Cookbook you can't live without?

Over the weekend I made a trip to Borders to pick out a cookbook, a long promised gift from hubby. I initially intended to buy Julia Childs Mastering French Vol. 1, but also was considering the new Food Lovers Companion. After getting there choosing a book got a lot more complicated!

It took me an hour and a half to settle on my original plan of Julia Childs, but got me wondering what other foodies look for in a cookbook and what they absolutely had to have on their shelves. So what cookbook(s) could you not live without?

My List:
1981&1982 Southern Living Annuals
Moosewood Collection
Breadbaker's Apprentice

Honestly? It sounds odd, but there is the Larue County Cookbook. It was my first cookbook that had real life recipes in it. I still pull it out for use.

Bittman's "How to Cook Everything." I refer to it often for techniques, etc. And I've probably given away a couple dozen copies of the years. (There is a refreshed version, although I have not bought it yet.)

I know there are folks who poo poo it,but I think Rombauer's Joy of Cooking is a good reference book. Covers a lot of ground. Another one is the Professional Chef from the CIA. Its more of a text book and may not geared to the home cook, but still tons of useful knowledge. Cant say anything bad about Batali's Molto Italiano either,its a solid book.

The internet.

Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles Cookbook". Great recipes and entertaining instructions

Becky and I spend a LOT of time with our cookbooks. Call us boring but one of our favorite Friday night activities is to make up a nice meat and cheese snack plate, pour a few glasses of wine or beer and thumb through a dozen cookbooks.

My current favorites include:

Down Home with the Neely's - A Southern Family Cookbook: For once a "Foodnetwork" cookbook where I think the (supposed) authors had something to do with the recipes.

Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Chris Lilly. A "must have" for BBQ aficionados. Lots of good sides as well as protien recipes.

Dinosauer Bar-B-Que - An American Roadhouse: John Stage. See above comments

[i]The Barbecue Bible - Stephen Raichlen. If you can't find something interesting in this cookbook, well you're just not interesting.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl: Quaint and very well written. Easy recipes.

The New Polish Cruisine Chef Michael Baruch. Great old world recipes with a modern twist.

Marsha, one of my favorites and damn entertaining. I also like "The Great American Cook" by Jonathan Waxman and "Think Like a Chef" by Tom Colicchio

I know there are folks who poo poo it,but I think Rombauer's Joy of Cooking is a good reference book. Covers a lot of ground. Another one is the Professional Chef from the CIA. Its more of a text book and may not geared to the home cook, but still tons of useful knowledge. Cant say anything bad about Batali's Molto Italiano either,its a solid book.

I tend to reach for "Joy" first when I need to remember how to make something I haven't tried in awhile. It is a great all around cookbook for any kitchen. I really like the 1997 edition which somehow seems geared more to the professional than the latest version.

Books that I have been using a lot lately are "World Vegetarian" by Madhur Jaffery and "The Professional Chef's Techniques of Healthy Cooking" from the CIA.

As strange as it may sound:

Fix-it And Forget-it Cookbook (Spiral-bound) - Crock-pot cookbook. = At least , in terms of slow cooker recipes.

I have waffled on the idea of buying Joy for at least a decade...I put it down after seeing that many of the recipes in the newest one were aimed at the beginner homecook or very plain, such as noodles with gravy...but I know it used to be much more advanced. I may have to see about finding one of the older versions that has ingredients you have to make special excursions to find and techniques you have to practice a few times to get it right.

I was very tempted by Bittman's books...How To Cook Everything and the new Vegetarian version...but I'm a sucker for large and comprehensive, a habit I'm trying to suppress...but Bittman usually does good stuff!

I recently stumbled on Pioneer Woman's website, really like her down home style! Another book that held up my decision making.

Do any of those BBQ books focus on primarily grilling rather than smoking? Or is it stuff you can do inside when it's too cold to be out? Know hubby would love to have a good guide for the grill since the season's coming back around soon! He's ready for it to be here...he even pulled the grill out over the weekend and grilled up a week's worth of food! We bought the rottisserie kit for the grill and have yet to be that adventerous with our grilling...kinda sad!

I got Alan Julia's bible, Vols 1&2 for Christmas....they have become coffee table books in the library. We both are enjoying the hell out of them.

Also, I adore Camelle Scott Glenn's cookbook. Mom got that for me when I set up housekeeping.

The Silver Spoon by Phaidon Press - my go to for all things Italian. Great recipes across the board, along with some "text book" style stuff on cooking techniques, pasta making, cookware, utensils, etc.

Savoring France by Georgeanne Brennan, published by Williams Sonoma. I think this hasn't been published for a few years - I've had mine since 2001 or 2002. My grandmother bought it for me as a gift before I left for France for 4 months in college. It was that book that ultimately led me to teach myself to cook while living in France, where all the interesting ingredients were easy to find on every corner. It has a special place in my heart, and the recipes, descriptions, narratives, and photographs are outstanding.

Great Good Food by one of the Silver Palate authors ( Julie Russo). Great healthier eating recipes ( not diet food- just less fat etc than Silver Palate). Haven't had a bad recipe from it- and I've had it for 15 years. Organized by season so it's great for local, seasonal cooking too.

Deb

www.epicurious.com

I must use this site 3-4 times a week. All the Goumet and Bon Appetit recipes- and searchable for ingredients.

Deb