<p>I never noticed the wild game recipes in the Joy of Cooking - you have to give them credit for covering the gamut. Even so, I learned to make a lot of basics from that book, and I still use it for waffles, pancakes, etc., and if I have a question about timing or options for an old standby, it’s a good resource. </p>
<p>I only use a few books anymore - Marcella’s, How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson contains several great cake recipes, the Silver Palate, Jacques Pepin. My main source is now a big binder full of recipes that I’ve gathered from all over, including many that I’ve created.</p>
<p>I read in the NYTimes that Marcella’s last meal the day before she died was trofie pasta with pesto made by her husband. That’s my favorite (and my D’s too) pasta dish.</p>
<p>Jacque Pepin, silver palate. When I first got out of college, I received the joy of cooking. I still use it for how to set a table. Even after all these years, I forget if the forks go left or right when we don’t do buffet style. </p>
<p>The artistry of Cooking, though, really made me the cook I am today. And in the summer when I’m busy, I’ll use the barefoot s recipes as a jumping off place any day. </p>
<p>Sorry you all lost your author. I’ve always used Lydia’s cookbooks. But I may have to pick this one up.</p>
<p>The only cookbook that changed my life (I don’t really like cooking) was our Peace Corps cookbook–it was put together by the PC doctor’s wife–with recipes submitted by volunteers from the 3 countries in our region (S. Africa). She actually tested all the recipes that went into the book. It didn’t have a title–it had a photocopied drawing of Dagwood eating a sandwich, and said “Yumm. . .Let’s Eat!” on the cover.
Lots of basic instructions (for the guys-- “how to fry an egg”), how to bake without an oven. How to make solar and straw box cookers. . .how to maintain proper nutrition with very limited ingredients. Lots of comments, encouragement, and jokes in between recipes. Substitutions, equivalents, etc. I learned how cook from scratch from this book, and it was, really, a friend and companion during those years. This cookbook survived an apartment fire after I came back to the states–and has smoke stains to prove it. Cover has fallen off. It is the only cookbook I’ve ever used. (I do still get recipes from mom, and the internet. . .)</p>
<p>Never had heard of the Italian cookbook author until I saw her obit in the newspaper, never saw her book in any bookstore. So tired of the emphasis on pasta in today’s cooking. There are so many more interesting starches and cooking methods. </p>
<p>I give the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook to young adults- son with his first apartment, bridal showers. Use it for those “how do you…” things my mom used to do- such as making hard boiled eggs and corn on thee cob, have updated my copy over the years. Finally got myself the Joy of Cooking 75th edition when it came out- rarely refer to it.</p>
<p>Life changer- Flavors of India by S N Sacharoff. It was reissued around the time I married an Indian native and the cooking style reflects his part of India. Relatives weren’t as helpful in giving exact amounts of spices (Indian cooks typically never passed down written recipes- you learned by doing, and my M-in-law’s handful is so much smaller than mine). I needed to know if a 1/4 tsp or a tsp was used, not just names. Of course I modified every recipe, especially by using a microwave oven and adding the ingredients all at once when I can. </p>
<p>The Settlement Cookbook was given to me as a teen and my go to cookbook for many years. When culling cookbooks I decided many of the old recipes were items I would never cook so it was eliminated. It lacked modern (microwave) techniques and included how to set a formal table and other useless etiquette things. Also culled was a Julia Child paperback I only used for one or two recipes.</p>
<p>Years ago, a friend who knew I loved cookbooks gave me a copy of “White Trash Cooking”. It is really a gem, with recipes for Mock-Cooter Stew and Oven Baked Possum. I don’t think I have ever made anything from the book but it’s always fun to browse through.</p>
<p>Agree on Joy- time and time again, covers more than the basics, for me. Barefoot Contessa seems to be never-fail. But the one that really got me thinking, changing, was Rocco DiSpirito’s Now Eat This. All under 350 cal and healthy enough. Got me experimenting in different ways.</p>
<p>(Also have WT Cooking. Agree, it’s funny; never inspired me.)</p>
<p>Another vote for Moosewood. I use their newer books much more than the original, but it was that handlettered original book that was the basis for a lot of co-operative house meals in college. </p>
