You Can Never Have Too Many...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 17:48 You can never have too many cookbooks, at least as far as I'm concerned, and although I am often plagued with guilt for not consulting my growing collection of cookbooks (65 and counting) more often, distracted as I get by the copious amounts of recipes to be found across the Internet, nothing beats curling up on the couch with a glass of wine and a good cookbook. Curling up with your laptop is just not nearly as satisfying, as slowly perusing pages of thought-provoking or memory-inducing recipes most often paired with mouthwatering pictures.
I must have been a good girl this year, because I got not one, but two cookbooks for Christmas. Granted, one came to me in the form of gift certificate to Waterstone's (thank you to E's parents), but hey, I'm not picky as to how my cookbooks come to me. I choose to use my gift certificate on Tessa Kiro's Falling Cloudberries
The second new addition to my cookbook library was a gift from a good friend who knows just how big my crush on Nigella Lawson is, and decided I needed to expand my Nigella cookbook collection. Feast: Food to Celebrate Life
So, I wonder, am I the only one who makes statements like, "I'm not going to buy another cookbook until I've cooked a recipe from every cookbook that I already have," when defending yet another cookbook purpose to my DBF? Do you too suffer a compulsive desire to own every beautiful cookbook in the world? Really, I'm curious. How many cookbooks do you own? What's your favorite cookbook and why? What was your first cookbook? Details, folks, give me details!
Lastly, if any of you happen to have either of these two cookbooks, let me know what you liked or disliked about them, with emphasis on any favorite recipes that you've prepared from them.
cookbooks 
Reader Comments (12)
First of all, I don't even want to count all my cookbooks as I will feel so bad for not cooking from them more. I swear, I have over 20 on my desk, in the kitchen, right now. Scary! I love cookbooks so much I think it is an addiction. We should start a group: Cookbook Addicts Anonymous. lol! The funny part is though, all my best recipes come from a flour company, spiral bound cookbook my mom got through the mail in the 70's! Go figure. I have neither of the books you got for Christmas but I so want Nigella's Feast, do let us know how you like it. :)
I've never actually counted my cookbooks, but I continue to acquire them without remorse. If there is even one good recipe in each, it's worth it! Some of them are just so beautiful to look at that I can't resist owning them. I guess I'm a candidate for Cookbook Addicts Anonymous, too. ;) I don't have the two books you mentioned, but I did receive Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey for Christmas and can't wait to dive in! My current favorite is a toss-up between EveryDay Food: Great Food Fast and the Williams Sonoma Cookbook. So hard to choose!
I got 5 for christmas, all Dutch,4 about Dutch cookies, chocolates, desserts etc.and de dikke van Dam, which is like an encyclopedia on food, love that book :-)
Than with the cheap UK pound I ordered 4 books on amazon.co.uk, one about curing your own meat, the rest on barbecue. And on marktplaats.nl 2 more Dutch bakers school books for cookies and pastries, both from the 50's.
And that was all since christmas.... :-)
I love cookbooks, you can never have too many!
Yesterday was Nigella's birthday...I would never have suspected that she was 49 years old!!!!
Also, in the column on the right, you have a cookbook called CakeLove listed. I had the opportunity to visit the CakeLove cafe in DC a few years ago. OH! That was some great cake!
And I thought I was the only one to curl up with a cookbook! And the glass of wine goes perfectly.
I stopped counting my books, way too many in there. Besides, it's like your own private library!
ahaha!!! your post made me smile, girlie! I can now add mind-reader to my short list of qualities (must be the gemini thing)!
more tonight, have to run now!
tot later
x
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Joyce
http://www.videophonesguide.com
Love this post. I have...um...A LOT of cookbooks. I have Feast (I am a huge Nigella fan too!). I'll pull it down and see what I've done out of it, but I just love reading her cookbooks. Every recipe has a story and she has a great chatty style. I don't have Falling Cloudberries, but it is at the top of my list (right there with 2 Nigel Slater cookbooks I'm eyeing), but I did get Apples for Jam this holiday. I've just been able to peek inside but it looks delightful. I love cookbooks with lots of pics.
For the Natailie that got Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey...enjoy! I just tried a bunch of recipes out of there over the holidays and loved everyone-- the churros are awesome, the apple pie...and my auntie made the carmel bars....watch the cooking times though.. they were a little off on a few of the recipes.
I got two cookbooks for Christmas, and last week I went out and bought myself another one. And hey, my birthday is next month, so I'd better start my wishlist for that. =) I'm kind of afraid to count mine, but I do know that the bookshelf in my kitchen is overflowing.
I have the Tessa Kiros book, and I love it. I haven't made anything yet, but I just enjoy looking at it and reading it. There's another book that came out after this one, and I'm eyeing that on.
My first cookbook? I think it was the Betty Crocker Cookie Book for kids. I must have over 1,000 cookbooks, many of which I inherited from my dear mum.
I have Feast and I use it quite a lot. I like Nigella's recipes. In fact, I think with Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater her food is the closest to the food I grew up with mixed with the food I want to eat for the rest of my life, if you know what I mean? A book I'm coveting is Rachel Allen's 'Bake'. I watched her series on BBC on Sundays (at lunch time) and she has a lovely manner of telling you why things have to be done in a certain way rather than just directing you.
Hi! Just found your site for the first time today and wanted to say I think you take great photos in the kitchen.
I also have this strange, strange cookbook addiction. I don't feel too guilty about it, but it can become a bit expensive (especially when you have expensive taste and like to buy large, glossy, cookbooks as much for the photos as for the recipes). I just bought Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food- which I can't stop praising.
I'll be sure to keep checking back in on your site!