A Brief Perusal of My Cookbooks

Or as brief as I am capable of being anyway. :-) This is by no means a comprehensive list... I have a good dozen more books than this, but it is a basic outline of what I have, and what I love about cookbooks. I've never actually met a homemaker or a foodie that doesn't enjoy a good cookbook. I feel like I have a good start on my collection, but you can bet that should I live to a ripe old age before I kick the bucket in my sleep, it will be at least double what I've got already before that happens. My wish list has several more on it, and the mere thought of getting rid of any I have makes me shudder in horror.

Cookbooks fall into three categories for me:

1. The kitchen/food manual
2. The Conversational cookbook
3. The Food Novel (That's not a technical term, just what I like to call them.)

Food Manuals are necessary kitchen items. It's like having your mom in book form on your shelf. They are what you refer to when you need to know how long to bake the apple pie you threw together from different recipe sources, the book you refer to when you need to know what temperature pork should be before you pull it from the oven, and how many tablespoons of butter you're going to need to make a roux-based sauce for 8 people. Other than that, they are generally speaking, not overly fun to read. I included the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving in the Manual Section of this line-up because it is an invaluable resource for anyone who does any home preservation of food. I cannot begin to recount the information I have gleaned from it, and the amount of knowledge it holds, or the time I spent pouring over it last Summer. It is truly an amazing resource, and worth every penny of it's reasonable price.

When you have any interest in BBQ, you own these two books. Peace Love and BBQ definitely falls into the Food Novel category, and How to Grill is a great resource for any step of the way in food grilling, as well as recipes for any kind of meat, cooked many different ways from around the world.

These are the two cookbooks I have that are historical in nature. I love them, and would love to add to this section of my collection at some point. It's amazing what you can learn from them.

These are not necessarily cookbooks per-say, but I included them because they are so valuable for anyone who gardens their own food, or who relies on their freezer to maintain a well-stocked pantry. The Complete Book of Home Freezing is from the 1960's and The Food Lover's Garden is from the 70's. To me, that makes them quite delightful to read, because folks just spoke different back then. The sexism in The Home Freezing book just cracks me up.

These are my all "fun" cookbooks. Do I need them? No, not necessarily, but I have learned so very much from them. Some are more conversational, like Rachel Ray's, or from Earth To the Table, and are enjoyable to read, but are mostly focused on the food and recipes. Others, like Nigella Lawson's How To Eat read like a novel-the recipes are there, but so also is her Love Affair with food. This is probably my favorite type to read--who doesn't love a great love story?! :-) As a disclaimer, Nigella's does have some language in it. That being said, it is one of the most delightful cookbooks I've ever read, and as I've been a fan of hers for years, I'm so glad I finally worked around to getting one of her books. Her love of food will rub right off on you!

The cookbooks below are so valuable to anyone who makes dinner every day, or close anyway. Simplicity is key, and while there are enough recipes in each one that you can usually create a few things straight out of your pantry, they are also the cookbooks I go to when I have items that need to be used, but I'm not feeling the creativity to do something quite as extravagant as Cat Cora would do. The Cook Once/Eat Twice is an EXCELLENT resource, not just for new recipes that will help you do just that, but also for reading through, and re-training your mind to look at your own recipes for ways to modify them to a Cook Once/Eat Twice set of meals. Every homemaker should have at least one Slow Cooker recipe book. I love Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker book, and have gotten many great recipes from that book. My dad actually got it for me, which we found funny, because my mom is an AWESOME slow cooker cook, and I've learned most of what I know about using a slow cooker from her. :-) And, one pot meals are the best, because then you only have to clean one pot. A lot of those can be adapted to the slow cooker as well, and quick cooking recipes are a necessity for any busy mother. The Taste of Home Quick Cooking book is good, although their recipes tend to have a lot of Velveeta, Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soups, and Cool Whip in them, which drives me crazy. I NEVER use those things, of course. EVER! (ducks head a little guiltily) Okay, maybe here and there, when unavoidable. But, not as a general rule... I appreciate Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals because her ingredients tend to be more healthful, but I'm usually at about 45 minutes with her meal preparation. Which really isn't bad, and my kitchen looks cleaner than hers when I'm done. The way that woman throws vegetable chunks around while she's cooking makes me very uncomfortable. If you have to throw food to get your meal done in 30 minutes, I'll take 45, thank you very much. (Love you Rachael!)

This is my book, which I titled on a day that I was feeling particularly snarky. As that's most days for me, the title stands.

This book BADLY needs some organization. One day I will get to it.

And, I always read cookbooks with sticky tab thingys. That way you can always find something that sparks your interest.

The other wonderful thing about cookbooks is that you can usually read them every couple of months, and come away with something new, depending on what you've eaten and what you've learned since you last studied the cookbook.

Thanks for joining me on my cookbook tour! Please share--what's your favorite cookbook? Why? What one do you use the most? I can always use another cookbook on my wish list! :-)

Have a great weekend!