Favourite Cookbooks

[Ranger]

Following on from the threads on Christmas lists and favourite TV chefs, lets have your recommendations for cookbooks to put on Christmas lists.

Here are 2 to start that never, ever leave my kitchen

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Middle...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227610890&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madhur-Jaff...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227611089&sr=1-1

Neither have many pictures, and sometimes you have to read carefully (and interpret what it means) but my god the food that comes out of the saucepan

 

[nilling]

Cannot stand Ainsley Harriott on TV, but his cook books are good no nononsence receipes.

 

[Fnaar]

I go weak at the knees at the thought of Nigella's dumplings

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I have others by Roden and Jaffrey - both excellent.

My most often used are:

Leith's Vegetarian Bible (all of their 'Bible' series are excellent for the basics)
The Concise Mrs Beeton (still great for classic British things - and there are still a few remnants of the hilarious Victorian etiquette guide if you get bored...)
Colin Spencer's Cordon Vert (still the most inspiring British vegetarian cookbook - the Moosewood series from the USA are also great).
Yan-Kit So's Classic Chinese Cookbook (I taugh myself almost everything in this book when I was 14 - it is still the best Chinese cookbook in English IMHO)
Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Italy
Diana Henry's Roast Figs, Sugar Snow
and Mari Fuji's The Enlightened Kitchen (an excellent modern updating of Japanese Buddhist cooking)

I generally either start with an idea, see if any of my books have something similar and adapt them accordingly, or start with a recipe and change it to suit what I am feeling like.

 

[swee'pea99]

Saint Delia can't be beat for basic nice food. This is our bible.

 

[spandex]

My Red folder as it has most of the things I love cooking and love eating in

 

[Melvil]

As FM mentioned above, I reckon the most essential cookbook anyone should own would be Leith's Cookery Bible, as it has the recipes for many basic (and some fairly advanced) dishes, as well as having detailed sections on how to make stocks, glazes, cooking tips, ingredients, etc. It certainly helped me! For a novelistic (without recipes) look at cookery, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is very interesting. Jamie Oliver's books are ok if you like mainly Italian food...

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Don't throw anything at me but..... Jamie Olivers new cookbook (to go with the TV series) is actually pretty good. I've taken some of his ideas and played about with them a little with some really good results. My copy is signed as well!!

 

[Speicher]

My Red folder as it has most of the things I love cooking and love eating in

If your recipes are in your red folder, what happens if you go out on your blue fixed bicycle?

 

[red_tom]

Nigel Slater - Appetite. I just really like the way he writes.

 

[Danny]

The Moosewood Cookbook - best vegetarian cookbook on the market. Proves that vegetarian cooking doesn't need to be boring.

 

[simonali]

I use the food bit on the BBC website nowadays. Fave one so far:- Rick Stein's beef stroganoff recipe. Simple to make and absolutely, mouthwateringly delishush. I do use rice instead of the potato, though, as I don't have a julienne slicer thingy.

 

[spandex]

yer that is a nice one


better then mine

 

[Aperitif]

I'm not a massive reader of cookbooks but I like Delia Smith's collection. Also, I was bought the Heston Blumenthal book for christmas last year and I found it very interesting - even though I don't eat meat or fish etc...

As a footnote - his(HB's) Christmas Special meal was a really fascinating programme last year and the Beeb would be stupid not to repeat it...let's hope - and catch it if you can! very

 

[Kirstie]

I am a big fan of Nigel Slater - 'real fast food' is great.
I have all the volumes of the larousse gastronomique just because from that you can learn the basic components of things e.g. stuffings and sauces and then start to get inventive. I also really like classic french cuisine and would love to learn more about it.
And I also love Madhur Jaffrey's recipes.