<p>Just made Gypsy Soup this week. I’ll never get tired of that. Heading into colder weather, which means soon it’ll be time for polenta with spicy vegetables. Been making both of those for three decades.</p>
<p>I was curious about Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce so I found it online. It looks similar to the Cook’s Illustrated version in that both call for milk.</p>
<p>When I was 20, I lived in an apartment with two other girls, and that’s when I learned to cook, using the Fannie Farmer cookbook. Other cookbooks that I looked at showed you how to make a cake, starting with “One box of yellow cake mix…” so I really appreciated learning how to make things from scratch. I believe that the first thing I made was an omelette. I still use it now,even though the cover fell off, and it’s full of stains. In the mid 80’s, I joined a cookbook club, and accumulated quite a collection. At the time, I was inspired by the Silver Palate cookbooks, because their recipes were so much fun, and because they were so exuberant in the use of fresh herbs and exotic spices. I only cook a few recipes from them now, but I still love reading them. I also loved Marcella Hazan, even when she came off very cranky with our American Italian interpretations.</p>
<p>Two more votes for “Joy of Cooking” and Jane Brody’s “Good Food Book.” Those are two of my oldest and most well-used (and loved!) cookbooks. A more recent favorite (although I don’t know about life-changing) is The New Best Recipe from the editors at Cook’s Illustrated.</p>
<p>I’m a huge fan of Marcella Hazan. The woman was no slouch–she wrote seven best selling cookbooks and had a doctorate in biology. She started out teaching cooking classes in her NY apartment and began writing cookbooks after Craig Claibourne, former food editor of the NY Times, discovered her. Over the years, I have followed many of her dictates. When I buy canned tomatoes (she preferred fresh, but realized they weren’t always available) I only buy the ones imported from San Marzano–which she recommends in her first book. There are a number of tips like that which have really influenced how I cook and the ingredients I buy. I also learned a great risotto technique as well as how to prepare an artichoke as a result of reading her books. My copy of The Classic Italian Cook Book is falling apart and I recently looked to see if I could get another hardback copy. The used book websites are selling the hard-back copy of her first book anywhere from $80-$200 each!</p>
<p>Those Moosewood cookbooks look pretty interesting. Are there any in particular you guys would recommend? Amazon has a ton of different ones listed, so I’m not really sure where to start. I’m probably most likely to be cooking stews or entrees versus soups or salads (neither of those ever seem to fill me up much).</p>
<p>Another “keeper” from the 80’s is my The New James Beard Cookbook (1981)
In it he outlined basic recipes which focus on particular techniques(for example braising) and then followed most of those recipes with several simple variations that change the recipe dramatically. A great way to learn how to make up your own recipes. I think I have made every variant of his braised pork chops.</p>
<p>Gypsy Soup is soooo good! (And filling.) RacingReaver, you might like Mollie Kazen’s Still Life with Menu. It’s organized by meals and has lots of tips for preparing things ahead of time so you can put things together quickly when you get home from work. It’s healthier than the original Moosewood book.</p>
<p>I usually agree with mathmom about so much, but I don’t find that I use Still Life With Menu much. Lately most of my Moosewood cooking is from “Moosewood Restaurant New Classics” and “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home”. </p>
<p>It’s always fun to sit down with a friend who uses the same cookbook and go through page by page to find recipes you’ve never tried that the other person loves.</p>
<p>Marcella had no interest in large, boring plates of pasta. She introduced Americans to how Italian families actually eat. Vegetable dishes, prepared in ways that are quite unique and varied, small plates of pasta as a primi, usually served with a secondo - a meat or fish as the “main” course, and simple dessert. Very, very different than the stereotypical Italian-American cheesy, saucy spaghetti and meatballs. My MIL is from Italy, and before I met her, I was never exposed to that type of cooking (Marcella and my MIL could be soul sisters). I was so happy to find Marcella so I didn’t have to ask MIL constantly for recipes - which are not written down, so that was a big deal!</p>
<p>Has anyone ever read Peg Bracken’s “I Hate to Cook Book”? It’s funny as all get out, and even has some reasonable recipes. My favorite was “■■■■■■■ Barbeque Chicken” – consists of brown sugar and lots and lots of garlic salt.</p>