# Your favorite cook books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448 "2009-11-05T18:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/41 "2011-05-17T21:44:08Z")
_Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking_ It’s more of a reference work, with multiple recipes for classic dishes. It’s kind of dated, but it’s a good source of ideas. Now I just search the nets to look for variations of recipes. Caterers used to love it. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/42 "2011-05-17T22:59:32Z")
Weirdly, my sister and I were hypothetically talking about her cooking her cats if she needed food for her son and husband. Joy of Cooking came up, what with the skinning of the squirrel and all. I’d have gone for the human, probably, if it came to that. (Another?) vote for _Mastering The Art of French Cooking_ as well. Served me good. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/43 "2011-05-18T20:39:36Z")
I personally hate the Joy of Cooking and any “how to cook anything!” book. I mean, I did when I was starting out, now I don’t mind Bittman’s book much. But when I was starting out I found many cookbooks totally unaccessible; they left me utterly cold. So here’s my recommendations: get yourself a subscription (it’s under $20) to EatingWell magazine or take out some old copies from your local library. Check out any and all EatingWell cookbooks; my favorites are the [cooking for 2](http://www.amazon.com/EatingWell-Serves-Two-Healthy-Suppers/dp/0881507237)and eatingwell for a healthy heart. The best thing about those are they assume fairly low levels of knowledge. Like “here’s how to zest something” “here’s how to keep the avocado from turning brown” “here’s how to fillet a salmon”. The recipes are quick and easy but not short on flavor. If you’re a big fan of strong flavor palettes (Indian, Thai, etc) then you will really like EatingWell’s stuff. RealSimple has nice, healthy ones too. If you wanna go step-by-step pictures, the [Pioneer Woman](http://thepioneerwoman.com/) is your gal. Step 1 is reading the what’s for dinner threads too. You can always PM someone to get more info. - **lindsaybluth** , who went from making tuna helper 2 years ago to making everything you can possibly imagine. ETA: Oh shit, this is a zombie all right. I thought **Diosa** started cooking at _least_ a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![Chou4555](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Chou4555](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chou4555)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/45 "2011-05-20T19:12:03Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I’ve been getting into cooking more and more lately (nothing terribly fancy, I’m still learning!). As such, I’ve been looking for some good, trustworthy, and delicious happiness containing cook books. > > So, what are your favorites and why? Hi Diosa. I like Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian cookbooks, but I have to say that there are so many good, free recipes on the internet these days, that cookbooks could be becoming redundant! This evening I made Haddock and Sopinach Florentine from a (free) recipe on this site on a bread making machine. [http://theideaskitchen.co.uk/](http://theideaskitchen.co.uk/) Check it out! (Then print it out and stick it in a scrap book?) Mind you the also said that the internet would be the death of all books… no! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/46 "2011-05-20T19:45:11Z")
For a specialty book, if you are interested in bread making and baking, I’ve found nothing better than Beard on Bread, by the late, great, James Beard. It may still be in print, but if it isn’t it’s not too hard to find used, and more than worth the trouble. I speak professionally about this, as I’m a baker IRL. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448/47 "2011-05-21T21:49:08Z")
_Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking_ by Yamuna Devi is the best-written cookbook I’ve ever used. It makes unfamiliar or complex culinary matters clear and easy to understand, and she provides ample information and insight to help her readers get the best results. I don’t share her religious beliefs (she’s a member of ISKCON) in the slightest, but I love her recipes. The only thing in her book that doesn’t jibe for me is the complete absence of onions and garlic (they never get even hinted at in 800 pages). Since I’m already accomplished at the use of onions and garlic in Indian cuisine, having been taught by Muslims, that isn’t a problem for me. What I love about Yamuna Devi is her high quality writing, the clarity and completeness of her information. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-cook-books/516448.md?page=2)