# Best Recipe Books. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466 "2005-12-20T16:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/21 "2005-12-21T06:54:24Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Every real cook keeps a yack in the garage or carport. Jeez, what kind of slack pseudo-chef are you? > > Stranger If I take the **c** out can I use that for a sig? Anyway most used cookbooks around Casa de Rick are: [How to Cook Everything](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028610105/qid=1135147269/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5154341-2779835?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) by Mark Bittman The previously mentioned Joy of Cooking, but I split my time between the current version, and the one given to me when I was 12 and just starting to cook (Copyright 1964) [Paula Dean’s books](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812965221/qid=1135147552/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-5154341-2779835?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) are the ultimate guide to comfort food My wife is a big [Rachael Ray](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1891105035/qid=1135147635/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-5154341-2779835?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) fan and has several of her books. I of course have the books by the other perfect master [Alton Brown](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584790830/qid=1135147743/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-5154341-2779835?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) I have several cookbooks from [America’s Test Kitchen](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0936184876/ref=br_b_nr_5/103-5154341-2779835?n=6&s=books&v=glance) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/22 "2005-12-21T07:08:14Z")
Another vote for **Joy Of Cooking**. But get the hard bound version, not the paperback…some recipes are missing in the paperback. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/23 "2005-12-21T07:13:16Z")
My two favourites are _Better Homes and Gardens_ (Mom picked up a copy a couple month ago from a second hand store, completely unused, and we got it for just two bucks. Best two bucks we ever spent.) and [_Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens_](http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/002001/f1/nlc009047-v6.jpg). The latter I really love, we use it for all our biscuit, pie and cookie recipes. I’m certain that every woman in my family has a copy of it. Not only does it have some really good recipes, it also has a bit of history of the different people who live in Nova Scotia as well as little introductions and notes for the chapters and recipes. They’ve also got a few ‘for interest’ recipes such as the Gypsy Woman’s Cure and cures for bedwetting or tuberculosis. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/24 "2005-12-21T09:56:45Z")
The Gold Cook Book, by Louis de Gouy. Twelve hundred pages of great recipes, incredibly fussy directions and outrageous but entertaining lies about food and _la histoire gastronomique_. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/25 "2005-12-21T10:31:08Z")
Most of the stuff that I cook from older cookbooks I have long ceased following actual recipes and have my own way of doing things. Two books that I still have to follow by the letter are: Mollie Katzen’s _Moosewood Cookbook_ the old edition before the low fat “healthy” rewrite. _Thai Food_ by David Thompson. Only a few years old but just about the best cookbaook I have seen that concentrates on a single cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/26 "2005-12-21T11:14:16Z")
Another vote for the Better Homes and Gardens. It’s great for people learning to cook, as well as a solid basic everyday guide. Too many cook books contain recipes that call for ingredients not normally available at the local supermarket, not BHGCB. I also rely on good old Google for a change of pace. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/27 "2005-12-21T13:38:20Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > My most used one is probably _Appetite_, by Nigel Slater. I love him. His food writing and his recipes rock. Seconded. I only came in here to post that - I’ve never cooked anything from it that hasn’t turned out beautifully. I made the best roast chicken **ever** following his method at the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/28 "2005-12-21T20:18:33Z")
I failed to name _The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook_ by Ina Garten in my previous list. Although I find the recipes too fussy and complicated for everyday cooking, it is my go-to book for casual entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/29 "2005-12-21T20:41:05Z")
My favorites to cook from include Steven Raichlen’s _How to Grill_, the _King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion_, and everything from America’s Test Kitchen, starting with a tall stack of well-thumbed issues of _Cook’s Illustrated_. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/30 "2005-12-22T04:03:04Z")
> [@EuroMDguy](#): > > Well not yet covered in sauce or well-thumbed through, but I think I might have a new favourite italian cookbook - The Silver Spoon. > > Got it last week through Amazon I would agree that the _Silver Spoon_ may soon become a classic in the US after originally being published in Italy in 1950 and now translated for the first time into English. Along the same note I would add that the first time English translation of the 1927 French classic “home cooking” book _La Bonne Cuisine_ by Madame E. Saint-Ange is now available. Both are long time classics. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/31 "2005-12-22T14:32:58Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > I love the writing style on Bourdain’s cookbook, too. However, I find the recipes to be not that great, quite frankly. Well, it hasn’t been a problem, as I don’t generally think to buy the fat from around a calf’s kidneys to fry my french fries in when I’m at Piggly Wiggly buying milk. So I’ve never actually _cooked_ from the book. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466/32 "2005-12-22T14:55:24Z")
[Greek Cooking for the Gods](http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=2705125&wtopic=Cooking%20Regional%20Ethnic%20Greek&matches=17&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title) The Complete Middle Eastern Cookbook by Tess Malos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recipe-books/336466.md?page=1)