2. Joy of Cooking, by Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, © 1931
This cookbook was given to me in 1974 by my neighbors, who wanted to thank me for the chocolate chip cookies I had given them. Every year, they made donuts for their Boy Scouts troop using a recipe from this cookbook, so they knew it well. They made a point to show me the page that had a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on it ("Hint hint," they said). I took Joy of Cooking with me to college and later to my married life.
I can’t count how many times I have referred to it for cooking instructions because there are so many — for example, to find out how long I should cook the turkey, how to make a cocktail, or what is a flank steak.
Even as a vegetarian, especially as a vegetarian, I find the meat recipes very helpful to cook for my husband and friends and I can be confident that they’ll turn out good.
Maybe some year, I'll write a cookbook that expresses my own "joy of cooking," that's also packed full of useful information like this one is.
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