Introducing my cookbook collection

This is my cookbook collection. I have some favorites and some barely-used. Though I also make extensive use of the Internet and will eventually catalogue the recipes in my years and years of Food & Wine magazine.

My favoritist is probably the Gourmet Cookbook (thick yellow on bottom shelf.) I wish it had pictures of the final product, but then they wouldn't have fit as many great (and surprisingly approachable) recipes.

My most used is the Better Homes & Garden's "New Dieter's Cookbook" (white binder on bottom shelf.) Not so much because we're dieting, but because it does have a) good number of recipes for the size, b) simple recipes, c) pictures, and d) a bunch of quick recipes.

Another favorite but less used (due to the fact that a certain adult in the family isn't very fond of vegetables) is the Williams-Sonoma Guide to Healthful Eating (green hardcover on bottom shelf.) It has AMAZING pictures. I like the organization of the book and the layout of the recipe (one per page.) And it also has some really delicious recipes. Finally, it also has some 'textbook' aspect where it reviews tips and strategies for improving your cooking to be more healthful, how to select fresh ingredients and cooking techniques. Actually, once I get a cataloged list of my cookbooks up, you'll note I have a lot of Williams-Sonoma books (pretty much the entire right side of the top shelf up there.) (I find them frequently on the bargain shelves at Barnes & Noble.)

Some additional highlights:

Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food" - enjoyable. Though since the show transcripts can be easily found on the Good Eats Fan Page, the recipes are up on Food Network, and many many show clips are on YouTube, the book is kindof redundant. But it's a good primer, especially for someone new to cooking.

Betty Crocker... yes, there are two of them there (middle of top shelf.) The one on the left is my husband's that his mom gave him. The one on the right is mine that my best friend gave me years ago. It's VERY interesting to see the differences between the two books (his is from 1970 (I think... title page is long gone) and mine is 1991.)

Legal Seafood's Cookbook - One of the few restaurants (East Coast) I'll order fish at. (I'm very very picky about fish.) The New England Clam Chowder is delicious. And quite the process. I made it for Super Bowl Sunday a few years back and have since determined that mail-ordering from the restaurant is easier (and perhaps even cheaper, depending on the price of fresh clams!)

Joy of Cooking - every kitchen needs one of those.

New Complete International Jewish Cookbook - it's like the Jewish Kitchen's version of "Joy of Cooking"