| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| texdane |
Posted - Nov 13 2010 : 05:02:14 AM
With the holidays and colder weather coming, I'm spending more time in the kitchen. What is (are) your favorite cookbook(s)? I have a nice collection and especially love vintage ones. I have quite a few tried and true favorites. In addition to my vintage ones, one favorite is my copy of Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from the early nineties when I got married. When I have a hankering for something, there is always a recipe (or a good place to start) there. Another favorite is an out of print, tiny one called "Recipes of the Bridges of Madison County". It came out with the timing of the movie and has recipes from the caterers (two women) that are all wonderful, homestyle recipes, with beautiful colored pencil illustrations. Anyone else have that cookbook? And, I love the recipes in MaryJane's three books.
What's your favorites?
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| chickenjanedoe |
Posted - Jan 15 2011 : 5:30:52 PM
My favorite cookbooks have mostly come from auctions. If its tattered and torn, has loose stitching, visible fingerprint smears and hand writings in the margins 10-1 they go home with me. Don't get me wrong I love the vintage books in great condition, but a well used cookbook that is rough around the edges just screams to me...TAKE ME HOME.
I have a new current fave, "The Memorial Edition of Dr. A. W. Chase's Third Last and Complete Receipt Book and Household Physician. Copyright 1887. I picked it up free at an auction. They were cleaning up after and the auctioneer said "Take what you want, if it's here in 1/2 an hour it goes in the trash." Well you don't have to tell me twice. Now my only problem is I want the first two books as well. |
| HollyG |
Posted - Jan 14 2011 : 6:03:23 PM
My all-time favorite is my old red-checked Better Homes & Gardens cookbook from the 1960's. My mom passed along years ago and it's my "bible" for all things culinary. I've gotten and even developed some of my best recipes from it. Bread & butter pickles, custards, and how to can fruits & vegetables.
Other than that, a close second is one of the too many church cookbooks I've purchased over the years. They are real recipes by real people who really cook. I can always count on them to be practical and delicious!
HollyG
Farmgirl #2513
Be fruitful today! |
| Bonnie Ellis |
Posted - Jan 08 2011 : 8:24:17 PM
I have a ton of cookbooks. I wrote a newspaper column called "Kitchen Snooping". I received lots of freebees and reviewed many. The old Joy of Cooking is one of my favorites along with the 50's Betty Crocker cookbook. Any cookbook that has recipes from scratch is usually great because you can choose what organic ingredients you use. We're diabetic at our house (my husband for 44 years) so I have used many sugar substitutes over the years. I wish we could honey, but it is still sugar. It's hard for me because Chocolate is my middle name.(lol)
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
| Breanna |
Posted - Jan 08 2011 : 5:41:40 PM
I have a couple favorite cookbooks....
Mad about Muffins
Family Fun Cookbook
Anne of Green Gables cookbook
~Breanna
Farmgirl Bre
"...that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent, O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Psalm 30:12 |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 08:06:13 AM
I have four that I absolutely cannot live without (and those are three out of about 60 or so).
1. The Victory Garden (PBS Series) Vegetable cookbook. Written in the late 70's, early 80's; it goes through each vegetable that you can plant, from planting instructions to harvest instructions and has 3 pages of recipes per vege. AWESOME reference and good food, to boot.
2. Prairie Home Cooking by Judith Fertig. An all time favorite cookbook--basically, a comprehensive look at our female ancestors and their (recipe) migrations to the midwest from all points across the pond and from Canada. When I first looked at the book, it fell open to a recipe for cottage ham and green beans. I said, "this is for me!" And, to boot, I found the "fabled" recipe for the sugar cream pie my Great Grandmother always made, but never wrote down and it died with her. She mixed the pie with her fingers, as she was taught, in the pie crust before and during baking. IT'S IN THIS COOKBOOK!!!! I even wrote the author, I was so excited to find it, and got a lovely email in return.
3. Fannie Farmer. I have my mom's. It's a great "go to" for any basic thing you could ever want.
4. The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver. He's just the best--pure, simple production of food to get the best flavor.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| forgetmenot |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 07:55:22 AM
The "More-With-Less" cookbook is my favorite also. I always felt that "Living More with Less" was a companion book. I am not mennonite, however, those books really touched me. Together, the two books have made great shower or wedding gifts, and off to college gifts.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
| fudsy |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 07:03:33 AM
[quote]Originally posted by vintagejenta
[br But I generally cull from online and old cookbooks to write in a big hardcover, spiral-bound notebook that serves as my own, handwritten, favorite cookbook! :)
I do the same. My personal book is a lime green binder.
