topic Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite? in Kitchen

Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

FunkyHulaGirl — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 20:51:47 GMT

I probably have around 1,000 or so, not including those on my Kindle, but seem to go through cycles of sorts where I'll use one or two of them most of the time.

My current favorites are "Your Cup of Cake" by Lizzy Early and "The Butch Bakery Cookbook." Most of Lizzy's recipes start with a cake mix, but she adds different ingredients to them (sour cream, buttermilk, extracts, etc.) and they really taste homemade; every single recipe of hers that I've tried has gotten rave reviews. In fact, I just got her new book - "Make It With a Cake Mix" - which in addition to cupcakes has recipes for whoopie pies, bundt cakes, layer cakes, and cake pops - I'm looking forward to trying it, but suspect it's going to become a favorite.

I picked up "The Butch Bakery Cookbook" at Ollies because it looked interesting, and was pleasantly surprised. Written by the owner of the bakery of the same name, these are man-sized cupcakes in lots of unique flavors; again, every recipe I've made from it has been outstanding.

Anyone else have any current favorites?

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

rat2e — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:14:51 GMT

My mother had a set of cookbooks from Betty Crocker, I think, that had wonderful recipes in it. The recipes were different from the ones in their big red book. I just remember it was a set of books, meats, vegetables, etc. from the 40' s or 50's and could have been another receipt publisher. Not much to go on but I was just a little kid. My favorite cookbook is Starr Recipes by Betty Starr from the 70's. She was one of the first to put out cookbooks that used everyday ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. Also, one of the first to rate the recipes on how good they are. It is full of everyday Southern food recipes and a treasure if you can find it. It maybe online?

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

forrestwolf — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 22:44:35 GMT

I enjoy the old community cookbooks, and this is one that I have been cooking out of since 1980, and return to it over and over......... It is available from Amazon.......

http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2013/07/02/the-stuffed-griffin

I got this when I got married.......The marriage did not last, but the cookbook lives on ........

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

DiAnne — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 23:21:03 GMT

We have community cookbooks to raise money for PBS. Some are recipes from viewers. Other times they have recipes from chefs in the area. They are my very favorite cookbooks and I have many!

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

Flo08 — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 03:15:22 GMT

I collect community cookbooks found at garage sales. Also look for the ""loved & tattered"" ones with lots of stains and wear. They are the ones that were used and not just stuck on a shelf. Back in the late 60's there were a series of cookbooks sold through schools as a fund raiser. All of the recipes were contributed by Home EC teachers. I will snatch up any of them that I can find. Each year was a new set.

The cookbook that I love the most is my GGma's Household Searchlight. It has recipes clipped out of the news and magazines glued on to every page that did not have a recipe on it. Even the index pages. A door to door salesman came to her door trying to sell the book to her sometime during the depression. She ended up trading a hot meal for the cookbook. I guess the salesman had been on the road for a long time and was not making any sales. (I should mention that GGMa & GGpa had a restaurant ant that is where he knocked on the kitchen door.

I do have a reprint of the book that has been updated to modern cooking methods. I still like looking through ""Old Faithful"" though.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

PamelaSue72 — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 11:51:17 GMT

Back in the early 70s, when I first got married, I learned to cook with Betty Crocker, so the big red cookbook will always be one of my favorites. That one has snickerdoodles, chocolate crinkles, flank steak fix-up (one of DH's favorites for flank steak), chicken fricassee, tons of cakes and frostings, and lots of bread recipes. That was my cooking bible when I first got married (well, that and my wonderful MIL). I have tons of Betty Crocker cookbooks.

Recently, I've been cooking from The Amish Cook's Family Favorite Recipes. Lovina Eicher's column is in many newspaper in the US and her stories of Amish life are interesting to me. We live in Amish country in central PA. I like her Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Breakfast Cake, and Overnight Butter Dinner Rolls. We really like World's Best Sugar Cookies (with or without the frosting).

I've had the Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook now for months, but am still working my way through the recipes. Mac and Cheese with Tomatoes, Cider-Braised Pork Chops, Foolproof Chicken Cordon Bleu (it really is foolproof and doesn't leak!), Delmonico Potato Casserole, all of them so good.

Similarly, I've had America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, too, for quite a while now and love finding good recipes from there. But this book also contains their information on their food tests as well as the test they've run on cook ware and such, too. It's just an interesting book.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

camochef — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:14:18 GMT

I too have thousands of cookbooks, not counting all those magazines. I also cycle through them, but my favorites would be the bread-making books. Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Bakers Apprentice" tops the list.

Then too, I use the various pressure cooking cook-books regularly, especially Bob Wardens and Meredith's.

The one that started my cookbook collection was Betty Wason's "The Art of German Cooking", which I purchased back in 1967 when I got out of the army. I just had to know how to make Prince Orloff soup with those delicious Leberknodel's.

