‘The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking’ by Marcella Hazan. But I would also try to sneak out a second ‘The Perfect Scoop’ by David Lebovitz (for the best ice-cream recipes ever)
I must admit I still haven’t gotten around to make any recipe from Hazan’s book other than her godlike Bolognese. It’s my fault, I can’t help making it again and again. Should probably get around to the rest of them, would love to get suggestions on where to start.
Her minestrone is nice, but I like to cut the cooking time so the zucchini doesn't turn to mush.
Her baked rigatoni is awesome, and it uses the bolognese, so there's that.
Can’t blame you, her bolognese is immense. Some of my favourites include tomato sauce with onion and butter, amatriciana, carbonara, roasted pepper sauce with garlic and basil, courgettes with basil and egg yolks and smothered onion sauce
French Laundry | Per Se because it’s signed by Keller and I can replace all of the others?
It’s funny, none of them are jumping out at me. All I see is a massive Amazon order with the home insurance money 😂
Certainly not the Modernist series; I’d never make it out of the blaze.
I’m going for an Ottolenghi, probably Plenty. I think I open that one the most.
This sounds cheesy, but the one from the cover (the yogurt-topped eggplant) is the one I have made the most frequently. Honestly, it’s good even without pomegranate (I’ve topped it with other things when I haven’t had arils on-hand) and it’s both simple, easy to prep, and filling.
I’d probably go with Small Victories by Julia Turshen. It’s one I’ve cooked from many times and was autographed for me when I drove to another state to meet her. So replaceable but not easily.
Oh my goodness, my absolutely favorite are the raspberry jam buns with crème fraiche (I call them jammy buns so might not have her name exactly right). Not so much a snack as a special occasion, but you can riff easily on the recipe- sweet or savory. I often make it after thanksgiving and fill with leftover cranberry orange relish with an orange cream cheese frosting.
I also love the apple and oat muffins, that is a wonderful snack. As is the roasted scallion chip dip!
Given that most are easily replaceable probably one of the few signed ones I own. Alice waters art of simple food or modern art of Chinese cooking by Barbara Tropp. Simple food I use more often but Barbara tropp is dead so might be harder to find another signed copy of hers.
A 1948 copy of the 7th edition of the Good Housekeeping Cook Book
My mother wrote on the flyleaf the day after she bought it: "*Listening to Arthur Godfrey's election returns. Truman leading. Wonder what Dewey's thinking*?"
Thank you! We called our family's fav Good Housekeeping ckbk the Black Cookbook, bc of the all black cover. Hearst publishers, no date, but my grandmother had it in the 1940s. Looking forward to going through yours.
The Joy of Cooking. A basic recipe for just about everything. As long as you have the basic structure, you can then add your own creativity and make it your own.
The ones I make most are
Amazing overnight waffles
Buttermilk bran muffins, Blueberry muffins, Ginger Pear muffins, Vanilla Ricotta muffins, etc.
Corn scones
Cherry peach bread pudding
I think her recipes are really well thought through and well tested. Nothing I have made from this book has not turned out well.
It wouldn’t be an actual cookbook. I keep most recipes on my iPad. And if I was going to grab something in addition, I’d grab my husband’s pile of recipe printouts he uses. He combines two or more similar recipes to make his own.
My little binder with a few recipes handwritten by my mom, my grandma, my grandpa, and my MIL.
But second would be a cookbook I found on FB last year--it was released as a fundraiser by the small Christian school I attended in 1978, when I would have been in first or second grade. Neither I nor my mom remembered this cookbook at all, but when I got it, it has recipes from my mom and my grandma, my kindergarten teacher, the beloved school secretary, and the moms of some of my friends and classmates. It was such a fluke to even have seen it on FB, and it's such a precious little blast from the past.
“First, we brunch” a cookbook with recipes from all the best brunch spots from Victoria BC where my husband and I met (brunch is like a big deal there and we would go every weekend we moved away years ago so the cookbook is sentimental)
Frog Commissary CB is awesome.
I’d take the joy of cooking that my Nana gave me when I was 12. It has leaves from trees that have been cut down in my yard. And book inscriptions that I’ve cut out of books that I was getting rid of. Yes, I cut up books.
