Ace of Spades HQ

October 13, 2013

Sunday Morning Book Thread 10-13-2013: The Main Ingredient [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

The Obamacare Kitchen Regulations Did Not Work Out As Planned

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

What's Cookin'?

Rapper Coolio is apparently quite the sous chef. Has his own online cooking show and everything. Last Christmas, one of my kids received his book, Cookin' With Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price, as a gag gift. But after all the gift-opening was concluded, I got a chance to leaf through some of the chapters, and you know what, it's actually not half bad. It starts you out with a list of utensils and knives (for cooking) every "kitchen pimp" should have on hand, as well as some basic necessary ingredients. The gangsta slang is annoying (and also NSFW), but if you can get past that, the recipes look uncomplicated and very doable, i.e you don't need a bunch of obscure and hard-to-find ingredients to make them.

For something more conventional, I recommend America's Test Kitchen. Their Quick Family Cookbook contains a wealth of good information and recipes We've always had good luck with recipes from the ATK books and TV program, and several of them have become staples at our family table.

Mrs. Muse used to use Woman's Home Companion Cook Book back in the day. It was a good cookbook back 50 years ago, but it's pretty much outdated now, she tells me.

And you have to wonder how the internet is changing things, even here. Mrs. Muse doesn't really use cookbooks any more. Yesterday, for example, she wondered if anyone had a recipe for a reuben sandwich, only developed as a casserole. So she simply did a Google search for "reuben sandwich casserole recipe" and was presented a pageful of results out of which she was able to extract a couple of promising recipes.

In the old days, she would have had to either buy a cookbook or develop her own recipe. But it looks like those days are gone.

And speaking of outdated cooking, I heartily recommend James Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food. It's not a cookbook, but rather a compilation of pictures from recipe books and advertising from 40s-60s ("The Golden Age of Salt and Starch"), mixed with the author's acerbic commentary. And what pictures:

The pictures in the book are ghastly -- the Italian dishes look like a surgeon had a sneezing fit during an operation, and the queasy casseroles look like something on which the janitor dumps sawdust. But you have to enjoy the spirit behind the books -- cheerful postwar perfect housewifery, and folks with the guts to undertake such culinary experiments as stuffing cabbage with hamburger, creating the perfect tongue mousse when you have the fellas over for a pregame nosh, or, best of all, baking peppers with a creamy marshmallow sauce. Alas, too many of these dishes bring back scary childhood memories.

One thing I find refreshing about James Lileks is this: as hard as he ridicules the hideously unappealing pictures and stomach-turning recipes, his laughter never turns into sneering. A liberal would take the same material and write a book out of which you'd be able smell the hatred and contempt boiling off from every page. Lileks, on the other hand, is not driven by hate. He wants us to "enjoy the spirit behind the books", even while we're retching at the contents. And that makes all the difference.

So what cookbooks do you morons like? Which ones do you keep coming back to over and over?

Art By Troy Riser (see below)

Moron Artist Will Draw For Food, Valu-Rite

Moron commenter 'troyriser' e-mailed me to let me know that the book illustration project he was working on is completed and that he beat the publisher's deadline by a scant 3 days. You can see the book, A Knight Before Christmas, on Amazon. Troy says

The book is about a stable boy in King Arthur's Camelot who aspires to become a Knight of the Round Table, and sets out on a quest to realize his dream. The target age range would be between 5-10 years old. It's a sweet little story, the kind of book a parent reads as a bedtime story for a small child.

The drawing I posted is a sample Troy sent me from the book. If you're an author looking for an artist for your latest book, or need a commercial artist, you can see more of Troy's portfolio, and get his contact information, on his website.

More TEOTWAWKI Pr0n

My brother informs me that British YA author John 'Tripods' Christopher also wrote a the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it novel, The Death of Grass, wherein a virulent blight devastates the world's food crops. It was published in 1956 and its success allowed Christopher to quit his day job and devote his full time to writing. The movie adaptation, retitled 'No Blade of Grass', came out in 1970.

Books For Morons

British moronette lurker/infrequent commenter 'GalaKitty' e-mailed me this week to recommend a book written by an American friend of hers, Mr. Darcy's Dilemma and Delight, which she says is basically a 'Pride and Prejudice' fanfic. From the Amazon blurb:

This story is inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The course of the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy take a sharp turn when Elizabeth is viciously attacked. Mr. Darcy comes to her rescue even though she is devastated and does not wish to be helped by anyone. This non-graphic tale follows the pair through the pain, anguish, and fear that follows the beloved characters of Austen's novel as Elizabeth heals and Mr. Darcy tries to come to grips with the consequences of the assault on Elizabeth.

___________

I'm discovering that Pride and Prejudice is ripe fodder for fanfic treatment, and I think perhaps one reason is that the text has been in the public domain for many years so anyone can use it for whatever purpose they want. For example, turning it into a zombie apocalypse novel. Another story, by one of Great Britain's top-tier detective novelists, is a murder mystery. Or this new release, Longbourn, by Jo Baker. Amazon describes this as a "belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice" where

...the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servantsÂ’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended.

Liberals like to shed big crocodile tears for the poor and downtrodden, so this sounds like a book they'd like. But who knows, it might be good despite that.

I remember when I read Austen's books in my high school lit classes, my question was always "Don't any of these guys have jobs?" All they ever seem to do is go to parties or sit around talking to each other. Nobody is engaged in any productive employment. I didn't understand that back then, families of means could put their money in an investment vehicle called "the funds" and derive income from the interest or dividends.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:23 AM | Comments (267)
Post contains 1286 words, total size 9 kb.

1 Blue Strawberry, Joy of cooking, BHG, Junior league just to name a few

Posted by: Velvet Ambition at October 13, 2013 07:27 AM (R8hU8)

2 Besides writing my own stuff?

Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy.

And a bit of Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Just to meet the meat. "What's eating you Earthman?"

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 07:27 AM (xqlZc)

3 Tragedy of the commons, home cooking edition aka reasons not to miss college.

Posted by: DaveA at October 13, 2013 07:27 AM (DL2i+)

4 The Joy of Cooking.

Posted by: baldilocks at October 13, 2013 07:28 AM (Tnlh/)

5 The instructions on the box of macaroni and cheese.

Posted by: California red at October 13, 2013 07:29 AM (L39bP)

6 Stuffed cabbage is a delicious Eastern European dish but in these old cookbooks it might easily be yucky.

Posted by: microcosme at October 13, 2013 07:30 AM (KvsiG)

7 I don't have many cookbooks. I have a few from my great grandmother that I use on occassion just for fun, but mostly I just get online. I go to pioneerwomancooks more than I'd like to admit, but damn if Ree doesn't make some man pleasing food. She has a couple of cook books, but I don't own them. Since gluten doesn't like me, I have to make modifications to a lot of things, but there are a surprising amount of recipes on her site that just plain don't have any flour at all. I also like Nom Nom Paleo. She has an i-pad recipe book, but also lots at her website. Lots of hearty meat and veggies. Otherwise, I usually just do a google search for whatever I happen to want to cook that day and search through the various options. Today we made gluten free nutella pancakes for breakfast that were actually pretty good.

Posted by: Lauren at October 13, 2013 07:31 AM (ELdpj)

8 The Frog Commissary Cookbook And i use online recipes, but still love my cookbooks, mostly for the notations I've added over the yrs

Posted by: BlackOrchid at October 13, 2013 07:33 AM (3p/jD)

9 I just had to explain to my girlfriend, an old-school Boston Irish girl who is the love of my life, that being a Moron is a good thing.

Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 07:34 AM (ptcFO)

10 I read they making a movie based on Vince Flynn's book, American Assasin. Bruce Willis is supposed to be one of the characters. Very much looking forward to it.

Posted by: Roc Ingersol at October 13, 2013 07:36 AM (2o9a+)

11 Joy of Cooking. It's like google in a book jacket.

Posted by: Alice's Clone Army at October 13, 2013 07:37 AM (Pdt+k)

12 At the recommendation of a moron a few weeks ago, I downloaded the free "Anabasis" by Xenephon to my Kindle. It's the real story of some Greek soldiers who didn't think things through very clearly and attacked Persia. Xenephon was their general through most of the return home.

They lose, and then spend months trying to get back home through consistently hostile territory. They see it as a matter of course that they'll pillage, rape and enslave whomever is between them and home, and then seem puzzled as to why everyone wants to kill them.

Still, one has sympathy for some of the characters, especially Xenephon, who seems like a pretty decent guy. Granted, he's the author, so no real surprise there.

The other thing that rather noticeable is the casual use of young boys for extracurriculars. I try not to judge.

All in all, a pleasurable read and a window onto a vanished world.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 07:37 AM (6TB1Z)

13 And yeah, I have many cookbooks, but never open them anymore. They're obsolete.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 07:38 AM (6TB1Z)

14 highly recommend Sam The Cooking Guy's cookbooks. Easy to make and great results

Posted by: Frank G at October 13, 2013 07:40 AM (hJ9bd)

15 Good Morning Bookyloos, Last week I read Dick Cheney's in my time, the one absolute driest read ever. But after I finished it. I like him much more than I did before. I always respected him but I never understood what an american success story he really was. He earned it all, nothing was given to him. I also read Dominatus by D.W. Ulsterman, A fun read full of Americana. It takes the time to remind us what we lose everyday by sacrificing our constitutional rights to a lying self serving Government. The simple act of smoking a cigarette has become filthy, shameful and evil, Why is that? School kid expelled for making a play gun out of a pop tart, Really? The slow peeling away of American culture under the guise of Fairness, safety and ecology. When the truth is, the evil in the book, like the Obama administration seeks enslavement through faux protection. Its premise is plausible, it's characters likable and believable. It's not Clancy or Flynn, it's more like Glenn Beck meets Mark Twain. I liked it, thank you Mr. Ulsterman

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 07:40 AM (XIxXP)

16 So, my mom decided when I was a jr. high student and latch key kid, that guys should know their way around the kitchen. I have found this to be incredibly useful and agree that all guys should be competent in the kitchen. In our house, I am actually primary chef. I enjoy it more than my wife does. there are many beginning cookbooks that have simple recipes. As people progress there are others that you can grow with. Giada's Everday Italian has some good things in it and she keeps it simple. Anything by Jacque Pepin for more knowledgable chefs is an excellent addition.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 07:40 AM (b0n8A)

17 Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 11:37 AM (6TB1Z) If you liked that book, you would love Stephen Pressler's book, Tides Of War .

Posted by: Roc Ingersol at October 13, 2013 07:40 AM (2o9a+)

18 The year I graduated from college, Santa left me a copy of Joy of Cooking. Still use it.

Posted by: mrp at October 13, 2013 07:41 AM (HjPtV)

19 https://www.facebook.com/samthecookingguy

Posted by: Frank G at October 13, 2013 07:41 AM (hJ9bd)

20 Now I have to search my kitchen to find the web cam that you got that picture at the top of the thread.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at October 13, 2013 07:41 AM (q1sF4)

21 My kids like Alton Brown's books because he explains how a process works, which they can then apply to multiple recipes. The best cookbooks are those put out as church fundraisers. Sure there are a lot of weird crap recipes in there, but there are also gems, usually in the dessert section and casserole sections. Church ladies are competitive in the realms of desserts and hot dishes, so while they may not submit their top recipe it will include a lot of solid dishes that are easily scalable. Plus, Scripture cake is tasty.

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 07:41 AM (7ub16)

22 Lileks has "written" several books, and you should go buy all of them... really, GO NOW. BUY THEM!!

I used to read the Bleat every day, but I just don't have time, which is a shame, because it's great if you can spend a few minutes each day reading. He is creating a narrative that is, if were ever compiled, about as significant for our times as anything.

And as OM says, without sneering or ridicule, he describes the modern world, through the eyes of someone who longs for a simpler time.

So give him money... he deserves it.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 13, 2013 07:43 AM (BeSEI)

23 LOL, looks like my kitchen.

Anyway

Finished up the Hood series by Steven Lawhead. The first book was pretty good, the second book slowed down some. The third book wrapped it up. It would have been better if he had written it as one book.

