The best five cookbooks ever
In the early 70s, I abandoned my career as a printer/real-estate-broker/financial-planner/securities-dealer/and-I-forget-what-else to become a cook. During that decade, I went to France and Spain to learn cuisine; then I worked as a manager/cook/chef at various restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area until 1992, when I opened my own restaurant, Timo's.
I have always been good at learning things from books, so I never took any cooking lessons. Before getting my first cooking job, I did a lot of cooking at home. After I got into restaurant kitchens, before I went for a new job interview, I would get the menu for the restaurant I was applying at and got familiar with the items they served. I got lucky: about three years after I started cooking for a living I nailed the job of Chef de Cuisine at one of the best Bay area restaurants at the time. If you are curious, that story is here. While at that job, I relied heavily on the two books by Jacques Pépin shown below.
Being a true heathen, I never did buy that all-American classic, the Joy of Cooking. Below are the books that helped me turn into a cook. Of course, I used others, but these are the ones from which I learned the most the first few years. I would recommend these if you are starting out, or consider yourself to be at the "intermediate" level; they are listed in the order in which I purchased them and used them.
| This is the one that started everything for me. I think I cooked over 90% of the recipes. At first, they look intimidating, but after you make a few of them, you start realizing that cooking is not rocket science. After a while. it takes longer to read some of these than to actually make them. One thing I liked about the book: it is not just a collection of recipes, it also has great descriptions and information about the dishes you are preparing, so one learns quite a bit about French eating, customs and the culture in general. | |
| There was no way I was going to not get this book, so I bought it soon after the previous one. I think this is where I learned to make the roasted suckling pig stuffed with rice, that I still sometimes make for Thanksgiving or Easter (I'm not a big fan or turkey). As I remember, the recipes here are a little more involved and there are fewer than in Volume 1. By the way, I no longer have any ot these books because I lost them all in a fire in early 2005. | |
| This is the first illustrated cookbook I ever bought - step-by-step preparations, each step shown in a black-and-white photo. When it first came out, it was the state-of-the-art cookbook for learning on your own. Once you know the techniques shown here, you can consider yourself an "advanced" cook. This book was later replaced by The Art of Cooking Vol. 1 (same thing, except the photos are in color). | |
| Sequel to the above and just as useful. This one was later replaced by The Art of Cooking Vol. 2 (same thing, except the photos are in color). | |
| To me, this is THE classic - not just for French, but for any cooking. Here, I learned how to make, among other things, the perfect hard-boiled egg and the best corned beef hash I have ever had. This one belongs on every cook's bookshelf. |
Press any of the above images to learn more about or purchase one or more of these excellent books.
i agree about the rest!
number 6 is when the timos cookbook comes out!(?)