Reddit mentions: The best us regional cooking, food & wine books

Aight girl-

Foreign Cuisine-
How to Eataly - Oscar Farinetti - We made the most AMAZING brisket meatballs and a super simple yet completely delicious red sauce out of this book
Around My French Table - Dorie Greenspan - Where the Cornish hens and gougeres came from.
Real Korean Cooking - Maangchi - Korean Fried Chicken. We've made them twice now because they're so good and can't wait to do more.
Mexican Everyday - Rick Bayless - Learned how to make perfect guac from this book and so far we've made these v tasty chorizo/mushroom/potato tacos. The recipe is SO cheap and SO voluminous that we had it as a taco filling, a quesadilla filling, and we're making a hash with it for brunch this morning.
Every Grain of Rice - Fuchsia Dunlop - We haven't tried anything out of here yet but there are sooooo many good-looking recipes in here.
Entice with Spice - Shubhra Ramineni - Likewise, haven't made anything out of here yet but looking forward to trying it all out soon.
Jack's Wife Freda - Dean & Maya Jankelowitz - This is actually a book from a restaurant that my fiance and I LOVED when we last visited NYC. It's got a lot of fusion recipes. Mediterranean/Israeli/South African/etc. Really unique flavors and also v comfort-food based. We're making rosewater waffles out of this book tomorrow!


Baking-
Rose's Baking Basics - Rose Levy Barenbaum - This book is incredible. She has tons and tons of step-by-step photos which is SUPER helpful. We made the dark chocolate caramel tart out of this book, but pretty much everything in here looks amazing.
Modern Baking - Donna Hay - I mean... There is some INSANELY decadent looking stuff in here. We haven't tried any of these recipes yet but I can't wait to!


Misc-
Cook Like a Pro - Ina Garten - It was really hard to pick just one Ina book but I liked most of the recipes in this one. She has this ridic recipe for a dijon mustard chicken that is INCREDIBLE. Also, this bitch knows how to cook some veggies. Big fan of this one.
The Food Lab - /u/j_kenji_lopez-alt - I just love this guy, tbh. We've made a really fantastic beef tenderloin out of this book and an incredible red wine sauce to go with it and of course, his famous roasted potatoes which are now my holy grail recipe for roasted potatoes. This book is like a science textbook only instead of boring stuff it's FOOD science, which is my favorite kind.


Those were all the ones we purchased ourselves (though technically Eataly was a gift BUT we love it and plan to use it often.) We have other cookbooks in our stable that we've received as gifts, which is what resulted in my fiance and I deciding we wanted to embark on this journey. We kept being given cookbooks and never doing anything with them. But man, do people love it when you send them pics of stuff you cooked out of a book they gave you. If people give you cookbooks, use them!! It will make their day to see it's being used. Here's what else is on our cookbook shelf-


The Forest Feast Gatherings - Erin Gleeson - This is a vegetarian book my fiance's mom gave us a few years ago for Christmas. We have a bunch of veggie friends (and friends with a lot of different allergies) so we turn to this book to have a few things that are edible by all of them when we have them over, as we often do. This book has a really delicious salad that has pomegranate seeds, pear, and hazelnut that is out of this world good. I also got my HG salad dressing from this book.
The Salad Bowl - Nicola Graimes - Another gift from my fiance's mom. Is she trying to tell us something?? Honestly haven't looked much into this book yet but it sure is pretty.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz - This was a gift from the assistant in my office. Everyone in my office knows me as the Harry Potter girl because I have a lightning bolt tattoo, haha. We haven't made anything out of this yet, but we probably will have some sort of epic feast with recipes from this book when GoT starts back up later this year.
Talk About Good - Louisiana Lafayette Junior League - My boss gave this to my fiance and I as part of an engagement gift. My fiance went to school in New Orleans. It's primarily New Orleansian/Cajun food. Haven't made anything out of it yet, but we are looking forward to it.

And that's what's on our cookbook shelf for now.

edit also omg thanks for the gold!! <3

I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:


Pan-Asian

• Asian Dumplings - the masterpiece on all things dumpling
  
• Asian American - Dale Talde's (Top Chef) book with lots of Asian cultures' food in the US
  
• Asian Pickles - pickles and fermented foods from throughout Asia
  
• Lucky Rice - recipes from the Asian festival of the same name
  
• The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook - traditional cooking passed down to American cooks
  
  Burmese
  
  
• Burma:Rivers of Flavor - good focus on difference in Burmese cuisine from other regional
  
  Cambodian
  
  
• Num Pang - Cambodian sandwich restaurant in NYC
  
• Cambodian Cooking - GREAT book on Cambodian cuisine, supporting refugees
  
  Chinese
  
  
• Ken Hom Complete Chinese Cookbook - great primer for cooking Chinese food using ingredients commonly available in US
  
• China Moon - classic SF Chinese restaurant food
  
• Feeding the Dragon - modern culinary journey through all of China
  
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking - omnibus focused on the home chef
  
• Breath of a Wok - focus on wok technique at home
  
• Every Grain of Rice - wonderful Sichuan food for home cooks
  
  Indian
  
  
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking - actually, any of her cookbooks are wonderful for Indian cooking
  
• Savour Mumbai - looks at Indian cuisine as a melting pot in Mumbai
  
• The Indian Family Cookbook - modern South Indian food
  
• Indian Harvest - Vikas Khanna's family cookbook
  
• Made in India - classic Indian food, from street to home
  
  Indonesia
  
  
• The Food of Indonesia - everything you need for a rijstaffel!
  
  Japanese
  
  
• Japanese Farm Food - authentic rural Japanese cooking
  
• Preserving the Japanese Way - how to make awesome Japanese pickled vegetables
  
• Sushi Chef - not strictly speaking a cookbook, but "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" book in English
  
• The Japanese Grill - authentic hibachi and Japanese grill recipes
  
• Japanese Comfort Food - lots of traditional Japanese recipes
  
• Nanban - Japanese "soul food"
  
• Tokyo Cult Recipes - hip modern urban food from Tokyo
  
• Yum Yum Bento Boxes - updated modern take on bento boxes
  
• Ivan Ramen - traditional ramen for a Western audience
  
• Izakaya - traditional Japanese pub food & small plates
  
• Nikkei - emigrant Japanese food culture in South America
  
• Donabe - traditional Japanese hot pot recipes
  
• Kyotofu - very unique Japanese dessert cookbook
  
  Korean
  
  
• K Food - modern take on Korean street food
  
• Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking - great resource for Korean cooking in a non-pro kitchen
  
• Traditional Food - omnibus of four regions of Korean food
  
• Koreatown - authentic, approachable guide to Korean food in a US context
  
• Smoke & Pickles - Edward Lee's fusion of his Korean heritage and southern barbeque
  
• The Kimchi Cookbook - many, many recipes for kimchi...
  
  Malaysian
  
  
• Malaysian Cooking - good overview of Malay cooking
  
  Middle Eastern
  
  
• The New Persian Kitchen - modern Iranian food
  
• Ottolenghi - Israeli-Palestinian collaboration
  
• Persiana - dynamic modern recipes from throughout the Middle East
  
• Zahav - modern Israeli food
  
• Sweet Middle East - traditional and modern desserts
  
  Philippine
  
  
• Filipino Homestyle Dishes - good intro to classic Filipino dishes
  
  Russian
  
  
• Mamushka - focus on Ukraine
  
  Sri Lankan
  
  
• Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka - beautiful photo-cookbook on Sri Lankan cuisine
  
  Taiwanese
  
  
• The Food of Taiwan - um... food... from Taiwan
  
  Thailand
  
  
• Nong's Thai Kitchen - she beat Bobby Flay in pad thai
  
• Pok Pok - Portland's most AWESOME Asian restaurant
  
  Turkish
  
  
• Istanbul:Recipes from the Heart of Turkey - lovely focus on urban Turkish food
  
• Anatolia - wonderful approachable approach to Turkish cuisine
  
• Essential Turkish Cuisine - focus on history and evolution of Turkish food
  
  Vietnamese
  
  
• The Slanted Door - great Vietnamese restaurant cookbook
  
• Vietnamese Market Cookbook - focus on simple Vietnamese from fresh ingredients
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen - traditional Vietnamese home cooking
  
• The Banh Mi Cookbook - the greatest sandwich in the world!
  