Now working on Stealheart by Brandon Sanderson. Pretty good so far.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 07:44 AM (zZbNF)

24 I have the southern living annual cookbooks from 1979, when I was a little kid, until present day. I usually hop on epicurious, chowhound or smitten kitchen if I'm looking for something to cook online. Cookbooks are obsolete but I enjoy looking at old ones.

Posted by: NCKate at October 13, 2013 07:44 AM (tlIcr)

25 My kids like Alton Brown's books because he explains how a process works He also has some good videos. Frankly I use web recipes more than the books i have. Like the photos and videos better. I am proud to say my wife no longer order shrimp scampi at restaurants because she prefers my sauteed shrimp to anything she has had out in the past 5 years.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 07:44 AM (b0n8A)

26 Cookbooks are part of celebrities go to for extra cash.

Posted by: Roc Ingersol at October 13, 2013 07:45 AM (2o9a+)

27 White Trash Cooking for the win and the recipies

Posted by: tmitsss at October 13, 2013 07:46 AM (aVsJj)

Usually just search the Interwebs, but my go-to paper references are the standard Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and the All New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I've gotten some good recipes from Taste of Home magazine, as well.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at October 13, 2013 07:46 AM (qtKqj)

"For something more conventional, I recommend America's Test Kitchen. "

Have found very few recipes from Cook's Illustrated / Test Kitchen that were not excellent.

Just made Pasta Ala Norma last week with some of the last eggplant form the garden. It just was great.

Posted by: Cicero Kid at October 13, 2013 07:46 AM (DHQv9)

30 So what cookbooks do you morons like? Which ones do you keep coming back to over and over?

No kitchen is complete without the tried and true Betty Crocker cookbook.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 07:47 AM (zZbNF)

31 Another things about recipes: If you like something that a member of your parents generation makes, don't be afraid to ask for the recipe. Cooking for a family is becoming a lost art for many reasons. Our parent knew how to cook. On our tenth anniversary my wife asked my mom for her meatball recipe. They are the bomb and probably led to the defrosting of their relationship.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 07:47 AM (b0n8A)

32 America's Test Kitchen.

Terrific for a Sunday cooking, bleh, the rest of the week.

The effete snob Kimball is incapable of using one ingredient if he can use four or five instead.

Posted by: Buonest at October 13, 2013 07:47 AM (YBusZ)

33 I rarely use a recipe except for baking and I rarely bake because I like to be free flow when I cook, plus I seem to have a mild allergy to flour. I get enough rigidity with coding software, don't need it outside of work.

Posted by: PaleRider at October 13, 2013 07:48 AM (vL0Nv)

34 Pigs in a blanket - hamburger & rice wrapped in cooked cabbage leaves, placed in a casserole dished, covered with tomato sauce, baked. Good times, good times.

Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 07:48 AM (EV3Uf)

35 Since this thread is a little bit about food, I had my first experience with steel-head trout last week. It has almost the same characteristics as salmon, living part of it's life freshwater, part saltwater. It eats the exact same things which gives it the vibrant color of wild salmon. Taste is incredible. Price is between farm raised* and wild salmon. Sustainable, if you're worried about that. I 'planked' it on a cedar plank for extra juiciness. * I read a while back that Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is currently 'farm-raising salmon' somewhere in the north atlantic.

Posted by: Schrödinger's cat [/i] at October 13, 2013 07:48 AM (U2UQk)

36 OM, I asked morons a few days ago if anyone had any knowledge of the Oyster book service online. Do you? Like the Netflix of books. $9.95 per month all you can read. But they only have 100,000 books and it's only available via iPhone. Maybe iPad. Any thoughts?

Posted by: NCKate at October 13, 2013 07:49 AM (tlIcr)

37 Pigs in a blanket - hamburger rice wrapped in cooked cabbage leaves, placed in a casserole dished, covered with tomato sauce, baked. Good times, good times. Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 11:48 AM (EV3Uf) Um, I think that's stuffed cabbage there Butch, but to each their own. I always understood pigs in a blanket asa cocktail weiner wrapped in some sort of dough and baked.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 07:51 AM (XIxXP)

38 34 Pigs in a blanket - hamburger rice wrapped in cooked cabbage leaves, placed in a casserole dished, covered with tomato sauce, baked. Good times, good times. My Polish grandmother called that gołąbki [ɡɔˈwɔ̃pkʲi] (type of cabbage roll); pronounced "Guamchi" Definitely a staple at holidays along with her Perogi.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 07:51 AM (b0n8A)

39 Paula Deen. At first, for the fat, and now, for the protest.

Posted by: Pelham's Battery at October 13, 2013 07:52 AM (YBusZ)

40 Yes, the internet has made cookbooks obsolete for me--- except for my two standbys: The Joy of Cooking --- (MUST be an edition pre-1972, preferably one of the 1960's ones.) Antoinette Pope School Cookbook ---I have the 1955 edition, which I inherited from my MIL. She was a fantastic cook and that was her culinary Bible. I got a couple more (used) copies on-line for my daughters.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 07:52 AM (dfYL9)

41 Martha Stewart actually knows her way around the kitchen.

Posted by: Mandy at October 13, 2013 07:53 AM (YBusZ)

42 Paula Deen. At first, for the fat, and now, for the protest. Posted by: Pelham's Battery at October 13, 2013 11:52 AM (YBusZ) Oh man, her food is fabulous, I like her fried chicken recipe.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 07:53 AM (XIxXP)

43 James Beard's "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking."

Posted by: Oschisms at October 13, 2013 07:53 AM (jthub)

44 I expected a passing mention, not a whole paragraph with picture and links. Without getting all cornball and sentimental about it, thanks to Ace and the co-bloggers for providing a place like this for people like me, like us, we freedom-loving, hobo-hunting happy few. *drops some coin in the tip jar* Now go to the link and buy the book so that I can retire to the lifestyle to which I'm accustomed; that is, spending my mornings lounging by the motel pool and sipping convenience store slurpees while waiting for the plasma center to open.

Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 07:54 AM (ptcFO)

#35 Thanks for the info on steelhead. I've often wondered how it is and how best to prepare it. Will give it a try.

I have a friend who swears by Ina Garten's books and even though I haven't made any of those recipes myself, everything she's made from them has been fabulous and seems relatively easy.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at October 13, 2013 07:55 AM (qtKqj)

46 Watch old videos of Jacque Pepin and Julia Child. They are fun together and you can learn a lot.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 07:55 AM (b0n8A)

47 Speaking of Xenophon, there is The Art of Horsemanship.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 07:56 AM (xqlZc)

48 If you like old school home cooking, the bisquit, chicken and dumplings the way granny made it, you will want Christopher Kimballs Old Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook, it's awesome.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (XIxXP)

49 Paula Deen, come for the protest and happily gain a few pounds.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (xqlZc)

50 So I just finished To Say Nothing of the Dog. It wasn't exactly as funny as I was expecting it to be, but it was ultimately amusing. It seemed to want to say something about the nature of the movement of history (is it determined by individual action or by larger forces?), but it ended up straddling a line between the two that made me wonder why the whole conflict was ever brought up. It also became something of a mystery novel in the vein of Agatha Christie (which was obvious because the characters are constantly referencing the books of the genre). It also gets really involved in the ins and outs of an English manor, a la Downton Abbey, but with less focus and more seances. Ultimately, I'd call it a good read, but less than you'd expect. Next up, a quick jaunt into the adventures of Tarzan with The Return of Tarzan, followed by a John Quincy Adams bio.

Posted by: David at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (6Oj/Y)

51 I use to be a cookbook hound too. I rarely touch one these days. Like Mrs. Muse, I go to the internet...preferably a site with reviewers on the recipe, like allrecipes or cooks.com.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami - GO CARDS!!! at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (bCEmE)

52 OM, I asked morons a few days ago if anyone had any knowledge of the Oyster book service online. Do you? Like the Netflix of books. $9.95 per month all you can read. But they only have 100,000 books and it's only available via iPhone. Maybe iPad. Any thoughts? I have never heard of this service. I will have to look into it. Thanks for the tip

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (fd0Pp)

53 One other thing I find amusing about Betty Crocker cookbooks is comparing mine which I bought in 1978, to my wife's which is about ten years older, and my MIL's which is a 50s version. Compare "standard" can sizes and you will see that the standard can size has steadily decreased over the years.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 07:57 AM (zZbNF)

54 Morning all, I love cooking, and have a (far too) large collection of cookbooks. The most used cookbook is the original Southern Living Cookbook. It's a good, basic skills book. I think its bread recipes are the best, especially the cinnamon rolls. My favorite cookie cookbook is Rose Levy Berenbaum's Christmas cookies. Oh. My. Gosh. These are stupendous recipes, from the ridiculously easy to a gingerbread house of Notre Dame. Plus the pictures are worthy of a coffee table book. Diet cookbook? Probably Southbeach, since that is what we are working on at the moment, although The Other Diabetes by Elizabeth Hiser is good also.Both explain the reasons for the diet, and provide "menus" and recipes. Best international food is Lebanese Cuisine, by Anissa Helou. When we lived in areas without good Lebanese food, this cookbook satisfied that craving pretty well. I love the blackberry pie recipe in Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook, and the biscotti recipes from William Sonoma's Gifts from the Kitchen. For vegan cuisine, Chloe's Kitchen and The 100 best Vegan Baking recipes by Kris Holechek are excellent. (I have a severe dairy allergy, and I found awesome cookie and pasta recipes that don't have dairy, so I can eat them!!!!) Holechek's peanut butter cookie is the absolute best I have tasted. And last, my guilty pleasure-Sandra Lee's cookbooks. She makes me crazy, especially her liberal live in with Cuomo, but her money saving meals actually are pretty good, and she's providing ideas for families to eat healthier without resorting to fast food for meals. So I can appreciate that. From a moron perspective, she is DOWN with the cocktails, and I wouldn't be surprised if she got an advertising deal with Valu-Rite. Her crock-pot pot roast, with a touch of A-1 sauce is amazing. Just use fresh veg instead of the frozen, because, yuck. Happy cooking!!!

Posted by: moki at October 13, 2013 07:58 AM (EvHC8)

55 I have a Betty Crocker book from the 1970's I still use. A lot of the recipies are really good, though sometimes there are bits that throw you for a loop in modern times (add 1 tsp. of MSG, add 1 cup lard, etc.), but so many of the recipies taste better than the low sodium, low fat, no taste recipies I found in an updated version of the same cookbook. As for pleasure, I'm rereading the Belgariad. After this week I needed some light, fun, fantasy that isn't just political infighting with dragons.

Posted by: nnptcgrad at October 13, 2013 07:58 AM (Opyrm)

56 Now go to the link and buy the book so that I can retire to the lifestyle to which I'm accustomed; that is, spending my mornings lounging by the motel pool and sipping convenience store slurpees while waiting for the plasma center to open. Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 11:54 AM (ptcFO) Yeah, they did that for my Novel too, they are pretty cool that way. Thats funny BTW.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 07:58 AM (XIxXP)

57 For someone who no longer cooks, I have a ton of cookbooks.   One of my favorites is called Cooking For Your Evil Twin which is basically a collection of recipes involving chocolate and salt.

My favorite is probably The Lord Peter Wimsey Cookbook which is a collection of recipes for all the foods mentioned in the books.   Not only are the recipes good but it's a fascinating bit of culinary history.   There are comments in there about what to substitute for ingredients that you just can't find now.

When my parents first moved down to NC, I attempted to walk off with Mommy's Betty Crocker cookbook.   You know, the good one from the 50's, not the bullshit one they put out now.   Alas, she saw me do it and, needless to say, I lost that fight.   I did talk out her out of her Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Cookies Cookbook from 1975. Again, it's fascinating to read the suggestions for what to serve for tea and brunch and for a formal party and for a casual dinner party and what to take as a hostess gift.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at October 13, 2013 08:00 AM (Gk3SS)

58 So thanks to the Horde, during last weeks Book Thread I wound up ordering 'The Last Policeman' and it's sequel. Finished the first one last night. Really liked it, and may start the other one today.

