For me, cookbooks are so much more than a vehicle for delivering recipes. They inspire and entertain me and teach me about the world. They represent particular a time in my life, a place I've traveled to, or my family history. Some of my favorites are beautiful, with amazing photographs and well-designed pages, and some are quite plain. What matters most are the integrity of the recipes and that the voice and passion of the author is clear and authentic.
The internet has of course changed my relationship to my cookbooks, but despite the fact that nearly every recipe can be googled these days, it hasn't managed to replace them. I still get excited when I know a particular author is coming out with a new book and I can get sucked into the cookbook section of my local bookstore for hours. I guess I'm just an old-fashioned gal after all.
This list is influenced by the fact that I currently have about 99% of my cookbooks in storage. I thought this particular phase of my life was only going to last 3 months and at the time I was curious to see what it would be like to live without my precious stash. But it's looking like it will be closer to a year until I can unpack my cookbooks and it's been interesting to note that I did indeed miss them, quite a bit. Here are the top 5 I've missed the most.
Note: You will see that I've been sneaky and managed to tuck in a few more than five books. Forgive me, please, but a year without your cookbooks is a very, very long time.
1 Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison - Simply one of the best cookbooks I own for its astonishing breadth, its fail-proof recipes and its inspiring flavors. Even non-vegetarians should have this book on their shelves as many of the recipes make amazing accompaniments to meat, or can be adjusted to include it.
2 Tender Vol I and II by Nigel Slater - I can find everything I need to know about vegetables from volume I and fruits from volume II. Nigel inspires me like no other cookbook author and even if I'm not specifically looking for anything to cook, I still page through these books like they're a scrapbook from a favorite vacation. Beautiful, practical, aspirational.
3 Cooking By Hand by Paul Bertolli - This is another cookbook that inspires me as much as it delivers recipes. The chapter called "12 Ways of Looking at Tomatoes" contains everything I need to know about this beloved fruit and Bertolli's "Letter to my Newborn Son" is one of the most beautiful pieces of food writing I have read.
4 The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham - I love this classic cookbook. It has managed to make it through several cookbook culls over the years, despite the fact that it appears to be a single subject. (Not so, because breakfast is not just for breakfast in my household!) Ms. Cunningham is an old school cook and her recipes are both reliable and innovative.
5 The Joy of Cooking by Rombauer and Becker - For the basics. I have three editions - 1953, 1975 and 1997 - and while there is some overlap, each offers a unique point of view. Many people did not like the 1997 edition, which brought in scandalous additions such as chili peppers and vegetarian meals and a delicious gingerbread made with applesauce. Personally, I appreciate the way The Joy was trying to reflect a more modern America and am happy to have this edition sit side-by-side with its more traditional siblings.
Additional Thoughts on Cookbooks:
• Weekend Meditation: On Not Resisting Nigel Slater
• Book Review: Tender, Volumes I & II
• Kitchen Contemplation: How many Cookbooks is Too Many Cookbooks?
• An Astonishing Avalanche of Cookbooks
• In Praise of the Well-Used Cookbook
(Image: Radio Fan)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
were these changed? or is this the 2nd "top cook book" posts today?
nevermind, i see! different people's books!!! oops
My husband brought little in the way of prized posessions when we got married, but a copy of The Joy was among the stash. We looked at buying a newer edition, but never got around to it. I'll pick one up when I see it at a thrift store or garage sale most likely.
I'd add nearly anything by MFK Fisher, because while her books aren't cookbooks, they remind me why I like to eat and especially why I like to share meals with friends and family; Hazan's book of Middle Eastern Cooking because it's such an incredible resource; and the Joys of Cooking from the 70s and prior only because they include recipes for squirrel, and I think it's good to know how to prepare that particular varmint.
I love this meme; it's fascinating to see how lists are similar and how they differ. And also to be pointed in the direction of books we may not have encountered -- thanks for the tip about Cooking by Hand and Tender.
I think it would be fascinating to have a discussion about the best all-purpose cookbook. I'm usually not a fan of using such tomes as I find that while they have perfectly serviceable recipes, they do not tend to have the best version, the one that makes your guests swoon.
For example, many people swear by How to Cook Everything, but I've never been a huge fan of Mark Bittman's. He doesn't have that almost orgasmic reaction to food that some food writers do -- Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater for example (hmmm... awfully strange, that...). Whenever I've made his recipes, I've had to tweak them to make them less bland or more successful somehow. Not that there was anything wrong, but just not superlative. (Donna Hay recipes are the same for me; okay, but just not amazing) I guess I feel the same about The Joy of Cooking. But I think The New Best Recipe is possibly the best alternative for a comprehensive cook-almost-everything cookbook. Their results are always excellent, although they may not be as seductive or creative as recipes from a more sensual source.
Just wondering what others might think about this...