My friends and family often tease me about my extensive cookbook collection. Cookbooks are, by far my favorite books. The books listed below are the cream of the crop in my collection.
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The Epicurious Cookbook
I head to the Epicurious website when I need to find a great recipe. This book features a collection of the highest-rated recipes on the site. My favorite recipes are gluten-free lemon layer cake and the chocolate cake.
Momufuku
Chef David Chang has some incredible restaurants in the country. Make some of his recipes at home like my favorites, 48-hour short ribs and the Octo vinaigrette.
Ad Hoc at Home
Thomas Keller is one of my favorite chefs! His fried chicken recipe in the book is to die for!! Warning– once you try this fried chicken there will be no going back to any other fried chicken recipes!
The Slated Door
Chef Charles Phan is the author and owner of the Slanted Door cookbook and restaurant in San Francisco. In his wonderful restaurant, Vietnamese food turns gourmet in a beautiful upscale setting. My favorite dishes in this book are the caramelized clay pot chicken and the shaking beef.
The Food Lab
I’m confessing that I read this book a couple of times just for 700 + pages of light reading on the science of cooking. Actually, this book is informative and teaches you the science behind cooking so you understand how to cook without recipes.
Modernist Cuisine at Home
A cookbook masterpiece and worth the splurge! The photography in this book justifies the investment. You’ll learn so much about cooking and the science behind it.
The Flavor Bible
If you love developing your own recipes, then you’ll love this book! For example, you can look up an ingredient like lemon, and it will list all of the other flavors that go well with lemon.
Barefoot in Paris
I love French food, and this is a great cookbook for making it at home! My favorite recipes are Lemon Chicken with Croutons and Beef Bourguignon.
Make it Ahead
I love doing as much ahead as possible when entertaining (there is already so much to do last minute!). This cookbook features recipes that you can make ahead so that you can enjoy your guests. My favorite recipe is the Herbed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney.
Tartine Bread
If you ever go to San Francisco, you must go to Tartine Bakery! Countless people think that Chad Robertson makes the best bread in the country using a starter in place of the yeast. This book illustrates how to make this beautiful bread.
Tartine
The pastries at Tartine bakery are just as beautiful as the bread. I really loved the morning buns there!
The Sono Baking Company Cookbook
One of my go-to baking cookbooks. My favorite recipe in this book are the carrot cake cupcakes!
Baked
This baking cookbook has more of an edgy vibe. My favorite recipes are the granola, brownies, and the sweet and salty cake. The authors of this book also have a great baking class on Craftsy here.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream at Home
If you’re ever near Columbus, you must try Jeni’s ice cream! Luckily for us they have expanded outside of Ohio! My favorite recipe in this book is the waffle cone recipe and the dipped cones.
The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
I’m letting you in on my secret of how easily I get bread on the table during a weeknight meal! You will need a 6 quart food canister and Danish whisk to make this kind of bread (found in my baking essentials).
Favorite Magazine
www.bonappetit.com
Bon Appetit is my first choice magazine for killer recipes and inspiration each month!
Favorite Lighter Fare
www.cookinglight.com
I’m always trying to strike that balance between eating healthy during the week and treating myself on the weekend. The recipes on Cooking Light’s website are satisfying, and you will not feel deprived!
Favorite Creative Classes
Cooking/Baking classes, cake decorating classes, photography classes, Cricut classes, flower arranging, and gardening classes, OH MY! Craftsy has the best online teachers that I have seen. The best part is that you can talk directly to famous chefs and ask them questions in the Craftsy community! I love the new Blueprint website where you can watch unlimited Craftsy videos for a small monthly fee. I used to pay more a month on just one class, and now I don’t have to limit myself! Start your free 7 day trial of Blueprint here.
Texture
www.texture.com
I appreciate magazines for inspiration but never liked the clutter associated with getting a lot of magazines delivered to your home. All my magazines are delivered to my iPad instead!
Cricut Design Space
www.design.cricut.com
In the past when I had a Cricut die cut machine, I bought cartridges for each project that I wanted to do. Now I pay a monthly subscription and have hundreds of images, projects, and fonts electronically delivered to my computer. Craftsy also has a class that teaches you Cricut Design Space called Cricut Party Perfection!
Etsy
I love Etsy to find the cutest party printables, decorations, invitation downloads, etc.