The books the influenced your cooking

[alexo]

My first one was back in the 70's in high school:
"It Can’t Always Be Caviar" by Johannes M. Simmel.
What an amazing story and main character. It inspired me to learn and experiment in cooking as my mother hated the kitchen ...I need to read it again and try some of its recipes.

The second one is a great reference for barbecue:
"The Barbecue bible" by Steven Raichlen
It's a fun trip through barbecue methods of many countries with many recipes.
My favorite turned out to be a hit among my friends - Beer Chicken. I even tried it with a duck in my own designed stainless smoker. After 3 hours of smoking , it turned into a delicacy.

[ouch]

Larousse Gastronomique.

[Fnord5]

The Joy of Cooking.:tongue_sm Don't laugh, it's a must have for any kitchen.
The Escoffier Cook Book.
The Silver Spoon.
Just to name a few.:thumbup1:

[kap49]

Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One

I am still using the dog eared copy my parents had back in the 60's. This book, more than any other, opened my palate to a style of cooking I had never been exposed to. Granted some of the techniques used might be considered dated, they give a solid foundation on which to build further explorations. I remember watching Julia Child on black and white TV during her first series, based on this book, and to this day, her recipes more than hold their own against today's razzle, dazzle concoctions. This is a true example of classic. :001_smile

[The Nid Hog]

"To Serve Man"

[Brodirt]

Outlaw Cook by John Thorne. After that it would be Cooks Illustrated, I own and have read every issue.

Those two sources allow me to understand what it means to eat like an American...meaning how a diversified cuisine can absorb and be influenced by so many other cuisines and still be unique in and of itself. It took a long time, but only after I had that kind of understanding, was I able to appreciate the differences in the cuisines of other nations.

Now my favorite to cook and eat is Thai and in that regard I am heavily influenced by True Thai by Victor Sodsook.

[gollum83]

The Joy of Cooking.:tongue_sm Don't laugh, it's a must have for any kitchen.
The Escoffier Cook Book.
The Silver Spoon.
Just to name a few.:thumbup1:

I'm not laughing. I agree that it's a must have. :001_smile

Anyway if you do any grilling it's well worth your while to check out "Barbecue Bible: Sauces, Rubs and Marinades". Lots and lots of good stuff in there. :thumbup1:

[mretzloff]

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.

If there is any cookbook that should be present in your kitchen, it is this one. Another favorite of mine is The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman.

I do not use cookbooks anymore, however. The best recipes I have made are all in my head.

[DSB]

Not a book, a website: epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com/).

[RexHavoc]

"To Serve Man"







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x0BSgLKnSk

[SiBurning]

"To Serve Man"
Leave it to The Nid Hog to have the definitive word. :wink:

Seriously, though... Madeleine Kamman's The New Making of a Cook shanged my whole approach to cooking. It's more of a text book than a cook book. I bought 4 extra copies on sale closeout ($13us each) to use as gifts.

[_JP_]

"The Campus Survival Cookbook"

Not just recipes, but also has how-to tips and a month's worth of menus. Very easy for a beginner to use.

I could name a bunch of other books as well, but that is the book that got me started before I started cooking for a living.

[Luc]

Not a book, a website: epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com/).

+1 Great website

http://www.taste.com.au

I can't remember my first cookbook but right now. Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless is my to-go cookbook!

[cstrother]

Mastering, for sure. A bunch of other things by Julia and by James Beard.

Probably Jacques Pepin more than anyone, "La Technique."

Most influential really Robert Capon, "Supper of the Lamb." One of the best books on cooking ever written.

Best magazine by far, "Pleasures of Cooking." Cook's Illustrated, too, but at the end of the day, Christopher Kimball, as much as he and his colleagues have taken American cooking up several levels, he seems to want to come from a different place in cooking that I do. I say seems to want, because I am not convinced that he really does!

[Barbarian]

My mom's old 'Cambell's Soup Cookbook.' That thing was gold!

