I was in Utah last week and my wife and I had dinner and breakfast at a restaurant we'd read about--the Hell's Backbone Grill. The women who own this restaurant are Buddhists, and the restaurant is in a town (Boulder, Utah) that's mostly Mormon. We got to talking, and they told us they'd just self-published a cookbook called, "With a Measure of Grace, the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant." We bought the book because the photos were beautiful, and my wife wanted the recipe for the blue corn pancakes. I didn't expect to read it, but at the hotel I began flipping through it and the next thing I knew it was midnight and didn't want to put it down. This was a surprise, because it's been a while since I've read a book I couldn't put down. Much less a cookbook! I'm interested if there are other people out there who've read this particular cookbook, or found other cookbooks they couldn't put down.
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A cookbook you couldn't put down?
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
i liked nigella lawson's how to eat. and i also read clarissa dickson wright's food, which is not really so much a cookbook but does have some recipes. i also read intercourses which is all about aphrodisiacs, and i loved a cooks tour by anthony bourdain, which again is not really a cookbook, is more armchair travel and what to eat.
novella
Active Member
Chef Pierre Franey's autobiography is brilliant. It's not really a cookbook, but has a recipe section with great classic recipes. More importantly, his story and the way he tells it are wonderful. He grew up in Burgundy, chefed on the Normandie in the 1930s, chefed at the NY World's Fair, Le Pavillion and La Cote Basque in NY and wrote one of the best food columns the NY Times every had. Plus he was a real gent, a petanque player, and a great guy. Love that book. Think it's called A Chef's Tale.
Also a fascinating read about the science and history of food and cooking is Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking (duh). He explains many of the chemical and physical principles of various techniques and bread making, beer making, history of every vegetable . . . really a must-have book. There's a new edition out this year. No recipes, but if you want to know anything about emulsifiers, food safety, yeasts, the history of tomatoes . . this is your guy.
Also a fascinating read about the science and history of food and cooking is Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking (duh). He explains many of the chemical and physical principles of various techniques and bread making, beer making, history of every vegetable . . . really a must-have book. There's a new edition out this year. No recipes, but if you want to know anything about emulsifiers, food safety, yeasts, the history of tomatoes . . this is your guy.
mehastings
Active Member
I love the Moosewood cookbooks. I haven't found one I didn't like. They have vegetarian dishes for everyone from Vegans, to Pescatarians to people who just like to take a break from meat. My favorite is the entertaining one.
novella
Active Member
Stewart said:I thought Delia Smith was taking the piss with 'How to Cook' but telling someone how to eat...?
Ha. Delia Smith and Nigella, pshaw. Cookbooks for people who don't cook. Who needs recipes for muffins, hamburgers and broiled fish. Pasta with tomatoes and olives is not a recipe. Hate those people. They write food porn.
Yes, the Moosewood ones are good for the recipes. I guess what I'm talking about is a cookbook that's also a really good read. I've just never come across one until now, where the stories draw you in to where you want to cook the food. That's what makes this one so different. My wife says "Aphrodite" by Isabel Allende is the only other cookbook she's really "read" cover to cover.
«FickleMinded»
New Member
--I luv Rachel Ray's 30 minutes meal, it come very handy for a chef wannabe like me. 
As far as actual cooking reference goes, I've found that the only cookbook you really need (well, and possibly a culinary dictionary - Webster's has a good one) is La Repertoire de la Cuisine (The Cookery Repetory). No pictures and detailed explanations are few, but it is simply the best reference you can have, with thousands of recipes stuffed into a book you can practically carry in your pocket. The difficulty with it is that you need to understand the mechanics behind cooking before this book becomes truly useful, as it is understood the reader knows all of the basic steps such as temperature and length of cooking and such. A typical recipe:
Filet Mignons Catalane
Grilled, dress on artichoke bottoms, surround with grilled tomatoes, served with thickened veal gravy.
As far as cooking related books go, I have two favourite authors, Micheal Ruhlman and Anthony Bourdain. The one induced me to become a chef (a short lived career move, those guys work truly painful hours), the other writes with such enthusiasm that you can't help but taste the food he describes and wish you were there with him to experience it.
Filet Mignons Catalane
Grilled, dress on artichoke bottoms, surround with grilled tomatoes, served with thickened veal gravy.
As far as cooking related books go, I have two favourite authors, Micheal Ruhlman and Anthony Bourdain. The one induced me to become a chef (a short lived career move, those guys work truly painful hours), the other writes with such enthusiasm that you can't help but taste the food he describes and wish you were there with him to experience it.
mehastings
Active Member
jenngorham said:
Neither am I, although I am rather picky about meat. My friends are all meat addicts. I had a Tapa's party one New Years and every recipe came out of the Moosewood Entertains book. My friends enjoyed the food so much that none of them even noticed the lack of meat until I pointed it out.
froggerz40
New Member
One of the real classics was The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. I had both volumes a long time ago, and it was fun just skimming around in them. I guess that they`re pretty old fashioned now, but I think there`s a new version...?
novella
Active Member
They eat fish and plants but not meat or poultry.
Re Moosewood, I have the original from like 1977, the first cookbook I ever bought, and I never use it. All that sour cream and eggs and cheese and butter. The recipes are so unhealthy. I'd rather cook classic French if I'm going to use all that stuff.
But I do remember making an enormous batch of something called Lentil Walnut Burgers, an event I have yet to live down with my family.
I understand her style has changed since then.
Re Moosewood, I have the original from like 1977, the first cookbook I ever bought, and I never use it. All that sour cream and eggs and cheese and butter. The recipes are so unhealthy. I'd rather cook classic French if I'm going to use all that stuff.
But I do remember making an enormous batch of something called Lentil Walnut Burgers, an event I have yet to live down with my family.
I understand her style has changed since then.
I like Moosewood too, and could supply a long list of good cookbooks, but it doesn't fit the category I'm talking about--books you can't put down. What struck me about the Hell's Backbone Grill book was that it was also a good read. A lot more than a cookbook--actually compelling. I suppose there just aren't many cookbooks out there that fit the bill?
lorrekarloff
New Member
I have a great set of hardcover cookbooks - "The Southern Heritage Cookbook" from Southern Living. Every volume is full of photos and stories from the 1700's-early 1900's related to cooking and eating, celebrations and harvests. Every time I go for a recipe, I end up reading the stories and looking at the old photos and drawings. I'm missing a few volumes and hopefully will hunt them down someday!