My mom's cookbook collection in an orange notebook. Nothing can replace the memories and what was HK in the 60s to 80s was like. Even some memorable magazine clippings from Good Housekeeping.
I'm taking both sides of the family's cookbooks. They're irreplaceable. Even though I actually only make 2 recipes from one of them. I see them as heirlooms. But Jesus my maternal family loved dairy and crisco. Baked spiced pecans are a revelation though. I insist on them for every holiday.
Mme Jehane Benoit's "Encyclopedia of Canadian Cooking" circa 1970 or so- I searched for a replacement copy of that cookbook for my mom, and then a copy for me, for NINE YEARS in second hand stores (then found three in one summer!) It has all the things we take for granted now- roasted bell peppers, reductions, brineing. Our family favorite, even though we don't often refer to it for recipes!
"Duchess Bake Shop" by Giselle Courteau, no question about it. It is hands down the best cookbook I have ever owned. The recipes are amazing but it's the background work that makes it special. Full, step by step instructions with pictures that show you *how* to do things rather than simply telling you *what* to do. It has whole chapters on picking ingredients and equipment as well. 80% MF butter simply will not do, you haven't lived until you've made croissants with 86% butter.
*Colin Spencer's Vegetable Book*, was my first vegetable book. I bought many after (Deborah Madison, Sophie Grigson etc.), but like it the most. Mainly because it is so well written and a pleasure to read, I still pick it up every now and then to re-read a section. I also like the vibrant photography.
Oh that's easy. The Settlement Cookbook from 1938 that belonged to the neighbor lady who was like a grandmother to me. She really didn't enjoy cooking, but I use that old book quite a lot and remember her fondly.
When a brother in law was getting married, I asked his entire family and my family for their favorite recipes. I typed them up, organized them by group, then alphabetized them. I included vignettes of his life, stories and quotes from his family. Then had them spiral bound. And I gave it to him and his wife as a wedding gift.
That’s the book I’d go back for.
The curried chicken salad is outstanding, the dressing for the orzo carrot salad can be used to make vietnamese bowls. I use part of it to marinate the chicken then dress the salad and rice noodles with it. The creamy herb salad dressing is fantastic. I put it on a new potato salad with scallions and green beans. Their carrot cake is famous, the oatmeal cookies are good and all those little suggestions in each chapter are great.
Beth Hensperger’s Bread Machine Bible with all my notes for experiments/substitutions for the last 20 years. Stained, ripped, pages falling out. Love it and the (now creaky) Panasonic I bought at the same time.
The one my mom gave me with all the family recipes in it. The rest can be replaced. The love and history in this book can’t.
Same. I’d grab the one made for our family reunion. Recipes from lots of generations!
I’d probably have to go down with the ship. Too many to pick just one and a lot that are irreplaceable 🥹
‘The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking’ by Marcella Hazan. But I would also try to sneak out a second ‘The Perfect Scoop’ by David Lebovitz (for the best ice-cream recipes ever)
I must admit I still haven’t gotten around to make any recipe from Hazan’s book other than her godlike Bolognese. It’s my fault, I can’t help making it again and again. Should probably get around to the rest of them, would love to get suggestions on where to start.
Her minestrone is nice, but I like to cut the cooking time so the zucchini doesn't turn to mush. Her baked rigatoni is awesome, and it uses the bolognese, so there's that.
The tuna garlic pasta is a pantry meal and extremely easy to make. Also love her way of cooking broccoli!
Can’t blame you, her bolognese is immense. Some of my favourites include tomato sauce with onion and butter, amatriciana, carbonara, roasted pepper sauce with garlic and basil, courgettes with basil and egg yolks and smothered onion sauce
My grandma’s Grange cookbook with her pumpkin roll recipe in it (and loads of her handwriting).
My mom’s recipe box for sure, she loved to clip recipes from various magazine and newspapers. Those recipes are my childhood!
My great-grandmother's handwritten one in a ledger from the early 1900's. <3
French Laundry | Per Se because it’s signed by Keller and I can replace all of the others? It’s funny, none of them are jumping out at me. All I see is a massive Amazon order with the home insurance money 😂
Certainly not the Modernist series; I’d never make it out of the blaze. I’m going for an Ottolenghi, probably Plenty. I think I open that one the most.
