lizbet's Full Review: Marion Cunningham et al - The Fannie Farmer Cookbo...
I adore cookbooks. I love to breeze through them, look at the pictures, dream of having the time to make some of the phenomenal items I see in them. That said, my favorite cookbook, and the one I use almost exclusively of all others, is The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Now, Fannie Farmer has no glossy pictures at all. The only pictures in the cookbook at all are pencil-type drawings, usually explaining something like how to tie a chicken or carve a roast or the many different shapes you can make your rolls into using just one recipe. Fannie Farmer is a cookbook that you can really and truly use.
I am actually on my third Fannie Farmer of my life. The first was the one that still lives in my mothers kitchen, having lost its original dust cover and rather dog-eared, but very obviously loved. My second Fannie Farmer was given to me when I first moved out of my parents house, my mother gave it to me as an apartment warming gift, knowing that I would need and use it often. That one now lives in the kitchen at the Bath Country Club, where we (my husband and I) base our catering company out of. The third Fannie Farmer was given to me for my birthday last summer, again by my mother, who heard me complaining that I had left my cookbook at the Club and needed it for a dinner at home. I no longer ever have to worry about "have cookbook, will travel", as I have one wherever I need one.
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is a wonderful collection of "real" recipes. Need to know how to make a great Pot Roast? Old-fashioned popovers? The very best Banana Bread? Great pancakes from scratch? Its all in there. The cookbook is designed in easy-to find categories, such as "Appetizers", "Soups and Chowders", "Meats", "Poultry", "Quick Breads" "Pies and Pastry", "Cakes", and much more. In addition to the separate chapters, you can also use the index at back to quickly pinpoint a particular recipe that you might be looking for. While Fannie Farmer may not give you a recipe for the latest trend in eclectic flash-grilling, it will help you to make many meals for your family that are tried and true, sure crowd pleasers every time. This is an "old-fashioned" cookbook, perfect for the new chef as well as the seasoned veteran.
Another great appeal of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook are the tips and instructions that are included. The first section of the cookbook, before you even get to some of those great recipes, is about items in the kitchen. For example, do you know what difference it will make in your cookies to use margerine instead of butter? You can find out with this cookbook. As well as that great section, on the inside of the front and back covers, there are some quick-find tips that I have used many many times. Equivelants of measurements (how many pints in a gallon?) as well as how to substitute flour for cornstarch or arrowroot as a thickener are included there. Throughout the recipe section, there are drawings that can help as well as written explanantions of how to "know" certain things you need to "know" in a kitchen. (How to tell if your bread dough is done the second rise? A quick indent with your fingers that stays!) I especially appreciate the vegetable section, as each vegetable is introduced, there is an explanantion of the seasons, uses, common ways to prepare, and even how to choose the vegetable, followed by recipes to use it.
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook also features some color-coding and symbols to indicate vegetarian foods, microwaveable recipes and healthy versions of old and new favorites. It includes a breakdown of nutritional facts to the recipes for diet-conscious individuals as well.
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is always the first one I look at to make a meal in my house. Being a caterer, married to a chef, we have many cookbooks and recipe card collections, most of which have been "gifted" to us (if you are a relative and reading this, thank you so much, but we have enough!), and this is the most beloved and used in our cupboard. I have purchased this for a number of my friends as bridal shower gifts, and am very pleased to report that after "peeking" in their cupboards, they use theirs as much as I use mine. After all, you can tell a loved cookbook - it is always the one with the most abuse on it!
I recommend this cookbook to anyone, no matter what level of cooking you are at. The beginner, the expert, everyone can make great use of it. I have found it is almost always in stock at Amazon.com, and BN.com.
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