Cookbooks I can't live without
I pride myself on my carefully curated cookbook collection. For a bibliophile and foodie like me, it's hard to resist the allure glossy pages and colorful photos that promise treats from famous restaurants and distant countries. Yet, there are only about twelve cookbooks in my kitchen, each carefully selected from reader reviews and magazines' top ten lists. These are my favorite three.
How to Cook Everything
by Mark Bittman
This is my go-to cookbook for weeknight meals that can be quickly assembled from items already in my pantry. If you need cheap, fast meals or ideas for using up your leftovers, this book is a good place to look. Yet, it's so much more than a basic collection of recipes. There's plenty of advice for beginners, but many of the recipes use ingredients or techniques that I might not have considered on my own. And it really does deliver on its promise, at least for Western and more common Asian foods. Whenever I am confronted by a mysterious grain or a vegetable I'm not familiar with, How to Cook Everything always offers up a recipe or two. Although I have run across a few duds, almost every recipe here is, at the very least, hearty and satisfying. The pages are slowly filling up with my own variations and notes, and I have a feeling I'll be using this recipe for years to come.
In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite
by Melissa Jacobson
This is the newest addition to my collection, but it became indispensable almost the day I bought it. For me, this isn't simply a book of recipes; it's a book of how to create food. Each recipe is accompanied by a short anecdote detailing Jacobson's thought process when she created it. Many of her most delicious meals were born from experimentation with the ingredients already in the pantry; others were the result of improvisation when a desired ingredient wasn't available. Nor are Jacobson's ideas all her own; many were developed from cooking magazines that I read every month. Yes, the figgy piggy chicken thighs and the chicken roasted with green peaches were easy and delicious, but that wasn't the point. Reading this book made me feel emboldened to experiment based on my tastes, my knowledge, and the ingredients in my cupboard. Jacobson is no doubt an amazing chef, far more amazing than me, yet her stories made me feel as if greatness was in my own humble reach.
Around My French Table
by Dorie Greenspan
To be honest, I probably could live without this cookbook if I had to, but I'd rather not. Dorie Greenspan's homey prose and simple instructions make French cooking attainable to those of us who don't want to put in the time and effort to cook like Julia Child. Yet, as Greenspan explains how each recipe was donated by a French friend, a cheesemonger, or a Parisian market seller, it becomes obvious that the book is deeply authentic -- even if it is, for the most part, uncomplicated. Although I credit In the Kitchen with a Good Appetitie for inspiring me to experiment in the kitchen, this book helped push me along that path. The instructions are clear enough to yield good results every time, but many of them are casual, like "throw in a handful of whatever fresh herbs you have on hand." Almost every recipe includes a variation or two in the sidebar, many of which leave room for experimentation. Best of all, the book includes one of my all-time favorite recipes, Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good. (I'll be writing more about that soon, I promise!) The pumpkin, along with most of the recipes in the book, are not idea for quick weeknight cooking. It is, however, the first place I turn when I am planning to have company for dinner, and it's never let me down.
What are your favorite cookbooks?
How to Cook Everything
by Mark Bittman
This is my go-to cookbook for weeknight meals that can be quickly assembled from items already in my pantry. If you need cheap, fast meals or ideas for using up your leftovers, this book is a good place to look. Yet, it's so much more than a basic collection of recipes. There's plenty of advice for beginners, but many of the recipes use ingredients or techniques that I might not have considered on my own. And it really does deliver on its promise, at least for Western and more common Asian foods. Whenever I am confronted by a mysterious grain or a vegetable I'm not familiar with, How to Cook Everything always offers up a recipe or two. Although I have run across a few duds, almost every recipe here is, at the very least, hearty and satisfying. The pages are slowly filling up with my own variations and notes, and I have a feeling I'll be using this recipe for years to come.
In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite
by Melissa Jacobson
This is the newest addition to my collection, but it became indispensable almost the day I bought it. For me, this isn't simply a book of recipes; it's a book of how to create food. Each recipe is accompanied by a short anecdote detailing Jacobson's thought process when she created it. Many of her most delicious meals were born from experimentation with the ingredients already in the pantry; others were the result of improvisation when a desired ingredient wasn't available. Nor are Jacobson's ideas all her own; many were developed from cooking magazines that I read every month. Yes, the figgy piggy chicken thighs and the chicken roasted with green peaches were easy and delicious, but that wasn't the point. Reading this book made me feel emboldened to experiment based on my tastes, my knowledge, and the ingredients in my cupboard. Jacobson is no doubt an amazing chef, far more amazing than me, yet her stories made me feel as if greatness was in my own humble reach.
Around My French Table
by Dorie Greenspan
To be honest, I probably could live without this cookbook if I had to, but I'd rather not. Dorie Greenspan's homey prose and simple instructions make French cooking attainable to those of us who don't want to put in the time and effort to cook like Julia Child. Yet, as Greenspan explains how each recipe was donated by a French friend, a cheesemonger, or a Parisian market seller, it becomes obvious that the book is deeply authentic -- even if it is, for the most part, uncomplicated. Although I credit In the Kitchen with a Good Appetitie for inspiring me to experiment in the kitchen, this book helped push me along that path. The instructions are clear enough to yield good results every time, but many of them are casual, like "throw in a handful of whatever fresh herbs you have on hand." Almost every recipe includes a variation or two in the sidebar, many of which leave room for experimentation. Best of all, the book includes one of my all-time favorite recipes, Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good. (I'll be writing more about that soon, I promise!) The pumpkin, along with most of the recipes in the book, are not idea for quick weeknight cooking. It is, however, the first place I turn when I am planning to have company for dinner, and it's never let me down.
What are your favorite cookbooks?