Thread: recommend a cooking book ?

Tracy007 wrote:
> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you
>
>
> regards
>
> Tracy
>
I find I use Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" more than any other
book these days. Simple recipes explained well. To me, his recipes
generally taste quite good.

For anything fancier or different, epicurious.com

Dean

foodbanter spy007 and she write:

> because i'm boring with the fastfood,

boring no good,no interesting,need interesting


> so i decided to cook by myself from now on,but i need a valuable cooking
> book,Who can recommend one to me,thank you

niacin,thiamine,riboflavin,manda ruby she recommending invaluable protein
idiot

Bob

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:31:08 -0400, Tracy007 wrote:

> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you


This is the quality of messages from Foodbanter!
Take a trip to your local library and ask at the help desk where to find
the section containing cookbooks.

--
Posting from groups.google.com or www.foodbanter.com or other web-forums
dramatically reduces the chance of your post being read.
Use the real usenet!
Eternal-september is free, <http://www.eternal-september.org/>.

"Tracy007" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>
> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you
>
>
> regards
>
> Tracy
>
>
By far the best book is the "Joy of Cooking". That's where everything
begins.
http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-75...8937787&sr=1-1

Kent

Kent wrote:

> By far the best book is the "Joy of Cooking". That's where everything
> begins.

it certainly was for me!

Tracy007 wrote:
> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you
>
>
> regards
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
>
Any Cookbook by Alton Brown is a good book. Look at a few. I think
you'll like at least one.

EJ in NJ

Goomba wrote:
> Kent wrote:
>
>> By far the best book is the "Joy of Cooking". That's where everything
>> begins.
>
> it certainly was for me!

That was what I would have suggested had the OP not been posting from
foodbanter.com

Dave Smith wrote:
> Goomba wrote:
>> Kent wrote:
>>
>>> By far the best book is the "Joy of Cooking". That's where everything
>>> begins.
>>
>> it certainly was for me!
>
> That was what I would have suggested had the OP not been posting from
> foodbanter.com

Oh, I didn't notice. <sigh>

On 3/18/2010 3:31 AM, Tracy007 wrote:
> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you

Go for a book that teaches methods, not recipes. If you know a few
methods then you can throw food together from whatever comes to hand.
When you get to the point that you've got basic techniques in your head
then you can jam on them and do all sorts of things.

Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" is one very good starting point--Martha
Stewart claims that she learned to cook from reading Julia Child.

Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For The Food" is shorter and less pretty
and covers somewhat different territory.

"Martha Stewart's Cooking School" is good if you are totally lost but is
of relatively limited range. What she covers she covers in great detail.

If you like Chinese find a copy of "How to Cook and Eat In
Chinese"--it's out of print so you'll have to go to Abebooks or other
used book sources, it's the first good English-language Chinese cookbook
and is still one of the best for learning technique.

"The Best Recipe" is based on careful tests conducted by Cooks
Illustrated Magazine, and it's very good for recipes besides explaining
the testing that went into them.

One big thick book that is very worthwhile is "On Food and Cooking" by
Harold McGee. It's not a recipe book or a howto book, it's a "why it
works" book, and it's amazing how much knowing why you are doing what
you are doing helps.

You should also have one of the standards--Joy of Cooking, Good
Housekeeping, etc, which are more recipe oriented than method
oriented--they're good idea books, but they won't really teach you how
like one of the technique-oriented books will.

Watch the Food Network--seeing Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown and
other professionally trained cooks at work will teach you in ways that
reading a book can't.

I think I'm with this JClarke. I love the McGee, but it is not really
for the first timer. High school science reference that I am glad to
have. Joy of and Julia, not brilliant but better than going to Taco
Bell. You want a recipe, they got em. And epicuriious. And if you
want to cook you should have the books. If you want to chop your own
onions you can learn some good stuff from TV. Or come here. We got
different ideas, but I think we can all help you stay out out of the
drive-thru.

