I don’t use cookbooks like I once did. I don’t need recipes as much as I need inspiration, and Google is just so easy. But I love the intimacy of a cookbook when it invites you to not only consult the glossary for specific recipes, but to also actually read through the chapters from the beginning and immerse yourself in the the unique sights, smell, and ideas arising from the pages.
Ball Blue Book guide to preserving (100th Anniversary Edition)
What can I say? This is the gold standard for preserving, including water bath canning, of course.
Recommended recipes:
- Pickled Hot Peppers, page 56 (I use jalapenos and add 1/8 t Pickle Crisp granules per pint jar)
- Zucchini Relish, page 54 (I sub some of the green bell pepper with jalapeño, to make it “zesty”)
- Hamburger Dills, page 50 (add 1/8 t Pickle Crisp to each pint jar)
Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (40th Anniversary edition, Prentice Hall)
This may be where it all began for me. I know my mother had a version of the Betty Crocker Cookbook, but I don’t remember cooking from it. This updated version was my go-to when I was in my early twenties, when almost everything I prepared was an experiment! I found this cookbook to be surprisingly modern at the time, not your Betty Crocker from the fifties.
The Complete Book of Sauces by Sallie Y. Williams
I have a repertoire of sauces that I rely on to finish dishes in my kitchen, but sometimes I need to mix it up and try something new. I find inspiration on nearly every page of this collection.
The Food Lab by J Kenji López-Alt
The is the ultimate “how-to and why” compendium of cooking techniques. Check out the picture on page 95 – two dozen boiled eggs, boiled for 30-second intervals from 0 to 12 minutes, cracked open to display the results. I rarely consult The Food Lab for recipes, but if I’m trying out something new, I’m likely to “consult” with Kenji to validate my approach. It’s fun!
The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen by Laura B. Russell
What a relief to have discovered this guide to gluten-free Asian cooking. It’s not just the sauces and the dumplings, it’s a guide to stocking a gluten-free Asian kitchen, using tools, mastering techniques, and identifying gluten in common Asian ingredients.
Greens by Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown
This is a new cookbook to me (another great score from Thrift Books). I purchased it because my friend Liz recommended it, and I’m already smitten. No pictures, sadly, but this is an exhaustive collection of “extraordinary vegetarian cuisine” from Deborah Madison’s San Francisco restaurant, Greens. I’m sure I’ll find much inspiration here once the garden starts producing in the summer.
It’s About Time by Michael Schlow
Unfortunately, this cookbook doesn’t include my favorite recipe for Shrimp Ragout from Radius, but luckily I have it from the source!
jamie at home (Cook Your Way to the Good Life) by Jamie Oliver
I wish I could be Jamie Oliver. There, I’ve said it. This is so much more than a cookbook. All of the recipes are inspired by his veg garden, and they’re organized by season and crop, with growing tips for each of the featured veg. The photographs of the food and his gardens are intoxicating – flavors, colors, tastes, and inspiration jump off of the pages.
Lydia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine by Lidia Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali
Ming’s Master Recipes from the Public Television Series Simply Ming
This cookbook was published in 2004. If you’re familiar with Ming Tsai’s Simply Ming Series on Public Television, then you’re aware that he typically has a guest chef and they take turns creating dishes using some of the same ingredients, then sit down at the end of the show to sample each other’s dishes. This collection includes recipes from many other names you’ve probably heard – Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin, Ken Oringer (Kenny O), Todd English, Michael Schlow… The list goes on. It may sound gimmicky but, trust me, this collection is inspiring.
The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen
The Moosewood Cookbook is another touchstone, a classic from my twenties. I haven’t opened it in many years, but it belongs on my bookshelf regardless. The most memorable recipe for me is the poppyseed cake.
Plenty (Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi) by Yotam Ottolenghi
This cookbook has been showered with high praise since it was published in 2010, but I didn’t buy a copy for the longest time because I assumed that it would be filled with exotic ingredients and fussy techniques. I’m so glad I finally picked it up because it’s quite the opposite. The photography is intimate and beautiful, and the recipes simple, yet inspired. I turn to this cookbook for not only inspiration (often!), but the also the sheer pleasure of grazing through the images.
Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone
Well-Preserved (copyright 2009) has had a great influence on my life as a cook and an epicurean. Not only because it introduced me to small batch canning, but we should start there. Small batch canning is just what it sounds like – canning a few jars of something, not necessarily to preserve a bumper crop, but to create boutique-y ingredients that you just can’t buy. I made Eugenia’s Apricot Jam before we planted our apricot trees. This is where I was introduced to Preserved Meyer Lemons. Eugenia (Gina to her friends) includes several dishes along with each recipe, taking whatever has been preserved and using it to build something even more complex, and dare I say delicious. Eugenia has also written a number of other books – At Mesa’s Edge: Cooking and Ranching in Colorado’s North Fork Valley, Microbia: A Journey into the Unseen World Around You, Eugenia Bone’s Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms, The Kitchen Ecosystem: Integrating Recipes to Create Delicious Meals, Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family (which she wrote with her father, Edward Giobbi, the renowned artist). She also created The Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook along with Evan Sung, who did the photography. Eugenia has a curious, passionate, and gleeful approach to living, and I’m so enjoying the ride. Favorite recipes:
- Apricot Amaretto Jam from Well-Preserved, page 53