'Tis the Season for Cookbook Coveting

Ninety-six.  That's the number of cookbooks my Mom counted in my kitchen bookcase.  "There's more upstairs, aren't there?" she asked.  I just nodded my head and looked away.  What can I say?  A few cookbooks a year over 20-something years can add up.  And yet, I still hunger for more.

Actually, it is fairly easy for me to peruse the cook book display at the book store and keep on walking.  I mean, how many renditions of braised lamb shank with pureed celery root does one need?  But every now and again, I'll leaf through a book and decide--I've got to have it.  James Paterson's latest, "Meat:  A Kitchen Education" is one such book.  I have to flip through it EVERYTIME I see it.  And maybe its ten years of not eating red meat catching up with me, but my goodness, I want to cook every recipe in there.

So that's become my standard in deciding whether to add a cook book to my wish list--does it make me want to rush into the kitchen and get busy?  If not, I could probably make do with checking it out of the library or doing without. In fact, I should probably catalog my collection and consider lending out the tomes that I never seem to crack open on a regular basis...I'll give that some serious thought.

Yesterday's New York Times Book Review had it's annual cook book list--just in time for the holidays, don't you know.  Many are delicously inspirational.  Others are so pretty and cumbersome, they'd never see any real action on my kitchen counter.  But I love knowing what's out there.  

So what's on your cookbook wish list--and why?

 

Comments

[Margaret @ Eat First]

Hi, Jennifer --
I would relish a copy of "Paris Sweets'' or "Around My French Table'' (or both, greedy as that sounds), both by Dorie Greenspan. Even if I don't cook the recipes inside, I like books that transport me -- and France is a really nice place to be transported!
I enjoy reading your blog and hope all is well with you. Have a very Merry Christmas and here's wishing you peace in the New Year.
--Margaret McCormick

[Syracuse Florist]

I love Dorie Greenspan's cookbooks, for the recipes inside though.
Really Great Blog!!!

[Lisa S.]

I just received Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table" for a birthday gift. Truly an amazing cookbook. It is loaded with fantastic recipes, stories from Dorie and the pictures are amazing. There are over fifty recipes for soup alone! Another book I would love to own is "Sunday Suppers at Lucques", by Suzanne Goin, for its seasonal recipes. I only have about 10 cookbooks, but I'm slowly on my way to building up a good cookbook arsenal!

[haribo sweets]

I have read somewhere in the blogosphere that if you like one recipe in a cookbook then it is worth buying. :)

[Jill_hw]

Good to see you at the Regional Market yesterday. Thought you might be interested in this gluten-free baker, http://www.theglutenfreegenie.com/ I haven't had her stuff, but she's now delivering goods to Jen Comfort's place in Manlius (http://www.nonpareilscake.com/).

[PattyM]

Jennifer -
Just wanted to comment on your great site! You've done a wonderful job linking the local food resources. I too am from CNY, and didn't even know many of these places existed, so your goal of making people aware is working! I've already bookmarked some of them so I can visit them, and perhaps give them a shout on my new food blog.