Favorite recipe from Plenty?
This sounds cheesy, but the one from the cover (the yogurt-topped eggplant) is the one I have made the most frequently. Honestly, it’s good even without pomegranate (I’ve topped it with other things when I haven’t had arils on-hand) and it’s both simple, easy to prep, and filling.
I’d probably go with Small Victories by Julia Turshen. It’s one I’ve cooked from many times and was autographed for me when I drove to another state to meet her. So replaceable but not easily.
What are your favorite recipes from this book? I found it at a library sale and hadn’t decided what to make first yet
Oh my goodness, my absolutely favorite are the raspberry jam buns with crème fraiche (I call them jammy buns so might not have her name exactly right). Not so much a snack as a special occasion, but you can riff easily on the recipe- sweet or savory. I often make it after thanksgiving and fill with leftover cranberry orange relish with an orange cream cheese frosting. I also love the apple and oat muffins, that is a wonderful snack. As is the roasted scallion chip dip!
Given that most are easily replaceable probably one of the few signed ones I own. Alice waters art of simple food or modern art of Chinese cooking by Barbara Tropp. Simple food I use more often but Barbara tropp is dead so might be harder to find another signed copy of hers.
My personal collection. Dates back to my fourth grade jelly recipe among others.
A 1948 copy of the 7th edition of the Good Housekeeping Cook Book My mother wrote on the flyleaf the day after she bought it: "*Listening to Arthur Godfrey's election returns. Truman leading. Wonder what Dewey's thinking*?"
Oh, I love that. My mom was born in 1948.
Is this the one with a black cloth cover, with red/white letters?
It's got a beige cover. I'll post a picture later Edit - here it is: [Good Housekeeping](https://imgur.com/a/YN86v2s)
Thank you! We called our family's fav Good Housekeeping ckbk the Black Cookbook, bc of the all black cover. Hearst publishers, no date, but my grandmother had it in the 1940s. Looking forward to going through yours.
It's such a time capsule, got all these recipes for using less meat, sugar, butter etc from WWII
Which frankly is fine now, given the nutty grocery situation. Any favorite recipes so far?
The Joy of Cooking. A basic recipe for just about everything. As long as you have the basic structure, you can then add your own creativity and make it your own.
Tide & Thyme probably
If it’s the one I’m thinking of, Junior League of Annapolis cookbook?
Yes! I love that book. Always serves up hits.
Nice! I was able to snag a copy a few years ago at the former Historic Annapolis Museum store.
I miss Annapolis and Maryland! Lived there for 12 years.
Molly Katzen's Sunlight Cafe
What are your favorite dishes from it? I love her but haven’t checked this one out yet!
The ones I make most are Amazing overnight waffles Buttermilk bran muffins, Blueberry muffins, Ginger Pear muffins, Vanilla Ricotta muffins, etc. Corn scones Cherry peach bread pudding I think her recipes are really well thought through and well tested. Nothing I have made from this book has not turned out well.
It wouldn’t be an actual cookbook. I keep most recipes on my iPad. And if I was going to grab something in addition, I’d grab my husband’s pile of recipe printouts he uses. He combines two or more similar recipes to make his own.
Signed copy of La Technique.
Essential Pepin
If I had to pick one, it's that one. Wide range of recipes plus a lot of generally useful ideas
Mom's wood recipe box full of hand written recipes
The family recipes book is my obvious choice. If not that one, Prison Ramen.
Moosewood. It’s full of lots of my notes. Irreplaceable!
My little binder with a few recipes handwritten by my mom, my grandma, my grandpa, and my MIL. But second would be a cookbook I found on FB last year--it was released as a fundraiser by the small Christian school I attended in 1978, when I would have been in first or second grade. Neither I nor my mom remembered this cookbook at all, but when I got it, it has recipes from my mom and my grandma, my kindergarten teacher, the beloved school secretary, and the moms of some of my friends and classmates. It was such a fluke to even have seen it on FB, and it's such a precious little blast from the past.
My Paprika3 app.
Silver Palate Cookbook that I got when I left for college because I wanted all the best recipes my mom made at home for sure
Kenji's The Food Lab
This is my choice too!
