Let's cook!

That looks good, OP. I've ordered a copy.

My favorite is Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking."

Thank you, r1.

It's a cookbook!

The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham Ottolenghi: The Cookbook & Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi Sweet Tooth by Lily Vanilli

The book listed is a great book, get it! I'm a mediocre cook, but this is fab and not pretentious.

I would recommend any of the Betty Crocker cookbooks

God bless you, R6. It is just that only for grown-ups.

I don't cook. I'd rather have some hunk of a chef cook for me. Tyler Florence would do nicely as would Chef Talbot

The Betty Crocker Cookbook. My sister gave it to me years ago.

My copy is battered and torn but well used. Love those retro 1970s dishes.

Cant tell if r6 is joking but the Betty Crocker International Cookbook is surprisingly good. The recipes are all pretty simple but the flavors are great.

I'll cook for you anytime r9, or any of you for that matter.

Cathy Mitchell Presents Quick and Easy Dump Dinners

You bitches be nice.

The Pennsylvania Grange Cookbook that belonged to my great-grandmother.

Larousse Gastronomique

"The World's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia by Prosper Montagne"

All my life I wanted to make a decent Béarnaise sauce but couldn't follow the recipes...until I discovered Larousse.

Wonderful cookbook and in no way patronising or hard to follow.

Pleasures of the Good Earth by Edward Giobbi. It's not really a cookbook per se, but a book about a healthy approach to food that includes recipes. A few decades old but a treasure.

Greens

My most loved, and still my most used, cookbook is the Joy of Cooking 5th. Edition my mom gave me when I moved out on my own. It's just wonderful.

For kooky fun, it's Frank DeCaro's Dead Celebrity Cookbook. What a nut!

Thank you r19, I like he JOC, it is interpretable.

For sweets/baking - anything by MAIDA HEATTER. She is the queen of baking, and her recipes have never failed me. Love Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, and Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever. Her cookie book is also quite good.

David Venable's "Comfort Foods That Take You Home" and "Back Around The Table" are awesome.

Thank you, r22.

Maida Heatter's recipe for Palm Beach Brownies is the only brownie recipe I've ever liked. Everything else is chocolate-flavored sugar.

And her Queen Mother's Cake is excellent, too (from her "Chocolate" book). I use the ganache recipe every time I make ganache.

& r21, and all of you.

Where I work we have a cook (a household). I try to cook some of her dishes (braises), and I do okay, but it is not the same. Does anyone have good braise recipes? I know it's simple but I'm missing something. I need to be there on Tuesday to pick her brain.

Another vote for David Venable's cookbooks. Easy to follow recipes, and the food is just what you'd expect from David. You'll be doing the "Happy Dance."

[R1]

[quote]My favorite is Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

Add my endorsement to this book.

I loved the edition of JOC that told how to cook after nuclear fallout.

I just bought a set of All-Clad pots and pans!

On sale at Bloomingdales! I can't wait to start cooking and am taking all of the recommendations for cookbooks.

I collect editions of Betty Crocker. It's interesting to see how tastes change over the years.

Maida Heatter is great but she'll make your ass fat!

I have Larousse Gastronomique but mostly because I have a boner for reference books.

Also collect old Junior League cookbooks. I have a problem saying no to books, not just cookbooks, either.

One of the best cookbooks ever.

I prefer simple cooking. NYT has published many books that are geared toward one hour meals, most quite good; some no so much.

For those of you who want simple cooking, try cookbooks from the "Fix It And Forget It" series by Phyllis Pullman Good.

One of my favorites is the "Fix It And Forget It Five Ingredient Favorites" slow cooker recipes.

R30, take the time to know how to use All-Clad skillets and saute pans correctly.

First, let the pan get hot enough before putting anything in it. Keep putting drops of water in until they bead up like mercury. Then add oil (this video oils the steak: same difference).

Second, do not move the steak (or whatever) until it is ready to be moved.

The video will demonstrate what I'm talking about.

Thanks r35! Great advice; most people do not know these things. Braising recipes please!

Auto-correct keeps calling me TOP, LOL. I am but I'm blushing. *going rouge*

r36, get All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking by Molly Stevens.

Thank you so much R35!

They are so bright and shiny I'm afraid to use them. But I will!

