slo’s THURSDAY 10/19 poll - Cookbooks 📚

[tasha99]

I have way over 20 also--maybe 80 or so? my most used books are The Wok, The Indian Cooking Course and various baking books by Rose Levy Berenbaum for when I need to bring a dessert somewhere.

 

[dizneegirl]

I collect cookbooks, and have a bookcase full and then some. I do need to go through and cull some out that I'll never use, but I do go through them when I want a recipe. I have my MIL's cookbooks, a couple my mom had when I was little (one she used when she was young), my great-grandmother's collection/book of recipes, one from DH's side of the family of their recipes... and the cookbook I was given as a shower gift.

I read cookbooks like a book, and I prefer older (pre-1960) cookbooks when I can find them. Some are SO interesting. And I like the "eggs, butter, sugar" type recipes you find in the older books. I have a couple of binders with internet recipes, but am much more likely to hit the bookcase to find something to cook.

 

[_19disnA]

Have few of the basic ones others have already mentioned. I am more likely now to find a recipe online when looking to make a specific dish/dessert and print it out to put in a notebook for future reference. Seems like a waste of money to buy a cookbook when there are only a few recipes in it I would ever make. You can find virtually any recipe online and easily compare the various versions to see how they differ.

I have noticed that most of the older recipes you can find in cookbooks often use WAY more sugar then is really necessary. Typically, I reduce it by 1/3 and think the results are better.

 

[elgerber]

There should be another option, do I actually use said cookbooks LOL.

 

[nw6675]

Love love love them. I have tons. I gave away lots of Southern Living and Gooseberry Patch ones a few years ago. My favorite is one from Charleston - I think from the Junior League. It's my go to for spoon bread

 

[CGB]

I don't know how many there are, but there's definitely more than 19. There's also stacks of years' worths of Taste of Home magazines, Better Homes & Gardens, etc. And then there's boards upon Pinterest boards of recipes....

This problem may extend further than my sprinkles addiction...err...collection.

 

[MommaKetch]

I like the older ones and cookbooks from churches.

Me too! Some of my favorites are ones that include recipes from relatives that have passed on. So glad to have their recipes!

This problem may extend further than my sprinkles addiction...err...collection.

I feel you there. I’m on a sprinkle purchasing ban. There is no room left in my bins!

I answered 19+ and I’m now curious to how many I actually have? I’ll have to count when I get home. I enjoy perusing the bookshelves at the thrift store and collecting vintage cookbooks. I enjoy reading them as well as cooking from them. Newer ones too! Most treasured is a very old copy of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management which was a gift.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I have maybe a dozen or so, including a few old ones that belonged to my mom or grandmother. Used to have a lot more. There are a few favorites I refer to occasionally, but generally I search online for new recipes and often compare several versions of the same dish to find one to my liking.

 

[MIGrandma]

I have been collecting cookbooks for maybe 20 years, and probably have around 200, maybe more. I received my first two as bridal shower gifts in 1975, the famous Betty Crocker one and my mother-in-law gave me the Mennonite Christian Home one. Used them some during our first years of marriage. I love all kinds of cookbooks, but especially ones like Taste of Home, the Pioneer Woman, and loads from Food Network chefs, I especially enjoy cookbooks that have recipes but also chapters about the authors lives. And I enjoy going page by page, reading the recipes and on a sheet of notebook paper writing down the page numbers and names of recipes that I would like to make. Then when I’ve completed the book that way the paper goes in the front of the book for future reference. Will I ever make ALL the recipes I like? Of course not, but it’s something I just enjoy doing with my cookbooks,

I buy most of my cookbooks from thrift stores, on sale, and lately some from auction sales online. I rarely pay full price for a cookbook. Did get Reba McEntire’s “Not That Fancy” cookbook yesterday from Amazon though. Lots of recipes, plus stories of her life, and photos.

I used to subscribe to a lot of cooking magazines too, but now the only ones I get are the Food Network, and Taste of Home.

