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Thread: Best Cookbooks?

  1. #1
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    Best Cookbooks?

    With as much food/cooking talk as there is here, I can't be the only person who digs reading cookbooks...

    Tonight's dinner came mostly from Michael Ruhlman's "Twenty" (specifically, the Butterflied Chicken with Lemon-Tarragon Butter Baste), which was amazing. It made me wonder if there are other cookbooks/authors I should be looking for. He's kind of one of my favorites (my bacon and bratwurst recipes come from Charcuterie). I like the way he approaches cooking in general, trying to make it a very accessible thing, but also emphasizing the importance of cooking and eating good food . "Twenty" has a lot of great recipes, but like most of his stuff, it seems to aim to be a cookbook that teaches you how to cook in the absence of a specific recipe (like his book "Ratio"), instead of just teaching you recipes.

    I have a bazillion cookbooks, but seem that I keep coming back to the same 5 or 6 again and again. Anyone else have favorite/recommended cookbooks?

  2. #2
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    The only true cookbook I own I've had for over 20 years: The New Professional Chef. I remember getting it as my sole Christmas present from my parents when I was just starting my restaurant career. Over the years, I've stuffed into its pages recipes that I've coaxed of people and restaurants.

    Last year I picked up one book, for the photos mostly, called Street Food Of India that I enjoy, but cookbooks in general are really expensive, and I tend to fly from the hip way too much for them to be of value.

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    The Weber gas grill cookbook. No cleanup required.
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  4. #4
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    The Silver Spoon - Italian Food

    Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

  5. #5
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    Either of bittman's "how to cook everything" books as a base...

    From there it depends if you want to use it or have pretty pictures. Bourdain's les halls book strikes a decent balance and is funny.

    The whole beast is a great meat-centric one...

  6. #6
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    I only own four cookbooks. All four are by Jamie Oliver.

    Jamie at Home is by far my favorite. Not just for the recipes, but it's a good read as well.
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    Mastering the Art of French Cooking
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  8. #8
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    Zuni Cafe's cookbook is a classic, better than the actual dining experience they offer, for sure.
    "7 Fires" is pretty cool.
    Keller's books are beautiful, but the food's pretty stuffy for home-cooking.

    Edit: How can we forget the "Joy of Cooking?" Seriously.

  9. #9
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    The "WhiteWater" cook books are good. I also have a few Jamie Oliver books that get some regular use other than that a cheap Thai cook book, the set of "Companies Coming" which are hit and miss and the big win are promotional liquour store magazies, lots of great ideas in 'em.
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  10. #10
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    America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

  11. #11
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    Why buy a cook book when you can find 100 different recipes for any type of dish online in a minute? I made Chicken Marsala Saturday for the first time. I found a bunch of different recipes and combined things to make my own. It was awesome.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by La Vaina Ajena View Post
    The Weber gas grill cookbook. No cleanup required.
    +1. It's called Weber's Big Book of Grilling. So much awesomeness. (And no, it's not just a gas grill cookbook).
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    Quote Originally Posted by bagtagley View Post
    Mastering the Art of French Cooking
    Even better: http://www.amazon.com/Jacques-P%C3%A.../dp/1579121659

    Once you have the basics down the rest is art. It's kinda like learning how to write, but you still need inspiration to produce a novel.

  14. #14
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    Le Bull Merde! Nobody teaches technique like Julia.
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  15. #15
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    (psst: Jacques Pepin taught Julia)

    edit: well, not really - just on their show together. His La Technique and La Methode (which are now combined in the single volume I linked above) are pretty much the textbooks of French Cuisine these days since they also have step-by-step pix to help you learn.

    Not taking anything away from Ms. Child, but one is a trained chef, the other a glorified hausfrau.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tippster View Post
    Not taking anything away from Ms. Child, but one is a trained chef, the other a glorified hausfrau.
    Jeez, Tipp, glorified hausfrau? She was better than that.

    The Way to Cook is a nice reference and was her best work, in my opinion.


    I always end up using America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated New Best Recipe cookbook. I really enjoy the geeky approach.

  17. #17
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    I know she graduated from Cordon Bleu, but damn I can't get over those dresses and aprons. She was just going with the times I suppose. For me Julia Child was more Pepin's sous-chef on the PBS TV show I grew up with. He cooked, she "helped" (mainly drank the wine.)

    I'm a huge Cooks Illustrated fan. I actually use their magazine, books, and website more than anything else when I need inspiration.

  18. #18
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    ^^^ Cook's Illustrated is great, especially around the holidays.

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    I like almost everything these guys do.

  20. #20
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    The Silver Palate Cookbook... can't really go wrong.

    That being said, there are a number of solid "foundational" cookbooks and then things to tag on after that.
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  21. #21
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    Anyone Can Cook- Auguste Gusteau



    Seriously-

    Al Roker's Big Bad Book of BBQ- from when he was still fat.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tippster View Post


    Not taking anything away from Ms. Child, but one is a trained chef, the other a glorified hausfrau.
    Thats 'top secret reseaher with the OSS' hausfrau to you.

  23. #23
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    The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.

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    Hot and Spicy- Unusual, Innovative Recipes From The World's Fiery Cuisines by Marlena Spieler, not so much for the exact recipes, but for stylistic inspiration, and her stories of the different dishes are pretty cool too.
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  25. #25
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    also, if you learned how to make an omelette from that hausfrau mentioned above you'll never, ever go hungry. I make Julia's omelette every saturday morning.


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