Cookbooks In, Cookbooks Out

You may have wondered why I call my blog cookbookhabit when I mostly write about my adventures with Dorie Greenspan's Baking and Around My French Table. With two little ones keeping me on my toes, that's about all I have time for these days - if indeed I can make my Tuesday and Friday deadlines (this week, it's not happening). Oh, I cook and bake almost every day - I just don't have the time to tell you about each and every morsel that crosses our lips. Some are good, some are great, and some are just...eh. You know how it is.

Take a look at my cookbook shelves - OK, really, I have an entire IKEA bookcase dedicated to cookery - and you'll see why I might think I have a cookbook habit. Addiction. Problem. Whatever you want to call it. I now have fifty-one cookbooks, not counting the ones I just set free on Goodreads Swap (more about that in a minute), or the three I keep on my Kindle. Long ago, I thought I might review the books in a more organized fashion, but it hasn't happened - yet.

Still, it's a new year, and out with the old, in with the new, right? As for the "out with the old" part, I listed a few under-used cookbooks on Goodreads Swap, and soon they were off to new homes. It's a great idea - you list books you no longer want, and when someone wants one of your books, they pay for the shipping label, which you print, affix to the package, and drop in the mailbox. Once you've shipped ten books, you get a free book credit to use as you wish. I plan to sort through my non-cooking books soon and score some new reads.

As for "in with the new," I had a generous Borders gift card burning a hole in my wallet, so I ventured out, sans short people, and brought home three new goodies. I am linking to Amazon because you can get them much, much cheaper there. If you want to pay full price and support a local business, go to an independent bookstore. I was grumbling over forking over list price at a chain bookstore, but then I had the gift card, so I couldn't really complain too much.

Alton Brown's Good Eats 2: The Middle Years
I adore Alton Brown. So does my husband. He also seems to be the one Food Network personality who passes the cool test with Anthony Bourdain types. Who doesn't love Alton? We used to watch Good Eats religiously - is it even on Food Network anymore? - and I think I've learned more about food from this guy than from just about anyone else. Not to mention that every Alton recipe I've ever tried has turned out flawlessly. This book is a riot. It will take me months to pore through its anecdotes, recipes, and food geekery. I might have to steal it away from my husband, though.

The Sunset Cookbook
I've wanted this book in the worst way since it was released. You see, despite having spent more than half my life on the East Coast, I'm a California girl. I was born in Berkeley and grew up in Orange County, but my family roots and my heart are in Sonoma wine country. I miss the lifestyle, the people, and the food every day. Meyer lemons...persimmons...good sourdough bread...I could go on and on. I've been a Sunset magazine subscriber since I graduated from college, and it's been my little link to the world of western food and living.

If you live in the west, you must own this book - every ingredient will be familiar and accessible to you, and you'll want to try everything. Meanwhile, on the frozen tundra of Pennsylvania, I will be cooking my way through this monolithic book with ingredient substitutions aplenty. I think it will help me survive my exile from paradise.

Nick Malgieri's Bake!: Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking
There was no way I could escape without at least one baking book. I've been drooling (almost literally drooling) over posts by a group of fellow TWDers who are also baking their way through Bake! I had to bite the bullet and pick up a copy of this marvelous book. I love Nick Malgieri's voice guiding you through basic pastry recipes, then building on them in numerous variations; you can tell he's a veteran teacher. Already I want to try Danish pastry. Me? Danish pastry?

What cookbooks have you snagged lately? Checked out of the library? Stolen/borrowed from friends?