Favorite Cookbooks

Often a cookbook can serve as a doorway into cooking.  A cookbook doesn't judge if you make a mistake and it can definitely withstand frantic and virulent cursing when a recipe is confusing or you notice that some component of a recipe needs to refrigerate for 24 hours and you were hoping to have it for dinner that night.

So a cookbook can be your friend on your culinary adventure -- and a good friend can be hard to find.

I asked my mother, Kitchen Witch One, what were her favorite cookbooks. Here is her list:

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Joy of Cooking (1983) by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker
Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pépin
The Australian Women’s Weekly The Barbecue Cookbook
Cooking for a Crowd  by Susan Wyler
La Varenne Pratique by Anne Willan
Delia Smith's Christmas by Delia Smith

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over  by Pam Anderson

This list seems quite short when you see how many cookbooks she owns.  From all those cookbooks, she only has this many favorites? Let me just say I'm not going to be rushing to carry all the boxes of cookbooks if my parents decide to move again. Books can bring so much joy but they can also be very heavy.


My list is comparatively shorter:

Well Fed and Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan. I love these cookbooks. The second Paleo cookbook I ever bought was Well Fed and my mom kind of fell in love with it and the carnitas recipe (which always makes my life easier). This cookbook made me fall in love with cumin. I previously was of the opinion that cumin was very reminiscent of body odor - but no more -- well it still reminds me of B.O., but at least it's tasty B.O.  Well Fed 2 is worth its weight in goal solely for the variation of burgers, balls, and bangers. I love to eat new flavors - I get bored with the same things over and over again - but these meat recipes are so tasty (ALWAYS DOUBLE THE RECIPE) and easy.  It makes deciding what to eat for lunch super easy.

Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong. One of my favorite blogs because of mushroom chips. I love this cookbook. I actually bought it for my mom for her birthday - What do you get the woman who has a lot of cookbooks? Another cookbook! But I've kind of been enjoying her gift more than she has…Am I a selfish daughter? Very possibly. But Big-O Bacon Burgers. Big-O Bacon Burgers. Big-O Bacon Burgers!!!

Do you have a favorite cookbook? Feel free to share in the comment section.