I find that I spend a lot of time on my blog talking about food - recipes I like, what I had for dinner, restaurants, holiday events that focus on food etc. I even have a shared food blog with some of my family members who also like to blog (you know who you are). So I thought it might be fun to take a look at where I get some of my recipes/ideas. Here is a photo of the Cookbook section of my bookshelf:
The main books, from left to right:
- Good Eats: The Early Years by Alton Brown. This is actually Andy's book, which I guess makes it ours now? We loved to watch "Good Eats" when it was on the Food network and we've found that this book has some extremely easy to follow recipes for fairly complicated things.
- How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. An essential for any beginning cook, or someone who is just forgetful. How long to cook potatoes, again? And what's the best way to make applesauce?
- Food Network Kitchens: Making it Easy. This was an impulse buy while wandering Barnes & Noble once upon a time. I don't think I've actually used it for anything yet. Hmm.
- The Joy of Cooking, 1976 Edition & The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition. The first one is my copy, inherited from my father and the newer one is Andy's. We both understand the value of this book and many of our favorite recipes come from one of these two books.
- Art of the Slow Cooker, by Andrew Schloss. I inherited my parents' slow cooker (from 1979!) a few years back and I was looking for things to make besides pork roast. My cousin Adam gave me this cookbook for Christmas and I have found all sorts of yummy recipes inside.
- Just 4 Things: Another impulse Barnes & Noble purchase (it's now for sale for $0.01 if you follow that link!) that has proved useful - very basic recipes requiring minimal ingredients. The few things I've tried so far have been quite excellent.
- Kenmore Microwave Cooking: My parents have this book and I found it at Goodwill for $1. It's great for knowing how long to cook basic things in the microwave - broccoli, potatoes, eggs, etc. I would not recommend any of the more complex recipes, however. And yes, the cover of mine is just as 1980s cheesy as the one I linked to on EBay.
That's pretty much it for my in-use, hard copy sources. There are also two websites that I rely on A LOT to figure out potential recipes/meal ideas. They are:
- Simply Recipes. The Parmesan Chicken is so, so bad for you but also unbelievably delicious. However, our favorite is the Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce. Also not health food.
- The Pioneer Woman. A lot of her recipes are very high on butter/oil and carbs, making them slightly less than ideal but also super delicious. My personal favorite is the Crispy Yogurt Chicken. We'll have to make that again soon.
That was fun! Where do all of you get your cooking ideas, aside from our totally fantastic food blog, of course?
And now, the obligatory Calvin photo. It would not be a complete blog post without cat content:
And now, the obligatory Calvin photo. It would not be a complete blog post without cat content:
Comments
That's a great looking old Joy of Cooking you have there.
My cousin Carolyn (McCune/Anderson) assembled a family cookbook maybe 8 or 10 years ago, after her son had been to Norway. Also after Jim's family and my family had been there, all visiting the same relatives. Carolyn asked for and received recipes from both the American and the Norwegian side of the family, and assembled them into a loose leaf cookbook. It's a fun read, and mine's around somewhere. I think.
Gino - Thanks. I am trying not to wear it out too much.
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