The best Christmas Cooking books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Oh man, this is good. Where do you get your ideas?

I also work in a conservative environment and always struggle with white elephant at Christmas because they make it soooo boring with like 5 different blankets and candles etc. I've moved on from the safe gift of wine because if I'm gonna waste a whole evening I need something more entertaining. Last year I did the 50 Shades of Chicken cook book. It was hilarious until the poor lady that barely speaks English picked it and no one would trade with her. :(

its from the always sunny in philadelphia "self-help" book

you can buy it on amazon

I love the Black Bean Patties from the How Not To Die Cookbook!

The Joy of Cooking. All you need to get into cooking and much more. A bible in my early years of experimenting and trying recipes.

Joy of Cooking: 2019 Edition Fully Revised and Updated https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501169718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UXD7DbXRSPTCJ

I may have packed that one a wee bit too full. ��

Just a store-bought crust, but fresh berries and Joy of Cooking ingredients.

Pretty sure this is a legit book so...

The best thing I can recommend is to pick up a copy of the book "The Joy Of Cooking" This book has recipes for everything you could ever want.to cook, but more importantly it teaches you the why's of how cooking works. A lot pf recipes just tell you 'Knead the dough and let it rise', but Joy goes into detail. It is a foundational work and should be on ever6 cook's shelf at least as a reference.

My wife and I invited some friends over this weekend for a brunch club we have about once a month. These things turned out phenomenal and I'm insanely surprised at how delicious they were. Would never know they were gluten free. Been using this book and every recipe has been great.

To add to this, if you're losing weight and not eating enough but you still don't have an appetite, make sure you're still enjoying your food. When I help friends and family eat healthier, they don't tend to spice and season their foods because they've never had to (all the processed store bought stuff is already seasoned from the box). This makes food taste very bland and boring, thus you don't really enjoy it and won't want to eat it. It's very hard to eat boring food day in and day out.

I'd suggest getting a good cookbook (or a few) that you can follow recipes out of to get used to seasoning and how much to use and flavor pairings.

The two we use the most that are filled with healthy plant based recipes are:

How Not To Die Cookbook and The PlantPure Kitchen

I strongly recommend https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Joy-Homebrewing-Fourth-Revised/dp/0062215752/ Charlie is considered by many to be the father of home brewing. This book has so much great information in it. I can't recommend it enough.

Have you read any homebrew books? The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian and How to Brew by John Palmer are in most homebrewer's collection and excellent starting points. Charlie's book is a nice relaxed approach to homebrewing. John Palmer's is also easy to read but more packed with knowledge.

I recommend starting simple by purchasing beer recipe kits or using pre-made recipes on the net. You don't need to worry about formulating your own recipe until you're ready to tinker.

> discipline the parsley with a knife and mix it with a salty, acidic mustard dressing that complements the bird.

Reminds me of passages from this book: https://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Shades-Chicken-Parody-Cookbook/dp/0385345224

The recipes are mostly simple and straightforward. The introductory passages that precede each recipe are uh...not. This book is my go-to gag gift for anyone culinarily inclined. Here's a passage from the book, copy, pasted from that amazon page.

> The way his apron hangs from his hips already has me all wobbly. But as he coats my thighs with sticky liquid I can hardly contain myself. Is it the wine, or is my aroma starting to drive him crazy too? He heats me up fast, it won’t take much too?

> He heats me up fast, it won’t take much to finish me off now. His lips quirk up to a smile. My own juices are mixing with the coating and running all over the place. I get the strangest, sweetest, hedonistic feeling up and down. It’s epicureanism run wild!

> He spreads my thighs out on a plate. Sticky hands and at least five wet napkins. What will the housekeeper think? Who cares?

Cooked this in my #8 Griswold LBL smooth bottom skillet. The recipe was from the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Ingredients

• Pillsbury pie crust
• 4 C fresh berries
• 1 C sugar
• 1/4 C flour
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 Tbsp butter

Instructions

1. Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and tapioca
2. Rinse and drain the berries
3. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the berries
4. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries, stir gently until well blended, and let stand for 15 minutes
5. Preheat oven to 450° F
6. I used a #8 skillet and had to roll the crusts slightly larger to get enough to roll the edges
7. Place bottom crust in skillet, press bottom and sides to mold it to the pan, and poke the bottom with a fork until the crust is dotted with fork holes
8. Spoon the fruit filling into the pie shell
9. Dot the fruit with little bits of butter
10. Cover the pie with the top shell
11. Roll the top shell edges over the bottom shell edges
12. Press the rolled edges with the flat handle of a knife to seal the crust
13. Cut a smiley face into the top shell and poke some holes with the fork for venting
14. Bake the pie at 450° for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350°, and bake for 35-40 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown
15. You may want to cover the outer crust half-way through the cooking to avoid overcooking it

The only cookbook I own is The How Not to Die Cookbook. Obviously its healthier recipes, but they are still incredible and literally geared toward optimal human nutrition based on current peer-reviewed science. I really recommend you check out the book with the same name. A plant-based diet is the way to go. You're healthier, and you stop paying people to stab innocent animals for you (or stop doing it yourself). I know when I stopped funding slaughterhouses, I could sleep a bit easier at night. But then the nightmares came when I learned what our species is truly doing to our non-human cousins. At least I'm trying to stop it now, instead of contributing to it.