• Vietnamese Home Cooking - another great overview
  
  (edit: screwed up a couple links)

Well, I'm half-Chinese. I'll give you two cookbook recommendations which are full of recipes which really resonate with that part of my background:

• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. While I'm generally not big on Chinese cookbooks not specializing in one or two regional cuisines, this book gets a pass because it's so organized and pedantic. It builds itself up from simple to complex and includes recipes which build on each other. It also features a large section on ingredients. An additional pro is that it includes the Chinese characters which makes it easier to find the proper product at your Asian grocer. I love it so much that I lugged this book to Taiwan with me and used it as my cooking guide/reference.
  
• Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop. Of all the regional Chinese cuisines with which I have experience, I love the multi-layered flavors of Sichuan the most. It was through Dunlop's book that I first discovered this magnificent cuisine and it encouraged me to discover some of the Sichuanese restaurants in the Bay Area. Instructions are clear and she does a great job bringing Sichanese food to life. An absolute must own if you are at all interested in regional Chinese food. Her book on Hunanese food is also pretty killer.
  
  In addition to the aforementioned Chinese food, I'm just a fat piggy who loves to eat. Here are a few more recs:
  
  
• Thai Food by David Thompson. This is the bible of Thai food for English speakers. It's nearly 700 pages long and not a page is wasted on fluff. It's more than just a cookbook, it's a anthropological study on Thai people, their history and the way they eat. An immense book. If you are more into pictures, check out his book on Thai Street Food.
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen. This was the book that really unlocked Vietnamese food for me. I adore how many fresh herbs/veggies are used and how it creates a complex, yet light, cuisine. And don't get me wrong when I say light...it's as full flavored as can be, but without heaviness. In the interim since this book came out, others have showed up on the market which are as good (see Charles Phan's recent book), but Nguyen's book will always have a special place in my heart.
  
• ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller. Thomas Keller is arguably the most important American chef of the past 20 years, so when he turns his sights on homestyle food, you can be sure it's done with correct technique and style. While this book isn't as notable as TFL cookbook or his sorta primer on sous vide cooking, I'm including it because it has recipes which people will actually use. Unparallelled technique, good recipes and delicious food equal a winning cookbook. One note: it's not dumbed down and some of the recipes take time, but everything I've ever made from it has been great.
  
• Alinea by Grant Achatz. {Disclaimer: I worked for Grant Achatz for a couple of years.} Everyone should own at least one cookbook which is completely out of reach, but serves to inspire. When you flip through this book, your jaw will drop and you will wonder, multiple times, "WTF?!?!?!" It's an amazing testament to how open and possible American cuisine is at the moment and you'll do yourself well to flip through it. Additionally, the photographs and the book itself are phenomenal. The paper, in particular, is well worth the price of admission. It's sexy shit, yo.
  
  Feel free to drop me a line if you need more recommendations. I've got quite the cookbook collection (I love to cook, it's not just cookbook porn) and love to share my thoughts.

When I make burgers, if I'm grilling I just sprinkle on some Montreal steak seasoning (specifically this from McCormick) but if I'm cooking it on the stove I don't add anything, just cook it in a little butter or vegetable oil. The burgers themselves are always pure beef; usually good, fresh ground beef (frozen is acceptable if you have it, but fresh is the best) and never preformed unless you need to make dozens for a cookout or something. When forming the burgers, I generally go for 1/3 to 1/2 pound patties, as loosely packed as possible (just enough to hold together on the grill); when grilling, you'll want to add a dimple on top (just poke down the center to compress it a bit more), since burgers tend to poof a bit on the grill (though they don't seem to on the stove for some reason). I also make "premium" burgers on occasion by starting with steak and chopping it myself, although that's a much more involved process (I got the recipe for that from this Cook's Illustrated cookbook). No seasoning or other additives or sauces go into my burgers, just on top of them.

Unfortunately, I'm not the best at grilling, that's my dad's territory - however, it's pretty straightforward, you should only flip the burger once. I'd suggest listening to other's advice on when to flip the burger. You add the cheese when the burger is very close to being done, and make sure you toast the buns on the grill as well (timing isn't too important, you mostly want to crisp up the inside - still being warm is ideal, but it's okay if the buns cool off by the time you're eating). Stovetop cooking is also a viable option, one which I'm more experienced with, but I couldn't really tell you how to tell when the burgers are done. The cookbook I linked to above is where I'm starting from, I'm just experimenting from the basics I learned from that book (it's well worth getting even if you never make the burgers, just about everything in there is really good). The really basic version is what I said above, cook them in a pan with a bit of oil or butter and flip them only once.

For the cheese, I generally use either cheddar or jack. If all we have is the shitty processed cheese product (Kraft Singles or some generic version of them), I won't have any on my burger (it adds a lot, but isn't really necessary).

The bun is really important, but that is the hardest to tell you what to get - what's available in UK stores may be wildly different from what's available in the US, even finding the same brands in different parts of the US can be hard. To start, just look for a bun from a company that makes good bread (the best regular loafs of bread around here (Connecticut in the US) are from Martin's and Freihofer's, and the best burger buns come out of the same bakeries).

As for the toppings, you can do whatever you like. My preferences are either ketchup (Heinz) and mayo or barbecue sauce (something ketchup-based, not vinegar-based). Bacon is great anytime I can get it, but it's not necessary. The closest thing to a vegetable that I'll put on (aside from the ketchup) is this stuff (not necessarily that brand, I use something from a local spice store, but it's the same thing). Experiment to find what works, but to start with I'd go for just cheese and ketchup and mayo.

edit: Oh, and drink some good root beer or sarsaparilla with the burger. A&W is my preference among the big companies, although Barq's is a close second. Locally-brewed stuff can be really good, though, I generally drink sarsaparilla from Hosmer Mountain with mine.

I have no problem with swearing in general. It is not to my taste, but it is not something I am against. This particular book is not just full of swears, it is specifically imitating the cadence and language that it supposes urban black people use. And that is the sole "joke" of it, the juxtaposition of fancy vegan food and "hood" language. The authors concealed their identities for a long time allowing readers to think they were something other than who they are.

I never said that white people should not be allowed to cook whatever they want to or that it wouldn't be good food. In fact, I recommended Thug Kitchen as a book that I have heard good things about and that my friends really enjoy, with the caveat that I have never personally tried it for those reasons.

Yes, I do know that many restaurants hire chefs and cooks that are of varying ethnicities and I did say appropriation is not about any individual person cooking food, but is about profiting and power dynamics. I would rather support a vegan cookbook by an actual black person like Bryant Terry or Makini Howell than Thug Kitchen. Similarly I would rather financially support PoC owned restaurants rather than white owned restaurants that get more recognition and praise and are able to charge higher prices. I say white because white people are the majority where I live and are in a position of power over people of color. That doesn't mean that the white restaurants don't serve good food, it means I recognize that they aren't operating on an even playing field.

You can call me a SJW, it doesn't bother me. My passion for social justice lead me to veganism because I believe all living beings deserve respect, consideration, opportunities and just treatment. Veganism should be intersectional.

Welcome!!

If soul food is what you know & want, look into Bryant Terry's cookbooks. Vegan Soul Kitchen has gotten some amazing reviews. I've actually been thinking of picking up his most recent one, Afro-Vegan which is African, Southern, & Caribbean inspired recipes. Plus it looks like some good food porn for my coffee table book collection!