Seriously, I now do a lot of cooking and experimenting. However, this book was a key influence since it helped me to realize that I could, in fact, make good food. Things don't always need to be complex or expensive to be good. Once this simple book and others like it helped me to realize I could make good tasting stuff at home, I then realized I could move on to more complex and artistic fare.

[Fnord5]

The Flavor Bible is another good one.
Has all sorts of flavor pairings, ranging from OK, to best possible.
Flavors to avoid mixing too.
A great read, no recipes, but with the information contained in it, you can make up your own with little effort.
http://thefoodielist.co.uk/wp/wp-content/the_flavor_bible.jpg

[Topgumby]

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h38/msgte/gb.jpg

[tsmba]

I like to bake, so Carol Field's "The Italian Baker" is up there (along with Julia Child's "Cooking with Julia". Rose Levy Benenbaum's "Bible" series are great, too.
An obscure on I've used endlessly is Bill Neal's "Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie". I have a whole collection of cookbooks I've amassed. The "great" ones are those I return to frequently.

[Jim]

Two comes to mind -
An out of print- Game in the Kitchen- by Barbara Flood-
Cookery for Nimrods and anglers.

Jeff Smith's The frugal Gourmet cooks American.
Terrific historical and regional dishes. The best chowder recipe I have ever used.

[pablo_h]

Like Luc I normally just use www.taste.com.au whenever I'm bored of my favourite customised recipes.
I only own two cook books 'The cooks companion' by stephanie alexander, and 'thai food' by david thompson, two great australian chefs. Neither are just recipe books, but contain information about ingrediants and the history of them and methods used so great for reading too.
It's a shame that if you buy them in australia, you're looking at au$80+ , but you can order them from the UK (the book repository) with free postage for about au$40

[wedwards]

Larousse Gastronomique.

+1

and the Silver Spoon

I also have a crazy 3 inch pink Thai book that is awesome if you are into that kind of food.

[renoles]

The Escoffier Cookbook
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Bouchon & The French Laundry Cookbook
Ma Gastronomie (Fernand Point)
The Epicurean (Ranhofer)
The Professional Chef (7th or 8th edition)

Food Writing:
Culinary Artistry
Ratio & The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman
On Food & Cooking - McGee

amongst others...

[DefaultAnon]

The best recipe and Moosewood are my go to books.
the Moosewood cook book is just amazing!

[djktrumpet]

The first books that I used regularly, and from which I learned the basics, were Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course, and a Reader's Digest (I think) book called The Cookery Year. I'm not sure how well Delia's known outside the UK, but she became a household name here in the 70s and 80s through her TV shows. Now I find her TV manner incredibly patronising and pedantic, but it has to be said that her recipes really do work - which matters for a beginner. The Cookery Year switched me onto the idea that different foods are in season, and therefore taste better, at different times of the year - it's a bit dated now, but the principles stand up.
I'd echo what other people have said about Julia Childs' Introduction to French Cooking - still my go-to book for French cuisine, and I've also enjoyed Cuisine Actuelle (Joel Robuchon) - tends to be a bit fiddly, but sets out an approach that brings out the best in each ingredient.
Finally, I've had a lot of fun with Anthony Bourdain's books - Kitchen Confidential (not a cookbook) and his Les Halles Cookbook. He made me realise the importance of preparation and good knives.

[Nickelodeon]

"Appetite" and "The Kitchen Diaries", both by Nigel Slater. They totally changed my approach to cooking.

[Edcculus]

For me, it was On Food and Cooking, and The Silver Spoon.

[jmlivingston]

"The NEW Best Recipe" book, I love how they go into detail about what works and what doesn't (and why!) before they start going into the recipes. Great examples of this is their sections on Artichokes and Ice Cream.

The Williams-Sonoma books are quite good as well, though they are purely recipe books.

