I think my generation of homemakers needs help. After all, how many of us were formally trained in the kitchen? My mom taught me how to make a white sauce from a roux and how to knead and bake bread, but sadly, I did not pay attention much past that. How many twentysomethings actually own and use cookbooks? Most of my friends who bother to cook seem to use a combination of handed-down family recipes, internet printouts, and occasional specialty recipes from some fancy, thematic cookbook (often found in the Bargain section at Borders). I use all of those, too, but the problem is that many of them are not really appropriate for the beginning cook (remember my Goodbye, Martha post?), and like it or not, that’s what most of us are when we commence housekeeping. I don’t always know exactly what the terms mean, or why it matters to add ingredients in a certain order, and it’s so easy to get distracted with two kids running around that I need very clear directions for straightforward meals. I’m trying to improve my cooking by going back to the cookbooks for awhile.
A good, multi-purpose cookbook such as Betty Crocker or Joy of Cooking actually teaches you those “simple” details that cooks of the past knew, like why it’s important to brown your beef before putting it in the stew, or the difference between all-purpose flour and bread flour, or how differently butter and oil and shortening might affect a recipe. I’m realizing that cooking–like a lot of housekeeping–is a learned art. Most of us need real cooking instruction if we want to turn out quality meals like our moms or grandmas made.
My transition to married life and homemaking was made easier by a couple of solid cookbooks–the same ones my mom had. So, in the interest of homemaking excellence and general inspiration, here’s a short list of my most often-used cookbooks:
Betty Crocker. It’s the standard. I grew up using the 1978 edition, and my 2004 edition has a greatly expanded crockpot section as well as several fun “ethnic” foods that weren’t in my mom’s. But it still provides solid, step-by-step instructions (and lots of pictures) as well as frequent troubleshooting sidebars that identify what I might have done wrong. The recipes are well-tested–I’ve never had a flop when I’ve followed their directions. I don’t know that it matters which basic cookbook you use (my sister in law loves the America’s Test Kitchen one), but every cook should have some standard book that walks them through the right way to make muffins, pie crust, beef stroganoff, and chicken pot pie–you know, American staples, made from scratch. In the first year or two of marriage, I tried to go through and try as many new recipes as possible, just to expand my repertory. I’m going back to it this week as I plan out my upcoming menu.
More With Less. Mariel apologized when she gave this to me as a shower gift, explaining that it looked weird but had solid content. She needn’t have; I grew up with the 70s edition of this Mennonite classic, and several of my family’s favorite recipes are from there. Fair warning–this cookbook is full of casseroles, bean dishes, and other ways to stretch meat or cheese. Casseroles are out of favor these days, and some friends say their husbands won’t eat meatless meals. Mine does, especially when I tell him that the whole meal was less than $5. In our extreme budgeting days of early marriage, More With Less and the nearby Aldi grocery store were the only way we kept to a $28/week food budget. I don’t like every recipe in here, but there are plenty of ideas to choose from–our favorites include oatmeal bread, whole wheat pancakes, homemade refried beans, baked ziti, and hamburger-rice casserole (my dad’s favorite!). Definitely recommended for frugal cooks. (I must add that I’ve been disappointed with the other World Community Cookbooks–I don’t think the recipes were as rigorously tested, and they’re just weirder.)
Those are really my main two, the ones I think every cook should have on her bookshelf. Here are some honorable mentions that I enjoy.
Beat This! is just really fun. I read through it for pleasure a couple times a year. I have tried her chicken salad, chocolate chip cookies (my favorite recipe!), lime bars, and apple pie (my favorite line in that recipe goes “It took a McDonalds Baked Apple Pie, (McDonalds calls them baked so we know they aren’t fried), of all things (I say that to make it sound like I never eat at McDonalds), to show me the value of cinnamon.” I always laugh outloud when I get there. If you didn’t think that was funny, you might not appreciate her humor.
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David. Again, this is a pleasure reading book. David was one of Britain’s best-known food writers in the first half of the century, and she was partially responsible for getting British cuisine on a more healthy and tasteful footing. (She loathed the boiled slop we associate with Dickensian Britain!) I’d like to try some of her recipes someday, but they’re generally interspersed with stories of how the author found a little French grandma fixing this dish in a rural village somewhere, so I enjoy them now as pieces of literature. David’s books definitely inspire me to work towards simplicity and excellence in my cooking.
So…anyone else frustrated by mediocre meal after mediocre meal? I seriously don’t think I’ve had complete success since we’ve moved here, but I know it’s because I’ve moved away from my old standbys. For the successful cooks out there, what cookbooks are your go-to references?
I think you are right on this one. When I do cook something, although it often seems pointless for one person, I use the Betty Crocker cookbook or handed down recipes. My mom showed me quite a few different things, but I was not really that interested at the time and did not pay a lot of attention. Now when I request things (e.g., homemade cinnamon rolls, lasagna, homemade pie, etc.), she smiles and says: “You know, you should really learn to make some of these things because I won’t be around forever.” I have also made a few things from The River Cottage Family Cookbook.
http://www.amazon.com/River-Cottage-Family-Cookbook/dp/1580089259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282821961&sr=8-1-spell
It is a book that I picked up one time at Williams Sonoma and is written by a British author. I like that it is broken down into the following sections: Flour, Milk, Eggs, Fruit, Vegetables, Fish and Shellfish, Meat, The Cupboard, Sugar and Honey, and Chocolate, and that it gives specific details about how to prepare each of them. For instance, in the flour section, it goes through What is flour?, What does flour do?, and Different Flours.
i also love america’s test kitchen family cookbook. it is a great one!
