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Stop and Smell the Rosemary was one of the first--if not the first--cookbooks I ever owned (not counting Betty Crocker's kids book). I have flipped through its pages so many times just imagining the food, and I really cannot explain why it still has such a strong hold over me. Most of the recipes that I've gone on to cook were for desserts, all great, and the few savory dishes I've tried were also delicious. It is a thoroughly tested cookbook, which is more than we can say for a lot of the chef's books, etc., that are put out these days.

The design has aged a bit, very 90s-upscale, but it's still worth picking up, and it's a nice balance of elegant food that doesn't require days of work and shopping or esoteric equipment.

It's not a Junior League Cookbook, but my Mom bought the UT Texas Exes Cookbook when she and my Dad lived in Texas. There's some great recipes in there with a very tex mex flair. I do feel weird when I cook out of it, because I went to OU... and oddly enough my mom has the Sooner Sampler cookbook from their alumni association as well. Which has my all time favorite recipe for breakfast casserole ever.

I received a copy of the Pacific NW book (Celebrate the Rain: http://www.amazon.com/Celebrate-Rain-Cooking-Abundant-Northwest/dp/0963608851) a few years ago and have made almost everything in it. And iit's beautiful to look at...

My mom always told me that fund-raiser cookbooks were the best, because they reflect what real home cooks make, and all the recipes are of the "tried-and-true" variety. I still love flipping through her stained and tattered cookbook of recipes from a group of churches in small-town Iowa.

You do have to be careful--sometimes the books have lots of processed ingredients (also a reflection of what home cooks make, but not necessarily worth imitating). But a well-edited fund raiser cookbook is a unique treasure.