R31, it is interesting to watch food trends via Betty Crocker- a time lapse. Thanks. My mother adapted a chicken recipe for grouse that is outstanding. Complete with pimento! But it's yum!

Oooooh!

My favorite cookbook of all time is "There's someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah". It's not your all purpose cookbook. I have made everything in this book and continue to be inspired by this book

Haven't bothered with a cookbook in yonks. Internet provides an unending wealth of recipes from all over the world and certainly doesn't take up the space that cookbooks do.

My mom had a cookbook where, in the back, it had menus for every day of the year. I always wished my Mom would use them. It seemed so very sophisticated to me. It even planned what everyone would drink. It had a grey cover. I wish I knew what book ti was so that I could get a copy of it.

I don't know if r24 is joking or not, but that brownie recipe is the hardest, most difficult one I've ever encountered. You have to wait a day after baking before cutting them, and even then they're ornery as hell to cut. No thanks.

I agree r43, they take space, but I love my cookbooks. It is annoying when I slop on them.

At one time I owned 15 copies of Savador Dali's cookbook. They were selling for a few bucks each at book stores. The book did not sell well and was basically dumped on the cheap. Over the years I gifted 15 cooking friends with the book.

Dumb me, thinking I was giving an impression gift on the cheap. Look what has happened over the years.

Don't feel too bad, R47. That one's signed.

Come on guys! Thanks for the braising recipe book.

OK, I'll share a good recipe. Simple & delicious meatloaf. You are welcome in advance.

1# hamburger

1 small chopped onion

1/2 C Pepperidge Farms dressing

4 sprigs parsley

1/2 C beef broth

3T Parmesan

1egg

1/4 t. Pepper

2T butter

8 Oz. Can tomato sauce

Mix. Top w/ tom sauce and sprinkle w oregano. Yum.

Butter the pan, and my goodness, good. In the oven now.

Don't you cook the onion first, R50?

No, I do not, r52. This is one of my favorite comfort foods. I hope you enjoy! Simple and delicious.

R53, the best way I know to learn to braise is to master the “Daubes” section of Richard Olney’s SIMPLE FRENCH FOOD.

You’ll learn the time and temperature and correct liquids for every kind of meat you would braise. I find its comprehensive approach more helpful than following random recipes from cookbooks.

I made a chuck roast with ground ancho chile, tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. using this approach, and it turned out wonderful.

You’ll learn some ingredients not to use as well. Some alcohol-based liquids can ruin a stew, for example. I didn’t know that until I read it in Olney.

It’s an older cookbook, no photos, but it was recently re-released.

Thank you, r54.

r21 MH's recipe for bread pudding is the only one worth making. Have made it every year(34, and counting) for a community Christmas dinner, they won't allow me to make anything but. Keep it to yourself though, the anti-raisin crowd will go berserk otherwise.

I'm liking you, Bronzie.

Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook.

Any Junior League cookbook, especially Charleston Receipts or Heart and Soul, Stirring Recipes from Memphis.

I tried to shorten your name (BAG), but thought better : )

Share a recipe, r58.

From Heart and Soul, Stirring Recipes from Memphis (1992):

Zucchini Bread

1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites 1 cup white sugar 1/3 cup canola (or vegetable) oil 2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 cups grated zucchini 1/2 cup chopped black walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch loaf pans.

Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until blended. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes, or until loaves shrink from sides of the pan. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans onto a rack.

You can substitute 1/2 cup grated carrot, 1/2 cup grated apple and 1 tablespoon orange zest for 1 cup of the zucchini.

Thanks, r61.

r57 You flatter me. I appreciate it.

r59 I'll take it though, call me anything but late for dinner.

"First You Take a Leek ..."

"You've Had Worse Things In Your Mouth"

(Yes, these were actual cookbook titles.)

What are you people cooking today? I'm making potato/leek soup, perfect today with a crusty French bread and good butter. That, cooking friends, is delicious.

[quote]I'm making potato/leek soup

I assume you got the recipe from the first book I listed ...

I did not but before I Bevin I will try to reference that recipe. Thanks, r66.

Begin. Auto-correct needs to go to a hot place in hell.

What did it think "Bevin" is, R68?

I made Alton Brown's potato leek soup a coule,of weeks ago. It was divine.

White Trash Cooking

OMG, R71.

