Cookbook Format and Organization

We all have our favorite cookbooks.  Some we like for the recipes, some for the tips, some for the photographs.  I'm interested to hear what format works best for you.  Do you like cookbooks that are organized by season? By ingredient? By meal?

Here are some of my favorites:

*Eating Well's Rush Hour is organized by season.

*Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is organized by protein or other ingredient, and has techniques, cooking times, cuts and other general information before the recipes start.

*Martha Stewart's Good Food Fast is also organized by season and it has a section for Basics - dressings, sauces, frequently used techniques. I love that sort of resource.

*David Joachim's Brilliant is a whole book of tips and techniques.  I like how it's organized alphabetically with a visual index on the outer edge of the pages: 

So.  What works for you?

Great Cookbooks: Momofuku

MOMOFUKU!!

Earlier this summer, I had the distinct pleasure of eating with some very fabulous people at a restaurant in New York City called Momofuku.

After another fabulous meeting in Minneapolis, my lovely friend Caissie (pictured above) then sent me the Cookbook.  It. Is. Amazing.  It sits at the side of my bed at present.  I'm reading it like a novel.  I am known to read cookbooks for fun - it's part of my charm.  This one seems to be written to read that way, though. The story of how the restaurant came to be is wonderful - though I still don't want to work in a restaurant so much.  I do, however, want noodles for every meal.

Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes (gonna make that one for sure)!!

Great Cookbooks: Eating Well Rush Hour

I'm always on the lookout for great cookbooks. This is the first in a series where I will share my favorites with you.

There are a few things I really really love in cookbooks: Lots of pictures, being arranged by season, and complete menus. This one has them all. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you (my dog-eared, ratty, well-loved edition of) The Eating Well Rush Hour Cookbook.

As is evidenced by this blog, I really love EatingWell. I have been reading EatingWell magazine since the very first issue. It all started with my mom's subscription, which taught us both that cooking in your home can produce complex, layered flavors, and helped us expand our palates and love of cooking. I got my own subscription in my adulthood, and have given it as a gift countless times ($15 for a whole year of a magazine that's basically a new cookbook in your mailbox every two months! What could be better?). After a while, I gathered up all the cookbooks I could. Even after they were out of print, I got them on E-Bay. This one is my favorite. Arranged by season, including whole menus and lots and lots of pictures, and comprised of meals that only take less than an hour to make, this is the cookbook that all others in my collection strive to beat. Most of my standby dishes are from this book - even if they are not kept with their menu cohorts. Most of my "cook something impressive, company is coming" meals come from this book - it's got whole, in-season menus!!

In the late 90s, I lost my beloved Rush Hour Cookbook to an apartment flood down my kitchen wall and into the cupboard where I kept my cookbooks. I contacted EatingWell to see if I could get another - I couldn't even find one on E-Bay at that time. Patsy Jamieson, then food editor and now contributing editor, searched around, found me one, taped some removed pages back in and sent it to me with a note inside:

This was like having a celebrity chef sign and send me something.  

I couldn't believe it.

I looked for it in the shop on the EatingWell website, and I do not see it for sale.  However, I do see I have some serious EatingWell cookbook catching up to do. (I only have 5 or 6 that were printed early on.  I'm sure you'll see them later in the Great Cookbook Series.) I did, however, find Rush Hour on E-Bay if you're interested.

Here is a list of my very favorites from this book, paired where applicable:

SPRING:

Risotto with Spring Vegetables

Pork Tenderloin with Keys Mango Sauce (the recipe linked here is a variation on the recipe in the book)

Braised Scallions and Peas

Salmon with Cucumbers and Dill

Crushed Red Potatoes with Buttermilk

Fresh Berry Gratin (possibly my favorite EatingWell recipe of all time)

SUMMER:

Swordfish Kebabs 

       (Not listed on the site. I'd get the book for this recipe alone.  I actually made it earlier this week!)

Bruschetta with Tomatoes

Grilled Sirlion Salad

AUTUMN:

Shrimp and Coconut Milk Curry  

Basmati Rice with Raisins and Cashews 

    (I substitute half the water for the rice with leftover coconut milk from the curry!)

I was inspired by this menu in April and made this.

Paella Rapida (I omit the mussels, myself)

WINTER:

Pork Medallions with Port and Dried Cranberry Sauce

Beef Tournedos with Gin and Juniper Sauce

Potato Galettes

Please try some of these out and let me know what you think.  I'm so happy to bring these older recipes out of the EatingWell site, and to share with you my love of this book.