On a slightly different topic, my oldest sister has moved here, and is getting the Sunday NY Times (she's a big lib). But she saves the Book Review section for me, and I've been reading them. One thing that struck me, as I hadn't read the BR in a number of years, is how many Best Seller Lists they have. I knew they had started a separate Children's Bestseller section due to JK Rowling, but jeez louise!

Here are the different lists:

Print/Hardcover.

Children's BS's (which include YA, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Series).

Print/Paperback BS's (which include Trade Fiction, Mass Market Fiction,Nonfiction, and Advice, How-To and Misc.)

Combined Print and E-Book BS's.

So lot's of different categories. Weird thing is Ender's Game is showing up on several of the lists.

.

Posted by: HH at October 13, 2013 08:01 AM (XXwdv)

Grew up watchin Galloping Gourmet. Dad was a cook in the Air Force during Korea. His mom was a dietician in a hospital. My brother and I both cooked professionally. I have well over 400 cookbooks in my library, many from 1920-1950.

When we go on a river float for a week I'm the designated Chief, Cook and Bottle-washer. Cicero Kid's wife was a kitchen virgin upon marriage.

Posted by: Cicero Kid Cooks! at October 13, 2013 08:01 AM (DHQv9)

60 38-My Russian dad made cabbage rolls and potato-cheese pierogies for Christmas every year. I loved the pierogies and hated the cabbage rolls. We lived in Poland for two years, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a pierogi stand. They even have fruit ones, which are nasty. But we discovered the mushroom and the cabbage/pork pierogies that they fried in butter-to die for.

Posted by: moki at October 13, 2013 08:02 AM (EvHC8)

61 Compare "standard" can sizes and you will see that the standard can size has steadily decreased over the years. see also; chocolate ration, increased

Posted by: Schrödinger's cat [/i] at October 13, 2013 08:03 AM (U2UQk)

62 Ender's game is getting the boost due to the movie coming out. Though it's questionable how well it's going to do since a number of fandom people not scream death and utter hatred of Orson Scott Card for daring to support traditional marrage.

Posted by: nnptcgrad at October 13, 2013 08:03 AM (Opyrm)

63 51 --- I go to the internet...preferably a site with reviewers on the recipe, like allrecipes or cooks.com. Posted by: Tami - GO CARDS!!! at October 13, 2013 11:57 AM (bCEmE) -------------------- Yes! Having reviewers makes a site 100 times more valuable for me. You not only get a sense of whether the end-product is worth the effort, but you also get clues on short-cuts and substitutions.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 08:03 AM (dfYL9)

64 OSP @ 37 - Yeah, that the correct name is stuffed cabbage, but pigs in a blanket is what my mom called it. I'm gonna argue with my mom?

Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 08:04 AM (EV3Uf)

65 The Joy of Cooking
Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines
Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking

Posted by: Captain Ned at October 13, 2013 08:04 AM (i+Fm3)

66 Again, it's fascinating to read the suggestions for what to serve for tea and brunch and for a formal party and for a casual dinner party and what to take as a hostess gift. Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at October 13, 2013 12:00 PM (Gk3SS) Do you notice a coarsening of society that mirrors the loss of the family Dinner, the time spent in the kitchen where a hell of a lot more than cooking was going on. Also the loss of the formal teas, things like that. My kids got invited to Cotillion, me and the misses had a small discussion. She didn't want to take them to classes etc, and they never went. That saddened me.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 08:04 AM (XIxXP)

I know I read some stuff, but I barely remember. Mostly I just wanted to finish Dr. Sleep which ws kind of boring and tired. I also picked up some classic King - The Shining, The Stand, and I ought to get Salem's Lot.

I am preparing for NaNoWriMo so I am reading/listening to some stuff about the Clintons. Yeeecccchhhh.

I started a book called "The Strangler" by William Landay which is based on the Boston Strangler story. I really liked "Misson Flats" which is why I got another book by the same writer but I'm having a lot of trouble with the idea that two of three brothers, a district attorney and a cop (even a corrupt one), would tolerate a third brother who is a professional thief. I think it's a no-finish.

I have a true-crime from the library with a title worthy of Stephen King: People Who Eat Darkness. I think I should go with that for bed time.

I think I started another free mystery on my Kindle but I can't even remember the title.

Posted by: Tonestaple at October 13, 2013 08:05 AM (3yidV)

68 I'm gonna argue with my mom? Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 12:04 PM (EV3Uf) No you will not, It's P I A B, end of story.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 08:06 AM (XIxXP)

69
My wife would love this thread, its weird to see what some people collect sometimes. She is no different and collects antique cookbooks. Mostly Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management.

Of course she has the first edition first printing Julia Childs books and some dude named something like Escobier (sp?) seems to be a thing.

I on the other hand, just like to eat.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 08:06 AM (N8z9m)

70
I just started Andrew Nagorski's "Hitlerland." It's an eyewitness account of Hitler's rise to power.

Pretty interesting stuff.

Posted by: Wodeshed at October 13, 2013 08:07 AM (ngk0T)

71 60-They also have fruit one. Well, that just sounds awful! Every once in a while I will fry up some Perogi in real butter. My wife and daughter don't care for them or the Kielbasa. OH well, more for me. Gotta admit I have never had the urge to try to make guamchi. Thinking about what I cook and eat makes it obvious why I can't shed the last 20 pounds I want. Is it lunch time?

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 08:07 AM (b0n8A)

72 RKinRoanoke @ 38 - Pronounced "goom-key"? That was the other name mom called it.

The town in which I grew up (Amsterdam NY) was mostly Italian and Polish. We were one of the German/Dutch families.

Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 08:07 AM (EV3Uf)

73 Well, it's Doggeh walking time. Later rons.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 08:08 AM (XIxXP)

74 I lived in New Mexico for 30 years and love love love New Mexican food, which I cannot get now that I live in Texas again. Tex-Mex is kind of meh for me. I recommend Cocinas de New Mexico if you like to cook with chili, which I find to be a must. I have liked everything I've cooked from this website.

http://www.vivanewmexico.com/nm/food.recipes.cocinas.html

Posted by: huerfano at October 13, 2013 08:09 AM (bAGA/)

"73 Well, it's Doggeh walking time. Later rons"

100 ways to Wok a dog!

Posted by: Cook books Barry Hussein read. at October 13, 2013 08:09 AM (DHQv9)

76 Mrs fluffy likes Cooking Light. These days we get recipes from the Internet. Epicurious is a frequent stop.

Posted by: fluffy at October 13, 2013 08:09 AM (z9HTb)

77 Yes! Having reviewers makes a site 100 times more valuable for me. You not only get a sense of whether the end-product is worth the effort, but you also get clues on short-cuts and substitutions.

Why, it's almost as if there is more wisdom in a crowd than a small group of "experts". Someone alert the White House.

@69 Escoffier

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 08:10 AM (6TB1Z)

78
punchfork used to be an awesome recipe site, but it got bought by pinterest and ruined.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 08:10 AM (N8z9m)

79 Bistro cooking by Patricia Wells,is very well used at home since it came out in 1989

Posted by: rd in mississippi at October 13, 2013 08:11 AM (NcSi2)

80 72 -The town in which I grew up (Amsterdam NY) was mostly Italian and Polish Funny I have never been there. My dad's folks came from Poland and My mom's from Italy. Grew up in westchester county. Bet you guys had some good local breweries there.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 08:11 AM (b0n8A)

81 Mrs fluffy likes Cooking Light.

Yeah, Mrs. Pep swears by that one as well, but they too have gone through interations, with the later versions not as good as the earlier ones.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 08:11 AM (6TB1Z)

82 69- could it be Escoffier? If that's a first edition, OH MY GOSH!!!!! Escoffier was wrote some of the first cookbooks to break down the methods of French cooking for the layman. That is a jewel. I am truly jealous!!!

Posted by: moki at October 13, 2013 08:11 AM (EvHC8)

83 Yes! Having reviewers makes a site 100 times more valuable for me. You not only get a sense of whether the end-product is worth the effort, but you also get clues on short-cuts and substitutions. Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 12:03 PM (dfYL9) Absolutely! Saves time and money.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami - GO CARDS!!! at October 13, 2013 08:12 AM (bCEmE)

Years ago, someone gave me The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special Cookbook, which is basically just soups and salads. It looked kinda hippy-dippy to me (fish and seafood recipes are included, but no meat ones - however, I add it), but once I started using it, every recipe I tried was a winner and it's the first book I turn to when I am making a salad for a potluck. A few weeks ago, I made a curried rice salad that was a hit. I love making big pots of soup on Sunday afternoons in the fall and winter and their autumn minestrone and lentil soups are good and the recipes are easy.

Cooking Light came out with a little booklet of stews and soups and I picked it up last year when I was in line at the grocery store. Another winner - Two Potato Lamb Stew with Roast Garlic and the Pork and the Dijon Chicken Stew were great.

I have a lot of cookbooks that I've picked up at estate sales. A few weeks ago, I brought "The Prudhomme Family Cookbook" - the down home Cajun recipes of Paul Prudhomme's 9 sibs. Most of them sound really tasty but are pretty complicated and are basically heart-attacks on a plate. The family photo shows what wonderful Cajun cooking will do to you if you're not getting up to plow the back 40 or work on the shrimp boat everyday.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 08:12 AM (R3gO3)

85 Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, circa 1971.

Posted by: Mikey NTH - Outrage Outlet features Stakes and Kindling for all of Your Heretic Burning Needs! at October 13, 2013 08:12 AM (gmoEG)

86
that's it pep.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 08:13 AM (N8z9m)

87 oh and the grill Bible, How to grill by Steven Raichlen

Posted by: rd in mississippi at October 13, 2013 08:13 AM (NcSi2)

88 Funny story but true. My sister is not a good cook. Somehow she never developed the interest. But after she got married, she really tried. On their 1st anniversary, my BIL gave her some cookbooks. Yes, that was THE gift. She handed BIL the books and declared that she would never cook again. And, short of loading the coffee machine or making the kids a bologna sandwich, she hasn't cooked since. Over 25 years later they're still happily married --- and he is one hell of a cook.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 08:14 AM (dfYL9)

89 How America Eats - Clementine Paddleford

I should sell the damned thing, it would fetch a few hundred bucks.

I got some depression era cookbooks I occasionally look at too. Those I'll probably save for the burning times.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at October 13, 2013 08:15 AM (l5zzX)

90 When my parents first moved down to NC, I attempted to walk off with Mommy's Betty Crocker cookbook. You know, the good one from the 50's, not the bullshit one they put out now. Alas, she saw me do it and, needless to say, I lost that fight. When I got married, lo these 20 years ago, I was given a "cooks shower". It was a bridal shower, where all you received were recipes, cookbooks and kitchen supplies. My mom gave me a copy of her go to cookbook, the 1963 NY Times Cookbook. In the margins and flyleaves she hand wrote in all of her own recipes and recipes from my grandmas. We found out at a family reunion that we were the only two to have some of the recipes from my father's mother.

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 08:15 AM (7ub16)

91 Pictures? My 1950 Culinary Arts Encyclopedic Cookbook is full of black and white lithographs that look scrumptious.

Posted by: Fritz at October 13, 2013 08:15 AM (x2W/k)

92 Do you notice a coarsening of society that mirrors the loss of the family Dinner, the time spent in the kitchen where a hell of a lot more than cooking was going on. Also the loss of the formal teas, things like that. My kids got invited to Cotillion, me and the misses had a small discussion. She didn't want to take them to classes etc, and they never went. That saddened me. Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 12:04 PM (XIxXP)

Yup. The loss of formal manners has implications beyond oh who needs to know that stupid old thing. It's teaching you how to respect others and, in turn, yourself.

My brother, that rat bastard, is one of those people who wanders into the kitchen and then, that rat bastard, randomly throws things into a pot or a pan, shoves it into the oven/cooks it on the stove and then, that rat bastard, pulls it out and it looks like the cover of Bon Appetit and tastes amazing. Not that I'm jealous or anything. Not me.