This subreddit is what inspired me to go vegan myself so I can attest that there are a lot of great resources around here. The people are friendly and helpful so never hesitate to ask questions!

My one piece of advice is this: patience. I know you've experienced this revelation of sorts and it's exciting and you want to share it with the world! I know I did. But sometimes the world is a few paces behind. My friends and family are still slowly coming around to the idea about a year and a half after the fact. So don't be discouraged if they don't hop on the vegan train with you right away. Have no expectations, don't take it personally, and enjoy the small victories.

Good luck! You're doing a great thing :)

No one has mentioned it yet, but I learned a lot from cook books.

These are not just lists or recipes, but instruction about techniques and methods and processes.

Some good ones are:

• How to Cook Everything: The Basics
  
• Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
  
• Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
  
  Having an actual dead tree book can be more convenient in the kitchen than a laptop or mobile device with an ebook.
  
  If you can find episodes of Good Eats by Alton Brown he is really good at explaining things. Videos can be good, but a lot of times but really only when you know what it is you're looking for. With a book it is going to give you topics that you might never have thought of.
  
  But for reals now, you are going to get the best value learning how to cook the basics. Your Instant pot is AWESOME for cooking dry beans. Get pound of dry black beans and 3 pounds of water (obviously you need a good kitchen scale). I just put the inner pot of my Instantpot on the scale, dump in the beans, tare it, then pour water in with a big cup till I have 3 lbs. Put in 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt. I also add granulated garlic and powdered onion and some cumin but you don't have to. Set your instanpot to manual for 45 mins and wait. Let it naturally release, if you manually release the pressure the skin on the beans will break, to me it still tastes the same but you have far fewer whole beans. Now you have a weeks worth of delicious, healthy black beans. No need for overnight soak or anything.
  
  Small white beans (a.k.a navy beans) can be cooked the same and they taste different but just as good. Or you can add the extra ingredients and make pork and beans.
  
  You can cook pinto beans with the same basic recipe, and they taste great too. When you want to take the extra time, then with a slotted spoon dish the cooked beans into a large frying pan with some lard or shortening and make your own refried beans. You smash the beans with the back of the spoon or a spatula, and use the bean broth to add liquid till you like the texture.
  
  If you can't tell I like cooking beans in my Instantpot. I have a rice cooker but you can cook rice in the Instantpot too. Beans and rice is healthy and cheap!!! (cook them separately and mix them after cooking).
  
  

Lots of people will say to look at the Instant Pot which is a combination electric pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker ("multi cooker"). I had a bluetooth enabled "IP-SMART" 6qt model of theirs (actually three: first had a safety recall, second was dented on arrival, third still exhibited regulation issues). Lots of people are happy with Instant Pots, but I had a lot of issues with the pressure control being flaky for certain recipes. Additionally, much of what makes slow cookers safe when you are out of the house is their low wattage heaters... typically 250-400W... and low complexity (basically it's a small electric blanket that is wrapped around a very heavy ceramic pot). The Instant Pot has a 1000W heater, and is more complex (microcontroller + a thermocouple), so this negates some of the safety aspects of unattended slow cooking... though it is UL listed and has a thermal fuse in case anything goes wrong.

My recommendation if you are interested in pressure cookers and slow cookers:

1. Presto 8qt stovetop http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW $69 More volume than electric pressuer cookers (8qt > 6qt) which is important since safely pressure cooking needs lots of headroom between the food and lid valve so as not to clog. Typically headroom is 1/3rd volume for most foods, 1/2 for foamy foods like rice, etc. Thus a 8qt pressure cooker effectively has a volume of 4-5qt. When using it without building up pressure, it can double as a large 8qt stockpot. I ended up preferring stovetop over electric since I can get an initial brown on meat without having to use multiple pots, and I don't have to wait for an electric heater to come up to temperature (10+ minutes on the Instant Pot for me).
   
   
2. Hamilton Beach 6qt set'n'forget slow cooker http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-33967A-Programmable-6-Quart/dp/B00EZI26DW $50 Check reviews on thesweethome.com for it, but it beat out a lot of more expensive crock pot models. Oval shape lends itself better for some slow cooker recipes, such as mini, chocolate lava cakes, roasts, etc.
   
   $120 for both.. around the ballpark of the cheaper Instant Pots, you gain an additional pot for stove use, pressure cooker is of bigger size, slow cooker is safe unattended and a more conventional shape, and IMO will last longer. You lose automatic rice cooking capabilities but... by a $20-$30 rice cooker and probably get better rice, or just do it on the stovetop.
   
   By the way, no idea what food you like to eat, but these are two of my favorite cookbooks if you are getting started and wanted to build up some experience:
   
   

• America's Test Kitchen 100 Recipes http://www.amazon.com/100-Recipes-Absolute-Best-Essentials/dp/1940352010/ Good for in-depth explanation of 100 recipes across a pretty big range of techniques.
  
  
• Cook's Illustrated Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook/dp/1933615893/ Shorter explanations but lots and lots of recipes.
  
  And major shout out to Kenji's (from Seriouseats.com) new book if you want more detailed science information:
  
  
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087
  
  This post ended up being much longer than I expected, but those are my recommendations if you are just starting out. ;) The main thing I've learned since beginning to cook is that 90%+ of the recipes online (and even in print) are untested crap, and to look for recipe sources you can trust. The second thing is that a finished recipe is much more dependant on the technique (the steps you use to modify ingredients at specific times, temperatures, and textures) and way less dependent on the ingredients themselves (you can easily sub ingredients for many recipes once the core techniques are understood).

There are a few comments suggesting that you get your kids involved in cooking, and to that end, I highly recommend the Good Eats (Alton Brown's show) episode called "Soups On", as it's about teaching a kid how to cook. They use soups in that episode, since they're so forgiving, but have tips for teaching kids (and adults) basic knife skills as well.

Good Eats is generally a great show for learning how to cook. Unlike most of the food-porn shows on tv, he actually teaches you how to cook and gives you a lot of answers to the "why" questions around cooking. Similarly, Americas Test Kitchen - still runs on PBS - is another good show. They test out recipes to give you the best versions - for taste, cost, and simplicity - and it's pretty family-friendly American foods. I highly recommend their Family Cookbook as a great collection.

Talk About Good!!!

One of the best cookbooks with some fabulous Cajun and creole recipes. The Lafayette and Baton Rouge junior leagues had a friendly rivalry and both put out some of the best selling junior league cookbooks.

For those interested here’s an amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Louisiana-Lafayette-Junior-League/dp/0935032029

And here’s a great article in the Washington Post about it: How a 50-year-old community cookbook became a mainstay in almost every Cajun kitchen

Source: from Lafayette, LA. Mais cher dat cookbook good good yeah.

your method is a little different but the end result looks very similar to my own favorite carnitas recipe.

my recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (page 420!), and since i started making it a few years ago it has become a favorite in my house. even my picky 3-year-old loves it!

i've never used ancho chiles or the peppers in adobo sauce, and i add some citrus flavor by juicing an orange and cooking the pork with the orange rinds mixed in, and a little different spices (i use onion powder, garlic powder, and like 5x more cumin lol), but otherwise this looks very very similar to the recipe i use.

i cook mine in a dutch oven for 2 hours then crisp it under the broiler for ~10 minutes. i also reduce my cooking liquid in a skillet before putting it on the pork under the broiler.

some fresh garnishes (onion, cilantro, lime juice) and sour cream complete the ensemble. its seriously amazing.

great post. made me hungry. 10/10 would upvote again.

I second Thug Kitchen. I have the first book. It's fun to just read parts and has some really good recipes in it that me and my gf have done multiple times. The Pad Thai is bomb.

If they're a little nerdy, get them something like this. I also found this list on Google.

Also, camping cookbooks are pretty interesting. Try to look a some of those if you think they'd like them.

