My favorite cookbooks

I've been enjoying cooking and baking lately. As a result my collection of recipe books has been brushed off. Here's a selection of my favorites.

America's Test Kitchen-- The recipes in this book are generally no-fail, and they are delicious. I'm particularly fond of the Crab Imperial Recipe. The vegetable recipes are marvelous. My sister and I decided that we have to get Mother a copy because she actually ate her vegetables this last Christmas.

Cookwise--This book helped me begin to start making up my own recipes. The book is more about the science of cooking than it is a collection of recipes. It really boosted my confidence to know why recipes work and what each technique is trying to accomplish.

Bread Alone--My sister-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. The author's love affair with every aspect of bread baking is inspiring. I tried organic flour as a direct result of reading this book, and you most certainly can taste the difference. I don't bake my bread according to his system because he really is coming at it from a professional perspective, but I find it inspiring.

Cooking from Quilt Country--My mother discovered Marcia Adams and the fact that Amish Cooking is very similar to the cooking we grew up with in Western Maryland. Perhaps it is the influence of the Pennsylvania Dutch and the strong Amish/Mennonite communities in the area. In any case this book has lots of stained pages. I love the Baking Powder Biscuits, the Orange-Glazed PorkLoin and the Amish Apple Pie. The recipes have never failed me.

Mexican Cookery--I received this book as a gift from my friend Aurora. She is Mexican and after tasting my attempt at a Mexican pizza she felt I needed some help. Boy, was she right. The recipes in this book were so new to my palette. I loved the Enchiladas de Polo, and the Uxmal Carrots. I pull this one out whenever I'm hungry for something new and earthy.

The Great American Baking Book--Sam's Club carries lots of interesting recipe books, and this is one of them. The extensive pictures are quite helpful, and the Corn Bread is divine.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook: 1953 Classic Edition--My mother's Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook was one of my favorite reads as a child. I loved trying to talk her into trying new things. This is a reproduction of the 1953 version, but it still has the same feeling as looking at Mother's. The recipes may be oldies, but they're still goodies.

The Joy of Cooking--Believe it or not, I just purchased this recently. I'm really enjoying how thorough it is. No matter what I decide I want to cook this book has relevant information.

The French Chef--My copy is an old paperback I picked up at an estate sale. I wanted it because it shows Julia's Buche Noel. I watched her bake that on PBS, absolutely enthralled. The way she recreated an object from nature with food stimulated my creativity in all kinds of ways. Julia was one of my childhood heroines.

Music, Menus and Magnolias--Regional cuisine is always interesting. My family has been vacationing in Charleston for generations. My father once tripped over an astronaut on the Isle of Palms. This recipe book has great seafood recipes as you'd expect, and a killer turtle brownie recipe. Yum.

Cooking for Fifty--Sometimes I like to think big. My husband gave me this cookbook for Christmas one year. The recipes are very good, and it's fun to cook this much food every once-in-a-while.

Desperation Entertaining--I read this book more for technique and party ideas than the recipes. I don't doubt that the recipes are good, but I just haven't tried many of them. The ideas for putting together low maintenance parties are terrific.

Saving Dinner--This book is a great palette stretcher. We all fall into ruts, and following the pre-planned menus with the ready made shopping lists is a great way to break out of those ruts. Drawing on a wide variety of cuisines the author keeps it interesting without being so out there that the ingredients are impossible to find or the kids won't even think about trying it. This is a great resource for mixing it up.