Cookbooks

While many of my recipes and a lot of my research is done on the internet these days, nothing beats a good cookbook. My mother is an avid collector and many of my first cookbooks came from her. While my library is very modest by comparison to hers, it is starting to grow. The following is a list of my collection of cookbooks which I will add to as I acquire new ones. Whenever I get a new book I’m excited about you’ll see it at the top of the page in the “Currently Reading” section. Some of these books have really great recipes, others have really great photography, some have both. Enjoy!

The Shoot to Cook Library (A-Z by Title)

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• The Abs Diet Eat Right Every Time Guideby David Zinczenko.
  You can laugh, but I lost nearly 40 pounds after reading The Abs Diet and this accompanying cookbook has some super healthy food that doesn’t even taste healthy.
• Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw
  Nice recipes with a focus on veggies but includes some good ones for fish and poultry too.
• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francios. Want to bake bread every day? This will tell you how.
• Beard On Breadby James Beard
  100 new recipes for bread which are not in the “five minute” category. I’m looking forward to trying a lot of them out.
• On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchenby Harold McGee
  Less of a cookbook and more of a book about the science of food. Looks really interesting.
• The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison
  Super fancy and yummy vegetarian recipes from The Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. Be prepared for recipes with lots of ingredients.
• Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler
  Truly epic country food. Keep in mind these recipes were meant for farmers who do a lot of manual labor. These are not low-cal recipes.
• Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook
  by Kevin and Nancy Mills
  An old cookbook from my days of really really not knowing how to cook. Has “mom tips” which are actually quite helpful.
• I’m Just Here for More Foodby Alton Brown.
  The basis for all of my first attempts at baking. Lots of science, but overall I only had limited success with his recipes, maybe because I’m terrible at math and don’t have a scale to weigh my ingredients. It’s a great read regardless though.
• Keep it Simple: 30 Minute Meals from Scratch by Marian Burros
  I am consistently unable to get any meal prepared in 30 minutes, no matter who tells me I can. This one may be out of print.
• The Minimalist Cooks at Home by Mark Bittman
  Perfect for people like me who want to make a nice meal without 200 ingredients.
• More-With-Less Cookbook edited by Doris Janzen Longacre
  “Suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited food resources.” As a good Pennsylvania boy (although not a Mennonite) this is my go-to cookbook for simple comfort food.
• The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
  Same people who did the Silver Palette Cookbooks. Lots of great recipes, although they tend to be a touch vague and complicated.
• The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen
  More vegetarian dishes, very crunchy. Lovely casseroles.
• Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl by David Wondrich
  Everything you every wanted to know about Punch. It wasn’t for the prom when it was invented and it ain’t for the prom now.
• The Seasonal Kitchen: A Return to Fresh Foodsby Perla Meyers
  Lots of really delicious sounding recipes, including full menu suggestions organized by season.
• Serves One by Toni Lydecker
  Just what it says. Lots of great recipes for eating alone.
• Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
  Elicits childhood memories of a small and wonderful food shop in the big city. Even though I never went there.
• Simple in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert
  A more modern take on Mennonite cooking, broken down by season. I even stumbled across a recipe in here from someone I went to high school with back in PA.
• Stylish One-Dish Dinners by Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West DeFoyd
  Are we seeing a pattern? I like recipes that don’t involve a lot of cleanup.
• Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka
  This book is a monster, full of great recipes (and not all vegetarian either).
• What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits and Pieces Lovely photography, great recipes
• What To Cook When You Think There’s Nothing in the House To Eat
  by Arthur Schwartz. Another cookbook for when you don’t want to think and you have a bunch of random ingredients laying around.

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Is there a great cookbook that I’m missing that I should add to my wishlist? Hit me up in with the contact form below. Thanks!