What is your Favourite Cookery Book and Why?

HappyVirago

This is a great thread! I'm just in the middle of going through all of my recipe books and making a list of what recipes I fancy trying, and which ones I've already tried... so I can say with absolute geeky accuracy, my favourites are

The River Cottage Family Cookbook (made 19 recipes)
Feast - Nigella (made 19 recipes)
Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook (made 16 recipes)
Nigella Express (made 8 recipes)
How to Be a Domestic Goddess - Nigella (made 7 recipes)

... and my other books account for a few more. I think Nigella's Christmas should be up in the top 5 as I've made *loads* out of that, but I haven't finished indexing that book yet. I am definitely a Nigella girl but I have a lot of love for Mary Berry too - they rarely fail.

Loving the Welsh presence on this board - although I was taught to juggle Welsh cakes as soon as I was high enough to reach a bakestone, I never got my Nan's recipe for cawl as I was a bit nervous of the lamb (used to be squeamish around raw meat, not now of course but Nanna's since passed on). I will have to try a 'book' version and see if I can replicate Nanna's.

rosie383

Like Tandraig, I was given a Good Housekeeping cookbook about 20 years ago and it is the only thing that has followed me through numerous house moves. I don't use it for many recipes as such, but if I am not sure how to cook something, it will always give me the important info and I can adapt it to suit my dish. Each section has a 'trouble shooting' bit, eg, in the baking section, what went wrong if your cake was flat, pastry was hard etc.

It has picture pages which are useful for identifying spices etc. This proved very useful over the summer when my sis in law was here from Algeria for a holiday. She is a really keen cook, and we found it invaluable when it came to finding which spice was which, as she didn't know the names in English, and I didn't know them in French or Arabic.

[Deleted User]

I have a folder on my computer that I have called 'My Misers cook book' and I copy and paste a lot of the receipes from on here.Its about 14 pages long atm and full of bits that folk have passed on. great when I need inspiration I also use the Dairy cook book that I bought years ago

tandraig

happy virago - there are almost as many ways of making cawl as there is sheep in wales!lol - the one essential ingredient is lamb.....try to find the cheapest cuts - neck is a good one but most supermarkets dont sell it, shoulder is also good and quite cheap - go to high street butcher and most of these lovely people will bone and cut up shoulder for you - but ask for the bones - they help flavour cawl. then add onions carrots any root veg you fancy in whatever quantities you want. use biggest pan you can find. cover with cold water add salt and bring to boil. now - the real secret of cawl is - as soon as it comes to boil turn down to simmer slowly for at least a couple of hours or all day - simmering can be done in slow cooker. I like to add a lamb knorr cube as i dont think lamb tastes the same these days. the meat and some veg were usually served for supper that day - then more veggies added next day (top up with water if needed) then simmered for hour or two - do NOT boil - and served as soup. and so on and so on - it can last a week like this!!!

just thinking now - i think the reason i think lamb doesnt taste the same is because

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my nain used mutton!!!! my grancher worked for abbatoir ( i couldnt work that out as he was a real animal lover!!! but he loved them on his plate too i suppose) can you get mutton these days - advice please you other lovely posters. if i can get mutton would certainly use it instead of lamb to see if thats reason i need to add stock cube (which nan certainly didnt!)

tandraig

sorry your nan isnt still with you - but i found that the little book 'welsh country cookery' had recipes very close to the ones i was familiar with! the welsh cake recipe in particular is exactly like my nans as she used real butter - my mum uses hard margerine and they taste quite different. and i must try to find the other book mentioned by maitane! the recipe for faggots include the gravy and mine doesnt and my nan made them in gravy!

Georgiabay

When I first started cooking years ago I used to borrow cookery books from the library and write the recipes I fancied into a notebook which is now well worn and battered. I've not bought many books because I borrowed hundreds and most would have nothing in or just one or two recipes so I don't think it's worth it.
The one I have used a lot is a Dairy cook book which my mother got from the milkman.
My daughter gave me Jamie's Ministry of Food last Christmas. I thought she was trying to tell me something as it says on the cover 'Anyone can learn to cook in 24 hours' but it's turned out to be pretty useful.

anguk

JackieO wrote: »

I have a folder on my computer that I have called 'My Misers cook book' and I copy and paste a lot of the receipes from on here.Its about 14 pages long atm and full of bits that folk have passed on. great when I need inspiration I also use the Dairy cook book that I bought years ago

I also have a folder full of recipes, it's full of things I've copied off here and pasted onto notepad.

I really need to tidy it up a bit though because there's loads, I should probably sort through them and put them into sub-folders or something.

I wondered if there's some sort of recipe keeping software that is useful?

tandraig

purpleivy wrote: »

My dd seems to have taken on her mum's fondness of baking. I bought the book above as part of her 18th birthday present last year. Now she's about to go off to Uni and has said she would like the same Good Housekeeping book as I have, but it's no longer in print. Will have to see if I can trace it.

I don't think I really have a favourite cookbook, but I do refer to GH for standard stuff. I like the new Economy Gastronomy a great deal

I have found various GH books in charity/secondhand shops but havent bought any of them! Why? because they tend to be the same format with similar basic recipes - I think they just update them - and take new pics . oh and now and again they have one which seems twice the size of the others with twice as many recipes. the reason i dont buy a new one (i should really but would feel bad retiring old faithful) is because after 33 years i know how to adapt the basic or similar recipes and this suits me just fine!!!
i would vote it best cook book ever for beginners!:T

L.L_2

Ainslee's new one looks quite good, 5 ingredients or someting.

angeltreats

I picked up a fantastic book in a charity shop today: Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book - over 200 Classic Recipes. Here it is on Amazon. Almost every single recipe is something I want to make and the instructions are very good and clear, and most of the ingredients are things you'd have in your storecupboard. There are some savoury recipes too. I made a vanilla & chocolate chip marble cake tray bake as soon as I got home and it turned out lovely. Definitely recommended, in fact I might buy my mum in law a copy (a new one!) for Christmas.