"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On 3/18/2010 3:31 AM, Tracy007 wrote:
>> Hi,everyone,
>>
>> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
>> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
>> me,thank you
>
> Go for a book that teaches methods, not recipes. If you know a few
> methods then you can throw food together from whatever comes to hand. When
> you get to the point that you've got basic techniques in your head then
> you can jam on them and do all sorts of things.
>
> Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" is one very good starting point--Martha
> Stewart claims that she learned to cook from reading Julia Child.
>
> Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For The Food" is shorter and less pretty and
> covers somewhat different territory.
>
> "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" is good if you are totally lost but is
> of relatively limited range. What she covers she covers in great detail.
>
> If you like Chinese find a copy of "How to Cook and Eat In Chinese"--it's
> out of print so you'll have to go to Abebooks or other used book sources,
> it's the first good English-language Chinese cookbook and is still one of
> the best for learning technique.
>
> "The Best Recipe" is based on careful tests conducted by Cooks Illustrated
> Magazine, and it's very good for recipes besides explaining the testing
> that went into them.
>
> One big thick book that is very worthwhile is "On Food and Cooking" by
> Harold McGee. It's not a recipe book or a howto book, it's a "why it
> works" book, and it's amazing how much knowing why you are doing what you
> are doing helps.
>
> You should also have one of the standards--Joy of Cooking, Good
> Housekeeping, etc, which are more recipe oriented than method
> oriented--they're good idea books, but they won't really teach you how
> like one of the technique-oriented books will.
>
> Watch the Food Network--seeing Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown and
> other professionally trained cooks at work will teach you in ways that
> reading a book can't.
>
>
After I start with the "Joy of Cooking", Julia Child's "The Way to Cook"
gets picked up second when looking for a recipe. It's an incredible book.

"bulka" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I think I'm with this JClarke. I love the McGee, but it is not really
> for the first timer. High school science reference that I am glad to
> have. Joy of and Julia, not brilliant but better than going to Taco
> Bell.

"Joy of Cooking" and "Julia Child" not brilliant??? Come on!!!

You want a recipe, they got em. And epicuriious. And if you
> want to cook you should have the books. If you want to chop your own
> onions you can learn some good stuff from TV. Or come here. We got
> different ideas, but I think we can all help you stay out out of the
> drive-thru.
>
>

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:24:08 -0700, Kent wrote:

> "bulka" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>I think I'm with this JClarke. I love the McGee, but it is not really
>> for the first timer. High school science reference that I am glad to
>> have. Joy of and Julia, not brilliant but better than going to Taco
>> Bell.
>
> "Joy of Cooking" and "Julia Child" not brilliant??? Come on!!!

i think the brilliance of 'joy of cooking' is in the tone. very friendly,
very reassuring, sometimes quite funny. (i'm sure julia is similar, but
i'm not familiar with her books.)

your pal,
blake

On Mar 19, 10:53 am, blake murphy <blakepmNOTT...@verizon.net> wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:24:08 -0700, Kent wrote:
> > "bulka" <working.artists.work...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >>I think I'm with this JClarke. I love the McGee, but it is not really
> >> for the first timer. High school science reference that I am glad to
> >> have. Joy of and Julia, not brilliant but better than going to Taco
> >> Bell.
>
> > "Joy of Cooking" and "Julia Child" not brilliant??? Come on!!!
>
> i think the brilliance of 'joy of cooking' is in the tone. very friendly,
> very reassuring, sometimes quite funny. (i'm sure julia is similar, but
> i'm not familiar with her books.)
>
> your pal,
> blake

Something like that. When I was starting, Joy was usually my first
place to look for anything. Now that I mostly use recipies as
suggetions, I hit epicurious or you rfc folk. Still like having Joy
somewhere on the shelf.

B

On Mar 17, 11:31 pm, Tracy007 <Tracy007.5e7a148.205...@foodbanter.com>
wrote:
> Hi,everyone,
>
> because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> me,thank you
>
This link is to a review of Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques at
Powell's bookstore. They have one copy, but I'm sure you can also
find it elsewhere. While I also recommend Julia Child's The Way To
Cook, this Pepin work is extensive in its coverage and thoroughly
dependable. If you worked all the way through it you'd know a lot
about cooking, not only a lot of classic recipes but the techniques
that make them feasible. -aem
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9781579121655-4