Imwas seconds away from posting that.

Have you tried the recipes for mock cooter stew or possum bake?

I haven't a clue,r69.I wish Bevin were a nice guy to share soup with.

My grandmother's meatloaf recipe that comes out great every time and huge but it freezes beautifully.

Pre heat your oven to 350

1 pound 85% lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

6 slices sandwich bread soaked in 1/2 small can whole evaporated milk

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

1 very large or 3 average size onions diced

1/4 cup seltzer

2 large eggs

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix everything except the meat very well

Add the meat and mix just until everything is incorporated, don't over mix the meat

Spray a roasting pan with non-stick spray

Form into a loaf of sorts but in a large roasting pan, not a loaf pan

Bake for 45 minutes

Remove and raise oven temp to 375

brush top of meatloaf with a thick layer of ketchup

place back in oven for another 45 minutes

check the temperature in the center of the loaf, it should read 170 degrees, if not put it back in the oven until it does.

Once it's done tent it and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes.

slice it with a long serrated knife

It is of course best served with mashed potatoes and peas or string beans.

It makes very good cold sandwiches too and like I said, freezes very well.

Best Italian bread, pizza and pastry book...evah!

Thanks r74. My MIL does a very similar recipe. My meatloaf from last night was frozen and actually tastes better when I freeze it. Peas are a perfect adjunct and I toss in a baed potato and in an hour I have great food.

R71, I'm not big on wild game.

You're very welcome R76. The ingredient that most people go "Huh" over is the cinnamon. Yet you can't even tell it's in there. It just gives it a very good flavor.

A baked potato works very well too. What doesn't really work is fries or any kind of complicated potato with sauce.

Oh and if you want to go to the trouble of making gravy there will be lots of drippings left in the roasting pan. But honestly it's so moist it really doesn't need gravy.

ITA about it tasting even better after freezing or even after just being in the fridge a day or so. I think the flavors have a chance to blend or something.

My grandmother also used to make great chicken croquets but didn't make them often so I don't have the recipe. I have always wished I did. Sadly she did all her recipe from her head. She never wrote any down and I was only 12 when she died. But she made the meatloaf once a week as everyone wanted that so I remembered it well and made it for the first time by myself when I was 13.

I hate wild game too. Even some cuts of lamb taste too gamey for me.

Damn! forgot again...R77=R74

R74 Where can you find ground veal these days? I even have trouble finding ground pork sometimes.

Veal kind of breaks my heart.

[quote]Veal kind of breaks my heart.

And my lungs, spleen, muscles, etc.

I actually have that White Trash cook book. There are actually some great-sounding recipes in there.

R6 R7 R9 R10 I Agree! The recipes really teach how to cook, and for baked from scratch cake recipes they are no fail. My mom had The Betty Crocker Cookbook 1950 edition - probably a gift from her mother. I used it so much that she gave me a copy of the 1969 edition. Since my mom died I now have both - they change recipes when it's been updated, but it continues to be the same reliable format. Cooking has always been a relaxing creative outlet, and I've got a lot of cookbooks but these two are frequent go to resources for many things.

I'd like to add [italic]The Gourmet Cookbook[/italic] and [italic]The Bon Appétit Cookbook[/italic].

R74 Ketchup...really. Did Grandma get it from the white trash lady?

You gotta love a gay Jewish pastry chef that blogs from Paris.

Actually, r74 ATC has a great meatloaf recipe that calls for ketchup or chili sauce.

There is something special about a gay comedy cookbook

My gammy was an excellent cook and unfortunately didn't write anything down, what a loss, r83. Something about our German heritage and her gardening and bampa's farming made for the best meals of my life.

It was an old Betty Crocker cookbook that a wonderful recipe for Shrip Curry. It took sour cream and was delicious. this goes back to 1964 when I was in preschool, not true.

r90, what grade shirp do you use for this curry?

R88 Mentioned at R64, but thanks for adding the visual!

Ann Landers' "World Famous" Meatloaf (it's actually pretty good -- and even better for cold sandwiches.)

r91, I use the largest I can find, but I don't use the giant fresh water shrimp. I just don't think they have much taste.

I have many I love.

Here's a favorite - seriously. She obviously genuinely loves/loved to cook, and her stories are often lovely. And the recipes are all good. It's not the indispensable Hazan, but it's very good.

