The books the influenced your cooking

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.

Larousse Gastronomique.

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

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.

"To Serve Man"

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.

Fnord5 said:

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

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

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.

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.

Not a book, a website: epicurious.com.

"To Serve Man"

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

The Nid Hog said:

"To Serve Man"

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Leave it to The Nid Hog to have the definitive word.

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.

"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.

DSB said:

Not a book, a website: epicurious.com.

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+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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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