4plates2table

I have spent the last 20 years collecting cookbooks. I remember moving a few years ago and having a haul-away company come clean out old junk from my basement.  I made the mistake of going to work that day and not supervising what they “hauled away.” I came home that night to find that a big box full of cookbooks was missing… tragic. Fortunately, none of my favorites were in that box and it hasn’t hindered my collection too terribly.  I love to collect books signed by the Chefs. I’ve been fortunate to have met Jacques Pepin, Emeril & Carole Walter through work over the years. I also have signed books from Lidia and Giada. For whatever reason, I just like collecting them… it makes me happy.

I think if you make one great dish from a new cookbook, it’s a good one.  All of us have cookbooks that we’ve purchased, thumbed through and put on a shelf, never to make a single recipe.  I read cookbooks like novels.  There’s always one by my bedside table. I have a small group of cookbooks that are like bibles in my kitchen. I have made many successful recipes and they’ve become repeats at our family table.  That’s the sign of a great cookbook!

Here is what sits on my cookbook shelves.

BAKING

• Great Cakes by Carole Walter
• Baking Handbook by Martha Stewart
• The Pie & Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
• The Wellesley Cookie Exchange by Susan Mahnke Peery
• The Cake Doctor by Anne Byrn
• Savory to Sweet Pies & Tarts by Janice Murfitt

MEATS & GRILLING

• Mastering the Grill by Andrew Schloss & David Joachim
• Grill it! by Bobby Flay
• An American Roadhouse, Dinosaur BBQ
• The BBQ Bible by Steven Raichlen
• Mastering Beef & Veal, Williams-Sonoma
• The New Steak by Cree LeFavour
• Great Grilling by Louise Pickford
• Grill by James McNair

INTERNATIONAL CUISINES

• The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion by Falcinelli, Castronovo & Meehan
• Ottolenghi by Yotam Otolenghi & Sami Tamimi
• Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
• Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
• The Silver Spoon
• Tagines & Couscous by Ghillie Basan
• Classic Italian Jewish Cooking by Edda Servi Machlin
• Simply Delicioso by Ingrid Hoffman
• Meditterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein
• French Taste by Laura Calder
• Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Bastianich
• Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen by Lidia Bastianich
• The Singing Nettle Cookery Book – South Africa, The Union of Jewish Women
• Savoring Tuscany, Williams-Sonoma
• Savoring Provence, Williams-Sonoma
• Savoring France, Williams-Sonoma
• Real Thai by Nancy McDermott
• The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook by Gloria Bley Miller
• Every Night Italian by Giulian Hazan
• Cooking Caribe by Christopher Idone
• The Hungarian Cookbook by Susan Derecskey
• The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden
• The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

HEALTHY & LIGHT

• River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• The Food you Crave by Ellie Krieger
• So Easy by Ellie Krieger
• Forks Over Knives by Del Sroufe
• International Vegetable Cookbook by Faye Levy
• Lowfat Favorites by The Moosewood Restaurant
• Everyday Favorites – The Best of Cooking Light
• Entertaining Light by Martha Rose Shulman
• Mediterranean Light by Martha Rose Shulman
• Provencal Light by Martha Rose Shulman
• Potatoes, A Country Garden Cookbook by Maggie Waldron
• Pasta Light by Norma Kolpas
• More Smoothies for Life by Daniella Chace

MASTERS & CLASSICS

• The Art of Cooking Volumes 1 & 2 by Jacques Pepin
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
• The Way to Cook by Julia Child
• The Joy of Cooking
• The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
• The Silver Palate by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
• Silver Palate Good Times by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins

CELEBRITY/TV CHEFS

• The Southern Table by Frank Stitt’s
• All About Braising by Molly Stevens
• Eating Well by Burt Wolf
• Canal House Cooking Volumes 1 & 2 by Melissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer
• Great Good Food by Julee Rosso
• The Minimalist Cooks Dinner by Mark Bittman
• Sarah Moulton Cooks at Home
• All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins
• The Frog Commissary Cookbook by Steven Poses, Anne Clark & Becky Roller
• The Cooking Club Cookbook
• Ravinia Festival Noteworthy & Noteworthy Two
• Complete Book of Soups & Stews by Bernard Clayton, Jr.
• Sensational Pastas by Faye Levy
• Risotto by Judith Barrett & Norma Wasserman
• Macaroni & Cheese by Marlena Spieler
• Panini, Bruschetta, Crostini by Vivana La Place
• Fish by James McNair
• Simply Delectable by Sharon Glass
• Rice by Bonnie Tandy Le Blang & Joanne Lamb Hayes

GET THE KIDS COOKING

• Fun Food by Williams-Sonoma
• The Kid’s Cookbook by Williams-Sonoma