I can cook, and cook well, but I have to have a recipe, at least at first.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at October 13, 2013 08:15 AM (Gk3SS)

93 Last time we were in the States I picked up a Betty Crocker book, The Big Book of Cookies. Some great stuff in there BUT... so many of them list a cookie or cake packet mix as one of the ingredients. While there are a few now available in our local supermarket but it drives me nuts - especially as I'm not sure how much the packet mixes may have been altered for British/European markets! Once I've eliminated all those and ones that call for ingredients that are hard to get here and ones that have peanut butter in (I've never been a fan) it doesn't leave a great many. Still, my husband really loved the pumpkin with brown butter frosting ones I made for hallowe'en last year, plus there's a snickerdoodle cake bar recipe in there that's great. And there were some incredibly cute polar bear face cookies that went down a treat at church last Christmas. The Kindle version of Mr Darcy's Dilemma & Delight should be out soon, apparently it had to be reformatted so she couldn't add it at the same time as the paperback.

Posted by: GalaKitty at October 13, 2013 08:17 AM (KT2XH)

94 Geez must have done the quote tag wrong sorry alexthechick .

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 08:17 AM (7ub16)

95 James Beard's American Cookery is a very useful book. If I'm going to make something traditionally American, I'll consult Joy of Cooking, America's Test Kitchen, and Beard's book, and pick the recipe that sounds most appealing. Beard often wins that one. His Scotch Broth recipe, which includes Tobasco, is a staple in my house.

Posted by: Splunge at October 13, 2013 08:17 AM (bKA83)

96 Putting this one up for people who want a little apocalyptic survival in thier wheaties
Check out the reviews
http://www.amazon.com/Perdition-The-Line-Sand-ebook/dp/B00ESMNXH8

Posted by: Texas Son at October 13, 2013 08:18 AM (iRNDY)

""The Prudhomme Family Cookbook" - the down home Cajun recipes of Paul Prudhomme's 9 sibs. Most of them sound really tasty but are pretty complicated"

I was just ready to say that Prudhommes' book are incredibly complex. I like the KISS approach: Keep It Simple, Stoopid!

One of my most-heavily used book is "Better Homes and Gardens Mexican" 1977. My Mexican Aunt gave this book to me before she passed. She said many of the recipes were actually on the mark authentic Mexican.

Posted by: Cicero Kid at October 13, 2013 08:18 AM (DHQv9)

98 >>> I got some depression era cookbooks I occasionally look at too. Those I'll probably save for the burning times. Mrs fluffy tells me that Joy of Cooking has recipes for squirrel and other game.

Posted by: fluffy at October 13, 2013 08:19 AM (z9HTb)

99 Don't forget that there are a lot of FREE cookbooks for the Kindle out there.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 08:19 AM (zZbNF)

100 Larousse Gastronomic a classic cuisine encyclopedia for a beautiful glimpse into an (almost) forgotten world. As a chef it's my Hayek and Buckley, Jr. A refuge from the sacrilege that is celebrity so called cooking.

Posted by: whatmeworry? at October 13, 2013 08:20 AM (dZGNV)

101 99 >>> I got some depression era cookbooks I occasionally look at too. Those I'll probably save for the burning times.

Just how many ways can you prepare grass and bark? Never mind, I'll ask the Norks.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 08:20 AM (6TB1Z)

102 i only bought 1 cookbook from America's test kitchen. of course everything came out right. you cooked everything in a skillet and then the oven and then changed the heat in the oven and then put it back in the skillet and then brought out a blowtorch. An hour worth of micromanagement for every dish. no thank you.

Posted by: losthusker at October 13, 2013 08:20 AM (q2ait)

103 A cookbook that uses mixes, GalaKitty? That's as wrong as wrong can be. Whatever happened to that nice Crocker woman who actually knew how to measure flour and cream butter and sugar together before adding eggs?

Posted by: Tonestaple at October 13, 2013 08:21 AM (3yidV)

104 85 --Years ago, someone gave me The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special Cookbook, which is basically just soups and salads. It looked kinda hippy-dippy to me (fish and seafood recipes are included, but no meat ones - however, I add it), but once I started using it, every recipe I tried was a winner .... Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 12:12 PM (R3gO3) ----------------- I know that book secondhand, as it were. One of my best friends is a vegetarian and she loves that book, especially when she's cooking for her many non-veg friends. The stuff she makes is g-o-o-d, and when it's so good that I ask for the recipe, 9 times out of 10 it's from that book!

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 08:21 AM (dfYL9)

105 My own repertoire has been built one experiment at a time, starting with cutting ham and broccoli into boxed mac 'n' cheese. The first wife couldn't cook.

Posted by: fluffy at October 13, 2013 08:22 AM (z9HTb)

106 Agree about Internet and cookbooks. I have tons of cookbooks but when I want a recipe I search the Internet first. I am reading mrs peregrines home for peculiar children. The author collects vintage photos and wrote a story around them.

Posted by: Paranoidgirlinseattle at October 13, 2013 08:22 AM (RZ8pf)

107 I got a 1st edition of How To Cook a Wolf.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at October 13, 2013 08:23 AM (l5zzX)

108 That's it Moki, I just went to ask her the others and she says the Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cookbook she has is pretty rare and I know it took her forever to finally get a good original copy of The Whitehouse Cookbook

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 08:23 AM (N8z9m)

109 I learned to cook as a wee lad. Didn't want to depend on anyone for my sustenance. Plus I hated those 50s-60s TV sitcoms that portrayed men as imbeciles in the kitchen.

Nowadays I pull recipes off the internet like many of the 'rons and 'ettes here do.

Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 08:23 AM (EV3Uf)

110 @ GalaKitty That's one of the nice things with the older recipie books, none of them start with pre-made mixes you may or may not be able to find. My cookbook even describes how to size, cut, and roast whole pumpkin to make pie.

Posted by: nnptcgrad at October 13, 2013 08:24 AM (Opyrm)

111 93 Do you notice a coarsening of society that mirrors the loss of the family Dinner, the time spent in the kitchen where a hell of a lot more than cooking was going on. We could take this thread in a whole new direction. My wife and I purposefully bought a house with an open kitchen / dining / living area because to use the kitchen is where LIVING HAPPENS. My daughter is learning her way around the kitchen (she makes really good pizzelle). We eat together only three nights a week with the out-of-home schedules being what they are. But we still spend alot of time together in this space as a family. Many folks we know don't even do that. Family values start with actually spending time as a family.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 08:24 AM (b0n8A)

112 108--- I got a 1st edition of How To Cook a Wolf. Posted by: Purp at October 13, 2013 12:23 PM (l5zzX) ------------- A nice collector's item perhaps, but useless for us. When we get wolfmeat, we just eat it raw and unseasoned.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at October 13, 2013 08:26 AM (dfYL9)

113 Ah, food pron ;-) The great thing about cookbooks is you can fantasize about food you can't/shouldn't eat and drool on the pictures. Just like the, er, other kind. Favorite cookbooks: Joyce Chen Cook Book. Chinese cooking *including* how to make homemade mu shu pancakes (I got to explain that technique to a Chinese lady once and got major gaijin points). It also has a section in back with ingredients listed by their English and Chinese (character) names, so you can go to the Asian market and point to the stuff you want in case of language difficulties. I also love The New Doubleday Cookbook. It has everything, including cocktail recipes, measure conversions, emergency substitutions, meat cut diagrams, and "how to use a spoon" fundamentals. It even has a recipe for squirrel, so a good resource for the Burning Times. My copy (1985) does NOT have the how to cut up a squirrel section that my mom's (older) copy does, alas. She wouldn't let me have hers. For fiction, just finished "The Lies of Locke Lamorra". Good Moron-friendly fun, once you get used to the massive amounts of flashback storyline.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 13, 2013 08:27 AM (2buaQ)

114 Bought 'God's Battalions' on the recommendation of the book thread last week. It's a great read, especially valuable as an easy to understand narrative of the events leading up to and during the first crusade.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at October 13, 2013 08:27 AM (uhAkr)

115 Many folks we know don't even do that.
Family values start with actually spending time as a family.

Mu daughters have remarked on how rare our family is, in that, while they lived at home, we ate dinner together pretty much every night, unless there was some very specific organizational meeting or practice or other nonnegotiable obligation. Many of their friends apparently found this shocking. I suppose it's all what you've defined as normal to your kids.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 08:28 AM (6TB1Z)

116 I can share a recipe for Stuffed-frogs, Filipino-style.

Posted by: Cicero Kid at October 13, 2013 08:29 AM (DHQv9)

117 Old Victorian era houses usually have tiny kitchens strictly for food prep and proper dining/living rooms often adjoining separated by large pocket doors.

Modern design seems to have retasked the kitchen as a living as well as plain task area.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at October 13, 2013 08:29 AM (l5zzX)

118 The last time my mom was here visiting from NM, she tried to steal my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I caught her. Black people...

Posted by: baldilocks at October 13, 2013 08:30 AM (Tnlh/)

119 I'm reading Doctor Sleep, the recently-released sequel to The Shining by Stephen King; and Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly. I'm not far enough into either to review, but both are good so far.

Posted by: Blacksheep at October 13, 2013 08:31 AM (bS6uW)

120 (I got to explain that technique to a Chinese lady once and got major gaijin points) I hate to be a stickler, but "gaijin" is a Japanese word. Don't know the Chinese equivalent.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 13, 2013 08:31 AM (fd0Pp)

121

"Yup. The loss of formal manners has implications beyond oh who needs to know that stupid old thing. It's teaching you how to respect others and, in turn, yourself."

Several years ago, the wife of a chef/ upscale restaurant owner here started giving etiquette classes. She heard (or observed) businessmen taking young grads out to lunch and the kids had no table manners whatsoever. It wasn't a question of not knowing what fork to use or wine to order, it was basic stuff - talking with a mouth full of food and reaching across the table for the salt shaker or the cream rather than asking the other person to pass it. She said she was seeing (supposedly) educated young people who conducted themselves in front of prospective employers as if they were were eating pizza in the dorm room. She attibuted it in large part to people not eating dinner together as a family.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 08:32 AM (R3gO3)

122 One of my favorite cookbooks "Beat This". But in the newer version of the book I gave my friend the author goes all in on environmentalism and healthier eating. It ruins an otherwise great cookbook with lots of seriously yummy recipes.

Posted by: Paranoidgirlinseattle at October 13, 2013 08:32 AM (RZ8pf)

123 Mu daughters have remarked on how rare our family is, in that, while they lived at home, we ate dinner together pretty much every night, unless there was some very specific organizational meeting or practice or other nonnegotiable obligation. Many of their friends apparently found this shocking. I suppose it's all what you've defined as normal to your kids. Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 12:28 PM (6TB1Z) We did that too pep...and it's not necessarily what you're eating (although that's certainly a plus!), it's that you're all together talking.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami - GO CARDS!!! at October 13, 2013 08:33 AM (bCEmE)

124

yeah, I use the internet more than anything nowadays, too. reviews make it easy to pick out a recipe to start with (but then modify, if need be).

I really like John Besh, tho, and refer to his "Family Table." And Alton Brown is easily the coolest nerd on TV.

As for Lileks, I was first introduced to his work through a bargain bin book years ago - "Falling Up The Stairs" was hilarious and I've loved him ever since.

Posted by: shredded chi at October 13, 2013 08:33 AM (rOTO2)

125 119 The last time my mom was here visiting from NM, she tried to steal my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I caught her. Black people... Posted by: baldilocks at October 13, 2013 12:30 PM (Tnlh/) Coffee ----> Monitor.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami - GO CARDS!!! at October 13, 2013 08:33 AM (bCEmE)

126 Purp- Well also in Victorian times, unless you were dirt poor you had at least a cook and maid of all work. Of course kitchens in the nice houses were small and tucked away- the owners certainly weren't using them! The poor generally had a larger kitchen, and fewer rooms to their homes.

Posted by: nnptcgrad at October 13, 2013 08:34 AM (Opyrm)

127 Re: reuben casarole. I have a devine recipe for reuben soup. I'll try to remember to post it when I get home. Food of the gods.

Posted by: Weirddave at October 13, 2013 08:34 AM (gKGI0)

128
I wonder what the percentage is of the Joy of Cooking in American Homes. I bet its over 50%, those things are everywhere.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 08:35 AM (N8z9m)

129 >>> The poor generally had a larger kitchen, and fewer rooms to their homes. I suppose a pot belly stove would be used for heat as well as cooking.

