Cookbook Addicts Anonymous

[BlueMoose]

Hi, my name is BlueMoose and I'm a cookbook addict....

I saw the thread awhile ago about how many cookbooks some of you have, and I have to say some of you have a real problem http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif ...I mean 300+ cookbooks? I'm kidding, really!

Anyway, I know that you will understand what I am planning to do. I got the Good Cook catalogue today. You know, they try to get you to rejoin periodically. Well, I have to buy again this time because 2 of the cookbooks would look really cute in my kitchen. Has anyone else done this before...bought a cookbook because it would make a nice kitchen accessory? I can't be alone in this, can I? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[sneezles]

Well, the one nice thing about being on this BB is just about everyone has the same addiction! I didn't buy them because they would look good but who can resist Mickey Mouse or Aunt Bee?

[JanetB]

I am an insane cookbook bargain junkie. About a month ago - I decided that I had to have Mary Ann Esposito's Italian cookbook. (She is the woman on PBS who hosts "Ciao Italia".) It was $39 at bn and amazon. So, I went on my hunt. I was not paying that price. I found it at a bargain bookstore that sells overstock for bookstores - for $6.
That is how I select my cookbooks. I can't just order one without knowing how the recipes are presented. I have a few slugs of books that were gifts. So, I tend to scope out a good bookstore - and decide what I want.

[Beth]

Well, they are after me again and I decided it was time to go another round. I went to BN to check out some of the ones I was considering, then I went to ebay to try to find some of them to see if it was really worthwhile. I still haven't made my final decisions, but I have bought at least 5 cookbooks between ebay and half.com. One of them, titled "How to Cook for Your Man and Still Want to Look at Him NAKED" was an irresistable addition to a shower gift. I haven't gotten that one yet, so I don't know if it will look better in her kitchen, on the coffee table (there's a conversation piece http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif ) or in the bedroom. Am I sick?

JanetB, I'm with you! I was shocked to see how many books were listed at $35, $40 and above. I haven't bought many new cookbooks in the last few years, but it seems like the average cookbook price has jumped 30-50% or more. Of course, they are making many of them prettier to go in those fabulous kitchens no one cooks in.

[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 05-29-2001).]

[LaraW]

I feel like a pillar of self-control!

I have about 80 cookbooks. DH and I are moving from Iowa to Colorado this summer. He moved this past weekend and took all of my cookbooks with him! How dare he!

I did save out a few: 4 to be exact. I decided I needed to try some books that are not part of my usual repitoire (sp?) and saved out two that I have never used, and two that I have used a little.

Of course never mind the 4 years worth of CL magazines that are in the closet! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Jodi]

I definitely suffer from cookbook addiction! I work in book publishing and used to work for William Morrow, so I'd get all of their cookbooks FREE (Emeril, Lidia Bastianich, James Peterson, etc.) -- it's the ideal situation for a book lover. It's the perk I miss most about working for a big publisher!

[Jewel]

I started selling some of my older cookbooks that I really don't get much use out of on either Ebay or Half.com, so I don't feel really bad about buying another one if it really turns me on. I sold 4 cookbooks last week alone, and I only bought one! That means I'm actually due!!

I do have one little problem, however. I now have 11 CL Annuals, from 1990 to 2001. I find that if I'm trying to find something, say a good oatmeal cookie recipe, that I'll go online or to this BB rather than pull each book down and look through each index to see if there was a good oatmeal cookie recipe that year. Has anyone else experienced this? We're so accustomed to online recipes and BB Printouts, that I think actually manually searching (gasp!) for the recipe seems archaic! I actually have to tell myself to look at those 11 cookbooks first, before I go do a search or ask this BB! Go figure... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Grace]

Jewel, that's the exact reason why I have the CL CookWare software on my computer, and why I buy the monthly cookpacs. I have every issue of CL in binders since 1991, but as you say, if I'm looking for a specific recipe, or even just looking for all recipes that use a specific ingredient, there is no way I have the time or inclination to sit and go through all those magazines (or books for that matter). I just go to the computer, punch in the recipe I want, hit search, and voila, there it is! Also, if I want to search for all the appetizer recipes that use asparagus, or all the stew recipes that call for lamb (for example), I can do that, and it will pull all the CL recipes from 1991 to now that fit those parameters in two seconds flat. I don't know how I would live without my software. And because it's strictly CL (no other recipes are included), I don't have to wade through a whole bunch of stuff I'm not interested in. Also, with the cookpacs, you don't have to download every single recipe from each issue into the software - you can choose out only those that appeal to you, so again, when I do a search, I'll only pull up recipes that at one time looked good to me. You might want to consider getting it, the software is free when you buy your first Cookpac (which costs $6.98, and all of it can be downloaded immediately - no waiting for CD ROM's to come in the mail!). MasterCook is another option, but I find it MUCH more complicated a program to use (you can go to www.cookn.com (http://www.cookn.com) and play with an on-line version of the CookWare software to see what it's like and to compare), plus MasterCook always includes a million recipes that aren't CL, that I personally wouldn't be interested in having. But that's totally personal preference. Anyhow, just thought I'd share how I deal with the very same problem you describe! I really do use the software every single day. And I know a lot of people on this board benefit from it as well, since I can find pretty much any CL recipe and post it!

[LGBurns]

Grace: I didn't realize you had Cookware instead of MasterCook. Are you able to add recipes to CookWare or is it strictly the CookPacs? If you add recipes (say from one of your cookbooks), does it figure the nutritional analysis? Can you download recipes to the BB? I'm still debating buying a cooking software (I am so pathetic, I have been having this debate with myself since November--I am the most timid shopper). Anyway, any info you could give me would be great. Thanks!

[Grace]

Hi LG,

Yes, you can add (type in) any of your own recipes at all. It does not have a nutrition information calculator, you have to have the nutrition information already and type that part in too, but from what I can tell from MasterCook, their nutrition analysis calculator isn't too accurate anyway. Do a search on this board, there were a few threads regarding that very point. Several people typed in CL recipes and the nutritional information was WAY different from what the magazine said.

You can absolutely copy recipes to the BB. I do it all the time (as you may or may not have noticed!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif )

I suggest going to the cookn website and playing with their on-line version so you can see for yourself what it's like.

It DOESN'T have menu planning, grocery lists, etc. It is strictly a database type program. I always print my recipes out and use the printouts in the kitchen while I'm cooking so I don't slop up my magazines. But the issue and page of each recipe is always noted so you can go back to the magazine if you need to look at the pictures, etc. I've had this software since 1995 and I love it.

[KathrynY]

Jessica - I had to laugh when you mentioned church cookbooks! The only place in the world to find 60 different recipes for the same mandarin orange-pineapple-marshmallow-jello salad http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif. (Of course that's only really funny to those of us who spent our childhood eating that stuff at church potlucks.) My most recent church cookbook contains a recipe entitled "Beans and Weenies Waikiki" - I'll let you guess what's in it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[emilycat]

Wow. jb, one each week??? I'm going to print this out and show it to my mom the next time she says, "Now, Emily, you booger, didn't you just buy another cookbook?" And I thought I was bad.... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif

[Jessica]

OK, you all are making me feel much better. I own about 30 cookbooks, not counting church ones and such that people give me (what does one DO with those?). I was paging through my cookbook catalogue today and my sister-in-law commented that if I bought two a year I would have too many in no time!! I think it is a pretty cheap hobby as things go.