Recipe books? (Need Help)

[AlexS]

Hello, folks!
I am new here. I recently started cooking and well I decided to buy a few receipe books... But I don't don't know what to look for.

- Are there good and bad receipe books?
- What is the price I should pay for a good receipe book?
- Where to buy?

Thank You!

Alex

 

[jpmcgrew]

Welcome Alex,
I think it depends on what kind of cook books you are interested in. And yes there are bad cook books out there. What kind of recipes are you looking for and what is you cooking experience? Used book stores are a great place to start as well as Ebay. Of course the INTERNET is loaded with great recipes as well. Are you looking for particular recipies?

 

[AlexS]

Welcome Alex,
I think it depends on what kind of cook books you are interested in. And yes there are bad cook books out there. What kind of recipes are you looking for and what is you cooking experience? Used book stores are a great place to start as well as Ebay. Of course the INTERNET is loaded with great recipes as well. Are you looking for particular recipies?

Thanks for a quick reply!
I don't have much experience, but everything I cooked so far turned out great. (Beginner's luck? )
I am not looking for anything particular - well, mostly daily suppers for the family... and I guess it's time to start cooking sweets - which I have never done before.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Thde New Joy of cooking is a good place to start. Ive used one for years.

 

[dcannaday]

Library

Check out the selection at the library. The one here has tons of cook books. Just return them on time and they are free lol David.

 

[expatgirl]

I admire you wanting to become a good cook and so glad that you've had such great experiences so far.........there are several good online recipe sites as well among which DC is on.........allrecipes is one of the best in my opinion as they have so many to choose from along with reviews from the people who've tried the recipe who have their own ideas to offer and rate the recipe, as well as allowing you to change portion amounts...........cookbooks are personal.........my favorite is being held together by two rubberbands and a smile and tons of postal tape.............paperback Betty Crocker circa 1972.......perfect cookbook for the beginner cooker...........rap on your older aunties' doors and see if any of them have a copy to loan you........there will be a piewheel on the cover page and is considered a collector's item..........I totally agree with having the Joy of Cooking on hand as well.........there is an oatmeal cookie recipe in there that is very good as well as very useful ingredients and measurement information.....great resource book to have on hand as your computer does not always work when you need it.........persevere in your gastronomic pursuits

 

[Mississippi Girl]

Hello, folks!
I am new here. I recently started cooking and well I decided to buy a few receipe books... But I don't don't know what to look for.

- Are there good and bad receipe books?
- What is the price I should pay for a good receipe book?
- Where to buy?

Thank You!

Alex

I have bought cookbooks since I was 12yrs old..many are pretty but fairly useless in everyday cooking or entertaining casually. I am so not a socialite lol.
I lived all my life by Chicago until 1991 when I moved to Mississippi. An elderly lady bought me a cookbook as a welcoming gift. That turned out to be the very best gift EVA!
It is put out by the phone company here. They have 5 all together I think.
Its the firstone they put out that is worn out from my use. ITs called Bells Best ..cover is yellow. I have made minimum 40 recipies out of it..all were excellent both in taste and visually. I just can't emphsize how much this book has meant to the weight gain in this family lol.
I think local churches/schools who put out cookbooks for fundraisers are almost always very good too.

 

[KathyJ]

Yes!!! The Telephone Pioneer cookbooks I've heard are all really good.

For all-around basic cookbooks, I'd recommend:
The Joy of Cooking
Fannie Farmer
How to Make Everything

 

[AlexS]

Thanks for the ideas and tips - I appreciate it.
I am also seeing many eBooks for sale, might be interesting

 

[GotGarlic]

When I moved into my first apartment, my mom and stepmother both gave me cookbooks - The Joy of Cooking and the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I've used the Betty Crocker cookbook the most. It has a lot of basic information on foods, menus, etc., in addition to great, tried-and-true recipes.

I've collected a lot more cookbooks since then Used bookstores, yard sales and second-hand stores like the Salvation Army stores are good places to get good cookbooks.

I also have three 3-ring binders that I put recipes into - one for recipes I want to try, one for sauces, condiments, stocks, etc., and one for the bulk of the recipes I get from the Internet or cut out of magazines, newspapers, etc. Those I tape onto a sheet of paper and file in the big binder by type of dish (appetizers, main dishes-meat, main dishes-poultry, etc.).

 

[expatgirl]

there you go, GG, I do do the same.........have recipes on the back of some oil summit 5 years ago...............only good thing that ever came out of it................

 

[expatgirl]

I also bought two large photo albums and have stuck recipes in the places where you normally place the photos.............it started out neat or organized but over the years I have collected more recipes and everything is shoved in the album to be sifted thru...........when I say I write recipes on the back of this or that envelope I'm not kidding...........their is one of my favorites on the back of some oil summit 6 years ago

 

[dcannaday]

You can make your own ecookbook. Just copy and paste into a word document. You could divide it up however you want to. Would be great to be able to send you favorites to friends and family. David.

 

[Mississippi Girl]

A friend of mine made her own cookbooks to hand out to friends. She made 15 copies of each page...drew her own art...took photos and enlarged for the cover..she covered that with the clear contact paper and had handwrote a special message to the person she was giving that cookbook to. She punched holes in it where it could fit into a notebook if a person wanted, and used those holes to bind it together. A very heartwarming gift that she ended up regretting cause she never could top that one years later even lol