Posted by: fluffy at October 13, 2013 08:36 AM (z9HTb)

130 Daily reminder: Calvin Johnson is playing this afternoon.

Posted by: WOW at October 13, 2013 08:37 AM (6j8ke)

131 A scary bright friend of mine once told me that the words 'friendship' and 'friend' have their etymological basis in the act of people breaking bread together and this particular connotation of the word is--according to him--universal in all human languages. The kitchen is--or should be--the heart of a home. Sharing food together is as fundamentally peaceful an act as humanity has been able to come up with so far.

Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 08:37 AM (ptcFO)

132 The Army Cook, Army Technical Manual, TM-10-405, April 24, 1942.

Everything you need to know. From how to butcher a hog, to making 20 gallons of coffee with no filter.

Posted by: GSP at October 13, 2013 08:37 AM (YBusZ)

133 OregonMuse -- you are correct. Behold my shame. I think the word I *should* have used is "gweilo". I do hope this is merely a mocking offense and the Barrel is not involved at any point.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 13, 2013 08:38 AM (2buaQ)

134 Sharing food together is as fundamentally peaceful an act as humanity has been able to come up with so far.

If you think about it, it's a way of saying "I am your friend, I value you". A pack of dogs would fight each other for who ate first. Losers get scraps or nothing.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 08:39 AM (6TB1Z)

135 Gotta recommend AdamPerryLang's "Charred&Scruffed"-- turns a lot of the "theory of grilling" around 180 degrees, and the results are FANTASTIC. But the C&S grilling DOES become more labor-intensive, so maybe not worth it when cooking for folks who won't appreciate it.

Posted by: JewishOdysseus at October 13, 2013 08:39 AM (FWwQD)

136 Bill Bryson' s _At Home_ is about the history of each room in the house. It's fabulous, like most of Bryson' s work.

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 08:39 AM (7ub16)

137 For foreigner in Chinese, the one I most often run across is gweilo.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 08:39 AM (xqlZc)

138 I have to say, I prefer "Fannie Farmer" to "The Joy of Cooking".

Posted by: Luke at October 13, 2013 08:41 AM (fXqBO)

139 Tami,

My mom cracks up whenever I tell that story in front of her. 129 I wonder what the percentage is of the Joy of Cooking in American Homes. I bet its over 50%, those things are everywhere. Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 13, 2013 12:35 PM (N8z9m) My step dad--the cook in the family--advised me to get it years ago. I can always find a recipe for normal stuff therein. Well, off to church, 'cause our country needs prayer. Later.

Posted by: baldilocks at October 13, 2013 08:41 AM (Tnlh/)

140 #15 OSP: "enslavement through faux protection"

OMG OMG OMG--what a perfect and perfectly compact description. Consider it pilfered!!

Posted by: JewishOdysseus at October 13, 2013 08:42 AM (FWwQD)

141 bought an old Amy Vanderbilt cookbook from 1950's in an antique store for $10. the illustrator was one Andrew Warhol.

Posted by: mikulin at October 13, 2013 08:43 AM (AUchl)

142 Pow Wow Chow. Some of the recipes are so good that you could swear you had them before.

Posted by: Elizabeth Warren, 0/32nds Cherokee at October 13, 2013 08:44 AM (A+/8k)

143

I have "The Old World Kitchen" which is European peasant cooking. It's fun to read, because the woman who complied the book also includes lots of history and literary references to particular dishes. In the case of the French and Italian ones, you can see how these very simple recipes became the springboards for chefs who went on to develop haute cuisine.

They're simple recipes, but not necessarily easy to make, since calves feet or a sheeps stomach or unpastuerized milk are not something you're going to find at Safeway. And they're definitely heavy on the butter and fat. People who spent their days plowing and threshing didn't have to worry about calories.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 08:44 AM (R3gO3)

144 #35 SC--
Yes, indeedy, steelhead trout is fantastic!! Not often carried here in FL, but I always get it when I see it!

Tastes like a more flavorful, tender salmon--NOT like trout. Which I ALSO love.

Posted by: JewishOdysseus at October 13, 2013 08:46 AM (FWwQD)

145 OregonMuse -- you are correct. Behold my shame. I think the word I *should* have used is "gweilo". I do hope this is merely a mocking offense and the Barrel is not involved at any point. OK, I'll allow it -- This time. But you'd better mind your p's and q's from now on, young lady. I've got my eye on you.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 13, 2013 08:46 AM (fd0Pp)

146 A lot of Bobby flay stuff is too preparation intense but this one book of his gets a big workout every year esp. during summer- Bobby Flay's "Burgers, Shakes, and Fries" Every single recipe in there is great and most very easy to fix. He also conforms to my prejudice that a hamburger is a chunk of ground beef that you season simply and cook. Then add stuff as your building the hamburger. None of this turn your ground beef into meatloaf stuff for him. Nor for me. If you want 2 cookbooks from the Lileks era of 50s and 60s that actually have delicious recipes in them, try: Helen Corbitt's Cook Book and Helen Corbitt Cooks for Company Apparently, she was a big deal during the Kennedy era and was the chef running the restaurant at the main Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas. You can find her books in used book stores or maybe ABE. All of the recipes taste good (that I've tried so far) and are reasonably simple to fix.. Some of the ethnic recipes are a bit laughable in that they have been Americanized. But, you know what- they all taste good as well.

Posted by: John Boehner, SuperGenius at October 13, 2013 08:46 AM (CRY7r)

147

137 Bill Bryson' s _At Home_ is about the history of each room in the house. It's fabulous, like most of Bryson' s work. Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 12:39 PM (7ub16)

I'm reading it now. Another estate sale find. It's fun and a nice break from reading about politics.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 08:47 AM (R3gO3)

148

Joy of Cooking - 1970s edition. It was my mother's cooking bible. I bought a nearly new used copy at Half Price Books for myself, replacing one that I had used until it fell apart. The thing about it is there is a recipe for just about anything edible in the world. Maybe not the best-ever recipe, but there IS a recipe and information about all kinds of esoteric things ... like how to clean and dress game.

Also - highly recommend Ina Garton's Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, but the two most used in Sgt. Mom's kitchen are the Sunset Cooking for Two, and Sunset's French Provincial cookbook. I'd always liked the Sunset series as they relied very much on fresh ingredients, and eschewed the 'can of cream of mushroom soup' as a stock ingredient shortcut.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at October 13, 2013 08:47 AM (Asjr7)

149 bought an old Amy Vanderbilt cookbook from 1950's in an antique store for $10. the illustrator was one Andrew Warhol. Posted by: mikulin at October 13, 2013 12:43 PM (AUchl)

I still deeply regret not stealing my bastard ex's high school yearbook. Why? Well, the school's mascot was a tiger and one of the kids had a relative who drew stuff so the yearbook had these drawing of tigers all through it.

Done by that kid's relative Bill Watterson.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at October 13, 2013 08:47 AM (Gk3SS)

150 For foreigner in Chinese, the one I most often run across is gweilo.

Ummm...that's NOT complimentary at all.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at October 13, 2013 08:48 AM (l5zzX)

151 bought an old Amy Vanderbilt cookbook from 1950's in an antique store for $10. the illustrator was one Andrew Warhol. Posted by: mikulin at October 13, 2013 12:43 PM (AUchl) Interesting synchronicity. I was just talking with my girlfriend about Andy Warhol this morning. We had seen (and loved) an exhibition of his work in Indianapolis a few years ago that had featured a lot of his early commercial work. People focus too much on Warhol's public, artistic persona and not enough on his actual work, his drawings and paintings and prints especially, much of which is marvelous, in my view. She told me I should develop a public persona of some sort, or at least one better than I've got now. I don't know exactly what she's telling me with statements like that. I'll need to give it some thought.

Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 08:48 AM (ptcFO)

152 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2785.The_Old_Way_of_Seeing

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at October 13, 2013 08:51 AM (l5zzX)

153 Then there's the LL Bean Game and Fish cookbook. I don't know about the game recipes, but I've tried a couple of the walleye ones - terrific! It would be a really useful book for a hunter as it also includes a lot of non-fussy camp recipes.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 08:51 AM (R3gO3)

154 #65--CaptainNed, I too have that old FannieFarmer Boston book! And I make the greatest "SoftMollasesGingerbread" ever from the recipe on p. 402, but I also throw in a LOT of grated raw ginger. The cooked ginger fibers actually give it an internal crunch. YUMM!

Posted by: JewishOdysseus at October 13, 2013 08:52 AM (FWwQD)

155 "The Minimalist"-- great essential cookbook

Posted by: tomc at October 13, 2013 08:54 AM (avEuh)

156 Website called "The Homesick Texan" for online Mexican, Tex-Mex and Southern cooking. Expat Texan in NYC does it. The book "Talk About Good" is the little old ladies of Cajun Louisiana but it's not just Cajun or Creole. Junior League of Lafayette compilation and most excellent, oh my droogs.

Posted by: Mr. Dave at October 13, 2013 08:55 AM (aBrL8)

157 So!

Anyone else hungry?

Posted by: HH at October 13, 2013 08:56 AM (XXwdv)

158 Old enough to have had a large collection of cookbooks at one time. Only thing is, once I found a recipe my family liked, I made it over and over. So, now I have a large binder with all our family favorites, as well as new ones we deemed worthy of the binder. That is now my go to cookbook.

Also includes many of mom's recipes that stood the test of time and still yummy today.

Posted by: Gidget at October 13, 2013 08:57 AM (tfg7i)

159 Amazon has new and used Helen Corbitt's Cook Books.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 09:00 AM (zZbNF)

160 @Guy Mohawk Your comment made me go take a peek at my now carefully stored copy of The White House Cookbook, with a publishing date of 1905. It was my grandmotherÂ’s and spent a lot of years at the bottom of a box in a garage before it came to me. It is extremely yellowed and brittle, but I love it so much because it was hers. Tucked among the pages are various little recipes she cut out from the newspaper. Sometimes the recipe was continued on another page. My grandmother kept the related clips from getting separated by stitching them together with a needle and thread. For some reason looking at those clips and imagining her doing that always makes me a little misty eyed . . .

Posted by: Elinor at October 13, 2013 09:02 AM (TCqhy)

161 Nothing like a Protestant ladies Aide cook bookk, especially the Lutherans

Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian, now with 50% more sensitivity at October 13, 2013 09:02 AM (HVff2)

162 162 Nothing like a Protestant ladies Aide cook bookk, especially the Lutherans

Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian, now with 50% more sensitivity at October 13, 2013 01:02 PM (HVff2)

Any church cookbook is a treasure!

Posted by: Gidget at October 13, 2013 09:03 AM (tfg7i)

163

Yes, HH, this thread has made me hungry!

One last mention for those not cooking for more than 2 - "Eating Well Serves Two" is a good resource. It can get very frustrating when you find a recipe (especially a fish or seafood recipe) that sounds good and then see it serves 8 and it can drive you nuts trying to half the recipe and half it again. Cooking in big batches is fine for soups and stews you can freeze, but this book is a good alternative if you don't want to be eating leftovers all week long.

Posted by: Donna V. at October 13, 2013 09:06 AM (R3gO3)

164 Even if someone already mentioned it - I'll mention it again - Matt Bracken is offering his books for FREE Amazon Kindle download. https://twitter.com/MattBracken48/status/389026713268916224

Posted by: Jay Carney cries real (simulated) tears at October 13, 2013 09:08 AM (gfGOZ)

165 Missouri Synod Lutheran Ladies Guild has the best Jello and gulash rdishes you can find. Along with Apple strudell and a variety of dishes centered around anti-peta standards..

Posted by: Jet Built Around Cannon at October 13, 2013 09:09 AM (70CRT)

166 Purp, I never got called that. One semester had RoC roommate, great person. And guess what, got to hang with other Chinese students and none ever treated me that way or called me that.

