Cookbooks!

<<<====== If you couldn't all ready tell, I am a bit of a cookbook fiend. My collection is at 54, and it shows no signs of stopping. My partner's uncle is also a collector and he passes along the ones he doesn't want to me along with old issues of Cook's Illustrated. My partner's mom also knows of my habit and she helps me along during gift-giving seasons. At the beginning of my obsession, I got sucked into one of those buy 1, get 4, blah, blah, blah deals and surprising to no one, I fulfilled the requirements to buy however many more pretty rapidly. Also, I work at a university campus whose bookstore often has interesting cookbooks at heavily reduced prices. I usually try to restrain myself.

Currently my favorites are: The Gourmet Cookbook, Book of Middle Eastern Food, The Savory Way and Vegetarian Suppers.

I am awed and slightly terrified by: Home Baking and The Zuni Cafe

I am less than impressed with: Vegetables (Peterson's narrative style makes him sound like an eurocentric egotist), Thyme in a Bottle (It's more memoir than cookbook and I missed the boat on her husband's life), and Vegetarian Planet (Emmons was nominated for a Beard, but her recipes have odd combinations of flavors or turn out flat).

My most current purchases are: Gourmet Cookbook, Home Baking and Ripe for Dessert. I paid $8 dollars for first two combined (!), and $9 for Ripe. Yay for bargain hunting!