I have a handful of go-to cookbooks. I have the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, which is full of great charts of basic information. How long do I roast a 4.5 lb chicken? BHG will tell me! The one I use the most, though, is Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. But I think that’s better for those of us who already know a little bit about how to cook. The whole first chapter is all about sauces, but he doesn’t give a lot of advice on how to use them! It really does have EVERYTHING, which can be intimidating. On the other hand, every chapter has great info on choosing ingredients and basic techniques, along with a special section of “Essential Recipes.”
The rest of the cook books I usually use are “local” cookbooks that I go to for the kind of food I remember growing up but can’t find elsewhere: Snickers salad, tweback, rommegrot, aebleskiver, sour cream cookies, etc.
Not necessarily beginners work, but I am really LOVING Jamie Oliver right now. I need to check more of his out from the library.
I’ve been checking out cookbooks from the library and jotting down recipes. I like some Rachel Ray recipes, and lately, Ina Garten has had some great basics on her cooking show…Coq qa vin, garlic roasted potatoes, roasted chicken with lots of different veggie sides. I also normally go to my trusty Betty Crocker, and I actually have a Betty Crocker app on my ipod that gives me hundreds of recipes in seconds! I just list an ingredient(s) that I have, and tons of recipes pop up. After recently watching Julie and Julia, I felt pretty ashamed! I definitely need to venture out more with my cooking…I’m usually just too intimidated!
I am a big fan of Mark Bittman, who writes a regular column for the New York Times and has a bunch of books out – How to Cook Everything, and The World’s Best Recipes (international food) are the two I have. I don’t consult them as much as I used to, but i think I read both cover-to-cover when I started cooking. And if I’m trying a type of food that’s new to me, I always see what he has to say about it. He is great at teaching you how to improvise in cooking – learning what changes will and won’t make a difference (or if a change will give you a different result, what it will be).
I really like Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen as well but I do find their recipes pretty fiddly. They really try to have the absolute best method but not necessarily the fastest method, so I mostly use them on stuff I cook on the weekends when I have more time. I made some gazpacho yesterday with a Cook’s Illustrated recipe and it was absolutely perfect (just like we had in Spain!), but it probably took me a good 3 hours start to finish. However, I’ve never had one of their recipes fail. I also like their equipment and ingredient reviews, and used the equipment reviews especially when we did our wedding registry.
Cooking is one of my favorite topics and I can probably go on for a while so I’ll stop there. 🙂
PS. I bet I can guess who anonymous is…
I LOVE my Betty Crocker! Josh’s sweet grandparents gave it to me and I have used it again and again. Besides Betty, I have recipes cards written by friends and family that I use and I also like to browse the internet for tasty things to try. The only other cookbook I have actually cooked out of and not just read is The Pioneer Woman Cooks, by Ree Drummond. Josh has LOVED everything I have made, in fact every time I cook something from that cookbook he says its the BEST THING HE HAS EVER HAD! lol But usually, honestly, I just make something up or make something easy that doesn’t take a lot of time. This post reminded my about Betty, I’ve been neglecting her lately, ever since the kitchen remodel, my cookbooks have been scattered all over the house.
Thanks for the comments/recommendations!
Laura, I’m so impressed by any singles who cook at all. When Derek’s gone, the kids and I eat absolute swill because I just don’t bother. I know that W-S recipes are really solid. I’ll have to look for that one. And your mom’s recipes that I’ve tried are great!
Wait, Mariel, at first I thought YOU were anonymous…I don’t think I know anyone outside of the Johnson family who even knows what tweback, rommegrot, and aebleskiver are.=)
BHG is my other “standard” cookbook, but it’s 3 ring bindered while Betty is spiral bound, so I find her easier to lay on the counter. And I don’t like the BHG choc. chip cookie recipe. I’ve had several of Cammy’s ATC recipes, and they’ve all been super!
Mariel, obviously I am not even in your same _league_ with cooking, but do you think Mark Bittman would be appropriate for my level (generally comfortable except with meat, not a foodie)? I do think I need to know what changes do make a difference–I think several of my flops this summer are a combination of electric stovetop (SO awful after two years of gas!) and improvising poorly when I don’t have something (and I don’t have a great neighbor to run to for a tsp of curry powder or an egg). I’ve been wondering about Cook’s Illustrated…they do seem finnicky, but I feel like I learn a lot by just reading their recipes (because I DON’T have 3 hours to actually make them right now!).
Leslie–I was watching a cooking show recently where they made a quiche a lot like the one you had at your wedding (which we love)! Do you actually go online and print off their recipes, or do you just get generally inspired by what they do? I haven’t done much with food network type recipes yet!
Rachelle, Pioneer Woman recipes ARE so good. I love her blog, and I’m sure I’d love her cookbook. Maybe I’ll ask for it for Christmas!=)
Laura, I just went and read the amazon reviews for that cookbook. Somebody just said it’s the “anti-Martha Stewart” cookbook. I’m sold! I just added it to my wishlist! =)
Sometimes I will get on the Food Network site and copy a recipe, or I will just try a similar version of what they are doing…like I make minestrone soup from an episode of Rachel Ray that I saw. The only thing is, you miss steps when you just watch the show (not on Rachel Ray because she always does start to finish, but Ina’s show skips steps). Rach and I bought each other the Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas last year! I have tried a few things of hers…I need to try more. There are plenty of “guy food” recipes in there that I know Brad would love.
Oh, rats. Sorry, I’m “anonymous.” Mariel knows me well.