Farmgirl Sister #1599
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| vintagejenta |
Posted - Jan 03 2011 : 8:20:51 PM
I have tons of vintage cookbooks. My favorite cookbooks are generally rural farm cooking or ethnic farm cooking - they usually don't call for ingredients you don't already have, they always cook/bake from scratch, and they generally call for a lot of fresh produce. They also have interesting and unusual ways of preparing ordinary ingredients.
Dorie Greenspan's Baking Book is a great one. But I generally cull from online and old cookbooks to write in a big hardcover, spiral-bound notebook that serves as my own, handwritten, favorite cookbook! :)
Katherine Rae Eighmey's "Hearts and Hearths" is a great one - it uses historic farm recipes from the 1890s to the 1930s.
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http://citygirlcountryfood.wordpress.com |
| fudsy |
Posted - Jan 03 2011 : 5:15:32 PM
Yum, Cookbooks my favorite thing to sit and ponder through. My favorite cookbook is "More-with-less Cookbook" by Doris Longacre. It was first published in 1976, when I purchased my copy it was on its 43rd printing and that was 1996. I just checked on Amazon to see if it was still in print and looks like it was reprinted again in 2003.
My favorite recipe is a Honey baked Chicken and then ginger-glazed carrots. This is one that my grown children now bake for their children. Doris Longacre was a Mennonite ahead of her time when she gathered for this book. The cover says about the cookbook "suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources.
Farmgirl Sister #1599
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| urban chickie |
Posted - Jan 03 2011 : 2:26:50 PM
Joy of Cooking is the best overall cookbook I have ever used, but there are others that stand out for specialty books. Anything by Rose Levy Beranbaum is excellent (The Cake Bible), as are any of the Maida Heatter books. Barbara Kafka's Roasting and her Microwave Gourmet are superb, all the bread books by Peter Reinhart are incredible, and I am personally fond of the Silver Palette series as well as anything by Moosewood. I have a very old cookbook called The Spice Cookbook that is wonderful and appears occasionally in used bookstores, and The Vegetarian Epicure is another favorite. I love food, and cooking, and probably have way too many cookbooks lol!!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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| graciegreeneyes |
Posted - Jan 02 2011 : 6:44:26 PM
I love this topic - I have a lot of cookbooks. I was teaching my boss to can this summer and was talking about my cookbook collection - she asked how many I have and I estimated about 50 or 60 - when I got home I was sort of curious so I counted, turns out I have (or had, I've collected a couple more since then) 150 plus. I'd say I have an addiction too, and I too read them like novels. My favorites are old community cookbooks, Betty Crocker, the Farm Journal cookbooks, and Susan Hermann Loomis' french cookbooks. I've gotten some new ideas from this post though, like I needed any help!!:D
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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| ddmashayekhi |
Posted - Jan 02 2011 : 5:08:34 PM
Shelly, do they have the Cinnamon Chicken recipe in the book?
I just got Ina Garten's newest "Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?" cookbook. I've made several things so far and they have all been superb!
Dawn in IL |
| buggysmum |
Posted - Jan 02 2011 : 5:04:06 PM
Another fun one is the Little House on the Prairie cookbook...recipes for some of the dishes mentioned in the series. I just bought it, and will post about the results as soon as I try it (right now I'm having too much fun just reading it).
Shelly |
| buggysmum |
Posted - Jan 02 2011 : 5:02:07 PM
I love the Settlement Cookbook, and I was lucky enough to receive a vintage copy just like the one my mom has used for decades. The directions are simple, the results are delicious! The story behind the cookbook is interesting....it was originally written to help immigrant women in the midwest in the early 1900's cook American dishes...there have been many editions of it since then but it hasn't been published recently.
One thing is for sure..these recipes always work.
My second favorite is the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook I received from my aunt. These, too, are recipes that never go wrong (well, unless I mess it up).
Shelly |
| knittingmom |
Posted - Dec 31 2010 : 09:26:47 AM
I use my Chatelain magazine cookbook the most, then my Company's Coming ones
"There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world" |
| MamaCrunch |
Posted - Dec 11 2010 : 07:17:32 AM
I tend to use my 1975 edition of the Joy of Cooking the most. I usually only use cookbooks for baking and use my memory and instincts for actual meals. I'm hoping Santa brings me some Julia Child books!
Farmgirl #2161
Just tryin' to homestead in the middle of a suburban neighborhood!
