Can one ever have enough cookbooks, really?

I love cookbooks. And not just because I love food. My cookbook collection has gradually expanded over the years. At first, I used them fairly frequently, cooking the recipes exactly as written. Over time as I built my cooking skills, I used them more as inspiration than as a road map.  Now, in a pinch to figure out what I might make, I am more likely to use the internet to discover new ideas and recipes.  But I still buy cookbooks and cooking magazines (Cooking Light and Bon Appetit remain my favorite).

The first cookbook I ever got was from Jim's mom, Red, sometime after I moved into my first apartment.  Perhaps for my 19th birthday?  It was the one of those thick tomes with a recipe for just about everything you ever heard of, conversion tables, roasting charts, and more—The New Doubleday Cookbook. I am not sure whether it was for me or really for Jim, who was already pretty much living with me by that time.  The first dish I remember making from it was Chicken Cacciatore (recipe below), which I had never had before, but seemed like it would be good. It was excellent. My first pie crust, sugar cookies, rolls, cream of broccoli soup, and many other staples I still make today all came from that cookbook.

Some of my cookbooks

I did not get another cookbook until I was 21.  The Sutherland family, whom I was providing childcare for afterschool, gave me a cookbook as a graduation present, I think.  It was a classic, The Moosewood Cookbook.  I relied heavily on that book for a while then when I started working at PCADV in Harrisburg, I joined a cookbook club and quickly amassed a little set.  Some of my favorites then were: 

• True Thai by Victor Sodsook
• Diana Shaw's The Essential Vegetarian
• The Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites
• Jacques Pepin's Simple and Healthy Cooking
• Laxmi's Vegetarian Cooking by Laxmi Hiremath
• The Dim Sum Dumpling Book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Nowadays, I still love cookbooks and have amassed a collection of 40 or 50 of them.  The difference is that I do not rely on them much for recipes.  I have some that I would have a difficult time parting with and yet I have never made a single recipe from them.  I think what I am looking for in a cookbook is a little different now.  I like ones that are pleasing to look at, with good page design and stylized pictures here and there that inspired me to make my food look nice.  I like the background info and, often-witty commentary that is in some of the cookbooks I have.   Some of my newer favorites are:

• Cooking with Shelburne Farms (Local and sustainable foods are the focus; including foraged foods like fiddleheads and ramps)
• King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking (Don't we all need more whole grain? And come on, it is the best flour and its from VT)
• The Country Cooking of Ireland by Coleman Andrews (beautiful and educational, although I am not sure I will ever make the potted herring)

Another cookbook I recently bought, Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners, has nice little intros to ever recipe make me think I am talking to her when I read it.  She just seems to be a really likeable person, who would be fun to cook up a meal with.  This week I am finally going to try one of her many delicious sounding recipes, Breakfast for Dinner Pizza.  Imagine bacon, potatoes, rosemary and Gruyere cheese on a flat bread, topped with an over-easy egg (I think I will poach 'em instead).  I'll let you know how it turns out.


In the meantime, what are your favorite cookbooks?


Chicken Cacciatore
From The New Doubleday Cookbook by Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna

1/4 c. olive oil (I use 1-2)

3 -3 1/2 lbs. chicken parts with bones 

    (removal of skin is optional) 

2 medium yellow onions, peeled 

    and minced

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 small green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 -1 lb can tomatoes with liquid

3/4 c. dry white or red wine 

1/4 c. tomato paste

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat oil in heavy non-stick skillet over med.-high heat until hot.  Brown chicken on all sides; remove and reserve.  In Dutch oven, saute onions for 3 minutes then add mushrooms and peppers and cook another 3-4 minutes until onions are golden.  Add tomatoes, breaking up clumps.  Blend wine with tomato paste and add along with rosemary.  

Add chicken to tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes until chicken is very tender.   Serve with spaghetti.