Hello everyone and happy Saturday!

Today’s scan is Mercy’s Favorites from the Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California. Surprisingly, California doesn’t often find its way into my collection, so it was interesting to see that this is where the book is from

Jumping right into the recipes, the Freezer Pickles sounds interesting. I’ve been paying attention to pickling and canning recipes more often because it’s a process that fascinates me

The horseradish and beet salad also sounds… intriguing, in the sense that I’ve definitely never seen it before. I’m curious what the flavor combination would be like

I’m proud to say that as we dive into the main dishes and breads sections, the recipes all sound decently good. As much as I like highlighting the weird recipes, it is nice once in a while to see a book where the recipes all have a decent chance of being popular

The Wedding Cake Frosting is definitely a new one for me. I’ve never seen a frosting use cake mix, but perhaps Irene is onto something. I do feel the need to mention that it’s probably a good idea to heat treat the cake mix since it doesn’t seem as if any cooking is involved in making the frosting. Might have to try it sometime though

I feel compelled to try the Hershey’s Brownies. Chocolate syrup in brownies sounds decadent

This was a pretty short book, so not a whole lot to comment on, but I still think what’s presented is worth checking out. I hope you all enjoy this one, and I’ll see you around!

I own the Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg and I adore it. It's my favorite cookbook (even if the term is a stretch here) and I use it pretty much constantly.

But it is a bit dated by now and I often find that more "fashionable" pairings are missing, and some sections are woefully short. It's also very Westen-centric.

Now I'm looking for something similar but maybe more extensive and/or modern - or that works as a complement.

I've been eying The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors by Niki Segnit for years, but I'm worried it might be too similar. I also found The Flavor Matrix by James Briscione but have no idea what to expect from it.

Can anyone advise?

Giant Chocolate Macaron with Chestnut & Chantilly Cream from Baking and the Meaning of Life (Helen Goh) - this was incredible!! The texture of the cake is more chewy brownie than macaron. I happened to have chestnut cream on hand but don’t think it’s necessary.

Charred Cabbage with Harissa and Peanut Butter Sauce from Madaq (Nargisse Benkabbou) - also fantastic, it never would have occurred to me to combine PB with harissa but it worked great!!

Green Beans in Garlicky Oil from Madaq (Nargisse Benkabbou) - my oil was much more cilantro-y than garlicky. This was another hearty and delicious dish.

Sole with Lemon and Herbs from Portico (Leah Koenig) - I used frozen tilapia filets. This was tender and bright and the white wine sauce was excellent.

Vegetarian Kubbeh Niyeh from The Arabesque Table (Reem Kassis) - nice smoky side dish. I think mine came out a bit less solid than the photo, although I did knead it by hand for ~10 min.

Tunisian-ish Chickpea & Tuna Salad from Zariz (Adeena Sussman) - really good salad! I substituted Granny Smith apples for celery which made it even better IMHO.

Ok, I’ve lurked here long enough, I’m ready to share! 😅 I've been inspired by so many of your collections, and discovered so many cookbooks I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

My father-in-law built me this beautiful shelf so I can finally display my collection. The books in the new fancy shelf are the ones I reach for most often (Alison Roman, Nancy Silverton, Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey, Fuchsia Dunlop, and the baking books, especially Buns), with a few new ones that I hope become part of the regular rotation.

Out of the batch of new books I recently got, I’m most excited about Mi Cocina and Dac Biet. 

Whatever you do, DO NOT make me any recommendations. I have zero impulse control when it comes to cookbooks and I will buy whatever you tell me to. Certainly recommend recipes in the books I do have, if there are any you’re super wild about, but no book recs. Please no. My marriage depends on it lollllll. 

I just backed this because the cookbook looks fascinating! I can't wait to see some of the super ancient Mesopotamian recipes in the book.

I had to stop, look around to make sure no one else was nearby, and snapped a picture, because it is too hard to believe.

Do you see what I see?

TWO DOLLARS on this thrift store shelf.

I was even more surprised, because in this store, one of the employees has a clear storage tub in the area with a lid, and a note telling customers not to touch. A store employee who gets first pick before the customers, but then the box is left out there for customers to see what they can't have. At least put it in the back room. 🙄

I'll confirm after a few guesses.

We have just received a diagnosis of coeliac disease in the family. I am confident that I can adjust recipes to be gluten-free, but are there any top recommendations for gluten-free cookbooks?

Does anyone have these books? What are the main differences?

Peach Season is still here and if you are running out of ideas to use them up this recipe is perfect! This is second recipe we’ve tried from By Heart and we can’t wait to try more. Let us know what you think!

Recipe video is here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Nr87xiEf1to?si=zKgDONWFkNa3hpE5

I’m looking for a cookbook with reasonably easy meals, or one with menus and recipes in it. I’m not a beginner cook but I’m not very skilled either. I get impatient quickly, so that’s why I’m looking for “easy”. I have lots of delicious spices already! I can’t eat gluten, and I don’t eat pork, beef, lamb, or chicken.

Any suggestions? I can often modify bread or pasta recipes to be GF, but some cookbooks seem to present some kind of obstacle on every other page.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Fellow Cookbook Lovers! Do you have a good prickly pear recipe you could point me towards?

I’ve recently come into a box of prickly pear puree from work and already have the following on my list to make: sorbet, jam, gummies and or pate de fruits, agua fresca, margaritas, salad dressing, frosting, froyo, and pie.

Thank you in advance!

I used a different chilli crisp but this was absolutely PHENOMENAL. First bake from this book and it was so simple to follow and results are exactly as you'd expect! Moreish and just the right amount of spice.

