I have a gazillion recipe books. So many that when I got rid of 30 or so recently I still didn't have quite enough room on my shelves. The problem is I like recipe books. I 'read' them. For fun. I have overflow recipe books in another room.
I used to arrange my recipe books in colour order. Did you know that most recipe book covers are in shades of blue or pink or orange or purple? Not green. Now I arrange them by subject. My preferred cooking mode is baking. I could definitely be on New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker (except for the 'hottest' bit)!
This is my favourite shelf. It's my most used baking books. Alison Gofton's Bake is my all time favourite.
And this is my 'treasure' shelf. My Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion is possibly my 'best info' book. You can find out how to cook anything in this recipe book. All Ray McVinnie's books (I didn't like him on MasterChef but I love his recipes). You might be able to see 'Sizzle' (I have two cookbooks of that name) - both, surprisingly, barbecue recipes. And on the top is Luke Nguyen's Secrets of the Red Lantern. It was a gift from a friend. I have never cooked one single recipe from this book but the life stories amongst the recipes is amazing.
And although it's the grubbiest, this is 'my most used, best-loved' by far. It's an old A4 hardcovered notebook where I have scribbled recipes gleened from family and friends. My mother's famous sweet curry classic is there along with every old family recipe from my childhood. There are wee gems like this Banana Cake recipe, hand-written by my friend, Bev, who died many years ago from breast cancer.
Amongst my 'cookbooks' I also have over 20 folders of recipes from many years of attending Ruth Pretty's Cooking Classes. Some of these recipes I have used over and over so much that that they are no longer Ruth's recipes but mine!
And, just to prove, that I do really cook, here's a photo of 'Best-Ever Bacon and Egg Pie" from my latest addition - 'Taste - baking with flavour' by Dean Brettschnieder and Lauraine Jacobs. Mr 10 chose this book for me for my recent birthday. He knows what I like!
Oh, and I did hint at a secret... I would love to write a cookbook. Any guesses what type of food it would cover?
5 comments:
Baking since it is your fav? I love cooking books to but don't have that many my favourite is the old Edmonds cook book closly followed by Alison Holts Red - best of book LOVE the lazy lasangna in there SO easy and SO yummy!
Well I thought baking too but then part of me now things a diabetic cookbook?
You have a great selection of books there Mel :-). I like the "bake" book too.
I love that you shared a page from yoru hardcovered book, I still have my own recipe book from 82 or 83 that my brother bought me as a xmas present one year. I have some recipes from intermediate days in there lol and my high schol days lol.
ooo I could easily browse your shelves and spend a happy hour there. I love baking too.
I also like recipe books that can be read - loved Julie Goodwin's recipe book for that reason
I feel hungry now - that pie looks delish!
Post a Comment