Favorite cookbooks?

[Etexhorn13 3052]

After seeing some enchiladas posted recently that made mention of the homesick Texan chile gravy, I started looking into her cookbook as well as the Robb Walsh Tex Mex cookbook and I’m thinking I’ll get both as I don’t really have any Texas centric books. I have the big silver spoon cookbook, but it’s so cumbersome I hardly ever use it; i find I get more use out of smaller, more dialed in cookbooks for specific cuisines. I have an “Essential Greek” cookbook I bought while over there a few years ago that I love - stuff like that.  What are some of yalls go-tos?

[Reynolds Woodcock 4758]

If you like french cooking, one of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood has a cookbook that I use all the time. Buvette.

I gave my wife Alison Roman's "Nothing Fancy" cookbook for Christmas, and I've enjoyed several of those recipes as well.   

[Jerry Callo 8704]

I get cookbooks from time to time as gifts, but most recipes I use come from searching the internet.  My Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook is my go to because that is where stash printed recipes from the internet.  

Most of my use of cookbooks is to learn about processes and the science behind different types of cooking.

Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer has detailed sections on cooking different food - 2 to 3 pages on preparations of eggs, a page on artichokes, etc.  I pull it out for specific things I'm cooking as opposed to specific recipes.

Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentinian Way by Francis Mallman is just a good read on different ways to prepare food by fire - direct, indirect, etc.

 

[South Austin 52520]

The Cajun Bible.  My friend from Breaux Bridge got it for me over 10 years ago.  It has a lot of classic Cajun and Creole recipes.  Some of them -- including a few of those for gumbo -- omit any spices from the ingredients other than salt, pepper, and maybe cayenne.  I figure the sources of those recipes either provide the basics and leave it up to the reader to season as they see fit.  Or, they have their own selected seasonings but, in the legendary Cajun way, they omit them so as not to give away the family secrets.  

 

[AustinMT 952]

As far as Texas-centric, I have quite a few that are good.  The Homesick Texas books you mention are actually pretty good.  I have Dean Fearing's "Food Bible,"  Stephen Pyles' "New Texas Cuisine" and "New Tastes from Texas," the Reata cookbook, Jon Bonnell's "Texas Favorites,: Grady Spears'  "A Cowboy in the Kitchen,"  and Jack Allen's "Celebrating the Taste of Texas."  They are all good, some better than others.  As far as ease of use, the Homesick Texas are probably the easiest to follow.  Dean Fearing's book also has a lot of good recipes, and generally not to hard to re-create.  

[Asithappens 974]

There are so many good cookbooks (and not so good ones) that if you find one you like stick with it/them.

My favs are the first Julia Child cookbook (Mastering the Art of French Cooking); a bunch by Pierre Franey and (sometimes) Craig Claiborne - the NYT used to have a food section called the 60 Minute Gourmet and Franey would post recipes. Those recipes compile a couple of books which I really like. Franey's stuff is basic, simple, yet classic and quite a bit easier than Julia's stuff, imo. 

The surprise books for me are the ones from various Junior Leagues. I really like the two I have. 

And of course get a technique one by Jacques Pepin. For reference if nothing else. 

Edited June 11, 2020 by Asithappens

[Etexhorn13 3052]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:07 AM, South Austin said:

The Cajun Bible.  My friend from Breaux Bridge got it for me over 10 years ago.  It has a lot of classic Cajun and Creole recipes.  Some of them -- including a few of those for gumbo -- omit any spices from the ingredients other than salt, pepper, and maybe cayenne.  I figure the sources of those recipes either provide the basics and leave it up to the reader to season as they see fit.  Or, they have their own selected seasonings but, in the legendary Cajun way, they omit them so as not to give away the family secrets.  

 

My wife is from Lafayette, and I’m almost positive I’ve seen this somewhere in our collection. Agreed with cajun cooking/seasonings; all you really need is the trinity, maybe some garlic, salt, pepper, Tony’s, and maybe a bay leaf.
 

My wife got me a blank cookbook that I’ve used for some family recipes as well as some favorites from the internet. I think the biggest issue is that when I get recipes from the internet is that it can be hard to know if the author is trustworthy or not. When I find a good cooobook I know I can trust pretty much any recipe in there. 

[Jerry Callo 8704]

37 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

I think the biggest issue is that when I get recipes from the internet is that it can be hard to know if the author is trustworthy or not.

I get that.  When I'm researching a recipe on the internet, I probably look at 5 or 6 different recipes and the comments.  I look at similarities and differences between the recipes and the process.  Because I've been cooking for years, I'm not coming in blind to recipes and I know basic processes.  I've never made an Indian dish, but I would know how to evaluate a recipe such that I could find one that should end in a good result.