Since that time, I've gone through different phases, Asian, Mexican, Ethnic, Hungarian, Polish, Russian/Ukrainian, Indian, Southwestern, Southern, the list goes on...and each caused me to pursue different sources for recipes to expand my libraries of cooking knowledge. As time goes by, the libraries grow stedily and it gets more and more difficult to pick a favorite, so an honest answer would have to be the one I'm using at the time.

Enjoy! They're all good.

Camo

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

Sooner — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:22:53 GMT

Where do you all keep all these books? I am in the process of weeding out cookbooks. They are driving me nuts because they are all over the house and some in the garage.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

aprilskies — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:37:40 GMT

I was almost scared to open this thread. Lol. The last thing I want to know about is a great cookbook. They are a weakness. My collection is down to a third and could be much less. I really don't reach for them. I too was beginning to find stacks of them everywhere. Now I have them all on one bookcase.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

Sooner — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 18:03:31 GMT

On 4/18/2014 aprilskies said: I was almost scared to open this thread. Lol. The last thing I want to know about is a great cookbook. They are a weakness. My collection is down to a third and could be much less. I really don't reach for them. I too was beginning to find stacks of them everywhere. Now I have them all on one bookcase.

Yeah, and just how BIG is that bookcase? LOL!!!

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

FunkyHulaGirl — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 19:09:20 GMT

On 4/18/2014 Sooner said:
Where do you all keep all these books? I am in the process of weeding out cookbooks. They are driving me nuts because they are all over the house and some in the garage.

I'm blessed to have a fairly large home for one person (seven rooms) - the den/bonus room has bookshelves along all the walls, the only break between them being doorways and a desk. I also have a row of bookshelves in my upstairs hallway.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

aprilskies — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 22:39:57 GMT

On 4/18/2014 Sooner said:
On 4/18/2014 aprilskies said: I was almost scared to open this thread. Lol. The last thing I want to know about is a great cookbook. They are a weakness. My collection is down to a third and could be much less. I really don't reach for them. I too was beginning to find stacks of them everywhere. Now I have them all on one bookcase.

Yeah, and just how BIG is that bookcase? LOL!!!

LOL, Sooner. It's a fairly large bookcase but not huge. I should count the books later. I, though, in no way had a 1000 or close to it. But, last year I was brutal in my decluttering of the cookbooks so I am in good shape.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

Sooner — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 23:44:17 GMT

On 4/18/2014 aprilskies said:
On 4/18/2014 Sooner said:
On 4/18/2014 aprilskies said: I was almost scared to open this thread. Lol. The last thing I want to know about is a great cookbook. They are a weakness. My collection is down to a third and could be much less. I really don't reach for them. I too was beginning to find stacks of them everywhere. Now I have them all on one bookcase.

Yeah, and just how BIG is that bookcase? LOL!!!

LOL, Sooner. It's a fairly large bookcase but not huge. I should count the books later. I, though, in no way had a 1000 or close to it. But, last year I was brutal in my decluttering of the cookbooks so I am in good shape.

I used to be afraid the attic at our old house would collapse from the books boxed up and in there. When we saw this house, we looked at one another and said, "It doesn't have any built in bookshelves." Well, we loved the house so much and the view that we moved in and bought bookshelves--six BIG ones! Now those are full. So it is time to part with many of my dear friends.

I am thinking if I get rid of something I HAVE to have later, I can probably get one for $1 and shipping, or get a Kindle version.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

Flo08 — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 02:11:10 GMT

I have 3 bookshelves totaling nine feet in length. There are seven shelves That is 63 feet of cookbooks. Then on top are all of the little Cook Off books in plastic tubs and other tubs with other smaller books. In my bedroom I also have 8 shoe box crate things with my collection of recipe cards. They are all big enough to hold 4x6 cards and indexes. The recipe cards and many of the cookbooks have been passed down from other family members and my best friend. Many of the cards are pits and pieces of some of the recipe per month programs or My mom would send away for recipe boxes with recipe cards. I Just combined all of the cards together and created categories.

We will not talk about my cookbook computer program.

Re: Cookbook Collectors - What's your current favorite?

cindyinfl — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 06:25:37 GMT

Hi Ladies.

I too, have a extensive cookbook collection. One of my prized cookbooks goes back to when my mother was married in 1946 and was given to her as a gift. It is very special as it has my mother's written notes all through the book, and her on personal "take" on some of the recipes. She even marked one recipe as "Cindy (that's me) didn't like this at all!) She dated this note 1953, when I was about 3 years old.

My favorite and most used cookbooks are from Gooseberry Patch. I have about 20 of these books, and find myself going back to them time and time again.

I probably have over 100 cookbooks in all (many yard sale/estate sale finds) , but have stopped collecting them as I have run out of storage space. But I enjoy looking through them on a regular basis, and cook out of them often.

Also, like the above poster, I have many recipe cards (remember when they came divided in a plastic hinged top box?) I have several of those dating back to the late 60's-early 70s.

Collecting cookbooks and recipes over the years has given me great pleasure, and continues to do so.