This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is right up my alley. I immediately knew I would pick my ten favorite cookbooks.
I started thinking about this post and being on a desert island. What cookbooks would I take with me if I knew I would be marooned? But, then I thought, “That’s kind of stupid unless the island has a well-stocked pantry.” So, I morphed that idea into “What cookbooks would I save if my kitchen were on fire?” (Definitely hope that’s not prophetic in any way!)
Here’s what I would save:
The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes by
Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen by Ruth Reichl, Editor. Shown with Mixed Dried Fruit Oatmeal Cookies.
The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by 
The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders. I’ve got a ton of her inspired-by recipes here.
Stir Ups: Celebrating 15 Yrs Boot kickin’ Flavor Lickin’ recipes from the Great Plains by The Junior Welfare League of Enid (OK). Recipe from book shown with Oklahoma Baked Beans. Our family favorite holiday wassail also comes from this cookbook.
Jambalaya: The Official Cookbook of the Louisiana World Exposition by by Junior League of New Orleans. One of my favorite and easiest bread recipes comes from this book. 
The Santa Fe School of Cooking Cookbook by Valerie Santagto (Photographer). Here’s a great soup recipe from this book: Green Chile and Sausage Soup.
The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition. by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. My sister uses this book more than I do and she gave me one for Christmas or my birthday. I do agree that it’s a great go-to and complete cookbook. 
For numbers nine and ten, I have to go with two “limited edition” family cookbooks.
Recipes from both Grandmothers’ families.
Here’s also a list I complied about ten years ago. Some are still favorites. I actually edited this recently and removed some. (I won’t tell you which authors I removed.) A lot of the cookbooks on this list were inherited from my grandmother.
See you next week for TTT.
You do own LOTS of cookbooks, Deb. The blue chair jam book…why blue chair?
I may have a problem with a cookbook addiction, Angie. You don’t know the half of it.
I adore this list! We seem to have pretty similar taste in how and what we like to cook. 🙂
My post .
I usually try to gift the yellow Gourmet as often as I can. It makes a great present.
I have a bunch of cookbooks, but I hardly ever look at them. These days, I get most of my recipes online. However, I do love those family cookbooks and ones created by church and other groups – they feature REAL food that REAL people actually REALLY make. I love that!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
It is certainly easier to google it.
Different reactions to this top-10 challenge are fascinating! Others didn’t do cookbooks, but did books with tempting food descriptions. In the awful event you imagined — saving things from a burning house — you should definitely go for the commemorative and family books, as the others can be re-purchased!
DO you also have a classic Joy of Cooking? The one you have was changed a lot by Ethan Becker which was widely criticized. You can get an e-book of the classic from the 1960s, and they’ve kept it in print as well. I use both, but didn’t buy the modernized one that you pictured.
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I do NOT have the classic JoC. Good to know about the ebook. Thanks, Mae!
I love cookbooks! Too much — I still have around 100, and got rid of close to 300 a year ago. Declutter, you know. 🙂 That _Gourmet Cookbook_ (the yellow one) is excellent. As is _Joy_. Fun post — thanks.
Too much love here as well. I counted a while back and came up with over 130. Getting rid of 300 sounds like quite the chore (but I would have gladly taken some off your hands)!!!
I totally get how those first 2 make you hungry. The covers are so yummy!
They’re both great cookbooks with delicious recipes.
Your cookbook collection is amazing! You have some interesting old ones, but don’t they all make you hungry? 🙂
Every. Single. One.