Anchorman reference.shafnutz05 wrote:I just read this.....uhhhhhhhhhhhh wat?tifosi77 wrote:Shaf ate an entire cheese wheel and pooped in the fridge. I'm not even mad, I'm impressed.
(And are you making a Jaws reference in that reply? Should I have said "Tiger shark"?)
Wow.... that really depends on what you're looking for. At this stage, I generally don't use cookbooks for full-up recipes. Like, "I saw read this recipe and I'm going to make the dish, start-to-finish". I mean, yes I still do that. (Of course) But I have several thousands of dollars of cookbooks and cooking reference books in my library, and their primary focus is for perspective. How does this chef think about their cuisine versus that one? Which one appeals to me more? What can I take from this set of dishes and apply to this other set over here? I remember eating at this restaurant and linking the [blank] dish; I wonder if their cookbook might lead me towards discovering what influenced that recipe and how I might apply that to my own kitchen? (I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but I actually do think that way.)BadHands71 wrote:Curious question to my fellow cooks. Getting the MCAH book has made me wonder what other cookbooks are worth owning that I don't have. I'm curious what some of the LGP go-to books are.
So for me, cookbooks aren't so much about cooking. They're about perspective.
That said, these are my favorite books.
"The Splendid Table" -- Lynn Rosetto Kasper
Still the go-to reference for the cooking of Bologna and Emilia-Romagna; my copy is practically falling apart. It's half cooking, half history, all awesome.
"A Return To Cooking" -- Eric Ripert
A simply fascinating look into the creative process of how a Michelin three-star chef cooks at home.
"Ratio" -- Michael Ruhlman
Maybe the single best reference book on cooking and baking ever written.
"On Food & Cooking" -- Harold McGee
Okay, I take that back..... McGee is the one book to have on your shelf as a reference.
"How To Read A French Fry" -- Russ Parsons
If McGee proves daunting, this is the simplified version. But worth having, regardless.
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Only the first two of those are actual cookbooks. The others are more reference-grade material. But I don't want to think about a world where I don't have all of these books at my fingertips, ready at a moment's notice to assist me getting out of the mess I create when my attempt at purple gazpacho instead yields a viscous pink paste-type thing.