What is your most used cookbook?

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

You know, the one covered in flour and olive oil with pages stuck together? It's my birthday in a couple of weeks and I'm going to get my cookbook shelves revamped as a present. My most used at the moment are Jamie at Home and the Be-Ro baking book. I also like Rick Stein and River Cottage, and I use a lot of speciality ones like Curries of India, Taste of the Caribbean and Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons. What do I really need in my library?

As an aside, has anyone bought Jerusalem yet? I've had a flick through and it's a lovely book but not sure how useful it would be day to day.

Thanks :)

[MothershipG]

Oooooh! Have you got Dan Lepard's "Short & Sweet"? Easily my fav since I was given it for Xmas last year. I love that he explains the why and how of ingredients and cooking methods. Don't think I've made as many recipes in a single book before.

[CointreauVersial]

Delia.

Nothing fancy or flash, but a recipe/method for everything

[JarethTheGoblinKing]

Be-Ro here too. Gok Wan, surprisingly as well.

[BeatTheClock]

I have a billion cookery books (well it seems that many) and yet the place I go to most for recipes is The BBC site.

Sorry not much help as you wanted a book

[lirael]

Another vote for 'Short and Sweet' here - brilliant (esp the naan bread recipe). Also use Jamie's 30 Minute book quite a bit though rarely do the whole menu. Have a lot of cookery books but these are the two I'm using most atm.

[Strawhatpirate]

Nigella lawson kitchen. Also all of nigel slater especially kitchen diaries, just invested in kitchen diaries 2.

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

Thanks all. Short & Sweet gets great reviews on Amazon so I might add that to the list. I don't have any Nigel Slater because I don't like him on TV but I should probably ignore that and try a book. Nigellas the same - I've got a couple of her books but she irritates me so much it puts me off!

I fancy the Gok Wan but dp doesn't eat any seafood and when he looked at the book he thought there were too many prawns ffs

[IPredictADiet]

Delia's Summer and Winter Collections

lots of good, reliable dinner recipes, and some nice cakes for good measure.

[Sleepwhenidie]

In the mood for food by Jo Pratt is great.

[iknowwho]

A few of my Rose Elliot one's have seen better days it has to be said, with pages falling out of them!

[Bookbrain]

I've just bought Delia's Cookery Collection from a charity shop for £1 a book (three volumes) and they are FAB. Am toying with the idea of cooking my way through everything a la Julie and Julia.

Fab book for everyday family cooking is the BBC Good Food Family Meal Planner. Haven't found a duff recipe in it yet.

[EldritchCleavage]

At the moment, The Low-Carb Gourmet. Excellent, easy recipes.

I love Be-Ro too, and another baking favourite is the Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Baking book.

Now the weather is getting colder, Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul by Diana Henry will be delved into again. She is great, I want her Food from Plenty: Good Food Made from the Plentiful, the Seasonal and the Leftover with Over 300 Recipes, None of Them Extravagant ; and Cook Simple: Effortless Cooking Every Day.

[littlemissstan]

Nigella Lawson How To Eat - covers every basic thing you'll ever need and because it was written before she was well-known she's far less OTT in tone of voice!

[LookBehindYou]

Madhur Jaffrey - very old battered book with singed edges where I left it too close to the gas ring.
Delia original cookery course book.
Nigel Slater - The Kitchen Diaries. Love him. His recipes always give me other ideas.
I have a Nigella Lawson that I've barely used. Can't get on with her at all.

[LookBehindYou]

And I have Ottolenghi - not sure that guy likes food!

[Strawhatpirate]

The silver spoon pasta book is also amazing! If you have a pasta obsesion like me :)

[EugenesAxe]

My own cobbled together recipe book. But apart from that, probably Madhur Jaffrey's Illustrated Indian Cookery. I think it's out of print now but her 'Ultimate Curry Bible' has a lot of the same recipes.

Hmmm... yes it is out of print (hence the £151 asking price for 'New' copies on Amazon!!) but there are a lot of used here.

For baking I most often use Good Housekeeping 101 Cakes and Bakes.

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

£151

My Amazon wish list is getting very long now!

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

Delia Smith Complete Cookery Course circa 1985. Her Smithness looks about 25 on the front cover - all bobbed hair and a very nasty blouse. It's my culinary comfort blanket for when I forget.... again.... how many minutes per lb the leg of lamb is going to take or how much pastry I need for a double-crust apple pie. Other books have come and gone but Delia's well-thumbed greasy pages lives on.

[MrsSnaplegs]

Economy Gastronomy - saved me a fortune by helping meal plan and shop
Latest ones
Cooking in Spain and Tapas a bite of Spain both by Janet Mendel but only because I am trying to shop locally now we've moved as British food is really expensive here - 3 small bags from local Morrisons plus some coke and dr pepper came to nearly £60

[onyx72]

Leith's Cookery Bible has never let me down.
I also use Cook In Boots by Ravinder Bhogal a lot.

[WillSingForCake]

Leith's Simple Cookery - its fab!

[bookbird]

The Glasgow cookery book. It's the "dough school" cook book and is my Mum's cooking bible. They've now re-printed a centenary edition so I have my own copy.

Full of fool proof recipes, no pretty photographs though.

[Taffeta]

All the Sarah Raven cookery books
Just Like Mother Used to Make by Tom Norrington-Davies
Leith's Baking Bible

[summerintherosegarden]

I use Ottolenghi's Plenty about once a week, so I'm reeeeaaally excited about Jerusalem.

And I use Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything - or ideas from therein - on an almost daily basis.