I have SO many cookbooks, and I use only a couple of recipes, at best, from all of them. I guess I should confess that I'm a renegade in the kitchen. Except for baked goods, I often just wing it in the kitchen. Mostly it works out too. I just bought a cookbook that was devoted to bowls and salads, and it is terrible. It is the most complicated cookbook I've ever seen, and I have the Oh She Glows cookbook so that is saying something. Rarely will I google a recipe, or if I do, I'll just glance at it for inspiration. The problem to me isn't the long story beforehand because I always "jump to recipe" but it's all the million popups!
Loved this article. Agree with you 100%! (Except I love the NYT recipes website)
I am also a cookbook collector. I have over 200 at this point and many are Italian or French, two countries I love to visit. My favorites tell the story of the author or chef and have tons of headnotes so I feel like the writer is sitting in the kitchen with me. My least favorites are “125 ways to cook chicken” type cookbooks. I love spending a Saturday morning deciding what I am going to make by flipping through many books and comparing recipes and then sourcing the ingredients and riffing off of what these wise “friends” have to tell me. Or sometimes I’ll go to my favorite secondhand bookstore, buy a new one, flip to a recipe and go straight to the market to try something new.
I have lots of favorites, when I’m looking for simple and guaranteed Ina is typically on top, and Jamie Oliver and Bobby Flay are solid.
Italian is Lidia Bastianch or sometimes Giada. French Jacque and Julia. I also like the Silver Palate (still good after all these years!) and many restaurant chefs cookbooks that tell their story.
I love planning meals too. Glad you found my stack as well! I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and sharing book recommendations with you!
As a food blogger, I do still use other food blogs for recipes, especially Real Food Whole Life. I hear ya on the whole story and SEO thing, though. I also collect cookbooks and wish I had a way (or I guess the time) to index them all so I could find recipes more easily. Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” is also one of my favorites!
Which cookbook or food Substack do you cook from the most?
I have SO many cookbooks, and I use only a couple of recipes, at best, from all of them. I guess I should confess that I'm a renegade in the kitchen. Except for baked goods, I often just wing it in the kitchen. Mostly it works out too. I just bought a cookbook that was devoted to bowls and salads, and it is terrible. It is the most complicated cookbook I've ever seen, and I have the Oh She Glows cookbook so that is saying something. Rarely will I google a recipe, or if I do, I'll just glance at it for inspiration. The problem to me isn't the long story beforehand because I always "jump to recipe" but it's all the million popups!
I think you would love The Department of Salad if you haven't already joined.
I can't wait to have the space and a kitchen to cook with cookbooks, and steal some of yours. >:)
You can have them as long as you cook for me!
Loved this article. Agree with you 100%! (Except I love the NYT recipes website)
I am also a cookbook collector. I have over 200 at this point and many are Italian or French, two countries I love to visit. My favorites tell the story of the author or chef and have tons of headnotes so I feel like the writer is sitting in the kitchen with me. My least favorites are “125 ways to cook chicken” type cookbooks. I love spending a Saturday morning deciding what I am going to make by flipping through many books and comparing recipes and then sourcing the ingredients and riffing off of what these wise “friends” have to tell me. Or sometimes I’ll go to my favorite secondhand bookstore, buy a new one, flip to a recipe and go straight to the market to try something new.
I have lots of favorites, when I’m looking for simple and guaranteed Ina is typically on top, and Jamie Oliver and Bobby Flay are solid.
Italian is Lidia Bastianch or sometimes Giada. French Jacque and Julia. I also like the Silver Palate (still good after all these years!) and many restaurant chefs cookbooks that tell their story.
Thanks- glad I found your stack! 😍
I love planning meals too. Glad you found my stack as well! I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and sharing book recommendations with you!
As a food blogger, I do still use other food blogs for recipes, especially Real Food Whole Life. I hear ya on the whole story and SEO thing, though. I also collect cookbooks and wish I had a way (or I guess the time) to index them all so I could find recipes more easily. Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” is also one of my favorites!
I love Mark Bittman's cookbook. I would also love to index my collection-so my daughter will one day know where all the family favorites are located.
I love that idea, of indexing your family favorites for your daughter. I may have to do the same!