OT: What's your "Go To" cookbook?

[C40_guy]

What's your "go to" cookbook?

What's your favorite recipe in that cookbook?

One of my favorites is Shalane Flanagan's "Run Fast, Eat Slow." Do yourself a favor and buy the hardcopy rather than the Kindle version. :)

Favorite recipe -- "Breakfast Meets Dinner Bowl" which mixes rice, beans, avocado, salsa, feta cheese, spinach, fried egg and more for a delicious, easy to make, gut filling meal!

[AngryScientist]

currently, at the house, we are on a Lodge cast iron pan cooking spree. cast iron cookware is awesome sauce.

anyway, we have a cookbook from Lodge that has a jambalaya recipe in it that really rocks. best is that we can cook this kind of stuff at home in the kitchen, outside on the grill or fire pit, or camping in the middle of nowhere over an open fire.

[CNY rider]

If I have time and want to make something really nice I go Cooks Illustrated.
We get the magazine version.
Earlier this week I made the roast duck recipe that was in the last edition. Outstanding.
But Cooks is not for quick easy recipes.

[Kirk007]

My cookbook collection makes my bike collection feel inadequate but I rarely take time to actually use them; hoping that changes in 2020 and I take more time to plan and cook fun meals. That said, the internet has become by go to cookbook as often a meal idea is generated by what looks good or is on sale in the grocery store.

Among my bound favorites though are the following: all of Tom Douglas' cookbooks (Pac NW), Caprial Pence (Pac NW), Marcella Hazan (Italian), Rick Bayless (Mexican), Mark Miller (Southwest -Coyote Cafe and others), Feast of Santa Fe (Huntley Dent) (New Mexican) D.K.'s Sushi Chronicles from Hawaii, Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, various French cookbooks - Richard Grausman, La Varenne Pratique, Patricia Wells, Le Cordon Bleu at Home, Jaque Pepin. For baking: JIm Dodge (American Baker), The Italian Baker (Carol Field).

[FlashUNC]

Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef.

Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc is great for meat, his Bouchon cookbook an amazing pastry reference.

[Gsinill]

1-800-CALLMOM
This applies to cooking and even more to baking.
Favorite recipe: "Kässpatzen" - Bavarian version of Mac and Cheese made from scratch with Spätzle rather than Macaroni.

[echelon_john]

We have a ton of cookbooks but the ones that get the most use are the classic "Joy of Cooking" because it has a pretty good version of...well, almost everything...

Patricia Wells' "Trattoria" is great for Italian. From the Wells book, the rigatoni with porcini mushrooms and pancetta is a reliable crowd-pleaser.

Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge is another great one that comes to mind; lots of recipes but also a big focus on technique and fundamentals that provide a good foundation for Asian cooking.

[MagicHour]

Not much into cookbooks these days but have gotten some healthy, veg/vegan everyday driver, weekday ideas from these food blogs to name a few:
A couple cooks (https://www.acouplecooks.com/)
Cookie and Kate (https://cookieandkate.com/)
Minimalist Baker (https://minimalistbaker.com/)
Love and Lemons (https://www.loveandlemons.com/)

[Ozz]

We have a ton of cookbooks but the ones that get the most use are the classic "Joy of Cooking" because it has a pretty good version of...well, almost everything...
....

+1 on "Joy of Cooking"

Usually start here if not sure how to make something.....my edition is from 1999 and is falling apart....probably time to get a new one.

"Plenty" by Yottam Ottolenghi - I have yet to have a bad dish from this book. All vegatarian, and very good.

"Spain...A Culinary Road Trip" - Mario Batali and Gweyneth Paltrow is pretty fun...organized kinda funky so finding stuff is a challenge. But really good dishes.

[dave thompson]

Betty Crocker has been my go-to for over 40 years.

[DeBike]

My imagination, pantry and refrigerator.

[Mzilliox]

i am less concerned with recipes than i am with techniques, concepts, and flavor profiles. once you begin to understand these things, your food supply becomes yoru pallete. on a recent visit, it was declared that we have no food in our house other than leftovers. the reality is i have loads of ingredients, they all just need to be alchemaically combined to form something more like what the average american thinks of as food, which is more often than not, "not food".

