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I was just at the mall yesterday taking a gander around Williams-Sonoma, and coveted their glossy and beautiful cook book selection. This, along with renting the movie "Julie and Julia," has peaked my interest in improving (or rather, creating) my cooking skills.
My question is what are your favorite, most helpful cook books? They can be for the more talented kitchen-istas, or beginners like me :)
My FAVE FAVE FAVE is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Great for beginners to learn about techniques and equipment and experienced cooks to get inspiration and to use as a reference. The best!!
My Bible is the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. Lots of illustrated techniques,wonderful recipes that are family favorites, and an all around great cookbook that covers everything.
I think this is a great book if you like using your slow cooker:
I have the Better Homes and Gardens Pink Ribbon edition. There are so many choices in there, I doubt I will ever cook them all. And I love the book Lillindy recommended!
I use my Joy of Cooking all the time and my family has loved every meal I've made from The Pioneer Woman Cooks thus far!
When I first started cooking, my Betty Crocker's Cookbook was awesome!! I don't think I've ever had anything turn out wrong from there. Plus it is super easy to follow. There isn't anything overly exciting or adventurous in there (nor is it useful if you're following a veggie diet - I had to buy a new set of cookbooks :/) but it really increased my confidence in the kitchen!
Joy of Cooking is my fave. I like how it teaches you basic skills that you can apply to all kinds of recipes. Can't go wrong with a classic!
Also, Cooking Light's magazines/website is pretty awesome! And it's healthy :)
America's Test Kitchen is amazing. They have a few books. They basically test a recipe several different ways until they get the perfect recipe. http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Test-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/093618454X
Their magazine is Cook's Illustrated.
The Silver Spoon is very nice!
We like the Bride & Groom set from Williams Sonoma so far too!
If you want the bascs, I think Joy of Cooking is GREAT. It has a lot of old-school recipes, but great info on techniques, times, temps, etc.
We like the Slver Palate cookbooks, Rick Bayless cookbooks (Mexican), and Alice Watters cookbooks (Chez Panisse). Lots of simple, but great recipes.
I know Williams-Sonoma has the recipe book for A16, when I have been coveting! :)
I really really really love the Martha Stewart Every Day Food Series. Great Food Fast is probably my favourite cookbook in my kitchen, everything we've made from it has been amazing. I also love the Cuisine At Home magazines although I wish they had healthier choices. If you BBQ a lot, Ted Reader has great cookbooks for the grill! He's never let us down!
I second Cooking Light and How to Cook Everything. I have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and it's great.
The Barefoot contessa books are great- things work out really well! Also the photos are like food pornography!
I agree with Pioneer Woman. LOVE her recipes!
I don't even use a cookbook anymore... bigoven.com is the BEST!
I love the better homes and garden's cookbook, I especially love the meat sections because they show pictures of the cuts of meat and give cooking methods, times and temps for each kind of meat. It's really great if you grab the random on sale roast from the grocery store.. I know I do that with confidence that I will be able to cook it with little stress!
Also you can order this cheap on amazon- it is called Best of bridge and it is a little municipal bridge club cookbook of awesome recepies. all the copies are used but it is AWESOME!
Here is the best one!
Better Homes and Gardens and The Joy of Cooking are great basic books. I LOVE
I am finding a lot of good receipes on www.tastykitchen.com too.
Wanted to add all the great features on the site. Was nervous about linking...lol
You can type in a specific dish you want a recipe for. They have a ton and they rate them all
You can type in ingredients you want to use and it will find recipes using them
They have how-to articles with tips for basic dishes e.g. how to make a perfect hard- boiled egg
Just to mix things up, Veganomicon and Vegan Yum Yum are amazing for veggies...no need to be veg to enjoy! :)
I have the Pink Better home and garden cookbook like MissAB. I really like it.
I, also, got the Bride & Groom's First and Forever Cookbook for a wedding gift. It has a menu for different holidays.