I also keep a Picayune Creole Cookbook and a copy of the old Savannah Cookbook close at hand.

The latter is a reprint of Harriet Ross Colquitt's 1933 presentation of Atlantic-South recipes, wonderfully quaint, funny and peculiarly race-conscious. Her biggest frustration was that the best cooks - the black cooks all the old whites had in their big houses - would not share their recipes, and if they did they often embellished them so the white ladies would get lost and get things wrong - she ascribed to the cooks wanting to make things seem more elegant than they really were, but I have my doubts.

And the White Trash Cookbook series - God rest Ernest Mickler's soul - are truly great. The blurb from Helen Hayes saying that she was, apparently, white trash is just one pleasure of these books.

My local Shoprite has what they call meatloaf/meatball mix and it has all 3, beef, pork and veal, in it, about 1/3 of each. They also have packages of ground pork on its own but not veal. It is difficult to find. I don't know of any supermarket other than Shoprite that has it. If you have access to a butcher shop they can grind anything for you. What's really hard is finding ground lamb.

Actually these days it's not easy to find a butcher shop. They have Shoprite stores in NJ and NY. I'm not sure if they're anywhere else.

I think if you go to the window of most supermarket butcher departments they can grind meat to order. You would pick up a package or two of something like veal stew meat and they might be able to grind it for you. A veal or pork roast would probably be too expensive to turn into ground meat but stew meat shouldn't be too much more.

Veal has a lot of collagen and gives a meatloaf or meatballs a texture you won't get without it.

I'm very lucky I had a great grocery open two blocks from my house last fall. Organic grass fed beef, excellent deli, beautiful produce.

My house smells so good right now between the soup and bread. Thanks so much cookers, wish I could share.

Luchow's German Cookbook! Just for the Sauerbraten and potato ball recipe, if nothing else. Don't forget the red cabbage, even if you don't like it, you need the color on the plate!

Another favorite is Creme De Colorado.

Link to Creme.

R21 here.

The Palm Beach Brownies really are all that, R45. Yes, they are a bitch to cut and waiting a day does nothing to make it any easier. Here's the secret: Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Unwrap them and cut them with a sharp chef's knife. Easy peasy. Let them come back to room temperature before serving. They really are dark, fudgey, decadent perfection. Nothing like the artificial-tasting stuff that comes out of a box.

Thanks for the bread pudding recommendation R56. I'm going to search it out immediately. Do you remember which book it was in?

r101 pg. 334 in 'Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts.' I up the raisins to 3/4's of a cup, and add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to the sugar that gets sprinkled on top. Served one hour out of the oven is best,mitt schlage, but even fridge-cold leftovers are scrumptious. When I make it it's a triple recipe, it JUST fits in an old graniteware roasting pan. It's time-consuming, but oh so worth it. Enjoy!

R87 so? ATC is LCD.

I meant ATK, r103. America's Test Kitchen, Cooks.

'The Complete Asian Cookbook' by Charmaine Solomon. It's a must for your shelf if you have any interest in cooking Asian foods. Her Sri Lankan recipes are particularly good, as she is from that beautiful country. The best part is that she gives good suggestions for substitutions. After all, not everyone can get good array of Asian ingredients easily.

My favorite Asian cookbooks are wriien by Mai Pham.

#1 The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking

#2 Pleasures Of The Vietnamese Table

These recipes work well. I love cooking Asian food but it is an all day thing and I prefer to keep it simple.

"America's Test Kitchen" cookbooks. Bought 2 of them at C*stco for the recipes to go with my new holiday gift, a Le Creuset dutch oven.

Coq au vin chicken, here I am!

(Extra bonus: one of the cookbooks features the best kitchen appliances/accessories and 'ingrediences.")

r107 Having one of those do's would be great. Wish I could afford one.

I broke my tagine and when I replaced it recently, I realized I want to do more Moroccan cooking.

Along with online recipes, I have a few of these cookbooks:

I need a new Dutch oven, I'm watching for one at Marshalls. M's is inexpensive and has (nearly) same quality as a "real store."

R108 - Check out M*rtha's cast iron enamels. Very economical (especially since they're on sale now); they do the trick.