Edit: Ice cream books seem pretty interesting. I went to school to be a baker/pastry chef and that interests me. Cookies and Beer is one that I love. Also, give them something with the book. Like, if you give them like a lodge cookbook give them a cast iron skillet or something like that.

• Microplane graters if she doesn't have one yet. Accompany the super fine grater with a few nutmeg nuts so she can grate her own fresh nutmeg.
  
• Digital kitchen scale
  
• America's Test Kitchen / Cook's Illustrated cookcooks or magazines. I have The Best Recipe and I love it for when I want to make the "perfect" version of a recipe. All the recipes have an accompanying article about how they modified/perfected the recipe. Warning: don't get this unless she enjoys slaving for hours on a recipe!
  
  Those ideas aren't super creative, but they are good staples that she will use constantly if she doesn't already have them.
  
  Personally, I am too particular about my cooking stuff... I have to pick it out myself. What about getting her a gift smaller gift that you are comfortable with, and then get a gift card to a local foodie store? This way you can shop together and she can pick exactly what she wants.
  

Do my best. CI is really good about keeping their recipes off the net and this is from memory. I highly recommend the Cooks Illustrated Cookbook, I've never made a bad meal cooking from one of their recipes. (Except that lentil soup, but that was my fault for buying old lentils.)

Take your 4-5lb roast and pull it apart by the natural seams and remove most of the fat. Tie it up into two smaller roasts with kitchen twine. Season with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for a couple hours.

Take a bottle of Pinot Noir and start reducing it (and I don't mean by drinking it). Continue until your 750ml is approx 2c.

In your dutch oven, cook 3-4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces, until crispy. Remove and reserve. Pour out most of the grease. Brown your roasts on all sides and set aside.

In your dutch oven, add one onion, chopped fine, and cook until starting to go translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add a three cloves of garlic, chopped, and a tbsp of all purpose flour. Cook until fragrant, maybe 3-4 minutes.

Add your wine reduction and 4c beef broth. Add a few sprigs of fresh parsley, three sprigs of fresh thyme and a couple bay leaves tied together with twine to the pot. Add in reserved bacon. Place your roasts on top of this concoction and place in a 300°f oven. One of the tricks here is to cover your dutch oven with tin foil before putting the cover on. This gives you a much better seal and keeps more liquid in the roast. This is apparently a pretty important step.

This will cook for 2-3 hours, until a fork slips in and out easily. Turn your roasts once an hour. When cooking has approximately 1 hour left, add four carrots, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters by about an inch and a half long.

While waiting for it to cook, take 10ish oz of frozen pearl onions (thawed) and cook them in a saute pan in a cup of water and three tablespoons unsalted butter, covered, 12-15 minutes until soft. Uncover and cook until all water has boiled off. Add 8oz button mushrooms, quartered, and cook until everything is evenly browned.

When your roast is cooked, remove it from the oven, remove the roast from the dutch oven and tent with foil to keep warm. Add your pearl onion and mushroom mix to your braising liquid. Place the dutch oven back on the stove and reduce liquid by about a quarter. Skim as much fat off the top as possible. This will be your gravy for the pot roast. When nearly finished, add a tsp unflavored gelatin to the sauce to add richness.

And there you have it. By far the most prep I've ever done for a pot roast, but, bar none, it's the best I've ever had.

One of my favorite books out there is Best Recipe.

This book has a great compilation of recipes, but also goes into great detail as to why things are done certain ways historically and how different methods during the cooking process give different results, even down to methods for selecting the best produce for certain dishes.


(I linked the more expensive hardcover edition, because it's that good.)

*Edit: Read the reviews on Amazon. They tell it better than I can.

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook is pretty awesome. There's a shit ton of recipes and lots of good cooking techniques in there, along with equipment tests and other good stuff. It's also ring bound so it's easy to keep it open to a certain page. This is THE #1 cookbook I always tell beginners to get. They also have a TV show on PBS that's quite good. I'd recommend avoiding signing up for the website as you'll get a lot of spam mail. But their book series are pretty great for the beginner.


Cooking for Geeks is also quite good if you're interested in the physics / chemistry aspect of cooking, although some of the stuff in there is a little too science-y for general beginners.

As an addition to the other great answers: I know of two cookbooks that are aimed at making food that is cheap and good (as in healthful and tasty). One is Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown, available for free from her website. The other is More-With-Less, which is published by a Mennonite group. I have never used Good and Cheap (it was in the news after it was published), and I've only used a few things from More-with-Less, so I can't really speak to their overall quality.

My personal favorite simple, cheap, tasty, and versatile dish is beans and rice. I typically combine equal amounts black beans and brown rice (I'm glossing over cooking them), season with cumin, garlic, and salt, add some diced tomatoes and lime juice, and top with fresh cilantro, cheese, and avocado (and hot sauce).
Using brown rice instead of white rice adds minerals and fiber, but isn't necessary. Avocados and cilantro are delicious, but aren't necessary (and can be expensive). Note that dried black beans require several hours of soaking before they can be cooked (and about an hour of cooking time). You can use things like canned beans, minute rice, canned tomatoes or salsa, and guacamole to make this basically effortless (though probably a little more expensive). There are lots of ways to combine beans and rice (there's even an academic book about it).

An even easier version, which I've only ever served as a side dish but is nutritionally acceptable as a main dish is: combine a can of beans with a can of corn (both drained), spice to taste (I use salt, cumin, garlic, etc), and add some fresh cilantro. Optionally add a drained can of diced tomatoes.

Good and Cheap: (Note: This is also available for free download in PDF format on the author's website. I know many folks who have downloaded it and printed it out for offline use.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761184996/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EVLLDbRBSQMBH

Depression Era Recipes:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0934860556/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9OLLDbTKCP8B4

Clara's Kitchen:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312608276/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MPLLDbWM71RM9

More-with-Less World Community Cookbook:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/083619263X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nQLLDbF12CDHM


Finally, a word on creating your own cookbook binder: Bookmark the recipes you've tried and loved (using Pinterest is okay for this, too), print them out, and either laminate the pages, or use clear sheet protector sleeves to keep them fom getting cruddy with repeated use. Pick out a binder you like or have handy, create labeled categories using tab dividers, then sort your recipes into said categories as you put them into the binder. Voila! Your own collection of recipes you know and trust. 😁

It was a game changer for me to realize that some recipes are just not good--a lot of cookbooks and recipes online have just been churned out and not really tested, so it's not even your fault if the food doesn't work out.

Finding cookbooks and blogs that you trust every time take the stress of failure out. America's Test Kitchen is fantastic, and this cookbook has the best recipes of all of the basics: http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Test-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615486

I also love Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com, and trust that all of her recipes will be delicious.

Just keep trying, and you'll get better.

Find a good vegan cookbook. Heck, find three or four of them. I like the Veganomicon, which is a great general reference, but you can find one for everything, from pies to soul food to sandwiches.

Cookbooks will do two things for you. First, they'll provide a resource if you start to feel cravings for food you used to rely on: if you get desperate for burgers, or chicken parmesan, or mousakka, you'll find a great alternative that scratches that itch. Second, they'll provide an excellent resource to browse through and find recipes you'd never have thought of on your own. Expanding your palate is a surefire way to improve your diet.

I can highly recommend The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook, written by a mother-daughter team who I am happy to call good friends and even better cooks.

If you like this author, she's got a bunch more very highly acclaimed cookbooks as well. Mangia!

White Trash Cooking

This book rocks, I highly recommend it.

Imogene's Impossible Pie is my favorite recipe in the entire book.

• 2 cups milk
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1/2 cup Bisquick
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1/2 stick butter
  
• 1 1/4 cups sugar.
  
  Put all into blender in order listed. Blend for 3 minutes. Then, add 1 cup coconut and flash blend (fuck coconut). Pour into greased pie pan and bake 45 minutes in a 350-degree oven, or until firm. Check by putting a knife into center. If it comes out clean, pie is done.
  You should tell everyone to post their favorite recipe from the book too :), good way to get some awesome recipes.

