The Food Network's Alton Brown savors these cookbooks

[Food Network Fan]

The Food Network's Alton Brown savors these cookbooks



By ALTON BROWN

1. The Joy of Cooking
By Irma S. Rombauer
Bobbs-Merrill, 1936
Maybe it's because I inherited "The Joy of Cooking" from my paternal grandmother, a true witch of the baking world, or because her edition, the sixth, was published in 1962, the year I was born. Or maybe it's because even this 1960s "Joy" was still packed with old-fashioned tips like the carefully laid out instructions for skinning a squirrel. As the diagrams show, the skinning process is easy once you get the tail under your foot. Whatever the reason for my attachment to the particular volume on my shelf, I'm also a "Joy" fan no matter the edition: Every recipe is written in the book's unmistakable style, with ingredients and amounts seamlessly integrated into the instructions. For me this is still the quintessential American cookbook. Try the baked herring and potatoes or sourdough rye. Or perhaps the roast squirrel with walnut ketchup.
2. The Frugal Gourmet
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[MiseEnPlace]

You beat me to it

I have Joy and The Frugal Gourmet.
Jeff Smith was the first TV chef I really loved to watch. I was about 11 when I made some blueberry muffins from the PBS show. I lost the recipe card and wish could get it somewhere because those muffins kicked butt.

[Abfreak91]

Mentioned some really great books...

[abscarebear]

VERY COOL . both books show cooking down to the roots . I used to love the Graham Kerr show on Pbs as a kid too . he was Ab before AB learned to cook . he used science to cut down the calories in food .

[cyberdoc]

I've got a couple favorites. Of course, Julia's Mastering The Art of French Cokking I & II, and The Regional Cuisine of Italy.