[ratcheer]

Great question. The books that were the most influential to me were:


The Way to Cook - Julia Child
Justin Wilson's Homegrown Louisiana Cookin' - Justin Wilson
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen - Paul Prudhomme
The Prudhomme Family Cookbook: Old-Time Louisiana Recipes by the Eleven Prudhomme Brothers and Sisters and Chef Paul Prudhomme - Paul Prudhomme
The Joy of Cooking
and, an older version of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook

As you can see, I am a big fan of Louisiana cooking. :tongue:

Tim

[ratcheer]

Jeff Smith's The frugal Gourmet cooks American.
Terrific historical and regional dishes. The best chowder recipe I have ever used.

+1 I love that book!

Tim

[ouch]

1985's companion book to the PBS series Great Chefs of New York.

I think I've used more recipes from that book than any other.

[TimmyBoston]

No books, but certainly posts by Jim, Jay and Scotto has helped me.

[OldSaw]

The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith. I still refer to the paperback copy I got about 20-25 years ago, roughly the same time I started wet shaving with soap and brush.

[behrendprof]

"The Art of Eating" by M.F.K. Fisher tells more about enjoying food and the right attutude toward cooking and eating than any I've ever read. I recommend it to anyone who cares about either.

In addition to Child's Mastering the Art... I also recommend Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking.

[jwhite]

Like Luc I normally just use www.taste.com.au whenever I'm bored of my favourite customised recipes.
I only own two cook books 'The cooks companion' by stephanie alexander, and 'thai food' by david thompson, two great australian chefs. Neither are just recipe books, but contain information about ingrediants and the history of them and methods used so great for reading too.
It's a shame that if you buy them in australia, you're looking at au$80+ , but you can order them from the UK (the book repository) with free postage for about au$40

+1
More on this type of book that just the two examples given. By learning the culture and it's relationship to food the reader becomes enabled to better understand a cuisine. This in turn allows for the use of the freshest local ingredients to be used in the style of that cultures food, and has helped me to grow increasingly creative in my cooking. My most recent book of this type has been The Olive And The Caper which discusses Greek cuisine.

[The Nid Hog]

"The Folk Art of Japanese Country Cooking" by Gaku Homma. Not what you would expect--no elaborate sushi recipes, no flashy Benihana stuff. Instead, you get a thoughtful guide to Japanese peasant cooking by a serious folklorist and noted Aikido master. A revelation.

[Crazy Dave]

The books I use heavily are:

The Escoffier Cook Book
Larousse Gastronomique (I have 3 different editions)
Ma Cuisine by August Escoffier
The Salvador Dali Cook Book
Our Immigrant Ancestors by Jeff Smith
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen - Paul Prudhomme

A large yellow Chinese Cookbook that I bought in the 70’s and still use.
It is long out of print, but still available used. I cannot remember the author or title.

[Obsessed]

Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way

[professorchaos]

None, really. Not anymore. Cooking in professional kitchens most influenced my cooking. You begin the process knowing what something should taste like. Technique gets applied to ingredients and using all of your senses you produce what you envisioned. Alternatively, you apply technique and senses to ingredients and create something new to you. But the technique and your senses allow you to create something edible. As opposed to what most of my women call food.

Kind of takes the mystery out of it, to be quite frank.

[kwk285]

Silence of the lambs. A good receipe for liver and fava beans.:biggrin:

Seriously, this sounds strange but "eating for life" is probably the book that I got to the most.

[BrightFutur]

None, really. Not anymore. Cooking in professional kitchens most influenced my cooking. You begin the process knowing what something should taste like. Technique gets applied to ingredients and using all of your senses you produce what you envisioned. Alternatively, you apply technique and senses to ingredients and create something new to you. But the technique and your senses allow you to create something edible. As opposed to what most of my women call food.

Kind of takes the mystery out of it, to be quite frank.

I had to read that like 9 times to figure it out, but yes, I agree.

[RHVette]

The Alton Brown trifecta of I'm Just Here for the Food, I'm Just Here for More Food, and Gear for Your Kitchen has served me well. They've really taught me to not just follow a recipe but to think about what each component does and how to make a dish my own.