My 'Giftor' was very generous; I could never afford one of the European models on my own.

r110, it does the job. Only get the ones with the enamel handle.

I really want LeCruset, r111, but I don't want to pay.

R113 - I don't work for the company, in any manner, but . . . check out QVC, call Customer Service and beg for 'easy pay' on said item to earn your loyalty as a 'first-time customer.' Otherwise, keep watching its website and save it to your 'wish list.'

(They've got to have an abundance of inventory of said item, especially since the holidays are over. Happy Hunting there!)

R113, LeCreuset is no better than other brands of enameled cast iron. You're paying for the name. I have a piece of Martha Stewart's cookware from Macy's that's every bit as good as LeCreuset. I actually prefer Staub because the inside is black and impervious to stains.

R110, I got a couple of pieces of LeCreuset at TJ Maxx a few years ago. I haven't checked lately to see if they still carry it, but it was quite a bargain. They had a very limited choice of colors, but it's cookware, not wall color. You might want to shop around for bargains.

My fave is my Gam's smallish 3qt. Dutch oven for grains,etc. And its BLUE!

I need a big one for braises.

My NY resolution is to prepare delicious braises.

R115 - I also have the lovely M's cast iron enamel, two of them actually. Because of how each performed when preparing the 'fond' (deglazing at high temp.), I've switched to the European model.

While using M's cast iron enamel during this process, specifically for the 'fond' preparation, I swear I saw the light enamel 'moving around' at the bottom in the process. China v. France . . . quality. Hmmmm . . .

TJ Maxx has awesome gourmet cookware at a tremendous discount. I've purchased many pieces of my 'cookware arsenal' there.

I have a two-handled Staub frying pan that's excellent for braising, R116. It comes in lots of colors and it's $150. The LeCreuset braiser is $250.

That is just st not true, r113.

Cheap enamel crackles. I suspect you know that.

POST!

I've had LeCreuset crackle, R119. They've improved their interior enamel since then but who knows whether it will still happen over time.

Its definitely important to not over-heat enameled pans. Still, the inexpensive ones crackle, plan for that.

This is why I love Gam's old pot, Le Cruse t, it has held up very well.

Thinking about this one:

I have (all enameled cast iron)

- a Le Creuset deep fryer (with lid)

- a Martha Stewart 3 qt. saucepan (with lid)

- a Tramontina large Dutch oven

- a JCPenney brand large Dutch oven

- a JCPenney brand grill pan

- two "cocottes" (don't remember the brand)

The JCPenney items were an incredible bargain -- they were on clearance (I guess they're discontinues) and they were only $20/each.

I HAD

- an 3-quart oval Dutch oven from World Market. This one was the only one that turned out to be a mistake -- the knob broke after only a few uses.

the william sonoma seasons cookbooks. all are amazing. im shocked they havent reprinted them.

If you're going to be putting that cast iron, hard enamel dutch over in the oven to cook, make certain you've traded out the knob for a metal one. No matter the quality of the synthetic ones, the long-term exposure to dedicated oven heat is will eventually compromise the intergrity of the knob, crack, crack, crack . . .

R50, I made your recipe tonight. It tastes delicious, but falling all apart. I followed all directions to the letter.

Maybe it'll set up when refrigerated.

I'm sorry, hun, try again.

Sissy Casserole!

[quote]I broke my tagine

I hope that was covered by Obamacare.

Is Cathy Mitchell OK? I hope she don't have the Covid19

Julia Child's The French Chef Cookbook. It contains all the recipes from her original TV series. Outstanding for beginners and experienced cooks.

Try the original Inglenook Cookbook. I have the 1911 edition from my great-grandmother. It has recipes for everything! Homemade marshmallows? Dozens of candies, cakes, and pies you've never heard of, breads, muffins... A homemaker's how-to from the time before frozen, boxed food.

r131, the French Chef Cookbook was my very first cookbook. My mother gave me a copy when I was in college, right after she got the gospel according to St. Julia. She first learned to make quiche Lorraine, the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten that wasn't pizza or lasagne. I remember making coquilles St. Jacques and soupe a l'oignon over the phone together.

I would eventually learn boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin, and fruit tarts, but those may have been from Julia's later masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 1. Those two and Marcella Hazan's original first book, The Classic Italian Cookbook are my most destroyed.