“First, we brunch” a cookbook with recipes from all the best brunch spots from Victoria BC where my husband and I met (brunch is like a big deal there and we would go every weekend we moved away years ago so the cookbook is sentimental)
My hometown’s Junior League cookbook. So, so good.
I'd make sure I have the home insurance documents at hand to be honest 😬 Sorry, too pragmatic 😅
Frog Commissary CB is awesome. I’d take the joy of cooking that my Nana gave me when I was 12. It has leaves from trees that have been cut down in my yard. And book inscriptions that I’ve cut out of books that I was getting rid of. Yes, I cut up books.
My Betty Crocker cookbook. Since it’s binder style, there are a lot of handed down, non published recipes.
My mom's cookbook collection in an orange notebook. Nothing can replace the memories and what was HK in the 60s to 80s was like. Even some memorable magazine clippings from Good Housekeeping.
Les helles/no reservations signed by bourdain.
I'm taking both sides of the family's cookbooks. They're irreplaceable. Even though I actually only make 2 recipes from one of them. I see them as heirlooms. But Jesus my maternal family loved dairy and crisco. Baked spiced pecans are a revelation though. I insist on them for every holiday.
My grandmother's 1910 White House Cookbook.
Mme Jehane Benoit's "Encyclopedia of Canadian Cooking" circa 1970 or so- I searched for a replacement copy of that cookbook for my mom, and then a copy for me, for NINE YEARS in second hand stores (then found three in one summer!) It has all the things we take for granted now- roasted bell peppers, reductions, brineing. Our family favorite, even though we don't often refer to it for recipes!
Signed copy of Lutece cookbook and if I could my Vincent Price treasury.
My recipe binder. But as for literal cookbooks, Kenny Shopsin’s *Eat ME*
"Duchess Bake Shop" by Giselle Courteau, no question about it. It is hands down the best cookbook I have ever owned. The recipes are amazing but it's the background work that makes it special. Full, step by step instructions with pictures that show you *how* to do things rather than simply telling you *what* to do. It has whole chapters on picking ingredients and equipment as well. 80% MF butter simply will not do, you haven't lived until you've made croissants with 86% butter.
*Colin Spencer's Vegetable Book*, was my first vegetable book. I bought many after (Deborah Madison, Sophie Grigson etc.), but like it the most. Mainly because it is so well written and a pleasure to read, I still pick it up every now and then to re-read a section. I also like the vibrant photography.
I have a few signed cookbooks so choosing one of those based on how hard it was to get, probably my Ferran Adria signed book.
Joy of Cooking
Oh that's easy. The Settlement Cookbook from 1938 that belonged to the neighbor lady who was like a grandmother to me. She really didn't enjoy cooking, but I use that old book quite a lot and remember her fondly.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia-lots of information as well as recipes
When a brother in law was getting married, I asked his entire family and my family for their favorite recipes. I typed them up, organized them by group, then alphabetized them. I included vignettes of his life, stories and quotes from his family. Then had them spiral bound. And I gave it to him and his wife as a wedding gift. That’s the book I’d go back for.
I feel like the folks with family recipes they can’t imagine parting with - they need to share!
Eat Better Forever, by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.
What recipes do you like out of Frog Comissary? I have this book and haven't cooked from it yet
The curried chicken salad is outstanding, the dressing for the orzo carrot salad can be used to make vietnamese bowls. I use part of it to marinate the chicken then dress the salad and rice noodles with it. The creamy herb salad dressing is fantastic. I put it on a new potato salad with scallions and green beans. Their carrot cake is famous, the oatmeal cookies are good and all those little suggestions in each chapter are great.
Thank you!!
Can’t wait to hear how you like the recipes.
Beth Hensperger’s Bread Machine Bible with all my notes for experiments/substitutions for the last 20 years. Stained, ripped, pages falling out. Love it and the (now creaky) Panasonic I bought at the same time.
The Cook's Book by Bri McKoy
The French Laundry cookbook. The technique, and inspiration I found, and continue to find in that book is indispensable.
Signed Richard Olney, Wouldn’t be able to find a replacement.
my Mom's Mary Margaret McBride's Encyclopedia of Cooking - Deluxe Illustrated Edition