Cookbook Roundup

A post at Devin's Blog got me thinking about the essential cookbooks in my kitchen. I love to cook. I remember being in middle school and thinking I'd never, ever learn how to cook because I had an uncle who said I should because it's a "womans job". Thankfully I got over it. Gender roles aside, I've embraced my domesticity as the years have gone by.

Here are a few cookbooks that have never ceased to fail me:

My mom has had this Betty Crocker cookbook for years and years. I can recall not even being in school yet and thumbing through this cookbook. It's got a section for everything imaginable: appetizers, soups, salads, condiments, pork, chicken, beef, fish, cookies, cakes, candy...etc. I think every kitchen needs a good all around cookbook and this is a great candidate. Not to mention it was recently updated, and I've seen dozens of the updated versions sitting in the clearance sections of Borders and Barnes and Noble.

The Joy of Cooking is another fantastic all around cookbook. Everything you'd ever want to make is found within the nearly 1000 pages of this book. There are directions for cooking any cut of meat, any way you want to do it. Just the other day this book helped me figure out how to pan broil a ribeye on a rainy day when the grill wouldn't start. Which is why it's in my kitchen. When I'm in doubt, or crisis, this is the book I grab.

Let's be honest here: no respectable southern kitchen is complete without Paula Deen. I have her "Celebrates" version because it was a Christmas present, but I think her box set of the original Lady and Sons is the real essential Paula Deen. She has such simple recipes that are incredibly easy to follow, which I love. But really, it's the copious amounts of butter that make me love these cookbooks more.

There are a few things food-wise that I hate. Any side of pork that isn't bacon or barbeque, huge chunks of onions and salmon patties. I also hate making cakes from scratch. Oh I can do it. I've done it several times before, thinking they would somehow be a million times tastier. They aren't. I say the only way they are different is the trouble it takes to make them. Which is why this little book is my lifeline. Each recipe starts with a basic cake mix, which you doctor up to make an incredible cake. Then you add one of the zillion incredible frosting recipes and VOILA...Cake. I couldn't live without this one.

When I'm not consulting cookbooks I'm consulting websites. In fact, anymore I consult websites more than cookbooks. I guess that's only natural. Here are my favorites:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

http://www.workitmom.com/bloggers/orderingdisorder/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cooking/

Inspire me, what are your favorites?