Gaijin is not really complementary either. Words for those who are not like us never are. Foreign devils and all that.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 09:10 AM (xqlZc)

167 My "next Amazon order" is getting a lot of links today.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 09:10 AM (zZbNF)

168 OM @ 121 - The Chinese term for foreigner is gweilo (pronounced qw-eye-low), literally foreign devil.

Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 09:13 AM (EV3Uf)

169 119 The last time my mom was here visiting from NM, she tried to steal my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I caught her. Black people... Posted by: baldilocks at October 13, 2013 12:30 PM (Tnlh/) LMAO

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 09:14 AM (XIxXP)

170 I don't know about that particular follow up P&P I haven't read it. There are some good ones (as well as some other continuations of Austen novels) and some horrible ones-the horrible ones being poorly written, not on the style of Jane Austen and some that are romance novels/ higher class. porn. I really DON"T want to know about the sex life of Darcy and Elizabeth. Some discussion of Austenuations as well as all things Austen is on this site: http://www.pemberley.com/sequels/sequels_02.html

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 09:15 AM (a4Omg)

171 Missouri Synod Lutheran Ladies Guild has the best Jello and gulash rdishes you can find. Along with Apple strudell and a variety of dishes centered around anti-peta standards.. Posted by: Jet Built Around Cannon at October 13, 2013 01:09 PM (70CRT) We are MSL, The new wave MSL really like them some casserole with Chicken, Cambells soup and Tator Tots.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 09:16 AM (XIxXP)

172 Cookbook? Why, Betty Crocker, of course.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at October 13, 2013 09:17 AM (aDwsi)

173 169 OM @ 121 - The Chinese term for foreigner is gweilo (pronounced qw-eye-low), literally foreign devil. Posted by: butch at October 13, 2013 01:13 PM (EV3Uf) People fail to see the racism, called nationalism, practiced by the chinese. They do indeed believe their race is superior. A Charecter in my next book is Chinese, he is called a twinkie and a Banana by his Chinese American Friends. Yellow on the outside, white in the middle. These conversations are taken straight from a college campus, not made up.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 13, 2013 09:20 AM (XIxXP)

174 Any bread baking morons out there, The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart is excellent. Very involved, yes, but well worth it. Great guy too. I've taken three or four of his classes at Johnson/Wales.

Posted by: NCKate at October 13, 2013 09:22 AM (tlIcr)

175 I like the " Joy Of Cooking" as well as the Moosewood Cookbooks too. I just picked up at a rummage sale "Tea-Time at the Inn"-a Country Inn Cookbook which is really fun. It has a list of B&B places that serve tea and has lovely photos and recipies. It includes everything from theme teas such as "mystery teas" or Scottish teas to holiday teas to romantic teas.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 09:22 AM (a4Omg)

176 Not only did they NOT have jobs, having a profession was quite unseemly. They were some kick-ass hobbyists, though. Naturalists, astronomers, geologists, etc.

Posted by: moviegique at October 13, 2013 09:23 AM (i7eJs)

177 Posted by: NCKate at October 13, 2013 01:22 PM (tlIcr)

I knew a guy once who started baking bread as a hobby. Apparently ate most of it himself. Boy howdy, did he put on the pounds.

OTOH, had a neighbor back in L.A., French guy who baked, and one day showed up at my door out of the blue giving me this round loaf of bread that he had made at the bakery he worked at.

Best bread I've ever had. No butter or anything like that. Afterwords I could understand how the French could make a whole meal out of bread, cheese and wine.

Posted by: HH at October 13, 2013 09:31 AM (XXwdv)

178 Any cookbook by Jacque Pepin. I think his first cookbook was La Technique which I bought back in the 1970's. It is not about recipes so much but how to do stuff like cut up a chicken, make a pie crust, and other practical things. I remember my mom and grandmom giving me handwritten recipes of stuff I loved to eat with no instructions on how to put it together. This book has photos of every stage of putting it all together like a diagram or blueprint. I met him at a cooking show last year and took this ancient greasy splotchy book which he signed and complimented on it being used. Nice guy to talk to if you can understand the accent.

Posted by: Bob at October 13, 2013 09:31 AM (qTsuK)

179

>>I'd always liked the Sunset series

Sunset bread book, crockpot book and several others. Great stuff.

>>The Frog Commissary Cookbook

Love it, esp the desserts. But I'll never make the "Warm Lamb Salad" because of the pic of the cute little lamb wrapped in a blanket and smiling at me.

Martha Stewart's Cookies, with a few different ways to make choc. chip cookies depending on whether you want them crispy, soft, etc.

Posted by: Mama AJ at October 13, 2013 09:37 AM (SUKHu)

180 Haven't had a chance to try this yet, but this is a pretty interesting cook book: http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/goderec.htm Medieval Recipes for different kinds of dishes and beverages. I'm planning on trying a few over these forthcoming colder seasons.

Posted by: .87c at October 13, 2013 09:39 AM (qZPXs)

181 I'm always late getting here, but LOVE this thread every week! I use your ideas for the bookstore I work at, so thanks again. Apologies if someone has already mentioned (I jumped into the end before reading comments) my favorite cookbooks over the years are by Molly Katzen. The Enchanted Broccoli Forest has been a go-to for decades, and her newer Simple Suppers has been great for my empty nest.

Posted by: Mrs. Mittens at October 13, 2013 09:44 AM (x8ukW)

182 "Looney Spoons" was a great cookbook for finishing out grad school. And a big step up from popcorn twice a day.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 13, 2013 09:46 AM (u82oZ)

183 Gushka pointed me on FB to this tragedy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpdphotography/sets/72157626713779604/
I picture all too soon savages huddling under the decayed ceilings as the rain falls outside, burning the books for warmth.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 09:50 AM (xqlZc)

184 My very first cookbook was the Betty Crocker oldy but goody, given to me when I was little. I still have it, and still use the Caesar Salad recipe.

I have a huge collection of every cuisine imaginable, but my go-to books for comfort food are Southern Living books. I also have a number of Mediterranean cookbooks (I must have Greek or Italian blood from somewhere).

D'oh Boy has developed a love of cooking, and I'm going to gift him some books (probably most of my barbeque collection, and maybe the Joy of Cooking) when he has a place of his own.

Cooking is relaxing to me. I used to paint and draw (was something of an artist) and can't anymore due to osteoarthritis in my right hand. So it's also my creative outlet.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at October 13, 2013 09:59 AM (lVPtV)

185 Gushka pointed me on FB to this tragedy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpdphotography/sets/72157626713779604/
I picture all too soon savages huddling under the decayed ceilings as the rain falls outside, burning the books for warmth.

Heartbreaking. I guess we've found one thing the mob won't bother stealing.

Posted by: pep at October 13, 2013 10:01 AM (6TB1Z)

186 I second "The White Trash Cookbook." It's written with love and humor and honesty-- most cookbook authors don't admit what they really put together on a weeknight. The author has some some 'gay' in the background, in the same spirit of "tell it like it is," but you should own it for the Americana.

Posted by: Cameo Appearance at October 13, 2013 10:02 AM (R8yKQ)

187 "I picture all too soon savages huddling under the decayed ceilings as the rain falls outside, burning the books for warmth."

The reversion to barbarism continues and accelerates.

For years I have been struck by the gorgeous architecture in the ruins of Detroit, and this library is no different. Dark wood paneling. Vaulted ceilings. Big windows.

But, never tempted to actually move there and buy some real estate and start to restore it. Because I have talked to other people who've tried that and returned scared, sad and defeated, losing most or all of the money they invested. It is a no-go zone for Whitey now and it will be until the end of time.

Posted by: torquewrench at October 13, 2013 10:02 AM (gqT4g)

188 I still pull out the old Frugal Gourmet cookbooks from time to time, which I've had for many years. IIRC they were the first cookbooks we bought as a married couple, having been given the Joy of Cooking as a wedding present.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:03 AM (5H6zj)

189 Another cookbook we used a lot in our early married life was Keep It Simple, which featured a lot of affordable meals that took less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:04 AM (5H6zj)

190 My stand bys are Joy of Cooking, an early 70s edition, full of how to and what to avoid advice in addition to recipes; Maryland's Way cookbook put out by the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, a new 50th anniversary edition is out this year but mine is the Bicentennial Edition copyrighted in 1964, it's full of colonial recipes updated where needed to be useful and the source of some very good Christmas cookie recipes; Meta Given's modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, latest copyright is 1955 but the earliest is 1947, another book loaded with how to stuff like adjusting quantities and an extensive chart on how to buy fruits and vegetables that includes yield per purchase unit, market season, quality standards and storage; and Putting Food By, everything you need to know about how to preserve every kind of food, and the recipes to cook them. That ought to see me through the apocalypse.

Now I'm hungry...

Posted by: Retread at October 13, 2013 10:04 AM (Oz+LZ)

191

Don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but America's Test Kitchen has a FANTASTIC book out called "The Science of Cooking" - not only great recipes, but detailed explanations of the "whys" behind a lot of different things that are taught in culinary schools.

http://is.gd/J3EIax

Bought the hardcover version for DD#3's (now ex) fiancÃ© for Christmas last year - it's hefty, but in my opinion a much better option than the Kindle version.

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX at October 13, 2013 10:07 AM (PZ6/M)

192 >>39 Paula Deen. At first, for the fat, and now, for the protest. I don't have any of her books, but I've made a few of her recipes that I found online. Especially love her shrimp and grits.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:08 AM (5H6zj)

193 I got to last week's book thread too late, but someone had been talking up _Unintended Consequences_ by John Ross, and I had taken an earlier, similar recommendation and read the book.

What I came away with was a sinking, "this is why we lose" feeling. There may be a book about citizens forcibly confronting an arrogant gun-grabbing imperial bureaucratic state that I would comfortably put in the hands of friends who are not gun owners and who are openminded about the issue, but U/C is assuredly _not_ that book. No way.

And, people who think that U/C _is_ a suitable book for general audiences not already of revolutionist/insurrectionist temperament probably need to get their Overton Window edge proximity sensors recalibrated stat.

It frankly comes across as a bit nutty and obsessional and lacking humor. And way too gun-wonky for a general audience. With, as I recall, occasional weird digressions into unrelated sidelines like why an annuity policy is preferable to regular life insurance. I understand that Ross did or does that sort of stuff as a day job (which he better keep) but it was incongruous in context.

Posted by: torquewrench at October 13, 2013 10:11 AM (gqT4g)

194 >>59 Grew up watchin Galloping Gourmet. Many happy memories of watching Graham Kerr with my mom. Slurp, slurp, slurp!

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:11 AM (5H6zj)

195 Christopher also wrote a the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it novel, The Death of Grass, End of the World novels were really popular in the 1970s and I read a lot of them. And older one (1950s) that's my favorite is "Greener than you think". It's now online for FREE in various formats. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24246 My favorite of the 1970s eco-doom novels is Wylie's "The End of the Dream". Many disasters happen - I still shudder about ... The 'vibes. It's a good read. That's the same Wylie who wrote "When Worlds Collide" and "After Worlds Collide"!

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at October 13, 2013 10:13 AM (83xuc)

196 Internet is a great source for recipes. For example, on Friday I found I had wild rice and arugula and asked myself what I could do with those. Found a few fun salad recipes and quickly identified one that didn't require a trip to the store for addtl ingredients. But it's fun to pull out the old cookbooks and get inspiration, especially from ones that have pictures.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:14 AM (5H6zj)

197 184 Gushka pointed me on FB to this tragedy. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpdphotography/sets/72157626713779604/ I picture all too soon savages huddling under the decayed ceilings as the rain falls outside, burning the books for warmth. Looks like 1940s Berlin.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at October 13, 2013 10:15 AM (b0n8A)

198 Oh, if you like to cook and are mildly social, we were extremely impressed by the hands on cooking class we took at our local Sur La Table. Extremely well-done and not too heavy on trying to sell you the latest gadgets.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:16 AM (5H6zj)

199 I've always liked to know how people before us in our tiny slice of history have before before marching into the grave and I started researching historical cooking. There's a lot of good material out there if you want to learn how people ate in the past. I have books on Roman cooking all the way up to colonial Aemerica - some recipes are enjoyable and others cringeworthy. Roasted chipmunk? Sure. Pickled eel? Thanks but, no; I'm on a diet. My favorite is Pleyn Delight - a compendium of medieval cookery. It's popular with reenactors and I like it because it gives recipes in original Weird Shit English with a modern translation as well as modern substitutes for herbs and spices that were common at the time but aren't commercially available or easily obtained.

