281749 Thu Dec 15 12:18:37 -0800 2005 33 31 Home Cooking 0 1499818 Here's what I'm thinking about: Lidia Bastianich (which is her best?) The newly published Italian "Silver Spoon" compendium. Giada De Laurentis (her best?) Nigella Lawson (her best?) Paula Deen (probably her first one) Please do tell what you like/don't like about these, or judging from my taste above, anything else you think I'd like. Also, would love to find the BEST Japanese cookbook. Not esoteric Japanese (not going to be pounding mochi or making Kaiseki dinners), or sushi (easier to just eat out). I'm looking for Japanese home cooking - authentic, but accessible. Noodle dishes, sauces, pickles - that sort of thing. But if this cookbook did have some of the more esoteric stuff, like do-able kaiseki side dishes that would be great too. Thanks. Thu Dec 15 12:18:37 -0800 2005 0 Niki Rothman 1 1499827 i can help with Nigella. i'd recommend either Domestic Goddess or How to Cook. the first is great for baking, canning, etc...every recipe i've tried from it has come out really good. i think How to Cook is a fantastic reference, with lots of good ideas, both simple and more complicated. again, the recipes are solid and very good. however, i know from your other posts that you're an accomplished cook with a lot of cookbooks, so maybe it's too elementary for you. i'd have a browse through it in the bookstore. i wouldn't recommend Feast, though. it has a lot of lovely recipes, but for some reason i haven't felt compelled to use it much. you might see it differently. Thu Dec 15 12:31:51 -0800 2005 1499818 0 hobokeg 2 1499924 I love Nigella, but the book I bought is not so great...is it Nigella Bites? Can't remember, but it's the one with ham cooked with coke and Elvis' peanut butter banana sandwiches and deep fried candy bars. I would NOT buy it again and have used it only for a few recipes. Thu Dec 15 17:14:30 -0800 2005 1499827 0 oakjoan 2 1499942 You're sweet to compliment me. Which of NL's 2 that you recommend do you prefer? Thanks. Thu Dec 15 19:24:58 -0800 2005 1499827 0 Niki Rothman 3 1500028 it really depends on what you're looking for. 'domestic goddess' is about baking and "comfort food." so you have cookies, cakes, etc., but also savory pies and things as well. and a few recipes for preserves, butters, marmalades, and infused liquors, too. but if it's more about meals, go with 'how to cook.' it's divided up into sections based on cooking for different occasions: dishes for one or two, dishes you can do quickly, dishes for sunday lunch, etc. and it also includes many good dessert recipes--the shortbread (so simple), the treacle tart, and a quick chocolate pudding spring to mind. again, i'd suggest having a flip through it in your bookstore. for me, the rule of thumb is if i can't find at least three recipes that i can realistically see myself making on an average day, it goes back on the shelf. Fri Dec 16 04:48:24 -0800 2005 1499942 0 hobokeg 4 1500080 Great advice. Thanks so much. So, based on what you said, I think I'll eventually get both. Do you check out her column in the NY Times (online) - you can always search her name and see recent recipes/columns. On the basis of the posts I guess I'll avoid the "Feasts" and stick w/the other 2. About your excellent, buying a cookbook 3 recipe rule, coincidentally I have a comedian 3 joke rule that I don't think I've ever even told anyone about. I give them 3 jokes to make me laugh. No laugh = change channel. Fri Dec 16 11:13:50 -0800 2005 1500028 0 Niki Rothman 2 1499986 I have Feast. It's beautiful to look at but I really haven't been that inspired by it. I think her earlier books have received good reviews on this board though. Thu Dec 15 22:18:26 -0800 2005 1499827 0 twinmommy 1 1499836 What is your goal with the Italian cookbooks? I have borrowed a couple of Bastianich's cookbooks from a friend but didn't purchase them because I didn't like them as well as any of my Marcella Hazan cookbooks. If you want a compendium of Italian cooking, I'd recommend Hazan's "Essentials of Italian Cooking". It truly is a wonderful book. I don't particularly like Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook (to my knowledge she only has one). Someone gave it to me as a gift, but most of the recipes are available online and I didn't particularly enjoy all of the beauty shots of her throughout the book. More food pictures