The Good Home Cookbook is a fantastic all-in-one type of cookbook. It has more than 1,000 recipes and covers just about classic American recipe that you can think of, from apple pie to New England Clam Chowder.
Now, you may be thinking that there are other cookbooks that tackle this very same topic, but there is something distinctly different about this book. Its value is in how the recipes were tested. The author/editor, chef Richard J Perry, recruited more than 700 families from all 50 states to test the recipes up to 10 times before revising any problems and putting them into the book. Using a recipe in the book is similar to using a highly rated recipe on a user-supported recipe website, except that you don't have to sort through anything by an index to find exactly what you want.
I can personally vouch for some of the recipes in this book, since I was one of the recipe-testers, as were a number of other food bloggers. I tested about six recipes, as well as several others after getting a copy of the finished book, and had good results with all of them. The instructions are concise and the dishes are often simple, yet flavorful. Some of my favorites included: sweet potato pie, cheese bread (a must-try if you get the book) and black walnut cake. Is it obvious I went with the baking recipes?
On the off-chance than any of you were testers as well, go ahead and note the recipes you tested in the comments and any links if you posted pictures on your blog!
What Can I Get You Folks? - Eating Out for Thanksgiving
In Defense of Guy Fieri
'Top Chef Vegas' - And Then There Were Five