[Gourmand 7774]

My go-to favorites are  the classic Joy of Cooking and the Bon Appetit cookbook. However, my wife bought the Chrissy Teigen Cravings cookbook last year and I've found a number or recipes there that are awesome because they incorporate ingredients at the heart of many Asian dishes. There are some really simple yet invigorating recipes in that book so that's the one I've been grabbing the most lately. 

I haven't touched Bittman's How to Cook Everything in a very long time. 

[CooterBrown 18015]

Of all the Robb Walsh cookbooks, this is the one I go back to most often.

I

 

I also use this one quite a bit...

[Mo Horn 8849]

Lidia Bastianich has great cookbooks. I've got two that I got when she came to her restaurant here. Personally autographed.

[dcbc 14487]

Other than Julia's MTAoFC,

 

 

[luke duke 6413]

[Tailgate 3022]

Nothing like a good plate of Grillades.

[Dangit 23]

My wife is addicted to cookbooks. We started as getting one from wherever we traveled, often times from a restaurant where we’d eat. A lot of the restaurant purchased ones are autographed which is cool. It expanded though to ordering from Amazon as she gets into a certain type of cuisine and now books show up on our doorstep fairly frequently. My favorite to cook from is Donald Link’s “Real Cajun.” Got that one at Herbsaint the night we got engaged.

She got an app called Eat Your Books and it allows you to upload your cookbooks to the app, houses all the recipes so if your wanting a shrimp dish for example it will pull all the shrimp recipes from your library. Pretty cool when meal planning and results in getting more use out of the books. 

[Spur08 382]

On 6/13/2020 at 3:48 PM, Dangit said:

My wife is addicted to cookbooks. We started as getting one from wherever we traveled, often times from a restaurant where we’d eat. A lot of the restaurant purchased ones are autographed which is cool. It expanded though to ordering from Amazon as she gets into a certain type of cuisine and now books show up on our doorstep fairly frequently. My favorite to cook from is Donald Link’s “Real Cajun.” Got that one at Herbsaint the night we got engaged.

She got an app called Eat Your Books and it allows you to upload your cookbooks to the app, houses all the recipes so if your wanting a shrimp dish for example it will pull all the shrimp recipes from your library. Pretty cool when meal planning and results in getting more use out of the books. 

Just looked for the app and the name didn't come up.  

[Dangit 23]

Check that. It’s a website, not an app. My bad. 

[NoName 16354]

Big fan of Alison Roman's cookbooks - both Nothing Fancy and Dining In (amazon link to her author profile)

She used to be at BA, was with Milkbar before that and is now with NYT Food. She has a certain kind of style, but those cookbooks are greatness. The general idea is literally just cooking for people you like without busting your ass to make a 10 course meal and covers everything from apps to salads to pasta to meat to desserts. She has a version of this Slow Roasted Salmon with with Citrus and Chiles (BA link) that is the only way I make salmon anymore - this version is the easiest possible that looks truly amazing and tastes better than any salmon technique I have ever tried. 

If you really enjoy cooking a ton and enjoy the nerdy/science-y side of things I cannot recommend The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science by Kenji Lopez-Alt (amazon) - he used to be with Serious Eats for years and had a column called The Food Lab (link) - the book has a ton of great techniques and recipes in it for everything you can imagine. it is almost 1000 pages and is more of a reference book than a generic cookbook. here is the Google Books preview of it that has some of the interior of it. This is a great gift book if you have people who love cooking.

Again, this is super science-y - more info below with screenshots from books

Spoiler

 

he is the guy that does this kind of stuff all the time - testing something a million times, showing you what it looks like, telling you the best way to make it/do it in his opinion but giving you leeway if you like it another "doneness" level

there is like 5 pages on pancakes and why he does it his way and it includes things like this showing what happens when you use too much/too little baking soda in your pancakes

he also goes into a ton on microsteaming with the microwave and why it's good/easy to do - recipe:

 

 

Although I have not cooked as much from it as I want to, Sean Brock's South (Amazon) is a phenomenal look at Southern food and includes regional differences on a number of foods like Shrimp and Grits. here is the Google Book preview. I love Sean's work and very few people know more about actual Southern cuisine or focus more on the roots of cooking/ingredients as he does.

