287939 Wed Nov 21 05:36:12 -0800 2001 17 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1551663 What book could you not live without, which one inspires you and provides comfort when all else has failed? I love anything by Nigel Slater, the way he describes food makes me go weak at the knees. I have also found Leith's Cookery Bible a great book for anything from sauces to stocks to shepherds pie. Wed Nov 21 05:36:12 -0800 2001 0 Charlene Leonard 1 1551664 For inspiration, Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters. For comfort, Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken and Other Stories is the winner by a country mile. His prose is lovely. Wed Nov 21 06:47:58 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Jo Marsden 1 1551668 I also am a fan of Nigel Slater, and usually look for his new books when I visit the UK. I also turn to Mark Bittman a lot for old standards, The Splendid Table for special-occasion Italian dishes, and anything by James Peterson for fish/seafood, soups, sauces, etc. Wed Nov 21 09:29:29 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Jamesglu 1 1551669 Mario Batali!! Everything I have made from his book and his tv show (recipes posted on FoodTV's website) have been outstanding! Wed Nov 21 09:30:53 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Jamesglu 1 1551670 I like the encyclopedic ones - right now I use Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and also the new Joy of Cooking - but I still use recipes from my 70s editions of the Joy and also the Fannie Farmer cookbook of that era. I like the Cook's Illustrated books - the poultry book and also The Best Recipe. Cucina Simpatica, by the owners/chefs of Al Forno, really changed the way I cook many things and I refer to it often. I loved Nancy Barr Verde's They Called it Macaroni, which is really a love song to the Italian culture that is so much a part of my adopted city of Providence. My copies of Volumes 1 and 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking really need replacing because they are so kitchen-worn, but I will keep the old ones because they are symbols of my first venturesome attempts to cook outside my own family traditions. I still remember how exciting it was to cook and taste and read about food in a completely different way! And I have given away many copies of MFK Fisher's The Art of Eating because I love it so. I also like older cookbooks - does anyone read Louise Andrews Kent? She wrote the Mrs. Appleyard books back in the forties or fifties, and "Mrs Appleyard's Cookbook" is really great fun to read, although I am dubious about some of the recipes. I also have a copy of an 1870-ish Housekeeper's Manual by Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister which is really comprehensive - first they show you how to build your house before you keep it! Wed Nov 21 09:52:31 -0800 2001 1551663 0 sheiladammassa 2 1551678 Hi Sheila, Back in the early 90s, three of Mrs. Appleyard's Kitchen books were republished in a nice fat volume. They're really fun to read, and some good ideas, but I agree entirely with the your assessment about the reliability of some of the recipes. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (author of The Yearling) wrote another book about living near Gainesville, Fl where she did most of her writing. It's called Cross Creek. I re-read it every once in a while. There's a chapter with wonderful recipes. Gladys Taber, who lived in Ct. and on Cape Cod, is another old favorite of mine. Stillmeadow Kitchen, is a homey and simple (and pretty schmaltzy!) book by this woman who loved food, animals and people. She was a prolific writer. I believe this one is now out of print. Revisiting these books is always fun because it transports me right back where I was when I first discovered them, a young married woman with two small children, trying to figure out how to make a home. Wed Nov 21 10:41:00 -0800 2001 1551670 0 Pat Hammond 3 1551680 Wow! I have never seen the 3-in-1 volume, but I do have, I think, all the Mrs. Appleyard books, and I pick them up during our used-bookstore runs to give away. I have a list of about a dozen books in this category - if I find them cheap enough I buy them because sooner or later I will find someone who should have one. Gladys Taber is another favorite - I think I have all her books now, although in this area they are pretty pricey. There were two Stillmeadow cookbooks, but loving descriptions of food run through all her books. A lot of the books I like have a common theme of making a home in one way or another, and one of the things that makes me like a cookbook (or books on housekeeping or etiquette, which I also collect)is a respect for food and home and family and friends and a sense that the work and imagination which goes into making meals and keeping house for them is valuable. Wed Nov 21 11:02:44 -0800 2001 1551678 0 sheiladammassa 1 1551677 For my part I may as well try to choose a favorite symphony or , in a more related vein, a single favorite restaurant/food/wine. For purposes of the discussion, though I (should say "we"--if you know the book you'll get the joke) nominate Charles H. Baker's classic "The Gentleman's Companion." Two volumes, "Exotic Cookery Book" and Exotic Drink Book." Written in the 1st person plural, which makes for some hilarious sentence constructions I (we) grew up reading this beginning at age 8 or 9. You need not even cook any of the stuff to have fun with it (but that is true of many other cookbooks). If anyone has this book (derrydale limited edition 1939, Crown edition 1946) check the classic "Virgin's Prayer" in the drink book. I have never made the damn thing but the story is very funny. Anyone know anyhting about Baker? He lived in Florida, was educated in New York or maybe Yale (judging by his comments), wrote for Esquire and Gourmet, penned a cheap novel about "florida crackers"(As the promotions said) and, evidently, lived a happy life sailing around the world. Many of his recipes are really fine. (Try his fried stuffed olives sometime.) Wed Nov 21 10:29:29 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Hazelhurst 