What is your favorite cookbook and what is your top wish list cook book?

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for new ideas and inspiration.

My favorite cookbook right now is Great British Cooking by Jane Garmey. Great basics in here, all sorts of sauces and meat dishes and puddings.

My top wish list item is Around my French Table by Dorie Greenpan. Does anybody have that one?

How about you?

[Anonymous]

I have Around the French Table ( and most others by Dorie Greenspan). You can't go wrong there.
With over a 1000 cookbooks I'm hard pressed to list a favorite. I recently got some by Sarah Leah Chase that I'm loving. I also like anything by Deborah Madison, Mollie Katzen, Martha Rose Shulman and Fuchsia Dunlop.
I am eagerly waiting for two deliveries from Amazon this evening: NOPI, Ottolenghi's latest book and The Kitchen Matrix, Mark Bittman's latest.
Topping my wish list are the Cuban Table and Madhur Jaffrey's latest book on Indian vegetarian cooking.

[Anonymous]

What do you think would be the best starter Ottolenghi book for a Christmas present to a cook who recently was introduced to Israeli cuisine through a visit to Israel?

Can't wait to check out the authors mentioned by PP.

[Anonymous]

Ottolenghi, Rick Stein, Polpo

[Anonymous]

A good starter Ottolenghi would either be Plenty or Plenty More. I have the Nopi cookbook and the recipes are incredibly involved and multi step with exotic ingredients. In general Ottolenghi recipe's can be cumbersome but I find making minor simplifying tweaks preserves the taste and cuts down about 50% of the work.

[Anonymous]

For easy to cook things, anything by Jamie Oliver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good starter Ottolenghi would either be Plenty or Plenty More. I have the Nopi cookbook and the recipes are incredibly involved and multi step with exotic ingredients. In general Ottolenghi recipe's can be cumbersome but I find making minor simplifying tweaks preserves the taste and cuts down about 50% of the work.

NP here. Do you have thoughts on Zahav? I came across it on Amazon and it looked pretty great. I love Plenty and Jerusalem.

[Anonymous]

My fave is the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

On my list - Chez Panisse Fruit.

[Anonymous]

I love the Barefoot Contessa family style cookbook. Her recipes are easy to follow and always a hit. I want to get the Madhur Jaffrey new vegetarian cookbook coming out at the end of the month.

[Anonymous]

I'm literally obsessed with the food lab cookbook- I've followed the serious eats blog. It's by j kenji Lopez alt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm literally obsessed with the food lab cookbook- I've followed the serious eats blog. It's by j kenji Lopez alt

I love Kenji! I cook from Food Lab online more than from any of my cookbooks, though I love my cookbooks too. My most often used ones lately are Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking and Tacos, Tortas and Tamales by Roberto Santibanez.

[Anonymous]

I kinda hate when these threads come up.. I always end up ordering new cookbooks that I don't have any more space for!

to PP looking for a suggestions an ottolenghi book, I'd suggest Jeuresalem. It's a beautiful book, the recipes are all amazing, and there is a lot of neat insight in it about the city and cuisine from both authors. I have Plenty and Plenty More as well and really - you can't go wrong with any of them, but Jeuresalem is my stand out because I really enjoyed the other stuff in there.


I love Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian and any of Bittman's "Everything" books as my constant resources. For anyone who likes French inspired food, David Leibovitz's My Paris Kitchen is a great book, and also one of my favourites for lazy Sunday pursuing and cooking

That being said, hands down, my favorite cookbook I have is the Art of Living according to Joe Beef. I'll maybe only ever make a percentage of the recipes in it, but it is so darned fun to browse and read and consider over a cup (or three) of coffee. I've gifted it to people on many occasions.

[Anonymous]

One recent book I have become fascinated by is the 'Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook'. It is about Jewish Eastern European cuisine pioneered by Fania Lewando, against the backdrop of WWII.
I am not Jewish but am always on the lookout for vegetarian cuisines. The story behind the making of this book is fascinating. Sadly the Lewandos perished under the Nazis but their legacy lives on through these recipes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I kinda hate when these threads come up.. I always end up ordering new cookbooks that I don't have any more space for!

to PP looking for a suggestions an ottolenghi book, I'd suggest Jeuresalem. It's a beautiful book, the recipes are all amazing, and there is a lot of neat insight in it about the city and cuisine from both authors. I have Plenty and Plenty More as well and really - you can't go wrong with any of them, but Jeuresalem is my stand out because I really enjoyed the other stuff in there.


I love Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian and any of Bittman's "Everything" books as my constant resources. For anyone who likes French inspired food, David Leibovitz's My Paris Kitchen is a great book, and also one of my favourites for lazy Sunday pursuing and cooking

That being said, hands down, my favorite cookbook I have is the Art of Living according to Joe Beef. I'll maybe only ever make a percentage of the recipes in it, but it is so darned fun to browse and read and consider over a cup (or three) of coffee. I've gifted it to people on many occasions.

Your public library has books you can borrow for free and return. No need to find space in your home. The best bang for your buck in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I kinda hate when these threads come up.. I always end up ordering new cookbooks that I don't have any more space for!

to PP looking for a suggestions an ottolenghi book, I'd suggest Jeuresalem. It's a beautiful book, the recipes are all amazing, and there is a lot of neat insight in it about the city and cuisine from both authors. I have Plenty and Plenty More as well and really - you can't go wrong with any of them, but Jeuresalem is my stand out because I really enjoyed the other stuff in there.


I love Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian and any of Bittman's "Everything" books as my constant resources. For anyone who likes French inspired food, David Leibovitz's My Paris Kitchen is a great book, and also one of my favourites for lazy Sunday pursuing and cooking

That being said, hands down, my favorite cookbook I have is the Art of Living according to Joe Beef. I'll maybe only ever make a percentage of the recipes in it, but it is so darned fun to browse and read and consider over a cup (or three) of coffee. I've gifted it to people on many occasions.

Your public library has books you can borrow for free and return. No need to find space in your home. The best bang for your buck in taxes.

Okay.... Can you believe this has never occurred to me?!? I usually just get all the "hot new" novels and books I know I'm going to burn through- I never considered the library for cookbooks!

My problem is I love cookbooks. My perfect retirement is me, on a beach with someone pouring me endless white wine, reading cookbooks for the rest of my life.