I'll be honest, this is sort of off the wall, but I read Edward Lee's Smoke & Pickles a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was outstanding. It's a combination Southern cookbook and memoir about the child of Korean immigrants who grew up in the Bronx, was briefly an annoying Brooklyn hipster, but ended up being a chef in Kentucky. It's basically a cookbook (and not one for entry-level cooks either), but each section starts with a long, thoughtful, engaging essay about how his life journey ended up with him being a good old boy who works buttermilk and bourbon into every dish and occasionally hangs out at slaughterhouses or goes pheasant hunting. I dunno, it's just cool and really, really well-written.

My go-to gift is the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. This thing is HUGE and reasonably priced, and every recipe in it is awesome. It's great for all the kitchen-gadgets she'll be getting :)

The closest things I can think of in Mexican cuisine would be barbacoa and cochinita pibil. These are both traditionally done in an earthen pit, and both pick up a subtle smoky flavor.

The barbacoa I had was a cow's head rubbed with chile and salt, wrapped in burlap and buried in coals and dirt. The meat was then pulled and used for tacos. I've made puerco pibil lots of times with pork butt. Its rubbed with an achiote paste, wrapped in banana leaves, then oven roasted, pulled and used for tacos.

Mexican chorizo is usually sold raw, and the casings are split and the bulk sausage chopped and crumbled when cooked. But you can sometimes find it smoked.

Barbecue is a US culinary technique that's not to my knowledge found in any other traditional cuisines. Lots of folks smoke meat, but it's always done with the intention of preservation. Lots of folks pit roast and spit roast, that's the closest you'll find. No one else just smokes meat in a smokehouse low & slow for 8-12 hours then has it for dinner.

There's huge potential right now in barbecue fusion, combining US barbecue technique with the cuisines of other countries. You can discover a lot of this cross-pollination in northern Mexican - southwestern US border cuisine. I can tell you from experience that Mexicans love KC style barbecued ribs, especially if you goose the BBQ sauce with extra chile.

Puerco pibil is rubbed with a paste made from a product called achiote condimentado, which comes in little red bricks. It's achiote, salt, chile, garlic and other spices. It's thinned with vinegar or citrus juice, then rubbed on the pork butt. The pork butt is then wrapped in banana leaves, and oven roasted to 205F. The banana leaves give off a wonderful perfume, so it's not the same as just wrapping in foil. You can buy them frozen.

To cook this in the smoker, I'm a bit concerned about the achiote paste making a bitter bark if you don't use the banana leaves. Applied as a paste, it goes on a bit thicker than a standard rub. I'd probably smoke it for 4-5 hours, then foil it. Or you could just smoke it the whole time wrapped in banana leaves and tied with string. It won't get as smoky as regular smoked pork, but a lot of smoke will still make its way in. That's what I wish I could have done when I made it in a restaurant; it would have tasted more like the Yucatan original.

It really depends on the person and the cook book and they can be great tools to learn from, especially for novices. I only have one cookbook, Cook's Illustrated, and I've learned a ton from it. It's made by the folks at America's Test Kitchen, which if you are unaware of who they are, are exactly what it sounds like. They test all sorts of recipes trying different techniques, temperatures, methods, etc, until they find the "best" way to cook a dish. The cookbook gives easy instructions, explanations as to why what they say to do is the best, and provide multiple variations for each recipe so you learn how to cook with a basic technique and then change it up however your imagination desires. My cooking has improved immensely from this one book.

I'd like to recommend a couple things:

America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook has a lot of great family friendly recipes that are lower in calories.

100 Days of Real Food blog has great resources and recipes on how to incorporate more real and wholesome foods - those are the types of foods that will keep your older son fuller for longer.

Once a Month Meals has some great menu plans. It is originally set up for you to do the bulk of your cooking once a month and freeze the rest, but you don't have to do it that way. They do a good job of having seasonal appropriate menus.

I only own one cookbook, so I might as well give it a plug because I've made some great dishes from it. My New Orleans by John Besh. I should say that I have a love affair with Cajun food though. If you ever see it in a store, at a minimum take note of how to make basic creole seasoning. I put it on everything now, and it makes everything delicious.

Look up the Baton Rouge Junior Leagues cookbook. This is it.

River Road Recipes: The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine https://www.amazon.com/dp/0961302682/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ja5CAb6B1ZJRX

They also make a second one as well as a third healthy options one.

All the best seafood recipes in one place. All the best sauces and meat recipes and desserts as well.

Gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya, mornay sauce, hollandaise, oyster baking styles, custards, meat pies, the list goes on forever.

If you decide to do a New Orleans cookbook like /u/PlumLion suggested, I highly recommend River Road. It's a classic around here...a lot of people give/get this as a wedding gift :) My parents still use the one they got when they got married! There's a Vol. II that's also fantastic.

I get all my best recipes from good cook books. I highly recommend Cooks Illustrated ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933615893/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KbjOAb6PBRC4Y ) and if you want to learn everything in and around food for any occasion then try Joy of Cooking ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743246268/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TcjOAb55Z5TRH ).

Donald Link's Real Cajun is fantastic. John Besh's My New Orleans is also excellent albeit a bit more involved. I find myself going to Link's more often, but for really sexy recipes, Besh has some real winners.

This is my cooking bible. Think of any major, favorite or well-known dish and I almost guarantee it's in this book. Very solid and dependable recipes all around.

My one minor criticism is I think they might compromise the ethnic dishes a little too much towards western cooks. They always prefer using easily found supermarket ingredients.

Regardless though out of almost 50 recipes I've cooked out of this book I haven't run across a bad one yet. It's also a really great resource for making that classic dish you already know just a little bit better.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook-Americas/dp/1933615893

As a vegetarian, not a vegan, my current favorite cookbook is actually a vegan cookbook. Vegan soul food by Bryant Terry is a fantastic read with phenomenal recipes. I've worked my through a significant number of the recipes and I have been amazed by the complexity of the flavors and the deep unami taste of many of the recipes. Worth every cent - http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. I'd also suggest subscribing to the magazine.

They're like the Popular Mechanics of cooking. No ads, no sponsors, just lots of great recipes that have been refined through many trials and variations. The Cookbook has thousands of recipes with detailed info on why a particular ingredient or process works or doesn't work. They've taken all of the guesswork out of it, just follow the instructions. Great if you just want a tested recipe to follow or if you want to understand more about why a recipe works. Highly recommended.

Just cook. Experimenting, watch cooking shows, get cookbooks(Cooks Illustrated 20 year book is an amazing book) from the library. But most importantly don't give up and don't be afraid of a challenge. That's how we learn by pushing ourselves. Everything you make won't be a success but in the long run it will be. Also remember to just have fun and enjoy it. Heck I have been cooking for over 20 years and my lastest experiment just totally flopped, but I tried something new and learned from it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933615893/ref=cm_sw_r_other_taa_i_AszbBb6PHTS6R

Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook. Great little pictures of ingredients/recipes.

The Joy of Cooking. It's got a great baseline of knowledge and can provide a good context when you start cooking.

The Mennonite cookbook More with Less. This one will broaden your horizons and you'll find yourself cooking outside of your typical cuisines.

I love the Test Kitchen. I have learned so many tips, techniques, and great recipes from them in the past 2 years. I think a useful pick up is The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I use it at least once a week.

*edit for grammar

These are two fantastic books for beginning cooks, so much so that I've been buying them as wedding/hosewarming presents as part of my gifts to newlyweds/new homeowners just starting out.

How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart by Pam Anderson

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

The ATK book apparently has a new edition coming out in October. They also have a similar version if you are less interested in perhaps the best tasting versus the more healthful options.