I definitely use the Better home and garden, almost everytime I cook and want to try something new.
Jacques Pepin's Complete techniques
How to Grill by StevenRaichlen
both have amazing techniques in them...good stuff
p.s. my absolute favorite is Betty crocker
how_to_grill_lg.jpg (104.5 KB, 47 downloads) 1 year old betty.jpg (71.1 KB, 35 downloads) 1 year old 
I think it depends on what you like to cook. Personally, I own a lot of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, since we have similar cooking styles. I love Spanish style food, so I have several Rick Bayless books. I like simple, fresh cooking, so Jamie Oliver's cookbooks work well for me since we have a similar approach to food. FI LOVES to grill, so Bobby Flay has amazing cookbooks too.
I was a culinary arts major, so PM if you have any questions, I would love to recommend some books for you!
I love Julia Child's "The Way to Cook," "Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook", and "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day." While they all have great recipes, they focus on giving you basic skills that you can use with other recipes. Enjoy!
This is not just a kosher cookbook: QUICK AND KOSHER is my all time favorite cook book, absoluately everything I make from it comes out delicious
@hermitcrab - - I have that and LOVE it too, haahahaa
I receive Sunset magazine and Martha Stewarts Everyday Foods, on a weekly basis I usually cook recipes from them. I also have a the Best of Cooking Light cookbook which is my 'go to' cookbook. There isn't a bad recipe in there - not to mention I usually have the majority of the ingrediants....
Does anyone know of any cookbook for men? My husband doesn't really cook. I think he needs some help. I was thinking of getting him a cookbook, so he could start learning.
Omigosh, i collect cookbooks. They are my favorite thing to read =]. It depends WHAT you like to cook. I have a lot of ethnic cookbooks--asian, italian, and indian in particular. I also have a Grilling cookbook and also a few random ones, including the Bride and Groom sets from Williams Sonoma. They're great for entertaining with.
Really tho, I like to get Taste of Home magazine and Healthy Cooking magazine. They're more practical for every day cooking. Most of my cookbooks are for advanced cooking so they're my weekend type recipes.and they have photos which i love
haha i got my husband a cookbook for men. He used it when he lived alone =].
But really, i think you should get a cookbook for what you like to cook, then you're likely to use it more often. Also what works with your cooking level. My mom has these Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks and they're great "everything" books but you can find 99% of those reicpes online now
@yrret - I got my fiance a bacon cookbook because he loves anything with bacon. It's actually called The Bacon Cookbook. I think it'll appeal a lot to guys!
I have far too many! My absolute favorites...
of course, a classic, Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking
also, this book, Market Vegetarian, which R's great aunt got us has some really fun recipes:
I have a few David Lebovitz books I love, and Alice Waters as well... but my absolute favorite right now is Good to the Grain.
Web-wise, Smitten Kitchen is where it's at for me. I also adored Gourmet magazine before it was cancelled.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Her recipes never fail me, her instructions are step by step (with pictures), and her food is comfort at it's best.
I also love to get Cooking Light magazine as well as to look online for recipe ideas.
I have a few of the huge taste of Home cookbooks and I get the magazines which are always fun to look thru and find new recipes....I love basically any cook book with pictures and simple recipes....I have a good collection of recipes but just started cooking for me and fiancee in the past 6-8 mos....I really want a red and white cook book (Betty Crocker?) My mom always had one (one she had when she married almost 29 years ago) and then one that was newer too.....thank God neither me or my fiancee are picky eaters....I got lucky there :)
Betty Crocker is the best one I have come across. It has basic instructions for beginners and the recipes aren't exotic that you need to search out specialty stores or that you have to worry about picky eaters not touching them. Also, don't waste your money on the wedding edition since it has the same exact recipes as the regular cookbook does (but with a different cover and the price jacked up).
Also, the public library is a great place to check out cookbooks before you buy them. Alot are out of print so you may not able to buy them but you can copy the recipes.
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