are better than shots of the author in my opinion. Another book you should consider is Mario Batali's "Molto Italiano" which came out this year and which I love. If you want a "fast meals" book, instead of Giada's, I'd recommend Giuliano Hazan's "Every Night Italian" which is infinitely more satisfying. The Silver Spoon is on my Christmas list and if I don't get it from Santa, I'll be buying it myself the following week! Thu Dec 15 12:59:48 -0800 2005 1499818 0 farmersdaughter 2 1499845 I also really like Giuliano Hazan's "Every Night Italian" better than the Italian books on the list. I find it more approachable than Marcella Hazan. He just came out with a new book, How to Cook Italian or something like that, that you might want to check out. Thu Dec 15 13:33:13 -0800 2005 1499836 0 Jujubee 3 1499941 I'm interested! Which of his books is the best? Most comprehensive? What recipes does he do that you really like? Is he related to Marcella? have you heard of the new (to America) "Silver Spoon" cookbook? Thu Dec 15 19:20:22 -0800 2005 1499845 0 Niki Rothman 2 1499940 Hmm...what IS my goal with the Italian cookbooks. I LOVE Italian food. I make great al forno pasta casseroles. I make a fine ragu. I do the simple old-school stuff. You'd love my lasagna. Where do I go from there? Maybe if I flail around you'll see some clues. I love watching Mario B. but when I looked at his "Simple It. Food" in a bookstore I thought he was kind of nuts. Calling a book "simple" and then listing lots of esoteric ingredients, some of which I wouldn't know where to get)(I live in SF). Giada - her recipes on Tv are SO easy. I like that about her. But I would also really resent a cookbook where I had to stare at her glamour shots while I was chopping onions...so maybe forget her. Please tell me what you know about the "Silver Spoon" cookbook. I just read in the NY Times that it is traditionally (Since 1950) the cookbook most often given to It. brides, and is the kind of book an older woman might refer to if she was doing something not usually in her repertoire. You and Me...should we buy it? I have Marcella's "Essentials" Thu Dec 15 19:17:27 -0800 2005 1499836 0 Niki Rothman 3 1500146 I think the Silver Spoon is probably going to be a better reference book than a book you'd cook out of every day. I covet it because I love Italian cooking and just want to own it. I understand that the marketing people are doing a great job making people like me want the book but I don't mind! A friend has it and the pictures are great, as is the extensive coverage. Almost like a history of food book. Giuliano Hazan's books -- there are 3 of them. One is (I think) out of print and pasta is the subject. Your library may have it. "Every Night Italian" is one that I own and cook from often. I've probably made 20 recipes from the book and all have worked very well. His newest book which just came out a month or two ago doesn't seem to be breaking any new ground and has garnered lukewarm reviews because of it. (He is Marcella Hazan's son.) I live in SF too, and don't have any problems finding any of the ingredients in either Mario Batali's "Simple Italian Cooking" or "Molto Mario". What have you had trouble with? Fri Dec 16 14:21:40 -0800 2005 1499940 0 farmersdaughter 4 1500206 I'll check MB's "simple" ingredients out next time I'm at Aardvark, where I saw it, as I decided not to buy it. The book I wound up buying today was the Cook's Illustrated "New Best Recipe" a HUGE book. The heaviest cookbook I've ever attempted to lift. I have the first model of this book (way, way smaller) which I love. As you may know, they try out every possible varient of recipe ingredients and methods and publish the best recipe and what did & didn't work and why - fascinating. The Alexander bookshop, on 2nd. & Market, was out of "Silver Spoon" which I had intended to buy. Fri Dec 16 19:13:23 -0800 2005 1500146 0 Niki Rothman 1 1499838 Saveur magazine did a nice write-up of this Japanese cookbook last month. I'm a bit curious. I set up the link chowhound style. Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580085199/qid=1134669680/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0690043-5340037?n=507846&s=books&v=glance Thu Dec 15 13:04:00 -0800 2005 1499818 0 joypirate 2 1499905 I just bought that for a friend for Christmas who loves all things Japanese. I had a chance to look through it before wrapping and it appears to be a very nice book and it explains things quite clearly. Thu Dec 15 16:07:55 -0800 2005 1499838 0 Candy 2 1499937 Thanks! This sounds wonderful. Looks like I'll be getting more than one cookbook. I found some more of those 40% off coupons today. For anyone near SF - they're in the Bay Guardian for a local downtown new bookstore. Thu Dec 15 19:07:06 -0800 2005 1499838 0 Niki Rothman 2 1500016 I got Shizuo Tsuji's "Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art" because of an earlier Chowhound thread that I can't seem to find. It's excellent. If you only had one Japanese cookbook I think this would be the one to have. I have not seen the book by Andoh, however. Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870113992/qid=1134711735/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7761058-2549408?n=507846&s=books&v=glance Fri Dec 16 00:45:10 -0800 2005 1499838 0 cornflower 3 1500076 Thanks so much, I'll be looking for this book today. Fri Dec 16 11:08:03 -0800 2005 1500016 0 Niki Rothman 2 1501365 and Leite's culinaria chose Woshoku as best book of the year. Link: http://www.leitesculinaria.com/features/best/best_2005.html Fri Dec 23 14:09:26 -0800 2005 1499838 0 willow 1 1499840 I think the Paula Deens are fun to read through and cook with. The collards recips is a new year's mainstay at house. If you do get her, you might want to look for the hardcover that reprints her first two books: Paula Deen's kitchen classics. Thu Dec 15 13:18:42 -0800 2005 1499818 0 Wisco 1 1499908 I found the Paula Deen Lady and Son's book to be a turn off and regifted it. Any cookbook that tells me to use canned mushroom soup to make stroganoff is not a keeper for me. For southern coooking I can recommend 2 quite heartily, Frank Stitt's Southern Table is a Beard award winner and a book I love. Everything I have made from it in the past year (it was a Christmas gift) has been very good. And the other which I will purchase if Santa does not supply it is Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking, there are savoury and sweet recipes and it is super, so is his Classical Southern Cookbook. Roni Lundy's Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken is super and don't leave out John T. Edge's A Gracious Plenty or Bill Neal's Southern Cooking I think that has just been reissued. In short, there are many many much better southern cookbooks out there than Paula Deen's. See what your public library has and try some out before buying if you can. Thu Dec 15 16:18:19 -0800 2005 1499818 0 Candy 2 1499923 The remark about canned mushroom soup (yuck) made me remember something I saw in a Marcella Hazan recipe from her 2 part book the title of which I can't recall at the moment....I looked at a braised rabbit recipe the other night and saw that she calls for a "bouillon cube"... how is this different from a can of soup? I actually use bouillon cubes - chicken only - sometimes if I feel the sauce/soup needs a bit of salt or is blandish. Marcella's recipe didn't even say which kind of bouillon she was talking about...or is bouillon only beef in Italy? As a cookbook rec., I love ALL of Paula Wolfert's books - especially the Southwest France one that she's just updated. Her Mediterranean books are also marvelous. Thu Dec 15 17:12:19 -0800 2005 1499908 0 oakjoan 3 1499936 I don't have any of Paula Wolfert's books. Do you know the name of the one about SW France? What are the recipes in it that you really liked? PS On bullion - have you tried Better than Bullion? It's a broth base (like a jam) in a jar. They sell it at a lot of supermarkets. No artificial ingredients. What a great product. Thu Dec 15 18:59:31 -0800 2005 1499923 0 Niki Rothman 3 1500145 I think the reasons that Marcella references a boullion cube Marcella comes from a few different "sources". First, I lived in Italy for 4 months and didn't see a lot of brodo or canned stock in the supermarkets. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place, but it made preparing soups more difficult since I had to either use boullion cubes which were readily available, or make my own brodo or stock. So maybe she recommends using them since they are readily available in Italy. Could it be possible that the publication date of the book predated the readily available high quality boxed stock that we can buy now? Or perhaps she thinks the boullion cube dissolved in water is the closest approximation to Italian made brodo. I just substitute homemade or canned stock in any of her recipes where she calls for a boullion cube. Fri Dec 16 14:17:36 -0800 2005 1499923 0 farmersdaughter 2 1499935 Maybe I should tell you the Southern cookbooks I have and you can then recommend your favorite from the list of several you offered. "Best of Southern Living Magazine" - a big hardback "Mama Dip's Kitchen" This black lady runs a restaurant in SC - Craig Claiborn told her to write a cookbook. "Sylvia's Restaurant Cookbook" - African American classics One of your recs was a baking book. Don't need one right now. About Paula Deen and the canned soup, I'm a big fan of old school tuna noodle casserole, which features the dreaded crem o' mush. But I hear you. Paula is a good ole gal that had to work super hard and made good when she was no longer young. I have a lot of respect for her and her warm personality. She doesn't take herself seriously. The recipes of her's that I've done all tasted great and were easy. But I have to admit to watching the food network alot - it relaxes me. Thu Dec 15 18:55:58 -0800 2005 1499908 0 Niki Rothman 3 1499939 Mama Dip's is in NC and has seriously gone down hill. I have eaten there and it had to be one of the worst so called southern dining experiences I have had. Bill Neal's Crooks Corner even with him gone to his reward and in the same area is still supberb. I don't mind watching Paula Deen, and I lived in Savannah as a kid and we are looking at Savannah as a retirement place but her food is not something I would search out there is much better to be had. Thu Dec 15 19:16:57 -0800 2005 1499935 0 Candy 4 1499965 Sounds like what I don't know about southern cooking would fill a book. Is Bill Neal's "Crook's Corner" your top choice? Or is another of his books your favorite? Thu Dec 15 20:39:07 -0800 2005 1499939 0 Niki Rothman 5 1500050 Crooks Corner was/is his restaurant. His first book Bill Neal's Southern Cooking could be a good first book but I would suggest Fowler's Classical Southern Cooking to start and if you could get a copy of Marion Brown's Southern Cookbook, out of print but worth searching for, that is what I cut my teeth on and was the cooking bible in my mother's kitchen. And, as I suggested A Gracious Plenty by John T. Edge. It is a good read and a good cookbook. Fri Dec 16 09:07:53 -0800 2005 1499965 0 Candy 6 1500074 Thanks so much. I'll be getting all these books eventually. Fri Dec 16 11:06:00 -0800 2005 1500050 0 Niki Rothman 7 1500113 You are welcome, also keep an eye out for the classic southern Junior League cookbooks like Charleston Receipts, Savannah Style, River Road Recipes and Gourmet on the Delta and just about anything by John Edgerton too. I know it is confusing but John T. Edge and John Edgerton are two different southern food writers and both are good. Fri Dec 16 12:46:43 -0800 2005 1500074 0 Candy 3 1499948 ms.niki, I know you don't want a baking book, but this relates to one of Ms.Candy's rec's. I haven't seen the Bill Neal book she refers to--it's fairly famous--but his "Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie" is excellent, many classic recipes, evocative of the "old"(anglophone original colonies)south with food stories and histories(Japanese Fruit Cake he makes clear his nothing to do with Japan,a spice cake with raisins and pecans and coconut filling, one example).have fun Thu Dec 15 19:53:29 -0800 2005 1499935 0 moto 4 1499958 Bill Neal's Southern Cooking was his first but I have Biscuits, Spoonbread and SweetPotato Pie book too. Being southern and southwestern I do have a cookbook collection heavily weighted on the southern side. Long live Spoonbread. I am trying one from the new Damon Lee Fowler book with our prime rib for Christmas which features grits in the batter. Eat that stuff up with a "spoon"!!! Thu Dec 15 20:24:17 -0800 2005 1499948 0 Candy 3 1500037 i read a lot of bad press about Sylvia's book several months ago, when i was doing my own search for a soul food book. consensus seemed to be that the recipes were modified so as not to give away any secrets. Fri Dec 16 07:14:00 -0800 2005 1499935 0 hobokeg 4 1500071 Wow. Do you remember where you read that? I'd like to read that article if it's online. Do you know of a better soul food cookbook? Fri Dec 16 11:01:23 -0800 2005 1500037 0 Niki Rothman