Finally, there is Bravetart by Stella Parks (amazon) - she too is a Serious Eats alum (profile here) who is my personal go to for any and every desert recipe. Her book looks at classic American desserts and has great recipes across the board for everything from oreos to ice creams. This is a great gift or read for the baker in your life.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4777]

https://www.tasteoftexas.com/cookbook/

[TonyTexas 10516]

I’ve worn out this cookbook 

[Errestaurants 2570]

The Aaron Franklin books are very good reads

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[deadshank 24653]

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

This one is great for authentic Mexican recipes:

[Brisketexan 105158]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:07 AM, South Austin said:

The Cajun Bible.  My friend from Breaux Bridge got it for me over 10 years ago.  It has a lot of classic Cajun and Creole recipes.  Some of them -- including a few of those for gumbo -- omit any spices from the ingredients other than salt, pepper, and maybe cayenne.  I figure the sources of those recipes either provide the basics and leave it up to the reader to season as they see fit.  Or, they have their own selected seasonings but, in the legendary Cajun way, they omit them so as not to give away the family secrets.  

 

The absolute bible.   My mother's copy is from the early 70s....it's a family treasure.  And it has notes about our modifications and takes on various recipes.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Neonmoon 38129]

If anyone likes Indian Food or wants to eat more vegetables 

 

ndian

[Reagan1k 3024]

On ‎6‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 10:07 AM, South Austin said:

The Cajun Bible.  My friend from Breaux Bridge got it for me over 10 years ago.  It has a lot of classic Cajun and Creole recipes.  Some of them -- including a few of those for gumbo -- omit any spices from the ingredients other than salt, pepper, and maybe cayenne.  I figure the sources of those recipes either provide the basics and leave it up to the reader to season as they see fit.  Or, they have their own selected seasonings but, in the legendary Cajun way, they omit them so as not to give away the family secrets.  

 

I have this as well.  Use it often, sometimes for the recipes and sometimes just to get ideas.

[DalTxHornFan 3106]

Edited June 17, 2020 by DalTxHornFan

[Anastasis 23475]

Ill throw Afield out there.  Part intro to butchery for wild game, part cookbook.  Looks like Amazon is out atm, but I am sure if you stopped in Dai Due they are selling copies.

https://www.amazon.com/Afield-Chefs-Guide-Preparing-Cooking/dp/1599621142

https://app.upserve.com/s/dai-due-butcher-shop-and-supper-club-austin

 

 

[Whatever 700]

This is the only one I’ve cooked from. Haven’t had a bad meal from here yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Butch Had Not 2982]

To Serve Man 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan is like The Bible. I have a copy from the 1970s, and it has no illustrations. I almost always favor recipes with photos, so I should get her more recent book, Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking. It has illustrations, and apparently many of the same recipes.

I own 4 or 5 of Robb Walsh’ books.  I enjoy his historical take on Texas cooking. Some of his more recent books don’t get the good reviews of his earlier books, so I stopped buying them. I think I’ll get Aaron Franklin’s books next. 

[Reagan1k 3024]

Just about any of the Junior League cook books from TX to FL are solid IMO.  Always several winners in each. 

[Rip76 4943]

Ordered this book the other day.

Solid...

 

 

[baboso 6056]

 

[next2naus 439]

This is magic: https://www.amazon.com/My-Bread-Revolutionary-No-Work-No-Knead/dp/0393066304/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/132-2464049-8594558?pd_rd_w=paTdg&pf_rd_p=6b3eefea-7b16-43e9-bc45-2e332cbf99da&pf_rd_r=P489J8Z35FNPFQP010GW&pd_rd_r=186f0b37-1b84-4e6b-b3f4-ae4a0410785d&pd_rd_wg=R2OFF&pd_rd_i=0393066304&psc=1

[Texzilla58 4738]

These days I’ve moved online and search for a recipe mostly. Wife wants me to dump the rest of my cookbooks but I won’t. I want my granddaughters to get them.

I really like Cooks Illustrated cookbooks, the general one and best recipes books I use a lot to cook new things. I like how they will try various ingredients to narrow down to the best variations. Also use joy of cooking.

Most of my Texas cookbooks were bought in the years we lived away; they helped my homesickness. For Texas cookbooks I have all the Homesick Texan books but I’m also a member of her website and use it more. I’ve got almost all of Robb Walsh’s books, Stephan Pyles books which are so well written, Tom Pirini’s, Grady Spears, Dean Fearing, Jon Bonell’s, and a couple of Junior leagues. I just got Joanna Gaines Magnolia Table cookbook and it looks promising (her cooking show is funny and approachable). I have the Luby’s cookbook. I was given the Aaron Franklin books and they are good but more like textbooks. Several Texas compilations, and I have the new Texas Monthly cookbook on pre order for November. A couple of Park Kerr ElPaso cookbooks from way back as well.

I have several that I would never cook from but they have great photography. The Beautiful cookbook series: Texas, Louisiana, Mexico, Thailand, etc. also have The original Mastering Art of French Cooking, a couple of Rick Bayless Mexico cookbooks, Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Susan Spicer, John Besh, and a Times-Picayune recipe book for my New Orleans books, and some mostly unused Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese and Indian cookbooks that I’ve read mostly to know what to order in restaurants.

