Favorite Cookbooks, Classic and Contemporary: a KidsOutAndAbout Resource

Publisher Deb Ross likes the theory behind cooking, or the math and chemistry behind cooking, or, preferably, both. That's why, when she has time to cook, she loves Cooks Illustrated magazine. A side benefit of understanding the science of each recipe is that it makes the strategies applicable beyond that meal. For her kids, she likes books that they can use on their own, without her help. Eat Your Math Homework and Let's Cook! do that well, especially Let's Cook. And whose inner geek isn't tickled by the Little House Cookbook?

More than 100 recipes introduce the foods and cooking of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s pioneer childhood, chronicled in her classic Little House books

Cook's Illustrated Magazine has stood the test of time and distinguished itself among the pack by having a singular focus--developing recipes that work the first time and every time; it's as simple as that.

As the star of the popular Food Network programs Boy Meets Grill, BBQ with Bobby Flay, and Iron Chef America, Bobby Flay helped turn the art of backyard barbecuing into more than a favorite summer pastime; he elevated it to the level of a national obsession.

For the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Joy of Cooking, Joy comes full circle in a revision based on the 1975 edition which restores the voice of the original authors; focuses on American home cooking, not chef cuisine; and restores many beloved recipes lost in the most recent revision

This is the classic cookbook, in its entirety—all 524 recipes. “Anyone can cook in the French manner anywhere,” wrote Mesdames Beck, Bertholle, and Child, “with the right instruction.” And here is the book that, for more than forty years, has been teaching Americans how.

Houston Editor Stacy Curtis needs down and dirty, quick and easy recipes. As a single mom, she doesn't usually have time for complicated recipes. Plus, dinner needs to be simple as her teens often cook for themselves. It's appealing to add an ingredient or two to soup and have a casserole (Campbells Soup Mix & Match Recipes). You can make just about anything with Bisquick! And of course, The Dinner Doctor uses any canned, frozen, boxed, bagged, or ready-made deli food to make great meals. I'm all about the frozen and boxed foods aisle in the grocery store. We definitely visit the fresh veggie section too - we just don't prep much. Raw veggies with dip is our go-to green, plus our salad-in-a-jar concept.

Get three cookbooks for the price of one. The Campbell's 3 Books in 1: 4 Ingredients or Less, Casseroles and One-Dish Meals, Slow Cooker Recipespresents different options for meal preparation. If you are running short on time, choose a recipe from the 4 Ingredients or Less section or the Casseroles and One-Dish Meals section. If you want to start dinner before you leave home for the day, refer to the Slow Cooker Recipes section.

Albany editor Katie Beltramo has a masters in history, and her choices reflect a persistent desire to remember lost time. The Joy of Cooking, part of America's culinary canon, serves as her basic textbook,and she appreciates the cast of Friends and Miss Piggy not least for their surprisingly tasty recipe collections, but also as homages to beloved pop culture moments. 366 Healthful Ways to Eat Your Leafy Greens is a memento of her first CSA membership, while McCall's Cooking School taught her to make the chocolate mousse and chocolate cake that have served every Beltramo birthday in recent memory. And the Szlasa Family Cookbook, packed with family recipes, photos, and anecdotes, is the history dissertation that she never got around to writing.

That fabulous Muppet, Miss Piggy, and 54 of her celebrity friends cook up a witty and wonderful cookbook. The recipes and the humor are to die for.

Even if you and your friends don't hang out at a neighborhood coffee house, Cooking with Friends will inspire you with hundreds of excellent culinary ideas for practically every occasion in your life. There are comfort foods for when "it hasn't been your day, your week, you month, or even your year" - perfect food for imperfect times.

The Genesee Valley yields a rich harvest of produce; the most well known is the upstate apple in its many varieties. In Applehood and Motherpie, there are many recipes that feature the apple to its fullest potential, in all types of cookery.

Managing editor, Kathleen, does not believe in following recipes; instead, she places more emphasis on what she can eliminate from the fridge and cupboard rather than what is actually supposed to be in the pot. She would rather dump in the rest of the can of whatever than have to put a little bit away in Tupperware. She rarely makes the same recipe twice - life's too short - though her husband claims they're forever eating variations on stir fry and tacos. She's been a vegetarian for 13 years but is adept at modifying anything to make it meatless. Though she prefers the "whatever's in the pantry" style of cooking, she has great respect for her heroes in the kitchen: Mr. Alton Brown and any judge or competitor on Top Chef.

Alton Brown is a foodie phenomenon: a great cook, a very funny guy, and—underneath it all—a science geek who’s as interested in the chemistry of cooking as he is in eating. (Well, almost.) Here, finally, are the books that Brown’s legion of fans have been salivating for—two volumes that together will provide an unexpurgated record of his long-running, award-winning Food Network TV series, Good Eats.