Blog~ http://thelittleboygreen.com <<I've been slackin' on the updates! |
| textilelover |
Posted - Dec 11 2010 : 04:28:24 AM
Glad to hear I am not alone in my cookbook addiction. My favorite Christmas cookie recipe is for Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons from Susan Branch's Christmas From Heart of the Home (p.89). I make them every year and give them as gifts. Everyone loves them because they are so decadent and delicious, and I love them because they are so easy. I'm sure the recipe is on her website as well.
Dutchy, if you tell me which SB cookbooks you already have, I will keep my eyes open for the others. I often see them on clearance or sale and buy them to give as gifts. I could mail them to you. Dianne in the Hudson Valley
Sister #749
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." --Leondardo da Vinci |
| KJD |
Posted - Dec 06 2010 : 6:52:24 PM
I also read cookbooks like novels. Love Barefoot Contessa's books, Susan Branch - Autumn, especially - and the big yellow Gourmet cookbook from a few years ago. also love Jr. League cookbooks from anywhere, especially Houston - Stop and Smell the Rosemary. And, Fine Cooking recipes are always great! My collection is huge and I need MORE bookshelves... |
| Mama Jewel |
Posted - Dec 05 2010 : 8:12:22 PM
Ohhh, this is a fun topic! My all-time favorite is an old Betty Crocker book (super bright orange color from the 50's) that I got from my mom. It's all stained and the binding has duct tape (lol). Also the Betty Crocker International Cooking one that I asked for & got when I was in high school (many moons ago ;-) I like cookbooks that teach things from scratch. That's how I've learned to make everything from bread to eclairs to stroganoff. I have a wonderful collection of cookbooks from a great hippie one from The Farm (commune in TN) to Laurel's Kitchen & Tassajara bread book.
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
| Mommyswanson |
Posted - Dec 05 2010 : 7:11:17 PM
I love my Susan Branch books as well! I also have a collection of Gooseberry Patch books & they all have wonderful recipes. One of my new favorites is Ree Drummond The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.
Laura
"That which does not kill us makes us strong!" "I cast all my cares upon you Lord." |
| dutchy |
Posted - Nov 30 2010 : 12:23:20 AM
I bought 2 of the Susan Branch cookbooks when I visited the USA and also received one from a very dear friend while visiting her then. I love those. They are just lovely to read, all the funny stories about cooking and decorating. But alas they are not here and too expensive. But they , and the Gooseberry Patch (have one yay) are among my favorites. To be honest I own quite a few cookbooks haha. Love browsing through them once in a while :) The Susan Branch and Gooseberry ones are on a shelf in my kitchen the rest in the cupboard ;)
Hugs from Marian/Dutchy, a farmgirl from the Netherlands :)
http://pinkprincessdecorating.blogspot.com/
Almost daily updates on me, my home and my crafts
http://pinkprincesscreations.blogspot.com/ My Creations blog  |
| ramonaj |
Posted - Nov 29 2010 : 8:01:38 PM
I love cookbooks and believe i may have a minor addicton to them. There's one called the settlement cookbook that i've had since i first got married. My latest favorite is Jamie Oliver's America cookbook. I had one from WWII that my grandmother passed to me. it got lost in our big move from Texas and i really miss it. there were some excellent recipes in there and the pictures were beautiful. Best of all it had my grandmother's hand written recipes in it.
happiness to all sentient beings |
| Sitnalta |
Posted - Nov 28 2010 : 7:31:37 PM
I have two. My Betty Crocker cookbook and I love using my My Family Living Favorite Cookies cookbook. Some of the yummiest recipes. :)
hugs
Jessie
"Wonder Woman hasn't got a cape, she just turned her apron around"
Farmgirl Sister #235 |
| barnagainkristin |
Posted - Nov 28 2010 : 6:24:21 PM
Dianne,
I too love Susan Branch. Her cheesecake recipe is my all time favorite cheesecake and her books are so fun to look at. Happy to see there is another Susan Branch fan. The first time I saw her artwork I felt like I had found someone just like me. My garden is in no way as beautiful as her pictures are but so much of the way she arranges and decorates are the style I have always loved. Back to the cookbooks... her corn pudding in the Autumn book is an all time favorite at my house.
I guess the cookbook I turn to the most is my falling apart Betty Crocker like many other farm girls. My girls and I are hooked on the spice blends from Mary Jane's Outpost book too.
barnagainkristin
"Others Before Self" |
| textilelover |
Posted - Nov 19 2010 : 2:20:41 PM
I read cookbooks like other people read novels--cover to cover! My favorites are those by Susan Branch. Every recipe turns out great and the art and quotes and stories add so much. Check out her website at susanbranch.com. The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook sounds intriguing. Never heard of it. Dianne in the Hudson Valley
Sister #749
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." --Leondardo da Vinci |