Same as you, the Joy of Cooking. https://www.amazon.ca/Joy-Cooking-Fully-Revised-Updated/dp/1501169718. The classic that I ( and 18 million others) have used over the years. A solid book teaching you all the basics so you can grow your skills and palate.

Yo, you may want to check out Joy of Cooking, it really helped me get better at cooking.

I've also heard that restaurants just throw butter on everything, so you may want to just use a lot more butter for a meal or two if you want to change things up.

I recommend this book.

It has an accessible skills-based approach with fully illustrated step-by-step recipes for each new concept.

I love this book. It helped me navigate how to make really great breads and other treats with minimal fuss or new equipment. I did splurge on a pizza peel :)

https://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes/dp/1250018315

if you are looking for any new recipes, I suggest joy of cooking https://www.amazon.ca/Joy-Cooking-Irma-S-Rombauer/dp/0743246268. of all the recipes I have made from this book, only one has failed me. there are different recipes, ranging from easy to difficult. a big part of the recipes are cost effective and there is even a section dedicated to lists of recipes for different occasions, for example, there is a list called to cook for a day and eat for a week, then there is also a list of easy 30min meals.

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good job on your meal!

Not tech related but the first anniversary is considered the “paper” anniversary (technically that’s for weddings but whatever). You could look for a nice print or, going with the cooking motifs, get a copy of The Joy of Cooking (https://www.amazon.com/Joy-of-Cooking/dp/0743246268) and write a nice personalized note in it. It’s a classic and would be a good addition to any cooks kitchen. Happy anniversary!

ATK is a great suggestion, as is Cook's Country! I think that a subscription to that or another cooking magazine like Bon Appetit would be a great gift.

Spices are cool. Perhaps choose a cool cuisine, get some spices from that cuisine along with a cookbook for it.

Cheese making kit is a killer idea.

The Betty Crocker Crocker Cookbook is a great idea. Similarly, even if her mom has it, her own copy of Joy of Cooking would make a nice start to her own personal cookbook collection.

If she is familiar with a wide variety of cooking techniques already from her mom, don't pander to her age with kids cookbooks.

Or, if you live close, you could get her a gift card to a cooking store and take her on a cooking themed date where she got to pick out her own cooking items. At that age I didn't need them, but I loved having my own knife, spatula, pan, weird gadget I've only used once, etc. She's just getting to that age where having her own stuff is going to feel really important as she starts to try and find her own identity, this gift could help support that.

As for cookbooks, my go-to is The JOY of Cooking. Not only does it have a ton of recipes, but it has a sizable appendix on cooking techniques, how to use ingredients and more, as it's designed for novices and experienced cooks alike.

Also, a bit long, but here's a previous comment I made regarding my basic staples and some food ideas on the cheap: https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/3istym/what_are_musthave_items_for_college_student/cujey25

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1507214510?ascsubtag=6328777,67,85,d,0,0,bf-arbcapd,974:2&1156:1,18621218,0,0=&linkCode=sl1&tag=lilymcalli0ba-20&linkId=a3782c5f2e756fd41f873697e59fd6e8&language=en_CA&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

https://www.amazon.com/Its-Always-Sunny-Philadelphia-Awakening/dp/0062225111/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422920353&sr=1-1&keywords=its+always+sunny+book not sure why nobody linked the name of the book or page

If this is the book I think it is, I got it for my brother as a gift for Christmas years ago. I think he lost it though which is super lame. I personally have not read it. But it's called "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The 7 Secrets of Awakening the Highly Effective Four-Hour Giant, Today."

You can do this! There is so much other good food, plus gluten-free versions of most things. There's plenty of gluten-free beers (avoid gluten-reduced) and I also drink hard cider and wine. Glutenberg beers are good. Gluten-free cauliflower crust pizzas are all over the place. There's one in my freezer. You can get boxed GF mac and cheese.

I also love naturally gluten-free foods like most Mexican food, Indian curries and rice, even steak and a baked potato are gluten-free. Pamela's brownie mix is really good and easy to make.

Gluten free artisan bread in 5 minutes a day is amazing if you bake. I've made the basic bread recipe for friends who eat normally and they love it. You could totally make it into garlic bread.

Recently bought The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and have been absolutely loving it so far. Most of the recipes are actually really easy, but taste fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes cooking and/or Italian food.

My first serious cookbook was Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, and I have given many many copies as gifts in the years since. I bought it when it was nearly new (mid 90s), and it's how I learned to make (among other things) a killer risotto.

The link above is, sadly, to Amazon. If you want a copy, I urge you instead to buy local, but I definitely DO suggest a hardcover copy. They tend to accumulate wrinkles and stains from use, and that's just part of the fun of a well-loved cookbook.

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook: From Delicious Dole Whip to Tasty Mickey Pretzels, 100 Magical Disney-Inspired Recipes (Unofficial Cookbook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507214510/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_D2QG35F6TT5GCEDFMJZC

The America's Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Great Cook - not cheap but it's worth the money.