Posted by: Munenori at October 13, 2013 10:16 AM (Y325w)

200 >>179 Any cookbook by Jacque Pepin. Love him. And he's hawt.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:17 AM (5H6zj)

201 I stumbled across this tv series the other day. Haven't watched it yet, but recorded several episodes. Looks fun: http://www.rl.tv/shows/a-taste-of-history/

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 10:19 AM (5H6zj)

202

To all those "Pigs in a Blanket" snobs out there, I grew up in SW Penna. Tons and tons of Polish and Czech folk there. Stuffed cabbage rolls were ALWAYS referred to as "pigs in a blanket." I remember going off to my first job and one of our work functions had a buffet. A co-worker told me there were pigs in a blanket. Imagine my shock and surprise to find vienna sausages wrapped in Pillsbury dough. You can believe I set everyone straight! (LOL)

OM -- Give this to your wife. I found this in a WV Women's Club cookbook that I (had to) bought from my boss (who was selling them). This recipe was in there. It's outstanding and about 35 years old! Of course, it's also floating around on the interwebz:

http://bit.ly/1ch5MCJ

Posted by: RushBabe at October 13, 2013 10:21 AM (hrIP5)

203

Posted by: billygoat at October 13, 2013 10:26 AM (r/8av)

204 I just find it all so depressing when I look at the pictures of that library. Ceilings falling in. Water on the floor. Books scattered about like wild animals have been in there, then you realize the animals in question walk on two legs and get further depressed.

All those innocent books massacred. What was it forget the author who said it, "when the last reader reads no more." Or something like that. We are perilously close to that tragic state.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 10:27 AM (xqlZc)

205 The New York Times Cookbook, by Craig Claiborne...a classic. Also love Epicurious.com

Posted by: billygoat at October 13, 2013 10:28 AM (r/8av)

206 Oh gawd there is nothing more dreadful literature on this earth that Mrs. Darcy "Austen" fanfic.

It's tempting enough when you are all out of Austen but the biographies (and most of those), but STAY AWAY. I warned you.

Posted by: Sarahw at October 13, 2013 10:28 AM (LYwCh)

207 I love the science type cookbooks. They teach you how to cook things, not necessarily a specific list.

It's handy for those times when you use what's in the cupboard, and don't want to go to the store.

Posted by: Jay in Ames at October 13, 2013 10:28 AM (sBwRF)

208 Also, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is a great one.

I made the pie crust recipe for an apple pear pie, and got rave reviews on that. The pie was good, but the crust was GREAT!

Posted by: Jay in Ames at October 13, 2013 10:29 AM (sBwRF)

209 Betty Crocker is still what I reach for for the basics. The King Arthur Flour books are what I reach for when I want to bake (Whole Grain Baking is especially good). But I am like Mrs. Muse as well - I find recipes on line, print them out, and try them. If they work, I put them in a binder. If not, recycle it. Which reminds me, it is time to start rolls for sandwiches for next week...

Posted by: Nancy at October 13, 2013 10:31 AM (CH3mr)

210 Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 02:27 PM (xqlZc) I agree. Very sad.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 10:37 AM (a4Omg)

211 I tried to forget it but it just came to mind-"Days and Nights and Pemberly" Linda Bertold ?). Horrible. Ghastly. I'm sorry f anyone here is a friend of Ms. Bertold. Please leave the Darcys their privacy.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 10:44 AM (a4Omg)

212 Meant "Days and Nights at Pemberly"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 10:45 AM (a4Omg)

213 Coolio did a pretty decent job playing sous chef as Oregon Muse points out. Seeing him in action on the Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cookoff on the Food Network was quite a surprise.

On the cookbook front, it is pretty interesting to compare and contrast modern recipes vs. older ones, although that can be surprising at times. I'd have thought most of the 50's-60's stuff was pretty horrifying a la Lileks, but if you check Betty Furness's cookbook from that timeframe, quite a few of the recipes are still used today.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at October 13, 2013 10:47 AM (FvyJS)

214 Free download of a Fanny Farmer 1896 Cookbook: http://bit.ly/GVKIHQ

Posted by: RushBabe at October 13, 2013 10:48 AM (hrIP5)

215 From a reviewer at Amazon. It did make me laugh-and no, i didn't write the review. "Days and Nights at Pemberly" But then, how could the characters be developed if there wasn't really anything HAPPENING?! I am not at all against the sex in the book, so long as it's not the only activity going on for Darcy and Elizabeth for most of the book. Well, it is very close to that. We hear about them having sex on the balcony, out in the garden, in their specially-ordered-double-size bath tub, in their carriage, on Lady Catherine's shelves, etc. I got the idea. Please, move on. It's perfectly fine to include the sex, so long as there are something else too for the main characters, whom the book is named after. In the beginning of the book, if they are not having sex, they are thinking about when they can.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 10:50 AM (a4Omg)

216 I use my laptop in the kitchen so often now that it probably should have an apron. I've taken to printing out successful recipes and placing them in plastic sleeves in a binder. This is also my favorite recipe book.

Posted by: no good deed at October 13, 2013 10:54 AM (k55Fc)

217 My go to cookbook is still the Joy of Cooking. If it's not in there then the internet. My first cook book was The Betty Crocker Cookbook in the 1970's.

Posted by: Wiscmom at October 13, 2013 10:56 AM (73mB5)

218 Another favorite recipe book is The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse.

Posted by: no good deed at October 13, 2013 10:58 AM (k55Fc)

219 I love cooking and cookbooks and take them to bed to read like novels. I own probably 100, but need to cull pretty soon. My favorites are, hands down, church cookbooks and vintage cookbooks. (And hellz yeah to the Lutheran church lady remarks above--I happen to be chairing the cookbook committee for my Lutheran church, and yes, it is going to be awesome. Even if some of those old German and Swedish ladies have submitted some weird-ass stuff.) Also, anyone who enjoys cooking, reading, and reading about cooking should check out Laurie Colwyn's essays. I bought Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything years ago and found it helpful, but now I look at it with annoyance because he's a preachy liberal asshat, so I will probably get rid of it. The internet is good for when you want to cook something specific and need a quick recipe for it.

Posted by: Republic of Texas 2: Electric Boogaloo at October 13, 2013 10:58 AM (Gk2GE)

220 All those innocent books massacred. What was it forget the author who said it, "when the last reader reads no more." Or something like that. We are perilously close to that tragic state. Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 13, 2013 02:27 PM (xqlZc) The city of Detroit is not yet the measure of the United States. A particular combination of circumstances--rampant corruption, unions, Democrats, the generations-long cultivation of a particularly pernicious brand of institutional racism--made it the blighted hellhole it is today. Which isn't to say that scenario won't play out across the country in a few years' time unless we stop it. Which brings me to another point: many of us, myself included, are infected with defeatism. We need to shake it off and go with a will at these Marxist bastards. The game is not over. We're still here. The victory of their weaselly stealth socialist agenda is not inevitable.

Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 11:01 AM (ptcFO)

221 For years, my mother complained about not having any of her mother's recipes. So when I moved out on my own (and eventually got married) I put together a recipe book of favorites (mine, my family, and my wife's family. Then I did a simple print-out. I have since passed on a copy to my daughter and her husband. It is my "go-to" cookbook. I also use the internet, the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and a "basics of microwave cooking" book.

Posted by: Rm 207 at October 13, 2013 11:13 AM (22SLA)

222 I love cookbooks, I read them all the time. Celebrity cookbooks are useless, with a few exceptions. 1. Alton Browns Good Eats books are wonderful, though huge and hard to keep open. 2. Nigella Lawson's Feast is a book I use all the time and has the very best method for roasting whole fowl that I've come across. 3. For my Peruvian needs I go to The Exotic Kitchens of Peru - Websites for Peruvian food suck. 4. It's a website/magazine - Saveur. Their weekly email for dinner ideas ALWAYS has something I end up trying. That is a fabulous resourse. For the person who really wants to step up their cooking game, I recommend The Making of a Cook by Madeline Kamman.

Posted by: Mrs. The Everlasting Phelps at October 13, 2013 11:15 AM (zJH/w)

223 Rats - late to the thread.

My favorite resource is Fine Cooking Magazine, and their website is great, too. They regularly publish magazine-style cookbooks (like "Soups and Stews" or "Grilling"), but they have a great cookbook. "Cooking New American"that I gave to my sister (she loves it). They don't just have recipes, they do 'recipe builder' style recipes that provide the metrics for customizing things like cheesecakes, pasta salad, beef stew, whatever.

Posted by: Lizzy at October 13, 2013 11:20 AM (JRmiD)

224 I really like The Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron. The first is _Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor_. Unlike many period mysteries, romances, etc. Jane does not have excessively modern ideas and behaviors. She is confident in her own abilities and the sharpness of her own mind but is not infected with the lamentable "Wymyns is best, no patriarchy!" that pervades the mindset so many so called historical characters.

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 11:23 AM (7ub16)

225 Posted by: Wiscmom at October 13, 2013 02:56 PM (73mB5)

My first cookbook was Betty Crocker, too! A gift from mom when I got my first apartment in college.
I have the Joy of Cooking, but it's the 25th anniversary edition where they modernized some recipes, so not quite as good.

Posted by: Lizzy at October 13, 2013 11:24 AM (JRmiD)

226 Best pic caption evar, OregonMuse!

Posted by: BrendaK at October 13, 2013 11:25 AM (J9FJX)

227 Which brings me to another point: many of us, myself included, are infected with defeatism. We need to shake it off and go with a will at these Marxist bastards. The game is not over. We're still here. The victory of their weaselly stealth socialist agenda is not inevitable. Posted by: troyriser at October 13, 2013 03:01 PM (ptcFO) Thank you for reminding me of this, Troy!

Posted by: Elinor at October 13, 2013 11:31 AM (TCqhy)

228 You can still buy the 1931 edition of the Joy of Cooking

http://tinyurl.com/m7hts2r

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 11:31 AM (zZbNF)

229 Agree that Bittman killed it for me by being a preachy liberal asshat. I spent two years working on hunting down all family recipes with my mother. When we had them all, she wrote them in a leather journal in her big loopy cursive writing I was so in awe of when I was little. It's my treasure. I'll have it for the burning times, since no "retarded sirs" will be able to read it.

Posted by: NCKate at October 13, 2013 11:34 AM (tlIcr)

230

My go-to cookbook is the New York Times Cookbook. But I also have a huge file of recipes from Gourmet magazine that I use a lot. Another one I love is "Lidia's Family Table" by Lidia Bastianich. I also like to try recipes from the newspaper and have some of those in my file. Have a great BBQ rub and sauce recipe that was in the Philly Inquirer a few years ago from a BBQ contest winner.

At Thanskgiving I use all the recipes from Martha Stewart's "Entertaining", her first cookbook from 1984 that I got as a bridal shower gift. Wonderful dishes.

Posted by: rockmom at October 13, 2013 11:34 AM (z6Elp)

231 Thanks, Vic. I guess I have the 50th anniversary edition.

Posted by: Lizzy at October 13, 2013 11:41 AM (JRmiD)

232 Funny, I've read all of the posts but not one person has mentioned Rachael Ray.

Not being a cook, I'm just curious as to why. Are her books really lame or what...?

Posted by: HH at October 13, 2013 11:46 AM (XXwdv)

233 Oh, I just saw the Detroit Library pics. What a tragedy, in the full and complete sense of the word. Those books held opportunity between their covers, and those vermin dishonored them, because who wants to learn anything anymore? We get everything handed to us. On a happier note, I concur with Y-Not about Sur La Table. They have wonderful cooking classes, and their date nights, where you and your spouse cook a lovely dinner, are pretty awesome. It's worth the price, and a far nicer atmosphere than many restaurants these days--you can talk, too.

Posted by: moki at October 13, 2013 11:48 AM (EvHC8)

234 216 From a reviewer at Amazon. It did make me laugh-and no, i didn't write the review.

