"Christine Dabney" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 6 Mar 2011 02:36:23 -0800, "Kent" >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Christine, of all the cookbooks you own, how many are written by people
>>that
>>actually cook seriously and in earnest? And how many do you actually use?
>>I
>>think most write books first and cook second, if they do at all. I know a
>>cookbook author who has his name on 18 cookbooks, all about different
>>cuisines. All have a coauthor.
>
> I use most of them for ideas.
> Among others, I have the whole set of the Foods of the World series
> (got it by subscription as it was being issued), and almost the whole
> series of the Good Cook.
> I have almost all, if not all, of Julia's books, and also Jacques
> Pepin, including his huge volumes, The Art of Cooking. Same with
> Marcella Hazan, and Lidia Bastianich.
>
> After collecting all these years, and collecting to use them to cook,
> not just for collection purposes, I know which authors are good and
> are reliably good cooks. Some of the authors I have (and these are by
> no means all) are Madjur Jaffrey, Julie Sahni, Barbara Kafka, James
> Beard, James Villas, Dorie Greenspan, Paul Bertoli, Alice Waters,
> David Tanis, Rick Bayless, Diana Kennedy, Ina Garten, Richard Olney,
> Madeline Kamman, Damon Lee Fowler, Paul Prudhomme, and a whole host of
> others. Some are names that were big cooking teachers back in the
> 70s...but aren't well known now. I have a lot of vegetarian
> cookbooks...
> I can't begin to list all the books I have, or the authors. Sometimes
> I would see a book, and like a few recipes in it, and get it. I
> might make one or two things from that book, and it may be a not so
> well known author.
> One of the authors I like is Lee Bailey, as he was/is a good southern
> cook, and he taught me a lot about simplicity.
>
>>We have a relatively small collection, about 350 cookbooks. When I want to
>>make something I open "The Joy of Cooking". Next it's Julia Child's "The
>>Way
>>To Cook". Following that is a relatively small number, depending on the
>>dish, probably by 8-10 authors. The remainder of the cookbooks are a
>>curiosity more than a help.
>
> When I want to fix something I start skimming through books. I may
> have a concept in mind, and I go seeing what my various books have to
> say. I don't use them all to cook, but I do get ideas.
> I have been lucky over the years: I seem to have a good idea of what
> is good, and who are good cooks/authors. They may not all be well
> known, and many are traditionalists, but they helped me establish a
> foundation.
> The books in my collection that are more curiosity are those that have
> been given to me, for the most part. I have friends who say"Oh, you
> like to cook and like cookbooks: here's a cookbook I bought for you".
> Well...many of the folks are noncooks or just saw the book at a
> souvenir shop, or some other place, and thought I would like it. On
> rare occasions, they pick a good one, but most of the time, it is not
> one I would pick for myself. However, I accept it, cause the friend
> meant well, and maybe some year, I can get an idea from it.
>
> I cannot begin to remember all the authors I have. In about a week or
> so, I will be back in NM, and can take pictures of the books. Maybe I
> will post what I have... I am picking up a box or two of books from
> my PODS in the bay area at the end of this week, and taking them back
> to NM. Some of the books in those boxes are from Williams Sonoma. I
> find some of their little cookbooks to have really good recipes in
> them. And they have good authors writing for them.
>
> Hope this gives you an idea of how and why I collect. Nowadays, it
> has to be a book that I will use. The last book I bought was the
> book by Eric Ripert: Avec Eric. I have already fixed one thing from
> that, and will probably cook a lot more from it, as his recipes are
> good. I won't buy a book that is mostly a coffee table book now,
> unless it is an author I trust, and it is something I will use on a
> regular basis.
>
> Christine
> --
>
We have cookbooks from almost all of the authors you speak of above. I think
they all fall into the "genuine cook" category I was referring to. I sure
like Julie Sahni. She's the Julia Child of Indian cooking for me. We have
the whole set of the Time-Life Foods of the World series and most all of the
Good Cook series as well and think both are excellent. One doesn't notice,
usually, that Foods of the Word was edited by the great and unfortunately
late Michael Field, and the Good Cook series was edited by Richard Olney,
another excellent author.

Kent