"blake murphy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:24:08 -0700, Kent wrote:
>
>> "bulka" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>>I think I'm with this JClarke. I love the McGee, but it is not really
>>> for the first timer. High school science reference that I am glad to
>>> have. Joy of and Julia, not brilliant but better than going to Taco
>>> Bell.
>>
>> "Joy of Cooking" and "Julia Child" not brilliant??? Come on!!!
>
> i think the brilliance of 'joy of cooking' is in the tone. very friendly,
> very reassuring, sometimes quite funny. (i'm sure julia is similar, but
> i'm not familiar with her books.)
>
> your pal,
> blake
>
>
What blows me away ongoing about the "Joy...." is that every recipe in that
book is a good solid working recipe. There just aren't any errors. Their
suscinct dialogue about food preparation is always right on. For me it's
sort of my "old testament". When I stare at the several hundred cookbooks in
front of me I first reach for "Joy...", then "The Way to....[Julia]. and
then "Essentials of Classic Italian....[Marcella Hazan].

As I'm sure you know, cookbooks are a high buck part of the nonfiction
publishing business. A lot of cookbooks are written by people who author
more than they "chef". If you look at the output of some writers, there will
be ten books with a total of 2-3000 recipes about foods of different
nationalities. I'm told that many times they probably have been tried once
or twice. The great writers above refined their recipes ongoing over their
careers. The same recipe would be republished, in refined, improved fashion
as seen now.

RE: Julia: The PBS series "The French Chef" with Julia is on DVD and
probably available at your local lilbrary. Get the book[also from your
library, as almost all have it] and follow along. It'll blow you away. In
addition to her genius, her humor is incredible!

Kent

In article <[email protected]>,
"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 3/18/2010 3:31 AM, Tracy007 wrote:
> > Hi,everyone,
> >
> > because i'm boring with the fastfood,so i decided to cook by myself from
> > now on,but i need a valuable cooking book,Who can recommend one to
> > me,thank you
>
> Go for a book that teaches methods, not recipes. If you know a few
> methods then you can throw food together from whatever comes to hand.
> When you get to the point that you've got basic techniques in your head
> then you can jam on them and do all sorts of things.
>
> Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" is one very good starting point--Martha
> Stewart claims that she learned to cook from reading Julia Child.
>
> Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For The Food" is shorter and less pretty
> and covers somewhat different territory.
>
Alton's is a very readable book. He explains food chemistry in
real-folks language. (I used his explanation of saturated vs.
nonsaturated fatty acids in my intro nutrition class.) "Cookwise", by
Shirley O. Corriher, is another geek-oriented book.

> If you like Chinese find a copy of "How to Cook and Eat In
> Chinese"--it's out of print so you'll have to go to Abebooks or other
> used book sources, it's the first good English-language Chinese cookbook
> and is still one of the best for learning technique.

Another good Chinese methods cookbook is "The Key to Chinese Cooking",
by Irene Kuo. It also may be out of print.
>
snip
>
> You should also have one of the standards--Joy of Cooking, Good
> Housekeeping, etc, which are more recipe oriented than method
> oriented--they're good idea books, but they won't really teach you how
> like one of the technique-oriented books will.

I learned to cook from my mother's 1950-edition Betty Crocker cookbook.
When I was in college, I got my first "Joy of Cooking". Sometimes you
need the basic books, and then you can branch into Julia, Jacques, et
al.
>
> Watch the Food Network--seeing Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown and
> other professionally trained cooks at work will teach you in ways that
> reading a book can't.

I've gone cold on the Food Network of late. They've gone more to the
competition shows, which have entertainment value but minimal learning
opportunities. You'd be better off watching some of the cooking shows
on PBS, such as "America's Test Kitchen."

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

On Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:10:46 -0700, Cindy Fuller
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I've gone cold on the Food Network of late. They've gone more to the
>competition shows, which have entertainment value but minimal learning
>opportunities. You'd be better off watching some of the cooking shows
>on PBS, such as "America's Test Kitchen."
>
>Cindy

I just heard in the last few days, that the food network is spinning
off another channel: The Cooking channel. I think enough people were
protesting, so they felt they had to do something.

And as far as beginning cookbooks go, one I really like is Learning to
Cook with Marion Cunningham. She was an associate of James Beard, and
she discovered that teaching adults to cook was very challenging. Her
book is very good at some basic things. The recipes are very good as
well.

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com

I'm a real fan of Mark Bittman's, particularly "How to Cook Anything."

-- Larry