On 5 Sep 2005 03:59:37 +0200, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> On Sun 04 Sep 2005 06:03:19p, sf wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> > On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 19:43:18 -0500, Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> >
> >> While going through our cookbooks, we took note that the ones we use most
> >> are various Betty Crocker books.
> >
> > She's my old reliable too! In spite of having lots of "fancy"
> > cookbooks, good old Betty Crocker is the one I turn to first... and I
> > only have one.
>
> I've never owned any of the Betty Crocker books, probably because my mom
> never did. My old standbys are Good Housekeeping Cookbook (1944 and 1965
> editions), Joy of Cooking (1964 edition), and Culinary Arts Institute
> Encyclopedic Cookbook (1967 edition). When I first lived on my own in 1963,
> I liked my mom's 1944 GHC so well that I tracked down another copy at a used
> bookshop. Hundreds of cookbooks later, these are still the ones on my
> cookbook shelf in the kitchen, and the first ones I go to for a reference.

Ain't it the truth? Mom doesn't own a Betty Crocker (it was bought on
my own initative), she has Better Homes & Gardens and a couple of
other old goodies. She was able to find one of my two favorites when
I got married in the early 70s, but for some reason, I don't use it
although it's one ("Encyclopedia" is part of the title) that I always
consult at her house. Go figger.

I find myself consulting Betty Crocker (1969) first . If it's a
"fancy" recipe, I turn to Joy of Cooking (1973) or The French Chef
Cookbook (1968) and for not so fancy... I have lots of soft cover
Sunset cookbooks that are wonderful, but I use their Mexican
cookbook(s) the most.