From phone book-thick tomes to a first taste of veggie cuisine, these essential cookbooks suit just about every skill-set and taste level.
Here are ten must-have cookbooks:
Author Irma Rombauer started collecting recipes from friends, which eventually evolved into this mammoth collection. It taught a generation of North Americans how to cook, and remains the handiest book around.
If The Joy of Cooking got us in the kitchen, Julia Child’s first books taught us a true love of fine food, from acing French sauces to wowing guests with spun-sugar desserts. There’s no better feeling than the triumph of mastering your first Hollandaise!
Craig Claiborne, the longtime food editor of the New York Times, amassed a series of delicious and doable recipes during his decades at the newspaper, many from now-famous chefs and cookbook authors he discovered, such as Madhur Jaffrey. These eclectic recipes still hold up today, all the more so in the 2010 update, The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser.
Borne of the earth-loving cuisine served at author Mollie Katzen’s Ithaca, NY restaurant, this cookbook is where most of us first learned to cook tofu and lentils. From caramelized onion gravy to a veggie lasagna my friend used to make us at university that is still her signature dish, the ingredients lists may be long, but once you’ve invested in the Moosewood pantry, you’re set for months of hearty vegetarian cooking.
So long as you’re not concerned with your cardiac health, Ina Garten’s first book is still her best. Her maple scones are to die for, and all the recipes are fairly simple and always crowd-worthy. Colourful, fresh and full of flavour, she taught us that there’s nothing that a pound of butter and two cups of mayo can’t fix!
This book stakes its claim for making vegetables exciting again by way of vibrant Middle Eastern spicing and flavour combos like tahini and pomegranate. Yotam Ottolenghi’s terrific books mean kids will not longer be sneaking Rover their cauliflower under the table anymore.
If Thomas Keller’s seminal cookbook The French Laundry is more for looking than doing, this book brings the expertise down to the weekday kitchen warrior level. Be it perfectly flakey biscuits or chicken pot pies, now you can cook like a chef – at home.
At over 700 pages, virtually everything you’d ever want to know about classic Italian cooking is in this big book. Think of it as Italiano shorthand for making authentic gnocchi, risotto, fresh pastas and sooo much more.
With over two million copies sold (and counting) – how many of us have made their famous Chicken Marbella recipe? Many circa-80s recipes have become family traditions.
Practically a thesis on how to entertain, while the elaborate setups may not be achievable, this year-in-the-life party approach is definitely inspirational. One of many Martha books; she deserves a spot on the list for making us all try a little harder. (She’s our favourite frenemy.)
What are some of your all-time favourite cookbooks?
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