2 1551722 Baker lived in Virginia for many years, and as I recall, went to the University of Virginia. I have had his books for over 50 years, and I agree, it is great reading. I have always wanted to try his "duck in melon cradle"...a duck roasted inside a scooped out watermelon. Also challenging is the ham cooked inside a biscuit jacket filled with raisin wine. Recently, I came upon a third book he wrote after the first two...not as interesting. Wed Nov 21 22:51:31 -0800 2001 1551677 0 Jim H. 3 1551790 Oh, the brilliant Charles H. Baker! I've got three books by him: The Gentleman's Companion, The Esquire Culinary Companion, and The South American Gentleman's Companion. I love them all, but the South American is my favorite cookbook of all time. It provided the ultimate Christmas dinner entree - "STUFFED & ROASTED YOUNG GOOSE Done in Buttered Paper with Pungent Spiced Spanish Sausages & a Unique Prune-Olive-Chestnut Stuffing". It's supposed to be flamed with brandy upon serving, though I didn't have the nerve to go that far. Sat Nov 24 19:35:39 -0800 2001 1551722 0 Kathryn Callaghan 1 1551686 For standards, I always turn to the new Joy of Cooking. I learned to cook before I got it, though, (it's not great for beginners) using Jacques Pepin, McCall's, and my own dear mother. Recently, I find myself turning more and more to Nigella Lawson's How to Eat. Not only is she a consummate chowhound and an absolute delight to read, her recipes, or all of them that I've tried, have been fabulous. My recent favorites, due mostly to my recent trend of trying to cut back a bit on fat without cutting back on flavors, are mushroom udon, Mushroom sandwiches, and spice crusted salmon with Chinese mustard sauce, which is the best salmon recipe I've found in ages. Wed Nov 21 11:56:01 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Caitlin Wheeler 1 1551688 These are the books I reach for most often: For ethnics, anything by Marcella Hazan, "Bistro Cooking" by Patricia Wells, and "The Border Cookbook" by the Jamisons. A new fave, "New England Home Cooking" by Brooke Dojny. For desserts, "Classic Home Desserts" by Richard Sax; for veggies, the Victory Garden's veggie book; Legal Sea Foods has a handy little paperback of simple fish recipes that is also a good reference; and for baking - the King Arthur Flour Baking Book. General reference: Child (The Way), Bittman (Everything), Fannie Farmer. Finally, not a cookbook, but I can't live without dipping occasionally into Trillin's "Tummy Trilogy." Always leaves a smile. Wed Nov 21 12:18:16 -0800 2001 1551663 0 splendidspatula 2 1551727 The last cookbook I purchased was "Texas Home Cooking" by the Jamisons. Gonna give their chile pecan sauce for turkey a try this Thanksgiving. Thu Nov 22 02:16:11 -0800 2001 1551688 0 Chimayo Joe 1 1551698 The Vegetarian Table series (they've published France, Italy, Thailand, North Africa, Mexico, India, Japan and the U.S., I believe) -- great photographs, very inspiring, and rustic, satisfying recipes. And The Vegetarian Bistro -- all regional French recipes -- haven't had a bad dish out of any of them yet. But my absolute favorite "cookbook" is my huge, fat notebook of recipes I've been collecting for 15 years! Recipes from every possible food magazine and borrowed cookbook I've ever laid hands on. Now THAT'S a classic! Wed Nov 21 15:04:30 -0800 2001 1551663 0 LisaPizza 1 1551705 Trying to pick a favorite cookbook is impossible -- different cookbooks perform different functions. But I pulled down my copy of "The Silver Palate Cookbook" last night to make sure I have all the ingredients for their Cornbread-Apple stuffing, and noted again how worn and stained it is. Everything in it is delicious, and the recipes are really easy to use. Although not intended to be comprehensive, it has a useful selection of "basic" recipes (chicken stock, for example). And I love the little tips, menu suggestions and anecdotes in the margins. On the other hand, one cookbook I love but never use to cook from is "Herbs for the Kitchen" by Irma Goodrich Mazza -- I've done readings from the introduction where she tells delightful stories about herself as a young WASPy bride (must have been just after WWI -- first edition is 1939), for example being horrified when her new Italian husband presents her with a gallon of olive oil. A fascinating bit of social and culinary history. Wed Nov 21 17:09:46 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Ruth Lafler 1 1551711 I received a copy of "The New York Times Cookbook" by Craig Claiborne as a gift nearly 30 years ago. It's where I go when I want a reliable dinner recipe or am craving something like minestrone soup. His recipes are always top-notch. For the last 15 years I have been honing his recipe for New England Clam Chowder. We have it for dinner Christmas Eve - then we open all the presents. Either of Mai Pham's cookbooks are wonderful. She takes her Thai and Vietnamese backgrounds and turns out recipes which are excellent in the context of modern day America. Her narratives have given me a much better understanding of Southeast Asian thinking and family values. Good for a read or good for eats! Wed Nov 21 17:34:22 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Karolyn 1 1551726 by Karl Wurf -- excellent advice on meat choices for Texas Chili with Cowboy: "Some argue that cowboy meat is too tough to be served any other way, especially since the spices tend to kill the taste of whatever the donor may have been smoking, drinking, or chewing. Others discount this argument, but agree that Chili is a practical, quick way to serve Man in well-disguised form..." Also great recipes for Shepherd's Pie (with an honest-to-goodness Shepherd, of course). And more! Thu Nov 22 01:53:49 -0800 2001 1551663 0 Carolyn Tillie 1 1551728 I forgot another one I saw in Barnes and Noble -- The WASP cookbook, covered in blue velveteen stamped with gilt. Full of menus for "Opening up the summer house on Martha's Vineyard" and "Tailgating at the Harvard Yale Game". I really want it, just for the humor value. Thu Nov 22 09:07:21 -0800 2001 1551663 0 CAitlin Wheeler