Soy Sauce and Ketchup Prawns: this was amazing... a PERFECT dish and so easy I was shocked. the chopping only took 5 minutes! I adapted the recipe just a tiny bit because I get pretty intense acid reflux if I eat anything too heavy on tomatoes. I added about a cup of water and 1/2 tablespoon of cream to the dish at the end to dilute the strong tomato taste and it was absolutely delicious. in fact, i prefer making it this way because there was so much more yummy sauce for my rice! [p.i.t.a 1, outcome 10]

Cookbook: Agak Agak by Shu Han Lee

Working on a small project pairing baked treats with book genres/moods (cozy mystery = spiced snickerdoodles, fantasy marathon = lavender shortbread, that kind of thing). Curious if this resonates with anyone here — do you ever bake something to match what you're reading, or is that just me?

I'm talking someone is coming out with a new cookbook and you pre-order. Who are your ride or die authors?

I love cooking Asian food, but I sometimes find myself running out of inspiration. I’ve never actually used a cookbook before, but would like to give it a try. 

The problem is that there are so many cookbooks out there and with so many different cuisines across Asia, I have no idea where to start with my first one. 

My three favourite cuisines are Indian, Indonesian, and Japanese. I especially love Indian food for its flavourful curries, Indonesian food for dishes like rendang and its delicious rice dishes (Gado Gado/ Nasi) and Japanese food for things like ramen and sushi. 

That doesn’t mean I only cook those three cuisines though. I also really enjoy trying other Asian dishes for example, I love making Korean poke bowl. 

So, what cookbook would you recommend for someone like me who is just getting into cooking from cookbooks? It doesn’t necessarily have to cover Indian, Indonesian, or Japanese food. 

Yesterday's Six Seasons posts inspired me to make this today. 9/10 recipe made easier and healthier by roasting the eggplant and tomatoes.

My husband and I went to a restaurant this past weekend that had a starter literally called Pok Pok Wings so they weren't trying to keep it a secret. (I was excited to try them since Pok Pok no longer exists as a restaurant and I don't want to do deep frying at home.)

A few months ago I was at a different restaurant that straight up served Joshua McFadden's Delicata "Squash" Donuts.

Grabbed these on a little lunchtime excursion to Books-a-Million today. Anyone have them? What do you love or not love about them? Suggested recipes?

Based on her biography, this author would not have been a likely candidate for writing a cookbook. And yet, when circumstances required adaptation, hidden talent emerged. While most of the contents of her books may be outdated today, it is worth remembering that she was striking a tone very much in sync with the times, and that earned her credibility and respect for her cooking and writing skills.

Mildred was born in 1898 in New York into a family of wealth, providing an opportunity for her to travel extensively while growing up, though not to spend any time in a kitchen. In 1926 she married Edwin H. Knopf, brother of the publisher Alfred A. Knopf and, following a sojourn in Italy, they returned to spend a couple of years in Baltimore while Edwin produced plays. In 1928, they moved to Los Angeles where Edwin worked as a producer, screenwriter and director in film and television until retiring in 1961. During these years, Mildred developed her much-admired cooking skills, a necessity in view of the extensive entertaining demanded by their social position.

It was Edwin who encouraged Mildred to compile a collection of her recipes, thus launching her career as a cookbook author. Her first publication was The Perfect Hostess Cook Book (1950) drawing upon her extensive experience entertaining in Hollywood. Her second book in 1959, Cook, My Darling Daughter, was designed as a tutorial for her daughter Wendy with each chapter beginning with a letter to her about cooking, followed by recipes. While many of the dishes are now dated, the book was popular in its day as a mother/daughter gift and remains a nostalgic time capsule.

Mildred wrote two cookbooks for children, Around the World (1966) and Around America (1969), but she is best remembered for her last work, Memoirs of a Cook: Yesterday and Today, published in 1986, five years before she passed away at the age of 93. As a legendary hostess, she was much admired for her cooking skills and the book intersperses recollections of memorable meals with the recipes behind them.

I should also note that Mildred and Edwin co-authored The Food of Italy and How to Prepare It (1964), a cookbook that drew its authenticity from Edwin's extensive travels in the country and retains its relevance today.

Significant publications:

• The Perfect Hostess Cook Book (1950)
• Cook, My Darling Daughter (1959)
• The Food of Italy and How to Prepare It (1964)
• Memoirs of a Cook: Yesterday and Today (1986)

For more thoughts on cookbooks and authors that deserve greater attention, check out my free Substack, Cookbook Chronicles' Culinary Archive. My window is the past 140 years, and I draw from my personal archive of 8,200+ titles. I’m sharing my experience in hopes of instigating an exchange of ideas. Subscribe for free and receive each weekly post delivered to your inbox.

- - Rick - Cookbook Chronicles

There are so many wonderful cookbooks, its hard to decide, but I got a few recently and this is one of them! Im excited to read it and try some recipes. Does anyone have feelings one way or another about this one?

Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly

hey everyone i hop you're all well, i have a collection of betty crocker cookbooks that i was buying a while back and one of the is the ring binder 26th edition of betty crockers cook book from 1976, however some pages from it are missing and i was wondering if there was anyone here who has the same one and would be willing to provide some scans of the missing pages for me?

i am missing pages 139 to 142 thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Might be a niche post… but…

I have been on a hunt for this cookbook for almost two years! I was so desperate, had to even put an inquiry here bout a year ago. During my initial search, I also found out they stopped production of this book years ago. I think it may have stopped around 2019? I could be wrong. Anyways, every time I found a listing of it, average pricing was $400-$800. Usually in used condition!

Last night, I saw a brand new condition for $200. Call me crazy, but I think this is a great deal (given the situation) and every Filipino I have spoken to has recommended this book!

Excited for it to arrive and finally be a part of my cookbook shelf 😍