Why Cookbooks

The necessity of cookbooks seems obvious.  Cookbooks provide a detailed recipe for preparing some sort of food item.  If followed precisely, a recreation of that food item occurs.  But with the emergence of the Internet, you can go online and search for just about any recipe.  Doing so you're likely to find a slew of options.  There are those that would argue that the Internet makes cookbooks obsolete.  I think not!

Cookbooks for my family provide an avenue to gather and work together on something, a creation of sorts, where we're all confined to a specific space (the kitchen), working on a task that just about everyone can participate in -- cooking.  We love to hunt up recipes that sound yummy in favorite cookbooks and then get to preparing them.  Sometimes we go to the cookbooks to be reminded of an old favorite.

Some of our cookbooks have become family heirlooms, treasured possessions that are marked and tattered and passed on to following generations.  The "kids" get a kick out of some of the descriptions and trying to find cans of ingredients where the sizes and quantities no longer track what's in the cookbooks.

People remembered who are no longer with us and their favorite foods is another thing cookbooks provide our family.  Cookbooks and the using of them provide a vehicle to talk about family and fond memories.

Essential Cookbooks

I guess if I had to answer the question which cookbooks I'd want to have if I was stranded on a desert island, topping my list would be the famed and long-lived Joy of Cooking.  It's thick and it has just about everything I could possible want to make do...and make most everything, for that matter.  Of all the cookbooks I know, this is one that I regularly give as a wedding shower present.  I know it will be used and appreciated.

A close second in this category of cookbooks is Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I just like the way it is laid out with pictures and tabs.  Recipes are generally easy enough for us to follow and get right the first time.  Plus, we can stick our own recipes in this one for quick reference.  I know some have recipe files and use those in a methodical and organized manner.  I'd like to say that I do, too.  But I don't.  Cookbooks work just fine for filing just as long as I can remember which book I put it in.  That's why I typically use this one .

2 Cookbooks I Love

Pure & Simple by Neiman Marcus is one of those cookbooks that I love.  It's a blast having recipes from people all over the place.  I like the way it's laid out.  I generally enjoy the results.  Most of all, I like how simple and straightforward preparing something can be and is presented.

The other, which is probably difficult to find now, was a wedding gift:  A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price.  Yes, he's the actor.  They traveled the world and were also famous for their love of great foods.    Menus from their favorite restaurants from around the world are displayed.  Then, they have the recipes and sometimes stories about the dish.

When we feel really adventurous and called to the kitchen, this is one of the cookbooks we gravitate to most often.  These are not simple concoctions.  Some of the ingredients are challenging to find.  But, ohhhhh, the results are just so phenomenal.  Elfo's Special from a Memphis, Tennessee restaurant called Grisanti's is indeed, very special!  The Dark Mocka Cake with French Coffee Icing is an annual tradition at our home.  We'd not do Christmas without it!

Teaching, Writing & Books : How to Publish a Cookbook

For more, including a history and additional links for online research and reading, check out the Wikipedia article I've linked when you click on COOKBOOKS.