Cookbook recommendations?

GrateEggspectations

Long story short, I have a voucher to use for a book purchase within a short period. I was thinking I'd like to get a cookbook.

I have a few of the BBQ staples, including Franklin BBQ, the BGE book and stuff by Steve Raichlen and Adam Perry Lang. 

I orignially thought Charcuterie might be a good choice, but am open to your suggestions. I have recently been baking a lot of bread (I have Bread Bible and My Bread) and have taken an interest in making pizzas. For reference, I have no dietary restrictions and eat everything, so I am open to all styles.

Does anyone have a cookbook that has really been an eye-opener?

Would love to hear your thoughts about the books that have proven most useful and exciting to you.

Mosca

Pat LaFreida's Meat is pretty good, it helps put everything else inside a solid framework. There are plenty of recipes, but the real gist of it is the information about the proteins. Check it on Amazon and see what you think. Use the "look inside" feature. I think you might like it.

MaC122

Molly Stevens' All About Braising. It will change your life. The beef short ribs are amazing and worth the effort.  https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303

Little Steven

The New Professional Chef by Culinary Institute of America

bigbadben

Both Ken Forkish books are great, one is bread, the other is pizza. 

Bobby Flay

kenji from serious eats

tartine bread.  

Mosca

MaC122 said:

Molly Stevens' All About Braising. It will change your life. The beef short ribs are amazing and worth the effort.  https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303

Don't know what the OP will pick, but I'm asking Mrs Mosca for this one for Christmas.

GrateEggspectations

Those all sound great. Will look them up. Thanks, and keep the recommendations coming!

JohnInCarolina

https://www.amazon.com/Flour-Water-Salt-Yeast-Fundamentals/dp/160774273X

Must have based on your opening post.

Grillin_beers

It's not really grilling related but I like the cooks illustrated cook books. 

blasting

Great thread potential here.

Some good recommendations have been made. I sort of collect cookbooks - They have to be good, but also coffee table worthy.  A few recent picks:

For pizza - American Pie, My Pizza, The Elements of Pizza

Smoking Meat and Meathead are good for BBQ

Southern Fried is the best deep fry book I've found.

Tacos - excellent book

I just picked up one of the highest rated Italian cookbooks - Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.  The most pretentious book I've ever opened - unreadable.  Also, not a single photo - reading the ratings don't always pan out.

Focker

Kenji's book is rock solid, working my way through it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393081087/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480123253&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=kenji+lopez

Anything by Rick Bayless
https://www.amazon.com/Mexican-Everyday-Rick-Bayless/dp/039306154X


Mastering Pasta
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1607746077/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480123434&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=mastering+pasta&dpPl=1&dpID=61FMdoMqdnL&ref=plSrch

Anything by Grace Young
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0743238273/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480123485&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=breath+of+a+wok&dpPl=1&dpID=51hsOLfDveL&ref=plSrch

Anything by APL
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401323065/?tag=hydsma-20&hvadid=47917932891&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4704804375273628231&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018696&hvtargid=kwd-13232932135&ref=pd_sl_6r192lnwhh_b&gclid=Cj0KEQiA39_BBRD0w-_rmOrc__8BEiQA-ETxXWmwYw8lVZ-sn2Ha95Rs335jGT5umVfLEAxIaWxC_9gaAie-8P8HAQ

Anything by Mallmann
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1579653545/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480123589&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=mallmann&dpPl=1&dpID=51tDpdxmwzL&ref=plSrch

The posted links are my personal favorites.

blasting

@Focker   added two to my cart.  

I hope this thread has legs.

Focker

blasting said:

@Focker   added two to my cart.  

I hope this thread has legs.

Me too.

My Pizza is awesome, think I copied half of Lahey's recipes at the library.

Meatheads book is good too, gifted that to my brother.

Tacos seems like it would be up my alley.

smokeybreeze

I would like to suggest some foundational "cook" books - I own all of these, and while they do have some recipes in them, their value is teaching you the concepts and techniques as to what makes good food regardless of your venue or your tastes, BUT you must spend time reading and understanding what's between the covers...

#1 - James Beard's Theory and Practice Of Good Cooking
#2 - The Food Lab

#3-#n - If you want to learn a specialty practice, be it bread, wild game, pasta, fowl, etc... find a classic chef that mastered that specialty and get their "cook" book. My very first cookbook when I was a poor college student was James Beard's Beard on Bread, and I've been handmaking all of the leavened dough our family has consumed for the past 35+ years. There's nothing about flour, yeast, water, <and other ingredients> that is intimidating or scary any more.

smokeybreeze

If you want the ultimate eye-candy coffee table glossy book(s), get the "Modernist Cuisine" reference publication

GrateEggspectations

bigbadben said:

Both Ken Forkish books are great, one is bread, the other is pizza. 

Bobby Flay

kenji from serious eats

tartine bread.  

Kenji's "The Food Lab" looks good. @focker is a fan. Anyone else have experience with this one?

Looks like I'm going to be buying a lot of books. 

caliking

If you like Asian food, another vote for Grace Young. Also check out Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty - it's the best Chinese food cookbook I've seen. 

berndcrisp

Not much new in "the Food Lab" and I don't find it worth the money. My go to is "the Joy of Cooking".

The Taste of Mexico by Patricia Quintana

The Joy of Wokking by Martin Yan

My Mom's hand written recipes

bigbadben

GrateEggspectations said:

bigbadben said:

Both Ken Forkish books are great, one is bread, the other is pizza. 

Bobby Flay

kenji from serious eats

tartine bread.  

Kenji's "The Food Lab" looks good. @focker is a fan. Anyone else have experience with this one?

Looks like I'm going to be buying a lot of books. 

If you have the time, take them out of your local library.  Now that I start at the library to "check out" cookbooks, I only buy about 10% of what I check out. 

Gulfcoastguy

Not particularly an egging type cookbook but for gardeners "Fresh Ideas for Vegetable Cooking" by Georgia Machala Massie is a good choice. If it grows in North America they have a recipe for it. It is probably my most used cookbook.

AprèsSki

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is a great read on technique. If that isn't deep enough, Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking or Keys to Good Cooking should cure any case of insomnia.

paqman

Get yourself a Kobo and then download as many Ebooks as you want