About a month ago, I was reading one of the food blogs I subscribe to, and they had an article on the cookbooks that they have in their library. There was only one article, and they gave their most used cookbooks. Sorry, but I can not find that article again. So I thought I would start a series on some of the cookbooks that we have in our library – which is extensive – and the ones we mostly use. These books are only offered as a suggestion and they are my/our opinion. I must say that we receive absolutely no reimbursement of any kind, although that may be fun, from any of these sources. This just sounded like a fun topic. So here I go.
First, I would be remiss if I did not mention The Joy of Cooking, Irma Rombauer and Ethan Becker (The Joy of Cooking). I will not bother you with an extensive review of the book. Only to say that this volumn is a must in any and all kitchens. If you don’t have one, get one and there are several printings. Check Amazon or Barnes and Noble. The other must addition to your kitchen is by Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, also available on Amazon and EBay.
The one book that we have, and it has been a blessing whenever I could not find the right sauce for a particular dish, was suggested to me by one of the Instructor Chefs at the BSU School of Culinary Arts and by Chef Andrae Bopp. This particular volumn is used by the CIA, Culinary Institute of America, and the BSU School of Culinary Arts.

The Sauce Bible – Guide to the Saucier’s Craft, David Paul Larousse, John Wiley and Son, 1993. ISBN 13:978-0-471-57228-2
The book starts out with a brief history of sauces, from Apicius to Petronius. The volumn includes chapters on stocks, thickening agents, foundation sauces, blond sauces, butter sauces and dessert sauces, to name a few. The book is quite extensive, but very clearly and precisely written.

Port Wine Sauce, pg 89
Here is an example of how these recipes are written. A variation of this sauce is also included, Yorkshire Sauce.

Mornay Sauce, pg 149.
An easy sauce to make.

One of our other absolutely fantastic reference books is The Modernist Cuisine at Home, Nathan Myhrvold. The Cooking Lab, Belleview, WA, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-9827610-1-4. You can find this reference on the web at Modernist Cuisine. Be sure to check the link. It’s worth the time.

The Modernist Cuisine, Nathan Myhrvold

This is the front cover. Look close. See how the sandwich is in an “exploded” view? Many of the views in the main book, there are two books to this set, have these exploded views, especially where they are talking about different kitchen appliances. Interesting! and fun! The second volume, is 2000+ recipes. Oh my!
Hope you have enjoyed these “basic” kitchen resources. Overload? Maybe. Depends on how much you want to learn. Cheers! The next post will probably be cookbooks of different cuisines, i.e., Bistro, Spanish, French, Italian, Tuscan, BBQ etc. Any suggestions?