I guess what im saying is im less concerned with following the recipe and more concerned with learning how to cook.

so i seek out cookbooks that help with this. Taste and Techniqe is a good one.
Sauces, The professional Chef, Green Kitchen at Home, and Love and Lemons.

[GOTHBROOKS]

my grandmother has the first four. i just have the condensed version.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518hkJ%2BpquL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

[paredown]

Greens Cookbook, Madsen: sophisticated Veggie;

Simple, OttoLenghi, stuff you probably haven't tried

Silver Palette, (after the long-gone NY restaurant): baking

There's a few others that we dip into; and Joy of Cooking is often the starting point for basic recipes--ours too is falling apart.

I also agree that part of the journey is to learn basic techniques and flavors--and then wing it.

[XXtwindad]

It's got some good recipes in there, but mostly it's a fascinating food "biography" of this country.

[Clean39T]

Not much into cookbooks these days but have gotten some healthy, veg/vegan everyday driver, weekday ideas from these food blogs to name a few:

Minimalist Baker (https://minimalistbaker.com/)



I'll second that Minimalist Baker recommendation - it isn't a baking book, it's just good tested recipes for non-processed, plant-based foods..

One of our favorites is the "not tuna salad" that uses chickpeas to make a sandwich filling that is delicious.

Another one that worked great is a "not caesar dressing" recipe that used hummus and capers to make a caesar-ish dressing that worked great on radicchio.

I've found that the bloggers-turned-authors are the best source for recipes that actually work for real people. Every one of them has been tested and has reviews - unlike the mega-cookbooks that are very hit or miss whether anyone has actually used the recipe.

That said, for omnivores it is hard to beat the Cooks Illustrated empire (America's Test Kitchen, etc.).

[nooneline]

i am less concerned with recipes than i am with techniques, concepts, and flavor profiles. once you begin to understand these things, your food supply becomes yoru pallete. on a recent visit, it was declared that we have no food in our house other than leftovers. the reality is i have loads of ingredients, they all just need to be alchemaically combined to form something more like what the average american thinks of as food, which is more often than not, "not food".

I guess what im saying is im less concerned with following the recipe and more concerned with learning how to cook.

so i seek out cookbooks that help with this. Taste and Techniqe is a good one.
Sauces, The professional Chef, Green Kitchen at Home, and Love and Lemons.

me too! that's why I love "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat." It helps you understand what's happening behind the recipes, which enables you to improvise and modify and whip up decent meals based on what you've got.

[Hellgate]

I'm old school and don't cook much, as a result, Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens are my go to's for base recipes. If I want something more exotic I fire up Google or my 19YO son finds great recipes on Reddit.

[cal_len1]

Recently it's been Kenji Lopez Alt's cookbook. It's really about learning cooking through science, what each ingredient does, and how to get the most flavor out of what you have. Would recommend.

http://www.kenjilopezalt.com/

[MagicHour]

This is true. I used to be a slave to recipes, then after awhile you start figuring out what flavors go with what and basic techniques you prefer and start modifying from there. After awhile you get pretty good at doctoring up stuff.

Going out once in awhile and trying different restaurants for new ideas doesn't hurt either. For example, I've learned to "reverse engineer" salads and dressings pretty well doing this.


i am less concerned with recipes than i am with techniques, concepts, and flavor profiles. once you begin to understand these things, your food supply becomes yoru pallete. on a recent visit, it was declared that we have no food in our house other than leftovers. the reality is i have loads of ingredients, they all just need to be alchemaically combined to form something more like what the average american thinks of as food, which is more often than not, "not food".

I guess what im saying is im less concerned with following the recipe and more concerned with learning how to cook.

so i seek out cookbooks that help with this. Taste and Techniqe is a good one.
Sauces, The professional Chef, Green Kitchen at Home, and Love and Lemons.