[WhatTheBuck 28788]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:53 AM, Jerry Callo said:

Joy of Cooking

If I could only own one cookbook, that would be the one.

I wish my mom had owned it. She was great at baking and had a bunch of baking cookbooks. Other than that she was strictly Betty Crocker and whatever family recipes she learned. She never made a stock in her life. I talked with her about that once. I couldn’t understand how that was the case. Her grandparents lived on a farm and lived through the Great Depression. She learned how to make dandelion gravy. How could she not learn how to make chicken stock?

She gave me the Betty Crocker cookbook when I left for college. It was useful for awhile. I’ve since thrown it away.

I’ve got Paul Prudhomme’s first cookbook. One by Emeril. One by Mario Batali and a couple by Bobby Flay. I have Classical Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni. I’ve learned some things from Steven Raichlen’s books. And from his tv shows. He deserves some criticism but at least he’s an ambassador for BBQ and grilling.

I have the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook and while it’s a little bit dated, it’s a good cookbook with nice photos. I’ll occasionally dip into that for a recipe. One of my favorites is chicken breasts with sausage-walnut stuffing. I wonder if I can find that online...

I can’t but I can find some that come close.

I also have this one, which you don’t need. But it might be a good gift for a young person. The photos are great:

[WhatTheBuck 28788]

Here’s that Chicken Breasts With Sausage-Walnut Stuffing recipe from the Good Housekeeping cookbook:

[Tylerocks 2553]

The Joy of Cooking and Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian cooking should be in everyone's kitchen.

 

 

I enjoy Chris Shepherd's Cook Like a Local..he and the photographer for his book are both friends of me and my wife.

My wife and her parents don't eat beef or pork (I know) so her folks gave us a copy of The Fisherman's Wife.  The couple that put it out are their neighbors in NYC

 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 6/16/2020 at 9:55 PM, Whatever said:

This is the only one I’ve cooked from. Haven’t had a bad meal from here yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Was going to post this one.  

[dcbc 14487]

On 6/16/2020 at 9:05 AM, NoName said:

Big fan of Alison Roman's cookbooks - both Nothing Fancy and Dining In (amazon link to her author profile)

She used to be at BA, was with Milkbar before that and is now with NYT Food. She has a certain kind of style, but those cookbooks are greatness. The general idea is literally just cooking for people you like without busting your ass to make a 10 course meal and covers everything from apps to salads to pasta to meat to desserts. She has a version of this Slow Roasted Salmon with with Citrus and Chiles (BA link) that is the only way I make salmon anymore - this version is the easiest possible that looks truly amazing and tastes better than any salmon technique I have ever tried. 

If you really enjoy cooking a ton and enjoy the nerdy/science-y side of things I cannot recommend The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science by Kenji Lopez-Alt (amazon) - he used to be with Serious Eats for years and had a column called The Food Lab (link) - the book has a ton of great techniques and recipes in it for everything you can imagine. it is almost 1000 pages and is more of a reference book than a generic cookbook. here is the Google Books preview of it that has some of the interior of it. This is a great gift book if you have people who love cooking.

Again, this is super science-y - more info below with screenshots from books

  Reveal hidden contents

 

he is the guy that does this kind of stuff all the time - testing something a million times, showing you what it looks like, telling you the best way to make it/do it in his opinion but giving you leeway if you like it another "doneness" level

there is like 5 pages on pancakes and why he does it his way and it includes things like this showing what happens when you use too much/too little baking soda in your pancakes

he also goes into a ton on microsteaming with the microwave and why it's good/easy to do - recipe:

 

 

 

 

Although I have not cooked as much from it as I want to, Sean Brock's South (Amazon) is a phenomenal look at Southern food and includes regional differences on a number of foods like Shrimp and Grits. here is the Google Book preview. I love Sean's work and very few people know more about actual Southern cuisine or focus more on the roots of cooking/ingredients as he does.

Finally, there is Bravetart by Stella Parks (amazon) - she too is a Serious Eats alum (profile here) who is my personal go to for any and every desert recipe. Her book looks at classic American desserts and has great recipes across the board for everything from oreos to ice creams. This is a great gift or read for the baker in your life.

The biscuits and pancakes in Kenji's book are world beating.

[mchookem 16336]

On 6/16/2020 at 5:46 PM, TonyTexas said:

I’ve worn out this cookbook 

my copy of this is also falling apart lol

this is my #1 go to, it literally has everything:

and i'm not vegan so i've actually only cooked about a half dozen recipes from this one, but it's still a favorite because duh 😄

 

[SuckitKevin 920]