posted on Apr, 17 2012 @ 10:27 AM
I have a TON of cookbooks that I have bought, and received as gifts, over the years. A basic cookbook in which the ingredients aren't too strange is
certainly handy....But my favorite is one put out by Taste of Home, called "Mom's Favorite Meals", in which contributors would submit recipes for
whole meals (Main dish, side dish, vegetable, dessert, sometimes bread).
The first intro would show the meal completely prepared and on the table so you could see what it looked like. The next page had all the recipes with
the pictures, and there would be a narrative as to the contributor remembering their mother and these favorite dishes. The meals are divided up by
Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall. The cooking is with basic ingredients, but boy are they good! Old-fashioned home cooking done right.
I have found new favorites through this book (chocolate mayonnaise cake with brown sugar frosting, roast beef in which the secret ingredient is
fresh-brewed coffee, cabbage cheese casserole with breading that is totally yummy, etc.). It gives me excellent ideas, is clear, and I can prepare
the whole meal or just a recipe.
Highly recommended! I also have an old Betty Crocker standard cookbook that I have been using for 27 years. It is in pieces, but I still use the
recipes, and it has excellent reference sections for measuring equivalents, substitutions, and how to do basic things such as boil the perfect egg.
Good luck!