[C40_guy]

me too! that's why I love "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat." It helps you understand what's happening behind the recipes, which enables you to improvise and modify and whip up decent meals based on what you've got.

Agreed. Mix in a dash of Alton Brown and you've got a winner!

[Clean39T]

On the topic of food, and since it is the time of year where we all need shows to watch while grinding away on the trainer, I'll pop in a couple recommendations:

Broken Bread - Chef Roy Choi talking food justice and food politics in LA - available streaming on Hulu and https://www.kcet.org/shows/broken-bread

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (https://www.netflix.com/title/81038022) - Chef David Chang visiting with other chefs, celebrities, and writers to tour their city (or one they wanted to visit) and talk food and life and travel - available streaming on Netflix

I'm still working my way through the first one, and heartily enjoyed the second.

[Ken Robb]

I just saw the "Special Costco Version" of "The Joy of Cooking" which has an extra section added with more recipes. $24.95. The regular version has been in print for at least 50 years so they must be doing many things right. :)

[jamesdak]

The Family Home Cookbook by Culinary Arts Institute 1956 edition.

[MagicHour]

Thx-Have to look into that tuna salad idea - although I like the real thing (not a vegan). I just made California Rolls the other day with a simple faux "crabmeat" using hearts of palm, a little old bay and Siracha along with cucumber, carrot avocado mayo (vegan or non) and all the other standard components of a California roll. My rolling technique SUCKED :o but tastewise wasn't too far off the real thing.

I'll second that Minimalist Baker recommendation - it isn't a baking book, it's just good tested recipes for non-processed, plant-based foods..

One of our favorites is the "not tuna salad" that uses chickpeas to make a sandwich filling that is delicious.

Another one that worked great is a "not caesar dressing" recipe that used hummus and capers to make a caesar-ish dressing that worked great on radicchio.
.

[Birddog]

What? no mention of the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook". My mom gave me my first one back in 1968, somewhat out dated but solid info never the less.

[alancw3]

Jamie Oliver 5 ingredient meal cookbook. almost garment meals w/o much work. he has a show on one of the weta/pbs channels:

[skiezo]

I have I beleive all of the books from a guy named Jeff Smith aka The frugal gourmet.
I use these as a base for alot of the food as well as the history of the food and culture. I just try to make it a little lighter and healthier.
I also like the cookbook called Donabe and use it quite a bit for some of the japanese style soups and such.
I also like this site for the oriental style noodle dishes. https://rasamalaysia.com

[Johnnysmooth]

i am less concerned with recipes than i am with techniques, concepts, and flavor profiles. once you begin to understand these things, your food supply becomes yoru pallete.

Kind of in same boat.
Though I often start with a recipe, I rarely follow it to the letter and improvise along the way depending on my mood. Drives my wife crazy as she can never recreate what I make and when she asks me how, I never have a good answer other than a little of this, a little of that.

Also, the old version of Joy of Cooking (early 80's) was my guide early on. The newer version sucks - all about convenience and not cooking

[OtayBW]

The original Moosewood Cookbook
The Greens Cookbook
Tassajara Cooking

[GonaSovereign]

i am less concerned with recipes than i am with techniques, concepts, and flavor profiles. once you begin to understand these things, your food supply becomes yoru pallete. on a recent visit, it was declared that we have no food in our house other than leftovers. the reality is i have loads of ingredients, they all just need to be alchemaically combined to form something more like what the average american thinks of as food, which is more often than not, "not food".

I guess what im saying is im less concerned with following the recipe and more concerned with learning how to cook.

so i seek out cookbooks that help with this. Taste and Techniqe is a good one.
Sauces, The professional Chef, Green Kitchen at Home, and Love and Lemons.


This!

[jtakeda]

So many good ones. My most used are probably

Joy of Cooking

Art of simple foods

Preserving the Japanese way

Vegetable literacy


Recently enjoying:
Oaxaca al gusto

And looking forward to using:
Donabe: classic and modern Japanese clay pot cooking


I’d actually love a recommendation for a “meat heavy” cookbook because most of ours are vegetable heavy.