You said Southern Style but I really like Ed Lee's collards + kimchi served at MilkWood which is technically Korean-Southern fusion. I love it so much so that I quit using my grandmother's recipe and adopted his. Recipe here: http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/collards-kimchi/ basically the entire restaurants menu is in this cookbook https://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Pickles-Recipes-Stories-Southern/dp/1579654924

I read “Nothing in this book is true but it’s exactly how things are” back in 1997. It explains how there are microscopic inter dimensional space ships inside a chamber in the Sphinx which can be activated using star tetrahedron technology which is some sort of interior mechanism anyone is capable of activating through meditation. I think I’m going to read the book again. It’s excellent in my opinion.

https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-This-Exactly-Things-Anniversary/dp/1556438311

i recently got hooked on Roasted Rosemary Tofu (recipe) (picture) from the Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook. it's really easy to make, has wonderful flavor & a perfect texture. the only note that the posted recipe & the photos miss is that the rosemary should be very finely chopped, not left whole.

The cookbook "More with Less" is a good one for different ways to use pantry staples like your rice and beans. Bonus is they have info on what combos of grains/beans/veggies make complete proteins to help keep nutrition up.


https://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X

Not perfect—I think the pan was too hot, because the sugar went black and it was cooked in about half the time it was supposed to be cooked in. Still, it tasted good!

Salmon was from this book—had a rub with s+p, brown sugar, lemon zest, and paprika on it. Tasted really good!

Potatos were sautéed. Sort of made it up. Parboiled potatoes, then put them in the skillet with some red onion and garlic. Tasted great, but I should have held my nerve and cooked it for longer.

Carrots were just grated carrots and balsamic vinegar. My favourite way of doing carrots :)


Edit: also, I need a white plate.

I like America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. It's huge! So many recipes :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933615567/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

See if they have this book at your local library.

https://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook-Americas-Magazine/dp/1933615893

Has a great section explaining all of the ingredients and how to cook each. Start easy and get more complex. Canned beans have a ton of salt in them. Carne burritos are easier to cook than chicken because you can eat it rare. To get the taste of take out spot just look up mexican recipes online. It's all in the seasoning.

I respect your progression up to Alton Brown, and I do enjoy Alton's cooking science, but I watched his show for years and never learned as much as I did since I started watching America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Sometimes they go into some complex recipes though, ignore those and pay attention to their basics, they explain what they tried and why it failed. They have an excellent beginners cookbook that covers all the essentials without going into the complex recipes they do on the show, it's found here The show has excellent product recommendations too. It's now the only show I watch, although I still occasionally look for specific episodes of Good Eats on youtube.

Oh! White Trash Cooking! Preserves the language, but actually has some really good recipes inside! I like it with the bacon fat and cracklings, and I add more buttermilk than called for. Let me know when you try it!

http://www.amazon.com/White-Trash-Cooking-Ernest-Mickler/dp/0898151899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465063063&sr=8-1&keywords=white+trash+cookbook

YESS. My father in law gave me The Best Recipe cookbook almost 20 years ago and it is STILL my go-to. It opens automatically to a few recipes, the cover is worn, some of the pages have stains; it's clearly loved.

Yeah, I was thinking maybe chicken teriyaki. This Cooks Illustrated Cookbook is my favorite cookbook I own, and it never lets us down. It has the best chicken teriyaki recipe I've ever made.

Cooks Illustrated. Ex bought this for me and it's pretty much been my bible. Good luck!

Cooks Illustrated is my absolute go to. We refer to it as The Bible in my house. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933615893/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lJNTDbTA8M9FF
Any America's Test Kitchen books are great.

I also love Mark Bitman's how to cook everything, Ottolenghi's Plenty & Plenty more.

Makes a great soup, with peanut butter.

the Moosewood Cookbook is great for vegetarian, same with Madhur Jaffrey and also a book called "Southern Vegetarian Cooking" https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Down-Home-Recipes/dp/140160482X

Simple, basic, red chile enchiladas. Good, lard-based, refried beans, and fresh flour tortillas. Refer to "The Border Cookbook" for any/all recipes.

I cook Mexican food a lot and this is my go-to resource. I've given over a dozen copies to friends over the years. It's soooo worth having.

I recently donated away about 100 cookbooks I had collected over the years (I organize virtually everything digitally now) but I kept these 5:

Child et al, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (well-used, next to the stove)

Hazan, Essentials of Italian Cooking (carried to Italy and used there twice)

Lewis, The Taste of Country Cooking (such a good read)

Rombauer. An older than I am edition (with how-to-skin-a-squirrel recipes) of the Joy of Cooking (falling apart, kept for sentimental reasons)

Fox, On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen (for the porn)

America's Test Kitchen Family cookbook. They explain technique very well and the recipes are solid. Plus it comes in a ring binder which is nice since it lays open better.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933615486/ref=pd_aw_sims_3?pi=SY115&simLd=1

I love most Cook's Illustrated cookbooks, but for a new cook it can seem rather daunting and some ingredients are not in a simple grocery store.

That being said, everything I have made from my Cook's Illustrated Cook Book has been delicious.

A lot of famous restaurants and chefs have cookbooks that feature recipes from their restaurants.

It can be pretty hard to replicate a restaurant dish at home. I cook for a living and you have a lot of advantages in a professional kitchen. Hotter ovens and burners and all kinds of other toys.

So the recipes in restaurant cookbooks aren't always the most reliable when you do them at home. And the cookbooks are pricey. But they have pretty pictures.

If you want to get really crazy try one of these,


Mugaritz: A Natural Science of Cooking

or

Alinea

or

Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine

When he said “you wouldn’t believe me” reminded me of a great book that changed my outlook on life “Nothing in This Book Is True, But It's Exactly How Things Are” by Bob Frissell. Here is an amazon link: it will tell you all the secrets
https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-This-Exactly-Things-Anniversary/dp/1556438311/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JHG0BDXT4WLO&keywords=nothing+in+this+book+is+true+but+it%27s+exactly+how+things+are&qid=1556244776&s=gateway&sprefix=Nothing+in+this%2Caps%2C220&sr=8-1

Maybe start with America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

The people at America's Test Kitchen test every recipe many, many times and determine what works best. You can't go wrong with them.

I got The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John Folse last Christmas, every recipe has been amazing in it. He even goes into the history of Louisiana and how all the different cultural influences makes the cuisine unique. He goes from the basics of making a stock and roux to the advanced techniques like blackening.

I've eaten at Alinea, Moto, and quite a few other high end restaurants as a cooking enthusiast. Its hard to say one kind of food is better than another - however, one of the reasons you would eat at a place like Alinea because you could never reasonably make the dishes they make (unless you have some specialized and expensive lab equipment).

EDIT: I should mention that Achatz has an Alinea book where he outlines some of the recipes from the restaurant (http://www.amazon.com/Alinea-Grant-Achatz/dp/1580089283). I find this commentary quite appropriate: http://ruhlman.com/2008/09/alinea-the-cook/

>This is not a home-cook book. This is a document of the exact recipes the Alinea brigade uses. It's very complex stuff and some of the techniques are difficult to pull off, requiring a good deal of skill and delicacy.

I recommend you read "Nothing in this Book is True...But it's Exactly How Things Are" by Bob Frissell. It talks about all kinds of things from Grey Aliens to Sacred Geometry. Just finished it and it's a great book.
http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Exactly-Things-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1556438311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331748774&sr=8-1

My mom loves this cookbook. She has hundreds of cookbooks, and this is her favorite. Most of the recipes she uses in her day to day cooking are passed down and written in a notebook.

I would actually suggest the normal (not healthy) version, but either is great.