[MPruett]

I'd have to say:

Joy of Cooking (borrowed a friend's copy for a year or so)

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee (THE bible if you want to know about what happens when you cook)

Cookwise by Shirley Corriher. Similar to On Food, but with recipes.

I'm just here for the Food by Alton Brown. Sort of like the previous two, but more about the application of the science.

[Crazy Dave]

Silence of the lambs. A good receipe for liver and fava beans.:biggrin:

Yes but with Chianti? That's barbaric!

Dave

[cstrother]

Yes but with Chianti? That's barbaric!

Dave

Actually, in the book HL rather famously says instead of "Chianti" a "big Amarone." So not as barbaric.

[stripec30]

All the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks.

[tsmba]

I also have fond memories of watching the "Great Chefs" series and "The Frugal Gourmet". I was sad to hear it when Jeff Smith passed.

Many of my favorite cookbooks have much more than recipes. I like photos and travel stories, too. I don't recall anyone mentioning Bernard Clayton's bread books....they got me started with the bread/baking books.

[Deltaboy]

My 6 Differant Church Cookbooks spanning over 60+ years and learning from both of my Grandmothers. :biggrin:

[beginish]

+1 to Cooks Illustrated and Joy of Cooking
Moosewood Cooks at Home
Any Diana Kennedy for Mexican
King Arthur Flour baking cookbook

[lackluster dave]

"The NEW Best Recipe" book, I love how they go into detail about what works and what doesn't (and why!) before they start going into the recipes.

+1

Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way

+1

Also Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg.

[Lo'Tek]

1. The Complete Book of Sauces;

2. Betty Crocker - 1st edition (not the new "quick & easy" c#@p;

3. McCall's Cooking School cook-book;

4. any books or mags by Cook's Illustrated (very highly recommended, all entries by real chefs, not moms);

5. bread books by anyone not American (I'm from America), i.e. Italian or Japanese;

6. Secrets From Inside the Pizzarea,

7. Anything in my private stock of refined & perfected recipes;

. . .to be sure, others I can't recall right now.

Best & simplest Pasta recipe from Cook's Ill. - 2 cups flour, 3 eggs;

[BobS]

I sort of collect cookbooks, so it is hard to pick just one, but I really have to put "The Best Recipe" (by the folks from Cooks Illustrated) somewhere near the top.

This really helped me with risotto and polenta and a few other great sides that really tie everything together.

Recently some BBQ forums have been my inspiration. It is amazing what some folks are able to do on a grill.

[kingfisher]

Three.

1) The Joy of Cooking. This is what I read through when my wife was working evenings and I had to put something on the table. I had absolutely no clue until I started reading this book.

2) Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan. This book is a must-have. An AMAZING book. I can't believe I'm the first in this thread to mention this book. Marcella Hazan is da shizzle.

3) How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. My latest favorite book.

[trumpetchris]

Does the McDonald's drive through menu count as a book? :lol:

I tend to do a lot of experimentation in the kitchen. Several summers working in a country club kitchen gave me access to lots of great ingredients and ideas from professional chefs. I'll usually just buy the basics at the store and "make something" for dinner with what I find in the pantry and fridge. If I follow a recipe, it'll usually be something I got from a friend or online.

[ada8356]

3) How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. My latest favorite book.

I am REALLY surprised this book didn't more nods here. I've been using this book for almost everything for about 10 years now... great book. Lots of basic simple recipes with ideas following each on how you can change up the basic recipes.

[ada8356]

The Escoffier Cook Book.

For those you that have this, do you have the $20 abridged version or the more expensive full version?

[SiBurning]

For those you that have this, do you have the $20 abridged version or the more expensive full version?

Full. Some people complain that the English translations are taken from a later book that's already less than the original. Whatever. There's 5000 recipes of which I'll never use more than 30. It's not one of my favorites anyway. Here's an example of why.