Used to be some whacky Canadian channel on the DirecTV box (I think it eventually became whatever AlGore bought and then sold to alJazeera) that had a series called something like "Good Clean Porn". They'd take a porn movie, rip out the naughty bits, and broadcast what was left.

Posted by: Anachronda at October 13, 2013 11:49 AM (U82Km)

235 HH - Rachel Ray's niche is fast meals that include a lot of shortcuts, such as purchasing pre-cut onions. I have nothing against her, but I love to cook and I prefer resources - books, magazines and websites - that aren't as concerned with speed and that help me learn techniques, etc. I can spend hours online or going through books just reading recipes of in order to find the perfect recipe for X.

Posted by: Lizzy at October 13, 2013 11:53 AM (JRmiD)

236 It frankly comes across as a bit nutty and obsessional and lacking humor. And way too gun-wonky for a general audience. With, as I recall, occasional weird digressions into unrelated sidelines like why an annuity policy is preferable to regular life insurance. I understand that Ross did or does that sort of stuff as a day job (which he better keep) but it was incongruous in context. I believe the author of Unintended Consequences is some kind of investing counselor/financial analyst in his real life day job, so that's why we're seeing the money nerd stuff. And I agree, now that I've finished U/C, I can see the book is pretty much preaching to the choir. No way would I give it to anyone else other than a firearms enthusiast.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 13, 2013 11:59 AM (fd0Pp)

237 (I got to explain that technique to a Chinese lady once and got major gaijin points)

I hate to be a stickler, but "gaijin" is a Japanese word. Don't know the Chinese equivalent.

I believe the word might be gwailo. Think it means round-eye.

Posted by: baldur at October 13, 2013 12:02 PM (oMJgK)

238

I asked my wife if she would like to comment on this post, since she has hundreds of cookbooks and has the nickname "Cookie", which is well earned. Her reply, "My favorite is the one in my head".

Nuff said.

Posted by: Okrathief at October 13, 2013 12:06 PM (HuHjl)

239 UPenn has a massive collection of stuff that they've scanned, including a buttload of cookbooks (we're talking an ISO buttload here, which everyone knows is just a touch bigger than an ANSI buttload):

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

Posted by: Anachronda at October 13, 2013 12:17 PM (U82Km)

240
Late to game today, but for other tardy arrivals -- or those with OCD who constantly refresh threads:

Barnes and Noble has a good coupon this weekend - 20% off one item. I use these for books, typically the more expensive ones, that are about the same price or cheaper at Amazon. Very handy for the books that don't get discounted.

Store: BN.com and instore
Coupon: FRIENDNFAM
Expires: Online October 15 at 2:59am Eastern Time, and at Barnes & Noble stores October 14 at close of business.
Restrictions: One time use, on one item and no Nooks. Other restrictions are on the printable

Notes: Free shipping on $25 min orders.
Printable for instore use: http://tinyurl.com/kkm6uq8

For example, a book on my Amazon wishlist was $45ish and I pay sales tax there. Total would have been about $49, The order for the book at BN with the coupon came to $38 with free shipping, so a nice savings.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at October 13, 2013 12:18 PM (kdS6q)

241 Here's the cooking stuff, if Pixy lets me post it:

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Cooking

Posted by: Anachronda at October 13, 2013 12:19 PM (U82Km)

242 Thanks, Anachronda!

Posted by: Lizzy at October 13, 2013 12:23 PM (JRmiD)

243 crap. there were some ampersands in that cooking link and i don't remember where they were.

Posted by: Anachronda at October 13, 2013 12:26 PM (U82Km)

244 I have to agree with the scattering of votes for Fannie Farmer. I much prefer it to the Joy of Cooking, and I prefer the old versions to the newer ones. I got a nice new hardcover Fannie Farmer as a gift a few years ago, but I still go back to my ratty old late-60s paperback that is about to fall apart. I learned to cook some growing up, but I learned far more as a bachelor with that old paperback cookbook. Just don't trust it for names: it mixes up things like veloute and supreme sauces, its recipe for bubble and squeak is wonderful but has no relation to the dish of that name, etc.

Posted by: Brad at October 13, 2013 12:35 PM (B5hux)

245 Italian Regional Cooking, by Ada Boni. Stuffed with recipes and gorgeous photographs, and some neat lore. (Because people from Genoa were considered cheapskates, dishes alla Genovese were named because there weren't a lot of ingredients). Besides, how many recipe books will tell you to cook beans in an empty Chianti flask or to purge snails in a wicker basket lined with oak leaves? It's a nice balance of sturdy peasant cooking (which I grew up on) and the outlandish - small field birds on a spit. Truffle slices in butter.

When I got married, I cooked my way through the 60 minute gourmet by Pierre Franey, and my husband was very patient but it took him ten years to stop bringing up the chartreuse (the casserole, not the liqueur).

Posted by: vivi at October 13, 2013 12:40 PM (+/8mE)

246 I have read almost all of the Stephanie Barron Jane Austen mysteries and they are good-maybe because there are not characters from Austen novels in them. Tnanks for bringing them up, tms.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 13, 2013 12:42 PM (a4Omg)

247 I use a bunch of cookbooks that Mrs Hate and the Hatettes have accumulated through the years: Southern Living's annual recipes, Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker loose leaf stuff and those Pillsbury small paperbacks you buy at the grocery store were surpringly helpful in getting me started. Mark Bittman is borderline retarded when it comes to politics but his large cookbooks are very useful; particularly in helping me making something remotely like part of a couscous dish in a Tunisian restaurant outside Paris which was one of the most unique culinary events of my life. My book group finished "Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey which was good but ultimately not as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. It was very well written and all but it just ended in an unsatisfactory. I wasn't the only one to feel that way. On now to Heart of Darkness which I've read multiple times but not recently. I'll be anxious to see how I react to it this time. Made a little progress in Gibbon and found myself in the usual quandary with him covering something in an overview manner which I'd like to read much more detail. Specifically the Amorium war between Theophilus and Motassem, which was a payback by the mooooslims for trashing the hometown of Motassem's father; it sounded really really bloody and barbaric.

Posted by: Captain Hate on his iPhone at October 13, 2013 01:22 PM (bCqT1)

248

I have my Grandmother's copy of Peg Bracken's The "I Hate to Cook" Book. Not only does it have some really good recipes, but her wit makes it a joy to read.

Back to lurking....

Posted by: UDM at October 13, 2013 01:31 PM (DKUqj)

249 I just started Amy Lynn, which I believe was written by a moron--the good kind.

Posted by: Northernlurker at October 13, 2013 01:40 PM (BLAfs)

250 250 I just started Amy Lynn, which I believe was written by a moron--the good kind.

Posted by: Northernlurker at October 13, 2013 05:40 PM (BLAfs)

It was written by OSP.

Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2013 01:49 PM (zZbNF)

251 I've been reviewing my recipes for my solar cooker for after the SHTF.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 13, 2013 01:54 PM (RXos3)

252 I grew up in a household where nobody really cooked. Generally, we'd get groceries, and my sister and I would forage out of the pantry & fridge for a lot of meals. Also, we did fast food sometimes. And there was a pizza place my dad loved, so sometimes he was ordering from there 3+ times a week. Is it no wonder that my sister and I didn't grow up with good eating habits? Living on my own, I learned to do a bit of putting meals together, etc., but now being married and having kids, everything is about putting meals together for everybody to eat around the table. (My husband works 5 min from home, so not only do we all have dinner together, but we have lunch together as well!) I've collected a number of cookbooks by now, but the one I use the most is the "Cooks Country" cookbook, because it's got a lot of good recipes for fairly basic stuff. I also subscribe to the Cooks Country magazine, because having not learned anything about cooking as a kid, it's nice to learn some of the theory behind cooking, and see some of the options one has when one cooks. I get things off the internet as well, I'll modify things here and there as it suits the family. What I've also found is that the recipes in the coupon inserts of the papers and on boxes of staples like pasta noodles are typically pretty good and also fairly simple, and are a good place to sometimes get inspiration for cooking.

Posted by: Katja at October 13, 2013 02:42 PM (YWt3A)

253 247 Felonspoke Yet Harold Trowbridge was the epitome of an Austen character. _Ghosts of Netly_ is my favorite and yet least favorite book in the series. You know Jane doesn't get happily ever after going into the series, but part of you hopes.

Posted by: tms at October 13, 2013 02:51 PM (q6J4u)

254 Cook books and magazines will continue to thrive at our house, internet notwithstanding, because foodies need food pron, and they want it available for thumbing through. I highly recommend Cook's Illustrated. Featured recipes are like detective stories (how they solved the problem of dryness or sogginess, for example). If I could only have one cookbook, though, it would be JOC (Joy of Cooking). We have several editions (they change the recipes from time to time so hang onto your favorite). I have about 4 feet of cook books, ranging from featured chefs (Jacques Pepin, Lydia Bastianich) to ethnic specialties (The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking), even some Swedish cookbooks from my "past life."

Posted by: Miley's Tongue at October 13, 2013 03:13 PM (R+h7Q)

255 Thanks to whoever recommended Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. I got a copy of Book 1 (Quicksilver) and have been working my way through it. And there's 2 more books? I'll be 60 before i finish!

Posted by: John from next to ID at October 13, 2013 04:01 PM (c4mqS)

256 You haven't been to culinary hell until you've gazed upon the Weight Watcher's cards from 1974. Here's a link to a lady that found a set and added her own hilarious comments.

http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

Posted by: Max Entropy at October 13, 2013 05:00 PM (Hc0n6)

257 "189 I still pull out the old Frugal Gourmet cookbooks from time to time, which I've had for many years. IIRC they were the first cookbooks we bought as a married couple, having been given the Joy of Cooking as a wedding present.

Posted by: Y-not at October 13, 2013 02:03 PM (5H6zj)"

I am surprised that nobody else has mentioned the Frugal Gourmet. You can only find his books in used book stores now because the revelation that he is a pervert pretty much killed his popularity but his recipes are easy and delicious.

I recommend the first Frugal Gourmet book to anybody who is first living on their own. By reading that book and following his directions you can make very tasty meals in not much time with common ingredients. Cooking at home is much cheaper and much healthier than eating out.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at October 13, 2013 05:28 PM (q1sF4)

258 My go-to cookbook is my mom's Better Homes & Gardens circa 1960 or so. Some of the pictures probably made it into Lilek's book, but I love it so. I have a few Frugal Gourmet books and the recipes are pretty good. I watched the Frug quite a bit when I was home with the kids - he was on right after Mr. Rogers - so those are good memories. Craig, lol. I was so shocked at that turn of events. I have read a lot of P&P fanfic and I've enjoyed it, for the most part. But Linda Berdoll is dreadful. Avoid, avoid , avoid! I read a trilogy, whose names escapes me at the moment, the first of which was a really excellent re-telling of the story from Darcy' s POV. It was the jewel of the bunch; the second book was bad and the third was meh, but that first book was great.

Posted by: Gem at October 13, 2013 07:09 PM (zw+pb)

259 A couple for those of you who are "self sufficient" types. FORGOTTEN SKILLS by Darina Allen JOY OF COOKING 75 ANNIVERSARY ADDITION I use recipes as a base line if I'm doing a dish I have no prior knowledge of. Baking, candy making, and such are often an adventure at my house. Trying to adjust for an altitude of 10,500' is not for the faint of spirit. It's 0600 at my location. time to start some Bacon curing. Morton sugar cure is excellent in my book. Happy Columbus Day to ALL.

Posted by: rld77 a fellow traveler at October 14, 2013 03:02 AM (+kay4)

260 Thanks for the UPenn link, Anachronda. I poked around there a bit, followed a link to econlib.org and then ended up reading a very damning article about Chomsky and Cambodia linked from a comment to an article: http://tinyurl.com/defmr

Posted by: BornLib at October 14, 2013 01:28 PM (iUuDU)

261 So from reading the article I linked above, the three books it seems I should read if i want to learn about what happened to Cambodia in the 70's are: Sideshow by William Shawcross Cambodia: Year Zero by FranÃ§ois Ponchaud The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79 by Ben Kiernan Thoughts?

Posted by: BornLib at October 14, 2013 04:08 PM (iUuDU)

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