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Test-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615486

A few of these are vegetarian, not vegan, but they have lots of great vegan stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/Teff-Love-Adventures-Ethiopian-Cooking/dp/157067311X

www.amazon.com/Alternative-Vegan-International-Straight-Produce/dp/1604865083/

http://www.lotusartichoke.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517581671/

https://www.amazon.com/Decolonize-Your-Diet-Plant-Based-Mexican-American/dp/1551525925

https://www.amazon.com/Afro-Vegan-Farm-Fresh-African-Caribbean-Southern/dp/1607745313

https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288/

https://www.amazon.com/Food52-Vegan-Vegetable-Driven-Recipes-Kitchen/dp/1607747995

Does anyone know how this book stacks up against ATK's "blue book"?

I have their red and green books and absolutely love them. Was considering getting this one next.

This cookbook: http://amzn.com/1933615486 from America's Test Kitchen.

Includes a huge variety of recipes and also includes techniques on successful completion. Tips for how to identify and choose cuts of meat, easily dice an onion, choose knives, light a grill, preheat an oven...everything a beginning cook could use.

Each recipe gives exact cooking times and are rated "easy" "quick" so you know what you're getting into before you start.

He figures prominently in this doosie of a read. Pretty entertaining stuff: Link

I would recommend a dozen or so books to get started. However, if I had to recommend one thing it would be this blog, as it dissects the first book from Alinea from the view point of a novice. It should make you think about cooking and food in a completely different way, and give you a head start into think about advanced concepts.

Some cookbooks that I use or are on my wishlist:

• The Fat Duck
  
  
• The French Laundry
  
  
• Alinea
  
  
• Eleven Madison Park
  
  
• Quay: food inspired by nature
  
  
• Room for Dessert
  
  
• Murgaritz: A Natural Science of Cooking
  
  
• Saison
  
  
• Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen
  
  
• Le Cinq
  
  
• Coi: Stories and Recipes
  
  
• Massimo Bottura: Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef
  
  
• Atelier Crenn: Metamorphosis of Taste
  
  
• El Celler De Can Roca
  
  Great British Chefs also has some recipes from Michelin starred restaurants.

I've always really liked this book by Edna Lewis: it's written seasonally and it gives a good sense of the history of many Southern ingredients and dishes.

Thanks for the recommendation! Here's a link to buy Talk About Good! from the Junior League and it appears Amazon carries it, as well.

Yep, I agree. I was actually wondering how he's take my question on the iPad app. Whatever - I bought two of his $40 book, and he knew it. :P

(You can get them waaaay cheaper online, but I wanted to support the store, etc.)

this is my mom's favorite gift to buy for my ex's: https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Your-Mama-Catholic-Make/dp/0925417556

​

i think she's bought 3 of them so far.

I could dig out a cookbook and transcribe my favorite...

If you're curious about what sort of variations have positive results, this is one I think your collection should include... though its more aimed at quality than cost awareness.

Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin

or possibly

Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen

they both look like a lot of fun.

Talk About Good by The Lafayette Junior League

Original edition of 1967 now in its 26th +/- printing. Same one my parents use. Has many base items that are foundations of other dishes.

Also my dad has used Pots, Pans, and Pioneers by Telephone Pioneers of America. Large collection of authentic recipes. Biscuits, breads also meats.

I use both of these; the recipes therein are classic.

For the ATK fans in the house: http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Healthy-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615567

This has been my go-to for quite some time now. Love everything in there!

For home-cooked type recipes, check this out:

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=talk+about+good+cookbook&tag=hydsma-20&index=aps&hvadid=242657455351&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15051017321800423911&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025385&hvtargid=kwd-350708428779&ref=pd_sl_72rvjd38rt_e&gclid=CjwKCAjwwbHWBRBWEiwAMIV7E2QTz_6vMSnYohxX0fhYV2ipSk3kjfvnyVGPBGZ1fX5HHJ63rrkMehoCrJIQAvD_BwE

It is a book of recipes compiled by the junior league of Lafayette.

Another great resource is this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0970445717/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523361538&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=john+folse+encyclopedia&dpPl=1&dpID=51aeIbcYrnL&ref=plSrch

I'll also suggest "The Joy of Cooking"

A couple of other books that are filled with perfect and realistic versions of food everyone will recognize and want to eat are:

The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2014

These two books are very similar so you don't need both of them, but I think having at least one of them is essential.

Best cookbook -- https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Your-Mama-Catholic-Make/dp/0925417556

Buy this:
https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Louisiana-Lafayette-Junior-League/dp/0935032029
It’s Junior League of Lafayette’s cookbook originally published in the 70s or 80s. It’s basically everybody’s grandma’s best recipes

EDIT: first printed in 1967 now in it’s 30th printing

You'd love The Vegan Soul Kitchen

My favorite cookbooks so far are

1. Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads and
   
2. The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook 3rd Edition
   
   If you are brand new and want only the basices, you should get I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking by Alton Brown which is the most basic cooking-for-dummies book!

> Do you guys have any sources of really high quality vegan meals by like high level chefs and shit.

Take your pick! What cuisines does she like to make? What do you like to eat? Choose something that fits both.

Gourmet Stuff (youtube channels, blogs, and/or cookbooks. Some are all three):

• Hot For Food
  
• Sweet Potato Soul
  
• Edgy Veg
  
• AvantGardeVegan
  
• Exceedingly Vegan
  
• Mr. Vegan
  
• VeganLovlie
  
• Peaceful Cuisine
  
• Vegan Soul Kitchen
  
• Oh She Glows
  
• Minimalist Baker
  
  For direct recreations of dairy, meat, and condiments/sauces.
  
  
• Seitan and Beyond by Skye Michael Conroy
  
• The Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook by Skye Michael Conroy
  
• The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples by Miyoko Schinner
  
• Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner
  
  For recreations of eggs:
  
  
• Baking substitutes
  
• For straight eggs
  
  For a general cookbook: Veganomicon
  
  ---------
  
  My list of substitutions, taken from another comment:
  
  "
  Another thing you can do is learn or find vegan substitutes to things, then you can look up recipes that are as complex or authentic as you want, and simply use the substitutions. For gourmet vegan cooking, some are:
  
  
• Beef, sausage: seitan, commercial vegan meat substitutes
  
• Bacon: Coconut bacon or Bac'n bits
  
• Heavy Cream: Cashew Cream
  
• Butter: Vegan Butter, margarine, vegetable oil or coconut oil in baking
  
• Cheese: blended up nuts or other things with flavorings or gelling agents, different for different ones. Mozzarella, Ricotta, Feta, Parmesan, Fancy Cookbooks: 1, 2
  
• Eggs: For cooking, Tofu or Commercial Egg Replacers. For baking, a bunch of different things depending on what you're making.
  
• Crab cakes: hearts of palm
  
• Tuna salad: mashed chickpeas
  
• Merangues: aquafaba
  
  "

The Alinea cookbook has several dessert recipes and is beautiful

Alinea https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580089283/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zIIBzbCXCSD9V

Pastry cooks are hardly rare. Good ones are, though.

Get the Alinea cookbook and work your way through it, if you have the patience and the pocketbook. Very neat stuff, but really anal from a guy with zero taste buds. I respect him, but really... His most critical restaurant reviews are of his presentation and flavor combinations, so use your own judgement and taste buds while using this book. I recommend it as reading material, but follow your own head and area.

The Bacon Cookbook, Ratio, and because I'm obsessed with New Orleans food, The Court of Two Sisters Cookbook.

Also someone else mentioned the Cook's Illustrated cookbook which is absolutely amazing.

Get the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. Tons and tons of classics made with perfect technique. It'll be your new go-to.

I'm trying to remember the name of it! Hold on... :)

edit: got it! More With Less (https://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X)

The bourbon jalapenos and caraway pickles were both from Edward Lee's Smoke and Pickles book. I found a lot of inspiration in it.

Okay I'll bite "Awful Truth" loaded to kindle.

I really hope its as bastshit as this one

I am not sure if 'vegan' qualifies automatically as 'diabetic' but this cookbook is rockstar....and healthy.

