STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

smash · Dooney & Bourke

your favorite cookbooks

ico · Dooney & Bourke

How to eat by Nigella Lawson. I lovelovelove her.

And there is this "Il Talismano della Felicita'" (The lucky charm for happiness?) that has typical italian dishes. When I make something from that book, everyone is going to love it, guaranteed. Wonder if there is an english version?

I like to browse epicurios.com, they have good stuff too!

mizzle · BCBG

hey smash, i don't have "intercourses" (what a goofy name) but i made the tomato basil soup from that book. i was trying to recreate something i had in a middle eastern deli... it wasn't exactly the same, but it was sooo good with fresh bread.

i don't own a lot of cookbooks... i have a binder instead. i look through the food sections online every wednesday. some of my favorites are the NYT (obviously...nigella AND mark bittman), LA times, detroit free press, seattle times, and san francisco chronicle. i used to read through a lot more when i had more free time at work. there are also a bunch of food blogs i read--i've printed out awesome recipe for balsamic-infused strawberries, authentic chinese dumplings, etc. the only cookbooks i've used regularly are mark bittman's "how to cook everything" and a madhur jaffrey vegetarian asian cookbook (i don't have it anymore, but it was a pink rectangular paperback...very good). also, right now i'm finally almost done reading MFK Fisher's collection--it has gastronomical me, how to cook a wolf, and a few other books in there. it's mostly prose but she tosses in recipes and food ideas here and there. that's been inspirational to me as far as the simplicity of what she eats. i'm all about good simple food.

bumblebee · Dooney & Bourke

one of my favorite subjects!

i, too, adore nigella. i cook most often from the "forever summer" book, but i just got the "feasts" book as a gift and can't wait to try out some of the recipes (esp. the desserts, and i'm not usually much of a baker). i like "nigella bites," too, but strangely am not that attached to "how to eat" even though everyone else seems to think it is her best book.

i am also a huge fan of ina garten's "barefoot contessa" books. she has a really simple/low-key approach that i like--her philosophy is to use just a few of the very best ingredients you can find--her recipes are really simple (i think the first book is the best--the one w/the yellow spine).

old standbys are the silver palate cookbooks--so 80s, yet so reliable. i like "the new basics" the best--the only problem is that it doesn't have pictures. i also love martha stewart's "hors d'oeuvres" book and her "christmas cookbook"--millions of beautiful glossy photos, and the recipes are very do-able.

lately i've been into this new magazine called "cottage living"--there's a food editor called sara foster who has a whole section each issue of recipes--i've made several and they are all excellent.

dot · Marc Jacobs

I am obsessed with Anthony Bourdain. I got the Les Halles cookbook and the recipes are pretty easy (maybe not the blood & guts section) but I have been enjoying making them.

Simple to Spectacular is one of my favorites. I love the make the crispy sticky rice cakes with tuna tartare.

Jacques Pepin is the greatest... but I think his daughter is so annoying. I like Fast Food My Way (I think that's the title) and Simple and Healthy Cooking. Both books are extremely simple (as is Jacques' style) and they are all foods you want to eat. I think these books are really good for people who are just getting interested in starting to cook... because the recipes are not intimidating at all. I also love his book of complete techniques. It is a very handy reference.

My favorite dessert book of all time is Desserts from the Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming. I think she has the perfect taste in sweets. Her chocolate caramel tarts are a stand-by. I also love the brownie cookies. Her recipes are extremely elegant... and not that hard to make.

Also if you are insane like me and love to entertain, Martha Stewart Hors d'oeuvres is great. There are so many pictures!

Mia · Kate Spade

Mark Bittman and Nigella have been mentioned so I'll just say: Nigel Slater. I have a couple of his; 'Real Food' and...uh, I forget the title of the other one. If you like Nigella you should look into N Slater. Simple, easy to prepare, but delicious and unpretentious. Anyone who refuses to use anything other than butter or olive oil as the 'fat/oil' ingredient is speaking to me.

Oh, I second the Madhur Jaffrey love as well. I have a vegetarian cookbook of hers and even though I am about as far from vegetarian as you can get, I do use it on occasion. The only complaint I have with her is she often lists obscure ingredients that can be hard to come by outside of large cities.

katrink · Nine West

My all time favorite is The Joy of Cooking but I have about 75 others that I use also. I love to cook and I finally have gotten to the point where i only use the books as reference for ingredients and ideas. I go to vegan cooking and raw uncooking classes every Sat. at my local health food store. I think if I were younger I would give a shot at opening my own ecclectic eatery.

-- Edited by katrink at 14:14, 2004-12-17

DC Shopper · Dooney & Bourke

The Naked Chef books have always looked appealing to me, but have never tried any recipes. I tend to print out the best recipes from the Food Network website, from shows like 30 Minute Meals and Food 911. Honestly, I have gotten some amazing recipes from these shows. plus if you can catch the actual show where they make the dish, it's even better.

I also just browse through epicurious and have gotten some delish recipes from there.

I have Martha Stuart's "Quick Cook Menus", which is EXCELLENT, though I wouldn't say any of the meals in there are actually quick. But there's a great recipe for a green salad with nectarines and a ginger/honey dressing that I love, and an orzo pasta w/mushrooms recipe that is a favorite among family members. It's my favorite, and was bought at a yard sale a few years back for $2.

Any Moosewood book is bound to have good recipes, although I have found some of the recipes in the book I own to be a little fussy ingredient-wise, and some have not turned out well. Others, such as the cream cheese and mushroom cassarole and the triple layer chocolate cake have been heaven.

I miss cooking - don't get to do much of it while I'm in school since all my classes are at night. we eat a lot of Trader Joe frozen meals -sigh-

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I also love the "New Basic's" cookbook, but I love Cuisene magazine. It has great photos, and fancy recipes that aren't hard to follow. They have a tips section at the front of every issue, and it's the best. Reads write in with there around the kitchen tips and they are really creative!

-gd

Vanessa · Kate Spade

I browse through epicurious and allrecipes.com a lot. The oprah website has some good recipes as well. But for the most part I get my recipes from magazines.

An old roomie gave me this book by Isabel Allende titled Aphrodite - Recipes, Stories and other aphrodisiacs. It's a lot of fun.

The Neiman Marcus cookbook - includes the infamous chocolate chip cookie recipe :) is really great for salads & desserts but it's good overall. It was on Oprah's favorites list last year - actually, that would be year before last now.

I have quite a bit of baking books. Probably because I'm more confident in my cooking than I am in my baking, where I need more help. Funny because even with all those books I barely bake more than a quick-bread. Anyway, of all those, Gale Gand's Just a Bite is my absolute favorite.

I do want to buy the Balthazar cookbook because I have a fascination with brasserie food. But I've only eaten there once and I am afraid the recipes will be too time-consuming so I have been putting it off. But I hear it's a really good cookbook if you're into that type of food.

And though I don't have it anymore, the everyday low-carb slow cooker cookbook was really helpful to me when I first got my slow coooker (and the ex was on the South Beach diet). The way I think of it, it prevented me from using potatoes in the slow cooker all the time.

HTH!

-- Edited by Vanessa at 23:00, 2005-01-01