compared to that, a tofu-and-meat burger would be Nirvana.)
to drift just a bit, if you want a Sander's hot fudge sundae, go to Kerby's at Briarwood. There reasonable as well.
<abchan wonders what a hot fudge sundae burger is or if she really wants to know>
<robh thinks that abchan can figure it out with minimal effort, if she tries, which she might not want to>
<abchan wonders if it's a literal description in which case, she probably didn't want to know>
Pretty much, yep. Silverman's used to have several dozen varieties of hamburger, including the dreaded icer-cream-sundae burger: a hamburger with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce as condiments. I had one once. (I didn't put the pickle on the burger too, though, as that would have been gross. >8)
<abchan makes a face> I like burgers and I like sundaes. But not at the same time. Although they do all end up in your stomach, my stomach can handle the combo. My tastebuds don't want to.
Mollie Katzen has a new cookbook out, _Vegetable Heaven_, and she will be at Borders (Ann Arbor) on Thursday, November 6, 7:30 p.m. to give a short talk and sign books. Mollie wrote a number of wonderful vegetarian cookbooks, including some of the earliest Moosewood cookbooks.
Ooo, yummy! I will plan to be there. Thanks for the news!
Mary, John, Jan and I were there to hear Mollie Katzen speak. But Mollie Katzen was sick, so she only signed books and didn't speak to the group. Ouch -- doing book tours is rough.
But I did take the time to look through her new coobook and it does like like a nice one. I'll probably buy it at some point if the couple of recipes I wrote down come out.
The closest thing i have to a regular cookbook is the New Doubleday Cookbook. Big, fairly current, and full of good information. However....it contains *way* too many bombs. Times for hard-boiling eggs that would only work out in Death Valley or with a pressure cooker. Recipes that need 3 times as much of their main ingredient (& it's clear from context that it's NOT a typo). What is other people's experience with this sort of thing? Do serious cookbooks try to pack in more recipes than they can try or proof-read?
My recipe for foolproof hard boiled eggs: Eggs Water Add eggs to cold water. Put on heat. When liquid boils turn off the gas and cover. Let stand for 25 mins. When timer goes off, peel under cold water. Works every time.
We don't have gas. The timing is different with electric, might be only 15 minutes. We soak for a few minutes in cold water to loosen the shell. We cover it before turning on the heat, it conserves energy and time, and keeps the place from steaming up. If you add purple onion skins the eggs turn brown.
For good basic cookbooks, stick with Joy of Cooking or Better Homes and Gardens. And before you buy one, borrow it from your library and actually cook from it for a few weeks.
Joy of cooking is wonderful -- but it's not really a good starter book for a new cook. Much of the food is exotic and the authors tend to assume your have a maid to clean up after you and a staff of servents to serve your guests. ;) Then again, I've never had a dismal failure from it.
You can never fail from Betty Crocker...but go to the library sale and buy a copy from the 70's ...they are much better then the new ones...
I agree. Betty's recipes are exceedingly well tested. And they are reputed to have been tested with each ingredient doubled and halved, to make sure that even if you mess up, the results are still likely to be edible.
Another one worth considering is James Beard's American Cookery.
resp:64 resp:68 agreed and agreed but resp:65 not agreed. I had a friend tell me about the Joy of Cooking series: Ed 1, I think was put out by the mother, Ed 2 was the mother and daughter, and Ed 3 was the grandson, I think. Edition 2, from what I had been told, is the easiest to work with. Some of the recipes are indeed exotic, but.. if you have some very rudimentary skills and follow the recipes carefully, you should be fine. Edition 3 assumes the reader knows nothing about cooking and goes into a lot of detail. It wasn't recommended to me because apparently, it can't be pragmatically used on a daily basis. May be more of a textbook approach. void recommended _Help! My Apartment Has A Kitchen_ to jep in an agora item a while back, and since Julie and I bought the book a while back, I'd have to say I second the motion. This looks like an excellent book for folks that have had very little exposure to cooking.
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_Dad's Own Cook Book_ is another great cookbook primer. Sadly, it came to us from my own father. He really can't cook to save his life-- he only does a few dishes like spaghetti and such. Mom bought it in hopes he'd learn more, but it didn't work, apparently.
Thanks for the info on the three editions. I have not seen 3.
I think I've only got the second edition as well, and I didn't get mine that long ago. Interesting. I'll have to take another look at it when I get home.
Hmmm, the 3rd ed. was very, very recent. I've seen it, but didn't take the good time to read through it. It belonged to the friend of mine. I think most people refer to 2nd ed.
The 3rd edition isn't anywhere near as cool as the earlier ones. I'd avoid it.
What don't you like about it? I still haven't seen a copy.
It isn't as quirky, and it focuses on modern trends. They've taken out (or modified for the low fat, high carb crowd) a lot of the classic recipes, supposedly, as well as some of the obscure stuff -- stuff I'll probably never use, like how to prepare a grouse, but that I'd be glad I have somewhere if it ever comes up. I've only glanced at it, but the reviews I've read are pretty universally negative when compared to the original.
I just checked it out on Amazon -- it's got its supporters, too. You might look at the reviews.
From what my friend told me, 3rd ed. assumes you know nothing about cooking and gets very elaborate from there. He recommended 2nd ed. just because of that-- if you can follow a recipe, it will have most of what you need.
The reviews on Amazon are pretty interesting. It really sounds like the 3rd ed. isn't a substitute for the 2nd, but it's a good supplement.
That may well be.
I'm definitely a big fan of the obscure game recipes in the 2nd ed. It's always good to know that I remember how to cook beaver tail properly. But realistically, I don't think I'll ever need to know that. But I do like the focus in the 2nd ed. on "ordinary" recipes. I can find out all I need to know about trendy ingredients or exotic food from magazines and whatnot. Now I'm really curious.
That's kind of my feeling. It sounds like they added a lot of trendy stuff at the expense of depth on the classic material. I certainly don't mind recipes for Thai or Mexican food -- but when I want them, I'd prefer to go to a specialist cookbook that will have the depth I want on those specific cuisines. I wouldn't go to Joy of Cooking for that.
Yesterday, I got _The_Magic_of_Fire_, even though I don't have a fireplace, after hearing about it on "The Splendid Table" on WUOM a few weeks back. I don't know when I'll get to try the recipes, so far it's been fun to read.
mentioned somewhat in another item, thinking about buying a Frugal Gourmet cookbook, but not sure which one?
You have several choices: