It's The Book That Makes The Cook!

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Anyone who has been in a book store or on a digital book site knows that the cook book section is a sea of overwhelming choices. They are all filled with delicious looking dishes that surely anybody can tackle. There are books that show you the basic levels of cooking and what seems like 10 times as many books that are specific to one type of cuisine, technique, or ingredient. There are even cook books that are built around one specific brand of an ingredient, like Smucker's Jams or Kraft Cheddar Cheese and, of course, let's not forget the unlimited number of celebrity cookbooks that have grown out of cable channels like Food network and the Cooking Channel.


But fear not. Just take a deep breath and I will do what I can to cull the herd a bit so you can find the perfect cookbook to give as a gift or keep for yourself  I have an enormous collection of cookbooks. So many, in fact,that many of them have have even been rotated out up to the attic. Most of them I acquired over the last 25 years as I learned different techniques and many of them were given to me as gifts.

So I hope that this list will give a little direction through the cooking section of the book store. I'll show you my favorites in a couple of different categories. First, though, I need to touch on the New Food Lover's Companion, This is a thick but compact little book that is a terrific guide for everything food and I mean EVERYTHING!!!! From Albert Sauce ( served with beef and made from a cream sauce base and horseradish) to zuppa. From asparagus to zucchini. This little book is a great resource of information on specific food items, preparations, some Brand name products and cooking techniques. It has a weight conversion chart, dried goods measurements, a butchers guide for the different cuts of meat ( I love that!) a substitution list and even an altitude cooking chart. I recommend this little gem for the pro in your life as well as the new cook. It is a wonderful safety net in the kitchen.

In terms of a good well rounded overall cookbook, I will have to go with the one cookbook that I find myself back to after wading through all of my other options time and time again. I am on my 3 edition of this book and not because I wanted the updated version. It is, truly, because I have worn out the previous copy. The Better Homes and Garden Cook Book is the BEST when it comes to finding basic recipes for everything. They are easy to find, easy to follow and honestly I don't ever remember a recipe not working or that I didn't like. Granted most of the recipes are very basic but they are easy to put your own spin on. This book also has a decent conversion chart, substitution list and protein cooking temperature guide. I think this is a book that every home cook should own and is a really great choice for the new cook who is on their own for the first time!


I will talk more about celeb chef cook books in a minute but I want to take this book out of the celeb category and put it in to a technique category. This cook book features one of the most popular Food Network chefs, Tyler Florence. It's called Stirring the Pot and is not a collection of his recipes. Instead it breaks everything down in to the different types of cooking, frying, braising, roasting, raw foods, and so on. Each category is thoroughly covered so that you will have a better understanding of the technique as a whole and there are absolutely amazing recipes to accompany each technique. It also has chapters on a well stocked pantry and equipment and knives. Again, I think this is one of my favorite books to give to any aspiring chefs on your list

Now, of course we all know that there are an endless ever evolving number of cook books that feature individual techniques. There are books on everything from soup to nuts (literally) and it can be very overwhelming when trying to find one that is going to be useful and easy to understand. In all honesty, I don't have a lot of these types of coo books because I have a basic understanding of food preparation so the need for dish specific cook books is not really necessary. There are a couple that I like and will go to from time to time simply for inspiration. Check out a book called 400 Soups. Soups are very popular and an easy dish that even a beginner can have great success. This book has all manners of soup from cream and broth based to cold soups and stews.

The only other ingredient specific books that I have and that I would recommend is for baked goods. Baking is a very exact science. Even chefs who have years and years of experience, need a recipe when it comes to baking. In fact, it may come as a surprise that most chefs will be the first ones to tell you that they don't do desserts and pastry because it is so vastly different than cooking. With that, I will say that I have had quite a lot of pastry experience so I want a book on pastry that is informative in the overall technique. I want a book that covers all types of desserts with clear manageable recipes. I came across this book a few years back and have found it to be a baking staple. The Art and Soul of Baking is put out by the gourmet shop, Sur le Table and it is beautifully written with lovely photos. Again, I think if a book on desserts is what you are looking for, try to find one that covers baking as a technique instead of a whole book on brownies, or cookies or pies so you can develop an over all better understanding of the technique of baking.I would say the best way to pick a book like this is to find one that has recipes titles that you recognize.

Since the days of the Galloping Gourmet, Julia Childs and jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet ( one of my personal favorites) television chefs have always brought their enthusiasm in to our homes. They make us feel like we can conquer the world. Problem is that when the show is over our teacher is gone and we go back to being all alone in that scary kitchen of ours. Now there is a celebrity chef for everyone, men women, old, young, gourmet, rustic, they are all out there. I would say if you are going to buy a celeb cook book just make sure that again it covers a broad spectrum of recipes so you get the most bang for your buck. Again, the style of the celebrity cooks vary widely. I have my favorites, of course. I am obsessed with jamie Oliver. His cooking style is rustic and casual. He has great energy and passion about food and a pretty cool accent to boot. He has many books out and he has a youtube channel that is fun to watch as well. My husband and I are also big Guy Fieri fans. we spent much of our vacations crawling through all of the restaurants that he visits on his popular show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives but he is also a real deal chef and has a couple of great cook books that seem to really appeal to the guys in the kitchen.

While we are on the celebrity chefs, I think that Alton Brown deserves a nod here. Many know him as the host of Iron Chef and his show, Good Eats. What a lot of people don't know is that he is not a chef. He actually was a television producer before his Good Eats days. Good Eats has turned him in to the Bill Nye the Science Guy of the food world. His show covers a different topic each episode and explores the food itself from a more scientific perspective as well as tips and recipes. As a result, there are several Good Eats books out there. They are a great over all food books with lots of information that will give you a better understanding of the preparation as a whole.

Another very popular source for recipes are magazines. I have clear memories of my mom getting McCalls magazine and me having new paper dolls with every addition. Magazines like this have always appealed to homemakers because they feature recipes that are easy, quick and family friendly. Some of the magazines that revolve around food are a bit more elevated. Food and Wine and Bon Appetit cover more complex recipes and ingredients. They are geared much more toward the home cook who is a real foodie. We pros like these publications too. The problem I have always had is that I read it front to back, I find a couple of recipes I like so i want to save it. There it sits on the hutch along with all of the other issues I've collected and 9 times out of 10 I never pick it up again.I'll say this. If you are someone who will diligently clip and file and USE those recipes, i would say go ahead and get a subscription. If not, it might be a waste of space and paper.

Lastly, I had to cover the infinite "cook book" that is the internet. This ever evolving source of recipes is systematically turning the traditional cook book in to a thing of the past. This makes me sad frankly. I treasure my cook books. I even have the cook book that my Great Grandmother passed down to my Grandmother and then to my Mom. It was originally published in 1938. Don't get me wrong, the internet is an amazing resource. You can find recipes for absolutely everything. I find there are a couple of problems with that. First, I have found it very difficult to dig the same recipe up twice so if you don't print it and save it, you may never see it again. Secondly, they are not all well written recipes. I have had some epic fails from recipes off of the internet. After all there is no real way to check the validity of the writer. Of course, this is not too big a deal but it can end in a lot of wasted time and ingredients so i would suggest approaching online recipes cautiously. There are a couple of reputable sites like allrecipes.com as well as brand specific sites. Food network has a web site of course/,I have use it. I will throw this out there. Many of the recipes are submitted by individuals, not chefs from the network. The recipes will note whether it was submitted by a fan so just beware.