Best cook books? Or do they all suck?
By CatNPK
@CatNPK (461)
United States
May 15, 2007 3:24pm CST
I love reading cook books, especially if they have gorgeous colorful pictures. Most of the time, when I try to actually make a recipe the food turns out worse than when I just wing it using my knowledge and experience with the recipe as an incentive rather than rule. I blame this on the cookbooks - no true cook sits and measures food out to perfection, not that I have ever known. But for the sake of recipe books they have to come up with exact measurements. Some books are better than others - any thoughts? I would love to add some new recipes to my repertoire.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
16 May 07
My stepmother had a 1972 Betty Crocker cookbook when I was growing up that she'd let us pick out things to make. I loved that book. I recently got one and although it is just about falling apart (I rescued it from being tossed out) I still love it. I am currently looking for a new one but all the recipes I have ever made from it have turned out perfect. I hope this helps.
LIVE IN PEACE
@CatNPK (461)
• United States
16 May 07
I have an old Finnish cookbook that used to belong to my great grandmother (it belongs to my mom, but I'm it's current caretaker). It has some great traditional recipes, from the best mustard I've ever had to "modern" things like ice coffee. The book was printed in the late 19th century, and to date it is one of the few books I really cherish.
@apakabar2007 (1693)
• Netherlands
31 May 07
Oh...tell me about it. I have piles high of those cookbooks. But following the true measures also not working for me. It taste completely different and the worse part...I couldn't find any victims whose smart enough to eat my cook experiments....hehehe....
But on the other hand, when I need a special recipe and I just browse the internet and compare the ingredients from different cook source, it works just fine and the taste is most of the time not bad at all since I add a bit of this and a bit of that from diffent cook source.
@brimia (6581)
• United States
16 May 07
I agree...cookbooks have to have pictures otherwise who knows what the finished product is supposed to look like. I like the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It has tons of many different types of recipes that are well organized. Also, there are lots of nice pictures.
@michelledarcy (5220)
•
16 May 07
I have a recipe website with photos of the dishes so you can see how they would be expected to look.
I don't always measure things exactly and if it doesn't matter exactly what you use I state that in the recipe.
http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
15 May 07
I love the cookbooks by Donna Hay, especially Off the Shelf. The recipes are delicious, but usually only require a small number of ingredients. Perhaps because the recipes are simple, I tend to make these recipes frequently as I tend to have all the ingredients on hand.
Her cookbooks also feature full color photos for every dish! That is fantastic because I like to have a photo of the finished product when deciding if it's something that I would like and it gives me an idea for presentation.
@ElicBxn (63594)
• United States
15 May 07
well, since I can't cook I follow recipies to the letter - when I bother & mine turn out pretty good - but since I only do simple things that may be why!
I am learning how to make pancakes for my client - I've cooked more in the last 3 months than I have in the last 5 years!
