Whats Your Favourite Cookbook of All Time and Why?

[jojo2910]

I have quite a few and dip in and out of them but the one we use most is a collection of recipes from the MiL. She wrote out the recipes by husband liked when he was growing out and I cook quite a few from it. As they are American, there are some recipes that you don't get in many UK books.

I do love Tamasin Day Lewis and her Kitchen Bible (I think its called that).

I came across this link earlier today, but own none of them.

Alex Rushmer Just Cook It » The Ten Best Cookbooks Ever

[cardiffsteve]

Cant cook Cant cook!

I use the Delia "How too" cook books, they work for me.
Basic thats what i'm good at

[HeyWayne]

Jamie Oliver - Return of the Naked Chef.

My colleagues bought it for me when I left Electrolux back in 2000. It's the book that really got me started cooking, and is one I've probably used the most over the years. His style is much more my way of thinking - and was pretty ground breaking at the time with most other cook books seeming to be quite traditional - those that I was aware of anyways.

It's the book with the most stained pages (steady) and the one that we've probably had our most memorable meals from.

Happy Days.

Wait, that was another book wasn't it...

[cardiffsteve]

It's the book with the most stained pages (steady)

Happy Days.

Wait, that was another book wasn't it...

Say nothing about that is best HW

[endymion]

My favourite is the Reader's Digest Cookery Year. Ours is an old, imperial weights, one that I picked it up in a charity shop.

I like it because it has sections at the front about almost everything - cuts of meat, different fruit, veg, cheese etc and then goes through the year with 'in season' recipes.

At the back are loads more sections - pastry, jam etc - with even more recipes.

Our daughter wants to inherit it!

[valmarg]

He is very rearely mentioned, but my cooking guru was Robert Carrier. When I was first married (1966) he was new, innovative and refreshing.

I have always found his books readable and cookable.

valmarg

[Pumpkin Becki]

Peggy Porchen's 'Pretty Party Cakes' is just glorious, and my attempted copies of her cakes never fail to impress...I even impress myself, and I'm a very tough critic

[Glutton4...]

I married a Chef! Muuuuuuch easier!

He hates Cookery Books, apart from something booooring by Ceserani & Kinton that he was force-fed at College, also something small and blue and grubby, that he will refer to on occasions. So, I buy the ones I like; simple and with pictures. Unfortunately, I loooooove books.

Oh, for speed I usually use G**gle or here!

[Jeanied]

Not one book for me, but a series of little notebooks with all the vine recipes that I have tried out since joining the forum!
Hot favourite recipes so far are the vine version of Nigella's chilli jam, elderflower cordial, PW's courgette and potato soup, pumpkin cake from somewhere or other - and never forgetting Di's divine courgette pickle! Oh and Binley's fantastic pastry - Wellies fruity flapjacks (fist food IIRC) - these little books travel with me when I visit friends and family and are used all the time - as the stains show!

[Curlykale]

I go back to Delia's Complete Cookery Course for old favourites, but at the moment my bedtime reading comprises River Cottage Every Day, Nigel Slater's Tender, Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and Vegetables by Sophie Grigson. I also subscribe to Good Food magazine but am getting so far behind I still have about 4 issues still in their sellophane. Does anyone get the Vegetarian one? Any good? My amazon basket contains a looooooong list of River Cottage and Nigel Slater books, Lorriaine Pascale's Baking made easy and the Great British Bake-off book (and a couple of chicken-keeping books).

[SarrissUK]

Actually, thinking about it... the cookbooks in my big bookshelf in the dining room are not what I refer to the most often...

It's my email! I tend to find a recipe on the web, email it to myself, then view it on my phone, in the kitchen. It's a good thing my phone is sturdy - it has to deal with sticky fingers just about every day!

Most of the time I don't even look up new recipes any more - I just search my gmail account

[julesapple]

I married a Chef! Muuuuuuch easier!

He hates Cookery Books, apart from something booooring by Ceserani & Kinton that he was force-fed at College, also something small and blue and grubby, that he will refer to on occasions. So, I buy the ones I like; simple and with pictures. Unfortunately, I loooooove books.

Oh, for speed I usually use G**gle or here!

I married a chef too, and my kitchen repertoire was filled with things like LaRousse Gastronomique. And, I'm sorry, but it's carp. And Practical Cookery (standard recommended reading for trainee chefs & caterers) that's rubbish.

I love books (sure this house is insulated by the bookshelves, and we need more) my best-loved is an old, tattered & battered and much sellotaped copy of Mary Berry's Faster Cakes. I've baked just about everything in there, and it is the first book my children refer to when they want a cake recipe. It's also filled with recipes that I've copied or stuck into it myself.

Delia's Complete Cookery Course was a wedding present from a thoughtful cousin, and it's a brilliant reference book. I also have lots of Nigel Slater's books and the reading is as good as the recipes. I love Nigel's writing style.

This past Christmas I amassed a lot of Amazon vouchers so I updated my cookery books. Out the recent ly bought books my utmost favourite is Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures. The French way of making jams & preserves is brilliant.

Looking forward to getting Amazon vouchers for Christmas this year now....

Jules

[Piggle]

I'm quite partial to anything RC - the new veggie one is quite good.
Can't be doing with Jamie Oliver and all his "chucking" stuff about - that's probably more to do with him having a "range" of everything .. pans, soil... it will be clothes next!

[Helgalush]

I go back to Delia's Complete Cookery Course for old favourites, but at the moment my bedtime reading comprises River Cottage Every Day, Nigel Slater's Tender, Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and Vegetables by Sophie Grigson. I also subscribe to Good Food magazine but am getting so far behind I still have about 4 issues still in their sellophane. Does anyone get the Vegetarian one? Any good? My amazon basket contains a looooooong list of River Cottage and Nigel Slater books, Lorriaine Pascale's Baking made easy and the Great British Bake-off book (and a couple of chicken-keeping books).

I have bought the BBC Good Food Vegetarian ones when they come out - I think they only release them twice a year, Summer Vegetarian and Christmas Vegetarian. I like them, but I do find that most recipes rely on dairy as the main protein source. They also repeat a lot of recipes so I got fed up and dont buy it anymore. I've also bought Cook Vegetarian and Vegetarian Living, I find the latter one the best, if that helps at all.

[HeatherL]

My first cookery book was the Dairy Book of Home Cookery (the nineties edition), it was well thumbed when I was studying for my GCSE in Food Studies and I still use it now and again. Nowadays all my cookbooks are from the River Cottage stable, the Veg book is on my Christmas list!