Alton Brown Picks Cookbooks

[chris_]

1. The Joy of Cooking
By Irma S. Rombauer
Bobbs-Merrill, 1936

Maybe it's because I inherited "The Joy of Cooking" from my paternal grandmother, a true witch of the baking world, or because her edition, the sixth, was published in 1962, the year I was born. Or maybe it's because even this 1960s "Joy" was still packed with old-fashioned tips like the carefully laid out instructions for skinning a squirrel. As the diagrams show, the skinning process is easy once you get the tail under your foot. Whatever the reason for my attachment to the particular volume on my shelf, I'm also a "Joy" fan no matter the edition: Every recipe is written in the book's unmistakable style, with ingredients and amounts seamlessly integrated into the instructions. For me this is still the quintessential American cookbook. Try the baked herring and potatoes or sourdough rye. Or perhaps the roast squirrel with walnut ketchup.

3. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
By Marcella Hazan
Knopf, 1992

5. Ratio
By Michael Ruhlman
Scribner, 2009

"Proportions form the backbone of the craft of cooking," Michael Ruhlman says. "When you know a culinary ratio, it's not like knowing a single recipe, it's instantly knowing a thousand. Here is the ratio for bread: 5 parts flour : 3 parts water." In "Ratio," Ruhlman emphasizes "the simple codes behind the craft of everyday cooking," bringing a simple clarity to making everything from sausage to vinaigrette. Forget about teaspoons, ounces, cups and (shudder) fractions; it's all about the "parts." This is a refreshing, illuminating and perhaps even revolutionary look at the relations that make food work.

http://online.wsj.com/art..._Opinion_TOPRightCarousel

[debk]

Joy of Cooking is like having a Webster's Dictionary.....you just have to have it.

I learned to cook from the basic Betty Crocker.....simple basic recipes that are not too expensive to learn and develop cooking skills. I still use it for my cinnamon sticky buns.

I have a Hampton Roads Va Junior League cookbook - Virginia Hospitality - that I've had since 1977 and still use.

I'm down to about 11-12 linear feet of cookbooks in my pantry, and another 3 foot shelf upstairs. I've weeded through them several times over the last 30 years. It's been suggested that I might want to consider doing so again. I don't think I need too....

[chris_]

I have a Betty Crocker book, the Frugal Gourmet (I used to love his PBS show... shame about him), and a small handful of others.  I picked the recipe for Quiche Lorraine from the B-C book and made some changes to it; it's pretty good.  A layer of crispy bacon in the bottom of a pie crust, fill with a layer of cut-up boiled potatoes, top with pesto and shredded cheese and fill the pie crust with beaten eggs and bake.  Good stuff.

[debk]

I don't think I ever had The Frugal Gourmet....

I buy a lot of regional cookbooks. I almost always come home with one if I've gone on a trip to someplace new. I will sit down and read them cover to cover.

I have a Paula Deen one that I've been using quite often in the last year or so.....mostly sweets.

Lately I've been into buying "recipe" magazines. Bought a Better Homes and Gardens "Comfort Foods" at Walmart Saturday.

Haven't had time to get completely through it....but found a recipe for a breakfast strata made with cinnamon bread and apple pie filling....

[Wineslob]

Ok, I like Alton, but no Mastering the Art of French cooking?????  No La Gastronomique?  WTF?

[IassaFTots]

Ok, I like Alton, but no Mastering the Art of French cooking?????  No La Gastronomique?  WTF?

I like him too.  I think he went a little cuckoo, when he went on his craaaaazy losing weight diet. 

I have the Joy of Cooking that Julia Child contributed to. 

(btw, LOVE Anthony Bourdain.)

[Eupher]

Lately, Mrs. E and I have been going through "The Barefoot Contessa's" book, "Back to Basics" (or some such).

Ina Garten cooks a lot like Paula Deen, but not with the sweets -- more with the heavy cream and butter.

She's a biiiiiiig lady and looks like she enjoys her own cuisine.

The really cool thing is that she says you can get truffle oil and truffle butter from here. It's surprisingly affordable. 

[bijou]

The only one I have of those is Marcella Hazan, I would recommend it to anyone. There are no colour pictures wasting space it is just packed with great detailed recipes and advice.

[IassaFTots]

Lately, Mrs. E and I have been going through "The Barefoot Contessa's" book, "Back to Basics" (or some such).

Ina Garten cooks a lot like Paula Deen, but not with the sweets -- more with the heavy cream and butter.

She's a biiiiiiig lady and looks like she enjoys her own cuisine.

The really cool thing is that she says you can get truffle oil and truffle butter from here. It's surprisingly affordable. 

Thanks for sharing!  Looks like a good site.  I kinda like watching her show.  She is all like mellow and stuff. 

[bijou]

Lately, Mrs. E and I have been going through "The Barefoot Contessa's" book, "Back to Basics" (or some such).

Ina Garten cooks a lot like Paula Deen, but not with the sweets -- more with the heavy cream and butter.

She's a biiiiiiig lady and looks like she enjoys her own cuisine.

The really cool thing is that she says you can get truffle oil and truffle butter from here. It's surprisingly affordable. 

I love that show, I want her house and garden they look so gorgeous. The recipes look great too.

[debk]

Lately, Mrs. E and I have been going through "The Barefoot Contessa's" book, "Back to Basics" (or some such).

Ina Garten cooks a lot like Paula Deen, but not with the sweets -- more with the heavy cream and butter.

She's a biiiiiiig lady and looks like she enjoys her own cuisine.

The really cool thing is that she says you can get truffle oil and truffle butter from here. It's surprisingly affordable. 

I've been wanting one of her books but didn't know which would be the best....I will look for "Back to Basics".

[Eupher]

I've been wanting one of her books but didn't know which would be the best....I will look for "Back to Basics".

Her web site has it, of course - and I was correct. It's called "Back to Basics". She has others, but we've not explored those yet.

She's big into butter and heavy cream, and she's generous with "good" olive oil. But we reeeeeeeealllly love her roasted vegetables, so it's at least a bit balanced.

[crockspot]

I have quite a few cookbooks, but I rarely use them. I'm mostly a seat of the pants cook. Ratio looks like it might be worth picking up though.

[chris_]

That looks like something I would enjoy; knowing a good recipe is nice, but knowing how to create one is even better.  I have a pile of cooking magazines that I never use.

http://www.amazon.com/Rat...qid=1265761753&sr=1-1


I lol'd at the fatty picture of Alton Brown. 

[Specbid]

I have one that I'll bet very few here have...



Family Cookbook USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)