Best/Favorite Cook Book?

My top ten:

1. Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- This -- and Julia's tv show -- is where it all began for me

2. Michael Field's Cooking School -- doing it right! A lesser known classic! My strongest repertoire of dishes virtually all come from this book

3. The Joy of Cooking -- Where I have turned first for guidance on virtually every culinary question I have ever had...and then -- having seen Joy's basic approach, asked myself "now what would Julia do?"

4. The Silver Palate Cookbook -- Still an amazing aray of wonderful -- often simple -- ideas, cleanly executed and making the transition from classic cuisine to modern fare

5.Macella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking -- a combination of Classic and More Classic -- my bible when it comes to dishes Italian

6. James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking -- My American Julia!

7. Madhur Jaffrey"s An Invitation of Indian Cooking -- The book that showed me that South Asian cooking with all its complexities and subleties was not beyond grasp

8. Iren Kuo's The Key to Chinese Cooking -- I went through a wok/stir fry phase. This is the book that took me to whole new realms of Chinese cooking.

9. Claudia Roden's the New Book of Middle Eastern Food -- Another book that keeps opening new worlds and new tastes for me..Paula Wolfert's book isn't far behind however.

10. The New Larousse Gastronomique -- sure it's a reference book...but it's such a fun read -- it brings me back to the days as a kid when I would open the World Book to any topic and just start reading...

The most useful cookbook I own is the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo..._-Primary&IF=N

Yes, it's not very fancy, but it has recipes for nearly everything I could possibly think of and is a good starting point for a wide variety of dishes that can easily be interpreted and added to as necessary. As it gets the most use in my kitchen, I call it the best cookbook I own.

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

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As it gets the most use in my kitchen, I call it the best cookbook I own.

I think that's a fair standard.

I have one cookbook.

My favorite has been Giorgio Locatelli's Made In Italy for the past few years. I also tend to find myself looking through The Silver Spoon often.

The Dean & Deluca one is a staple at my home, as well as Bread and Fields of Green.

Originally Posted by JohnGalt

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"Larousse Gastronomique" is a classic that everyone should own. For something different and interesting, "100 Classic Dishes of Austria" by Ewald Plachutta.

I just got this, it is sick, just off the charts.

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

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I just got this, it is sick, just off the charts.

Which?

Originally Posted by iammatt

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http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Robuc.../dp/0307267199

This is my current favorite. Definitely a recipe book, rather than a skills book, but with a lot of cooking trucs.

Glad this thread has been re-bumped. Just ordered this.

Originally Posted by JohnGalt

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Which?
Opps thought I edited. I was referring to, Larousse Gastronomique. Really an amazing book, I can't stop picking it up.

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

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Opps thought I edited. I was referring to, Larousse Gastronomique. Really an amazing book, I can't stop picking it up.

yes, but how often have you cooked from it? and which edition do you have? IMHO, everyone who is passionately interested in classical French cooking as it was practiced in the mid 1960s and earlier, should definitely have one (I'm looking at you MAnton!). for others, it's pretty much a waste.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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yes, but how often have you cooked from it? and which edition do you have? IMHO, everyone who is passionately interested in classical French cooking as it was practiced in the mid 1960s and earlier, should definitely have one (I'm looking at you MAnton!). for others, it's pretty much a waste.
I love it. I have the early 60s edition in Frog, a mid 80s edition that is falling apart from use in Engrish, and the new one twice, one frog (falling apart) one engrish. I am not in love with the new one, the old is better. I don't think I use it a ton, but I used to. I guess I still do, but for info more than recipes. Kind of like a dictionary, I guess.

Do you guys also have Pierre Hermà 's Larousse des Desserts? It's positively awesome. I gain five pounds just leafing through the pictures.

Don't remember the name of it and the cover is missing from my coot, but my favorite is a Cajun cookbook written by Tony Cachere, an old Cajun trapper and hunting guide. Best gumbo, oyster chowder and etoufee recipes I've ever tried. He even has possum recipes.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I love it. I have the early 60s edition in Frog, a mid 80s edition that is falling apart from use in Engrish, and the new one twice, one frog (falling apart) one engrish. I am not in love with the new one, the old is better. I don't think I use it a ton, but I used to. I guess I still do, but for info more than recipes. Kind of like a dictionary, I guess.
i agree that the earlier ones are much better than the later. and before i get too critical, i always have a copy of the 61 on my desk, both at home and at work. but i haven't looked anything up in ages. the comparison with a dictionary is apt, but while we still hold on to some vestiges of formal usage in language, i'm afraid in cooking those have pretty much been thrown out the window. still, if you care about how something is correctly made in the classical tradition, it's terrific.
That said, there's another book I really love that i wish people knew more about. It's called The Epicurean and it's by a guy named Charles Ranhofer. he was a French chef cooking in America (delmonicos). the book came out way before escoffier and covers much the same ground in much the same way but with much better detail. there are whole sections on setting up a restaurant kitchen (this would have been in the late 1800s). amazing stuff and it predicts much of what became called "new american cooking" ... small wonder since jeremiah tower says its one of his favorite all-time cookbooks. if you're curious, here's a piece i did on it years ago (excerpted in Oxford companion to american food)