"Vegan Soul Kitchen"

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450929368&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+soul+kitchen

I would highly recommend John Folse's The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine. It's very expensive but it's enormous (850 pages and 700 recipes) and worth every penny because it also includes a lot of history and information on the cajun and creole cultures.

I think you'd enjoy this book: https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-This-Exactly-Things-Anniversary/dp/1556438311

I enjoy cookbooks that explain the process of why to do this and not that especially with ingredients and processes. This favorite has been go go to book for years..

I think she would enjoy the ramblings of Christopher Kimball.

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Test-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615486

I've got around 50 cookbooks and The Encyclopedia of Cajun Cuisine by John Folse is my favorite. I've cooked about 20 recipes out of this book, all entree's, and every single one was absolutely spot on. If I know someone doesn't have a copy I usually get them one for Christmas or a birthday.

Five star rating on Amazon and no one has given it a 1 star. That might be the single best rating I have ever seen.

Vegan Soul Kitchen - soul food made vegan and healthy (and tasty!)

Rice and beans. Beans and rice. Also, check out the More with Less, a cookbook put out by the Mennonites. It has lots of good, cheap recipes.

The true shizzle

Her most famous cookbook is The Taste of Country Cooking, which is still in print. You may also be interested in this book of essays and remembrances about her.

Photo found here, it was one of several taken by John T. Hill.

yes they would, they even wrote a book about it and it's a must have.

Lodge also has a book out. My parents have a copy and I looked through it last time I visited. Looked promising. They also put out a magazine occasionally.

The problem with this thread is that if you make a couple of these, the GF will continue to want more! I invested in a cookbook a long time ago, and it's literally changed my life. You can buy the one I use for under $6. Now we make a different recipe every night and they all taste amazing.

I'll just leave this here Nothing in This Book Is True, But It's Exactly How Things Are

More for Less cookbook. I have saved so much money and learned to cook simpler and healthier meals http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/083619263X

There’s a really good bourbon brown sugar carrot recipe in this cookbook. On mobile now but will try to find the recipe later.

Any of the Thomas Keller books, French Laundry, Ad Hoc at Home, Bouchon, and Bouchon Bakery. The only one you'd probably want to avoid is Under Pressure.

Also, Heston at Home and In Search of Perfection are great books.

If you're into southern food, check out Sean Brock's Heritage and Ed Lee's Smoke & Pickles.

Finally, I'd suggest Modernist Cuisine at Home if you're up for splurging.

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook also comes in a binder. I used to use the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I've been using the one I linked more often in the last few years.

This one is I believe. It's an interesting read, if a little bizarre.

When drunk, yes. I'm thinking of doing guides with pictures based on http://www.amazon.com/White-Cooking-Jargon-Ernest-Mickler/dp/0898151899.

Reminds me of that bonkers book by Bob Frissell. Frissell strings together every new age belief without the slightest bit of legitimate evidence or critical thought. I only picked it up because of a recommendation in a Tool newsletter from over two decades ago, and I somehow got through the whole thing. I feel like the claims in each - these videos and Bob's book - are very similar.

Check out the "More With Less Cookbook"

It was produced by the "Mennonite Central Committee"

https://www.amazon.ca/More-Less-World-Community-Cookbook/dp/083619263X

Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?

https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Louisiana-Lafayette-Junior-League/dp/0935032029/

https://www.amazon.com/River-Road-Recipes-Textbook-Louisiana/dp/0961302682

It's this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook-Edition/dp/1933615486/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404596627&sr=8-2&keywords=cooks+illustrated+cookbook+family

Maybe this book for some familiar flavors (that guy does have a couple other books out).

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Healthy-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615567

I'd suggest this:
http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Healthy-Family-Cookbook/dp/1933615567/

An iconic old American cookbook is The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis. It was published in 1976, has 300+ pages - exact page count depending on the edition. Older edition here.

If we are talking about American food history viewed through cookbooks, this book (and Edna's other cookbooks) would probably be in the top 3 list. I dislike using over the top adjectives, but this book is really an iconic book. Here's a seriouseats review.

Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry Amazon Link

Because White Trash Cooking rocks.

$35 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580089283/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_haHUDbFXKFCT7

Does she cook? Maybe get her some cookbooks from here. https://www.amazon.com/Plantation-Cookbook-Junior-League-Orleans/dp/0963192507/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1479912019&sr=8-12&keywords=new+orleans+collectible https://www.amazon.com/River-Road-Recipes-Textbook-Louisiana/dp/0961302682/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KM7MPAB810FP5DHMCQ4K https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Louisiana-Lafayette-Junior-League/dp/0935032029/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EQXGKS2CW7MJ03X3BB39

More With Less

[http://i.imgur.com/VEGsJ.jpg]

[http://www.amazon.com/White-Cooking-Jargon-Ernest-Mickler/dp/0898151899]

Is she Catholic?

Edit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0925417556

Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make A Roux? (Book 1): A Cajun / Creole Family Album Cookbook

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0848734343

More-With-Less

River Road Recipes is a classic of old-school homemade Baton Rougue cooking and encyclopedic (granted, it's from the '50s, so there are also some just awful concoctions but they're obvious).

Also John Folse, John Besh, Paul Prudhomme, Donald Link, (early) Emeril Lagasse

That was no Google search for a jambalaya with shrimp; I am familiar with Folse's work and legacy (I own a copy of his 10 lb. Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine and read it on the couch sometimes), and I knew I would find a proper Creole jambalaya on his site.

Gonzalez (so named the "Jambalaya Capital of the World" as a publicity stunt by McKeithen in '68 to promote the first ever Jambalaya Festival) is in Acadiana, so I would not expect them to cook Creole jambalaya at their festival; I would be an idiot to do so.

Don't get me wrong--I prefer Cajun Jambalaya, and spent a summer in 1996 working with 400 qt. batches in BR using that style. It's just that claiming that one style is "authentic" while the other is not makes us both look dumb, which everyone already assumes about us because we're from Louisiana, and we don't need that. Solidarity, brother! Gumbo can be thickened with okra, roux, or filé; and jambalaya can be made with or without tomatoes and/or shrimp. It doesn't mean that your mother did anything wrong, it just means that Louisiana cuisine may be more diverse than you ever imagined. Did you know that andouille is popular in red beans in some areas, but not so popular in others? Even hot sauce choices (Tabasco, Louisiana Brand, Crystal) can vary regionally--or even intra-regionally!

What's the difference between that cookbook by Cook's Illustrated and the one that came out later with even more recipes, The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook? Wouldn't it be better to get the one with more recipes?

I'll take this opportunity to plug my favourite frugal cookbook, which, although published by the Mennonite church, can be found in almost every Canadian prairie kitchen.

From Wikipedia:

>The More-with-Less Cookbook is a cookbook commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee in 1976 with the goal of "helping Christians respond in a caring-sharing way in a world with limited food resources"[1] and "to challenge North Americans to consume less so others could eat enough".[2] The first edition of the book has received forty-seven printings, with over 847,000 copies sold worldwide, including Bantam Press, British English and German editions.[3]

>The book advocates the consumption of more whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, the moderation of meat and dairy products and the avoidance of processed and convenience foods. The recipes, collected from Mennonite and other Christian families around the world, are intended to be affordable, nutritious and socially and ecologically responsible.

turtle.....i have a cookbook called the white trash cookbook....funniest damn thing you have ever read.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Cooking-Jargon-Ernest-Mickler/dp/0898151899

White Trash Cooking

Any Bitch Can Cook

OP checks out!

This is actually why I've never gone out of my way to buy this book. I got Vegan Soul Kitchen. I hate when a recipe requires me to get a ton of dishes dirty or measure too many things. I like minimal prep & cleanup, and my recipes amount to: one starch, one vegetable, one bean, varying spices, and varying oils. Tada!