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With thousands of cookbooks lining bookstore shelves (not to mention floating in the online stratosphere), where should a bride start? Many brides-to-be are utter novices in the kitchen.
In my case, I was lucky enough to grow up in a household with a perpetually-cooking mom always sharing her secrets to success, but for those not as lucky, where did you begin? Did you start with a straightforward Rachael Ray book and work your way up? Or did you dive right into Julia Child?
Please share your favorite starter cookbooks for basic culinary knowledge. Even better, those of you who know how to entertain like a pro without breaking a sweat (or bursting into tears), let me know what I can't live without. It seems that sometimes cooking is intimidating because nine times out of 10, we start with the wrong cookbooks.
After reading through your favorites, I'll gather up the best and showcase them on an upcoming Hungry Bride post -- which may include yours!
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4-25-2009 @10:44PM lori said... For our wedding we asked everyone to include a favorite recipe with the gift. Then I had a friend put the recipes we recieved in book form. It is still the cookbook I use the most because it has recipes that family and friends have used for years.
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4-26-2009 @7:36AM Erik said... I'm a chef and the book I gave to my new wife who was a beginner in the kitchen is Good Houskeeping Illustrated cookbook. Great for a newbie. also Joy of Cooking and New York Times Cookbook for traditional fare.
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4-26-2009 @9:51AM Sally said... I agree with Bittman's How to Cook Everything and Betty Crocker or Better Homes & Gardens. I personally use the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks often and also How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson. Anderson's book is the one I give most often.
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4-26-2009 @1:05PM SS said... My go to gift is a 2 parter - The Dad's Own Cookbook and The Joy of Cooking.
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4-26-2009 @4:49PM James Gess said... I'm thinking. Beard on bread, and Beard on pasta. Anything from Diane Kennedy. And For taste bud excitement Any of the books by Paul Prudhomme
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4-27-2009 @8:00AM Tammy said... My favorite is the 1961 edition of the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook ...
The pictures & line art are a little cheesy and dated by now ... But, Betty was one helluva cook ...
There's basics as well as fancy dishes in it ... And the cookies have been a constant favorite for as long as I've been baking ...
You can find the cookbook on eBay ... Last time I looked, they had the hardback spined book as well as it in a 3-ring binder format ...
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4-27-2009 @9:29AM Christine said... 1. The Joy of Cooking, either the 1962 or 1974 editions. Nothing fancy, still has how to make marshmallows and how to skin a squirrel.
2. The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, I have the 11th edition. Great basics.
3. The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukin. Great recipe ideas. I got this one when it first came out and it's been in my kitchen ever since (right next to the two above it).
4. Mark Bittman's HOw to Cook Everything
5. The complete Cooking Light cook book, with the purple cover.
6. The Betty Crocker Cooky Book, red spiral bound edition. All your favorites, all in one place.
All of the above are great reference and appropriate for the newbie cook. Didn't include ethnic cookbooks, y'all have your favorites. :)
For those gluten free, Carol Fenster's 1000 Gluten Free Recipes is another must-have (I won it on this blog, thanks guys! It's a great resource!).
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4-27-2009 @10:49AM sammy said... If I had to have just ONE cookbook, it would the Joy of Cooking, because I can find anything, and any cooking technique, broken down in there in an easy, painless way. I learned how to cook from one of those.
And if I could have two, I would also include a Fix and Forget it about CrockPot cookbook - totally lowbrow. But crockpots are great devices, and these cookbooks have multiple variations on one recipes, so they allow a new cook to see how they can make a reciepe fit with what they have in the cupboard at any point in time.
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4-27-2009 @11:50AM Col said...
Mark Bittman's HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING
Julia Child's MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING
(vol. 1)
THE JOY OF COOKING
1080 RECIPES (Spanish)
THE SILVER SPOON and THE SPLENDID TABLE (Italian)
MADHUR JAFFREY'S STEP-BY-STEP COOKING (Indian)
RICK BAYLESS' MEXICAN KITCHEN
YOLELE! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal
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4-27-2009 @12:57PM EandCdm said... No, no, no. Pick one or two of the bibles ( Better Homes and Gardens, Bittman's HOw to Cook Everything, Joy of Cooking) and keep them around, but you do not want to pull one of those out on a Wednesday night to figure out a last-minute dinner you and hubs will like. Find a book full of intriguing, approachable recipes (and throw away the Nigella book - her show is gorgeous, but I've owned two of her cookbooks and they're so uneven). A shorter cookbook, not a massive daunting be-all guide, is what you want - I'm think Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way. Or Jeremy Jackson's Good Day for a Picnic. Or Ann Hodgman's Beat This and Beat That (Find used on Amazon for pennies). Lovely, everyday, manageable books that you can jump into and cook anything from. And so readable you'll want to hit every recipe.
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4-27-2009 @2:08PM Liz said... My first wedding gift was a recipe book that my mother-in-law created, and asked all of my family to contribute to-
I personally started there, since I, ahem, did not know even how to boil water.
Plus, it's a great keepsake.
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