I also have two recipe boxes full of special hand written recipes from family and friends.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you have cookbooks at home?
If yes….how many?

I have around 20 or so. But about half of them are dish-specific (only casseroles, or only brunch, or only desserts for example).

 

[RedAngie]

I have about 15. Plus a binder of web printed recipes, and my mother’s notebook full of cursive written recipes.

 

[disney4us2002]

Many, many cookbooks. I love them. I love the pictures and attempts to recreate some fancy thing. My mother was a terrible, terrible cook and I started collecting cookbooks as a newly married bride 37 years ago and I just never stopped. I also have several signed by the chefs/authors from various book signing I attended. Those are very special.

If anyone is interested in a really decent chef/cookbook with tasty but fairly easy recipes, I recommend The Cozy Cook. She has a website with the same name, no spaces and she's also on instagram. I have not tried a single recipe of hers that I haven't liked very much! The Cozy Cook's recipes are NOT low fat or low cal for those watching those things.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love cookbooks more than the actual cooking. I voted 19+ (and even have one from the library right now).

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

I think I have about 12, but could be more as I think about it. I have all the Pioneer Woman cookbooks, a couple Barefoot Contessa books and several church/school fundraiser cookbooks. My favorite cookbook is How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Mostly, though, I get recipes online. A couple of Facebook cooks I follow published cookbooks this fall and I would love to buy them, but I would likely never use them and still get recipes online.

 

[leebee]

I have no idea how many cookbooks I have, but there are at least 3 shelves of cookbooks downstairs. I love cookbooks. I read them like novels, and the more input from the author the better. I have a set of Jeff Smith's books (The Frugal Gourmet series), quite a few Moosewood cookbooks, a series of Vegetarian Epicure cookbooks, in addition to several ToH cookbooks, the old standards like Joy of Cooking, Good Housekeeping, etc. and many, many ethnic cookbooks and "fundraising" cookbooks, including one printed by my elementary school when I attended in the early 60s!

 

[NYCgrrl]

At this stage of my life most cooking techniques are in my head so I don’t need the books for more than inspiration. When I adopted minimalism as a part of my life it was truly hard to divest self of books but I now find it freeing on many levels.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I have too many! They're on the list for decluttering; especially since I do get a lot of recipes online. Any recipes I really like from the web, or from a book I'm not keeping, are being printed out and going in a folder.

As others have mentioned, I really value older books of handwritten recipes, too.

 

[Skywalker3]

Well over 50, maybe closer to 75. I still have many of Mama's old cookbooks. She bought and used LOTS of them living in South Louisiana. Lots of local church cookbooks, or local clubs, organizations etc.
Everyone has the River Roads Recipes, I,II, and III. Have lots of other Southern ones, and every year from the 70s on, Mama would order the hardbound Southern Living Annual Recipes collection, and often the Christmas one. I love cookbooks that have introductions in the various sections, histories about the area, and the cuisine, or family stories.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My mom started collecting cookbooks when she got some from my great-grandma and those books are antiques and she also likes vintage cookbooks too. The very first cookbook Mom got when she wanted to learn to cook more foods was the classic Better Homes And Gardens New Cookbook and believe it or not it's still in wonderful condition and Mom has made many recipes from it. I also collect cookbooks too and most of my cookbooks are celebrity cookbooks and Disney cookbooks and even Marvel cookbooks. Did you ever sign up for Marie Masters Recipe cards? They were a recipe club started by Marie Masters and every month they sent you boxes of recipe cards by mail and we have a whole box of those in our garage and also my mom has a Crock-Pot cookbook as well

 

[DodgerGirl]

Did you ever hear of a cookbook series called The Best Of Bridge? It was a series of five cookbooks started by a team of women who came up with different recipes for their church and the women used the recipes to make different foods at church potlucks and weddings and many more important parties and then they sold their recipes to a company and the first Best Of Bridge cookbook sold over 2 million copies around the world and were part of a mail-order cookbook line of the same name