What cookbook are you currently reading?

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Permalink Reply by Scottie on February 28, 2008 at 2:13pm

Always have the Escoffier cookbook handy as well as The French Chef by Jullia

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Permalink Reply by Adam R. Cox on February 28, 2008 at 5:20pm

I just got done reading Micheal Ruhlman's The soul of a Chef-Journey to Perfection. That was so close to home,and such a morale booster. Also finished awhile ago: The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by by Mark Kurlansky. It's the history of the Oyster Industry in NYC, NY. Really amazing.

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Permalink Reply by Mark McKellier on February 29, 2008 at 7:46am

Hi Tony, I'm currently reading (and using!) the excellent Leith's Vegetarian Bible. In fact it's so good I'm seriously considering clearing the shelf of all the other vegetarian cook books and just having this one. Only down side is it's size - weighing in at 3 pounds it's like carrying a brick around with you!
I'm now off to see what Leith's Fish Bible is like - wonder if my shelves can take the weight of both books!

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Permalink Reply by Laura Cherry on February 29, 2008 at 10:42am

I just finished "The Seventh Daughter, My Journey From Beijing to San Francisco" by Cecilia Chiang. It is a fantastic read - such an amazing story of her life. And so far every recipe has been delicious!

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Permalink Reply by Brad Stabinsky on February 29, 2008 at 3:44pm

Hi Tony,
I had the pleasure of studying with Madeleine Kamman in 1990 at The School for American Chefs in Napa Valley and I could not agree more. Her writings are a treasure of information both in a culinary sense, as well as her uncanny knowledge of culinary history. I just picked up Michael Mina's book and am enjoying his "trio"concept.

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Permalink Reply by Carol Ott on February 29, 2008 at 5:25pm

I love reading old cookbooks -- the semi-goofy ones that start every chapter with phrases like "Gals, your husband will never stray if you follow these casserole recipes!" I collect them, in fact, and have several of these in my "cookbook library".

Julia Child's bible of French cookery is another favorite. All of those ingredients! So many steps and methods! But ah, such wonderful food...

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Permalink Reply by Chef Nathalie on March 2, 2008 at 12:10pm

HI, I just got this cookbook a day a go and recipes look pretty good.
The Food You Crave
by Ellie Krieger

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Permalink Reply by Sallie on March 3, 2008 at 6:57pm

My husband just bought the Betty Crocker cookbook and said here you go!

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Permalink Reply by will iams on March 9, 2008 at 3:07pm

Hi Tony--Kamman's other books are also a real source for technique, recipes that really make sense and information about the reasons foods behave the way that they do when we subject them to heat, cold, etc..Not in a Harold McGee scientific sense but from a culinary standpoint..as for what I am reading: Appetite by Nigel Slater, Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain, Mark Bittman..

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Permalink Reply by Tony on March 9, 2008 at 4:06pm

Hello Will iams,
I have read all of Bourdains books and love em! Two other informative books that I have read were Charlie Trotters "Lessons in excellence" and "Lessons in service". Both were very good. I always recommend "Lessons in service " to all the FOH.

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Permalink Reply by will iams on March 13, 2008 at 9:08am

How about John Thorne: he of Simple Food, Serious Pig, etc..fame. A lot of information and extremely well written. One other is Jim Harrison's book of essays, the name of which escapes me at the moment..while not exclusively about food and cuisine it has a large section devoted to them. Many years ago I picked up a facsimile copy of "Housekeeping in Old Virginia" by M. C. Tyree. (Originally published in 1887) Very interesting..all sorts of techniques that have fallen out of our lexicon. Most for good reason. Some though, like homemade sauerkraut, home cured bacon, home brewed..uh..beverages are intriguing. I roasted a pig according to her (his?) instructions and it turned out great..

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Permalink Reply by Brook on March 14, 2008 at 8:17am

As a cookbook reviewer I get covered up with them; which is OK, as I'm one of those crazy people who reads cookbooks the way others read novels. Here are a few I've read recently that I particularly liked:

1. Yum! Tasty Recipes From Culinary Greats (Julia Pitkin, editor).
2. Whole Grain Breads (Peter Rhinehart).
3. Where Flavor Was Born (Andreas Viestad).
4. American Masala (Suvir Saran).

I've just started reading The North African Kitchen (Fiona Dunlap). So far it seems like a good read. But I haven't made any of the dishes from it, yet, so have no real opinion yet.

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