Cooking Books Are Love.

My all time favorite cook books:

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Biba's Italy (http://www.amazon.com/Bibas-Italy-Favorite-Recipes-Splendid/dp/1579653170/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-2577339-9155258?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191623998&sr=8-3) is my current favorite. I'm loving the city by city approach and the recipes are fantastic.

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Bread (http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Eric-Treuille/dp/0756618894/ref=sr_1_2/002-2577339-9155258?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191624114&sr=1-2) is the best book on bread I've found. I pretty much make bread exclusively from this book.

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Barefoot Contessa (http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Contessa-Family-Style-Everyone/dp/060961066X/ref=pd_sim_b_2_img/002-2577339-9155258) has some recipes you don't find in other books and things you wouldn't have thought of. Simple but excellent.

And of course my one true love the Williams Sonoma series. I use Pasta (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Pasta/dp/0743224434/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-2577339-9155258?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191624396&sr=1-2), Chicken (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Chicken-Rick-Rodgers/dp/0743224418/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/002-2577339-9155258), Vegetable (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Vegetable-Marlena-Spieler/dp/0743226410/ref=pd_sim_b_4_img/002-2577339-9155258) and Grilling (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Grilling-Denis-Kelly/dp/0743226429/ref=pd_sim_b_2_img/002-2577339-9155258) so much there are stains on most of the pages, but I've got probably 20 in the series and they're all excellent.

I don't really like Barefoot Contessa, though I'm sure she cooks much better than I do. The cookbook I have is Betty Crocker's Cookbook, but I've taken to searching online for recipes lately. Somebody gave me the Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking after I accidentally gave them food poisoning once :lol:

:rotfl: My favorite cookbook is one me and my friends put together for a fundraiser. We got favorite recipes from all the teens in our school...so the cookbook has everything from egg rolls to deep fried twinkies. :lol:

I think the best way to get really good recipes is to ask friends of your parents for their favorites. They usually are really great and easy to make.

The most recent cookbook I have is a Barefoot Contessa one. There are some really good recipes in it that I have tried, but a lot of them are for things I just really don't see myself making ( or my family eating).

One of my all time favorites is The Junior League Centennial Cookbook. It's a collection of the best recipes from Junior Leagues all over the country and it really has some great recipes in it.

I also rely on my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook as a good resource. Most of the recipes are kind of mediocre, but there are cooking charts and if you're kind of winging it with a dish, you can usually find a similar one in there to help with cooking times and temperatures and what not. It's a very thorough guide.

For any completely clueless cook who wants to learn, I can recommend The Kitchen Survival Guide by Lora Brody. She's funny and entertaining, and will help with things like grocery shopping, cooking terms, how to clean your oven, etc. I bought this book for my husband back when we were dating because he only owned one skillet and a medium size saucepan, and had no idea how to cook anything. I knew a bit more than he did, but I also got some good tips from the book and really enjoyed it.

If anyone knows of a good "simple" Italian Cookbook, please let me know. I have a couple with really great recipes, but most of them are too time consuming for a mother with 2 young children.

'The' cookbook that Italians have used themselves for decades is Il cucchiaio d'argento, which translated is 'The Silver Spoon'. My grandmother (born in Sardinia, lives in Milan) gave a copy to my mother (born in Milan, lives in London) for her wedding. Both myself and my sisters are after her very old but very used and much loved copy.


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the english version


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the italian version

My all time favorite butter queen!

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I love all her recipes and stories. The cookbook is filled with homstyle favorites and comfort food :)

'The' cookbook that Italians have used themselves for decades is Il cucchiaio d'argento, which translated is 'The Silver Spoon'. My grandmother (born in Sardinia, lives in Milan) gave a copy to my mother (born in Milan, lives in London) for her wedding. Both myself and my sisters are after her very old but very used and much loved copy.

I have that book too and I adore it :D

Anyone ever read the I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken? It's a cookbook written by a woman who cooked because she had to, but couldn't stand the job, and it's hilarious--all about recipe shortcuts, funny commentary, and how to get someone else to do the big time entrees for the potluck while she commits to bringing the plates and tableware. There are actually some pretty good recipes in it, but it's really more of a fun read than anything. It's from the 1960s or so, meaning that I shuddered everytime I read about her recipe using bacon fat or lard or some other similarly disgusting form of artery-clogger (yes, I know it all tastes good, but in the era of cholesterol checks, it makes me wince!).

My two favorite cookbooks ever are:

Great British Cooking
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I highly recommend it. The measurements are in American, and the commentary is funny. English food can be incredibly tasty! I'd really recommend getting this. MMMM.
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And The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking
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This one is great also... great recipe for spaetzle.



I think I may try out the Silver Spoon that you all have recommended. Is it easy to find?

My aunt gave me her copy of The Betty Crocker's cookbook it was printed in the early 70s. All throughout the book there are annotations that my aunt wrote for different recipes, listing when and what she made the recipe for and whether or not it was a hit. For some she even tweaked the recipe at bit. The book is worn and water damaged but I love it to death. It is seasoned as all good cookbooks should be. :)

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The only cookbook I own, and the one that made me fall in love.

I only own one cookbook (I finally got my first one for Christmas this year). It is a Better Homes and Gardens one. Haven't used it too much yet though (I don't cook very often...usually I let my boyfriend cook from me :D).

And of course my one true love the Williams Sonoma series. I use Pasta (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Pasta/dp/0743224434/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-2577339-9155258?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191624396&sr=1-2), Chicken (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Chicken-Rick-Rodgers/dp/0743224418/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/002-2577339-9155258), Vegetable (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Vegetable-Marlena-Spieler/dp/0743226410/ref=pd_sim_b_4_img/002-2577339-9155258) and Grilling (http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Grilling-Denis-Kelly/dp/0743226429/ref=pd_sim_b_2_img/002-2577339-9155258) so much there are stains on most of the pages, but I've got probably 20 in the series and they're all excellent.I have the Williams Sonoma cookie cook book. I don't think I've ever used it yet, but I have it. :D

My Mum is my recipe book! Most of hers come from Delia Smith, but we/I adapt them a bit. I barely ever use recipes as they're written. I do have one cookbook of my own which I used a lot at uni. The measurements are a bit off so I changed them a bit too, but there are some great recipes in there and easy too.

Nosh for students (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nosh-Students-Student-Cookbook-previous/dp/0954317939/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253824902&sr=8-2)

My favourites are Nigella Lawson's Feast, Madhur Jaffrey's Curries (one of them anyway) and one I have that the pages are split into 2 for starters, mains and desserts, and you can mix and match them as you want

My mom is more of the cookbook fan in my house... she has quite a few that she has. I look at them from time to time, but I'm not as big of a fan of cooking as she is.

And she's pretty good at it :).

The thing is, I don't tend to cook any more, but I do enjoy looking at cookery books

i have several cook books but my faves right now are im just here for the food and im jsut here for more food by alton brown. i love to read those even if i dont always cook out of them.

My only cook book is "Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's!" I love it, it has a picture and wine/beer suggestions for every recipe.