[nalax]

I'm lazy. I often google recipes and I like to read the NY Times cooking sections. The Times has a recipe for Dapanji (Big Tray Chicken) that Mark Bittman wrote a few years back. We've been making it since.

[Hellgate]

What? no mention of the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook". My mom gave me my first one back in 1968, somewhat out dated but solid info never the less.That's a classic. My mom used it for decades.

[C40_guy]

My Joy of Cooking is dated 1973. I don't use it much anymore, except as a reminder for the basics of my apple pie recipe. :)

[paredown]

The original Moosewood Cookbook
The Greens Cookbook
Tassajara Cooking

I still have my copy of the Moosewood--it was a graduate school staple.

I made a point of stopping there for dinner on a drive through that area in the '90s. Buncha hippies... and it was pretty good.

[Joel]

Ok folks. I've been in the restaurant business for about as long as I've been riding bicycles...which is back to the mid '70's...

As such, there are a lot of cookbooks around this place. Here are the top five. One is pure professional for work, the others are passion for fun and entertaining.

In order:

1) The Professional Chef - Published by the Culinary Institute of America. This the handbook for technique. Receipes vary by edition, but when I forget how to do something, this is the reference. It's a must have. Any edition will do.

2) The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking - Barbara Tropp. Out of print as far as I know, but a masterpiece of technique and recipes that are as at home in the home as they are in a restaurant. c. 1982. If you wish to understand Chinese Cooking search this one out!

3) The Southeast Asia Cookbook - Ruth Law. A tour de Force across several countries. The recipes are solid and the instruction on technique of ingredient handling is strong. The first real exploration of Vietnamese Cuisine in English, with recipes that have stood the test of time. A treasure trove of sauces. c. 1990

4) The Japanese Kitchen - Kimiko Barber. A handbook that will launch thinking into how to take basic to advanced preparations into the home kitchen. Like the one above, this is where I turn for sauces and marinates. c. 2004

5) Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook(s) volumes I, II, and III. Classic regional Chinese cooking. These are collectors items and darn hard to find. Volume I is 1969, Volume II is 1974, Volume III is 1979. The recipes range from the simple to formal banquets. Her life has been put to film (I believe on Netflix).

Honorable Mention - Website: Woks of Life.

Obscure Pulblished Mention: Wei-Chuan Cultural and Educational Foundation published a series of thin books in the '90's on various topics. All are good. The Dim-Sum book is lovely.

Have Fun!

Joel

[unterhausen]

I get ideas from the WaPo, and then google "instant pot ___" fill in the blank with whatever the idea was.
I made instant pot pesto chicken and potatoes last night. Bought a jar of pesto, so it's going to be in the rotation for a while.

[OtayBW]

I still have my copy of the Moosewood--it was a graduate school staple.



I made a point of stopping there for dinner on a drive through that area in the '90s. Buncha hippies... and it was pretty good.Haha! I still have mine as well, including several of her later versions. The original Moosewood had some of what I still consider to be favorite recipes that have stood up for...uhoh....decades. [emoji15][emoji15]

Many recipes are loaded with sugar and fat, but - in the words of Utah Phillips - GOOD THOUGH! [emoji16][emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[colker]

My favourite food is beans and i have been trying some odd things that are working all right. Here everybody fries them on garlic and onion after cooking on water but i find it too heavy to digest. So i cook on water w/ mexican pepper and lots of other spices + onion and avoid oil or grease. No meat as well. It is delicious and much lighter. I can eat beans at night or breakfast done like that.

[Birddog]

Not a "go to" cookbook but one of some value is George Herter's "Bull Cook and Other Authentic Recipes and Practices". Both my father and grandfather served at times as bull cooks in hunting or logging camps and on the railroad. I nabbed a copy at an estate sale, fun reading.

[nickl]

The original Moosewood Cookbook
The Greens Cookbook
Tassajara Cooking

Another thumbs up on Moosewood. I’ve used mine since the early eighties and it was one of several cookbooks that fostered a healthier eating revolution at the time.