Cookbooks
Cookbooks end up becoming a very personal collection. We all have developed our own recipes over time but most of these have been inspired from information we collect from cookbooks or recipes handed down by friends and family. Some of my favorites are listed below along with some commentary about why I like them.
General Cooking
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook: Anniversary
Good for all the basics, cooking times, sauces, techniques. Lots of illistrations to help you out. A requirement for any kitchen. More here.
A compendium of vintage early 1980′s recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. It covers a wide range of cusines. Assorted by menus. A great inspiration for some simple but elegant dishes. More about it here.
Italian Cooking
by Maria Luisa Taglienti.
This is a great book for researching basic authentic Italian recipes. This was published in 1955 and I find that it is a good reality check when you are researching so-called authentic recipes. The recipes are extraordinarily simple and straightforward.
Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen
This is a great companion book to Lidia’s Italian Table. It broadens the repertoire for fairly basic Italian cooking. The recipes are a bit easier to make than the earlier book. And most can be made quickly after a hard day of work.
by Lidia Bastianich
This was written as a companion piece to her PBS cooking series. It does require a basic understanding of Italian cooking. The recipes are basic and straight forward. It may not be practical for a quick dinner. But if you can source the ingredients and have a little time on your hands it makes some great meals.