2654: Escapoles de Ris de Veau Rossini
Proceed in the sam manner as indicated for Escalopes de Ris de Veau Favorite omitting the garnish of asparagus tips.

The recipe above that is yet another variety that's just breaded sweetbread with a slice of truffle and asparagus.

I suppose it's a good book if you're looking for variations or how to cook some oddball stuff like turtle or snipe. It's fun as a reference. Not for beginners. It's hard to see how such a collection can actually influence anyone's cooking, unless it inspired you to cook turtle. Hmm... Where can I get turtle? :001_smile

[WhosYerBob]

- The Joy of Cooking
- The Village Baker
- Les Halles Cookbook
- The Gourmet Cookbook
- The Gourmet Slow Cooker

[BobS]

Early on, I thought Emeril was a good teacher and I have enjoyed a couple of his books. Also, The Frugal Gourmet taught me how to make omelets and poach eggs and make Hollandaise sauce.

[Crazy Dave]

For those you that have this, do you have the $20 abridged version or the more expensive full version?

I have the full version. It is quite big. It has received a lot of use from me!

Dave

[davecmu]

Finally, I've had a lot of fun with Anthony Bourdain's books - Kitchen Confidential (not a cookbook) and his Les Halles Cookbook. He made me realise the importance of preparation and good knives.

These taught me that cooking is so much more about mental or attitudinal preparation than actual recipe-following. Talk about freeing up the mind to get out of the way of the hands.

[Emmett]

The Alton Brown trifecta of I'm Just Here for the Food, I'm Just Here for More Food, and Gear for Your Kitchen has served me well. They've really taught me to not just follow a recipe but to think about what each component does and how to make a dish my own.

+1. Once I understood cooking, having recipes to follow wasn't as important. Although, I do have some books that I keep returning to, such as this (http://www.amazon.de/Kochbuch-Tim-M%C3%A4lzer/dp/3442391245) and this. (http://www.amazon.de/Grassfed-Gourmet-Cookbook-Healthy-Pasture-Raised/dp/0967367026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books-intl-de&qid=1255704342&sr=8-1-catcorr)

[arghblech]

In no particular order.

Theory and Practice of Good Cooking by a certain Mr. Beard. If you go looking for this one try to find an older edition. I'm told the newer editions omit some of the trotters/snouts/hocks/heads sort of stuff that one shouldn't ignore.

The New Professional Chef - CIA textbook

How to Cook Everything - Bittman

Oddly enough, I've stolen some several ideas from Gourmet Cooking for Dummies by/with Charlie Trotter. I'm not a fan of his but the book was pretty influential on me.

[Crazy Dave]

In no particular order.

Theory and Practice of Good Cooking by a certain Mr. Beard. If you go looking for this one try to find an older edition. I'm told the newer editions omit some of the trotters/snouts/hocks/heads sort of stuff that one shouldn't ignore.

The New Professional Chef - CIA textbook

How to Cook Everything - Bittman

Oddly enough, I've stolen some several ideas from Gourmet Cooking for Dummies by/with Charlie Trotter. I'm not a fan of his but the book was pretty influential on me.

I will have to track "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking" down! I have several Beard books including his "New Fish Cookbook" and "Beard on Birds", to name a few, an I like his work quite a bit. He is the athority on tradional American cooking. "American Cookery" has some offal. I like offal, so i will have to track down the older edition!:biggrin: Unfortuneatly, SWMBO does not! :mad3:

Dave

[ada8356]

I picked up a new release of Larousse Gastronomique at B&N today. It's the same book, but bound differently than the one Amazon has.

It looks like a 'friendlier' format: It's wider than the other and has a glossy cover (no jacket).

[arghblech]

I like offal, so i will have to track down the older edition!:biggrin: Unfortuneatly, SWMBO does not! :mad3:

Life got so much better for me when I finally convinced my wife that the trick to cooking red beans was a smoked hamhock.

Connective tissue == collagen == glossy stews with a silky texture

Hooray for Beard!!