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What are the ten cookbooks every avid home cook needs to have on his or her bookshelf? That's the question we pose when inducting the first-ever class into the Epicurious Cookbook Canon. This week, in our office and on Twitter (hashtag: #EpiCanon), my co-editors and I will commiserate, kvetch, argue, and barter until we we've whittled the list of nominees down to a final, definitive ten, which will be announced on Friday. Along the way we'll check in with some notable food folks who shot their ideal cookbook shelf for us. And with any luck, we'll hear from you, either on Twitter, Facebook, or via this survey—because it's still not too late to nominate a book you think we might have forgot. As it stands now, here are the frontrunners:
All-Purpose
- American Cookery by James Beard
- The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
- The Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten
- Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten
- The Betty Crocker Cookbook by Betty Crocker
- The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith
- The Good Housekeeping Cookbook by Susan Westmoreland
- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
- How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
- I'm Just Here For the Food by Alton Brown
- The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker
- Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold
- The New Basics by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso
- The New Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens.
- Ruhlman’s Twenty by Michael Ruhlman
- The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso
- The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
- The Way to Cook by Julia Child
International Cuisines
- Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless
- The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy
- Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
- The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
- The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton
- Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji and Yoshiki Tsuji
- Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
- The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck
- Seven Fires by Francis Mallmann and Peter Kaminsky
- Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu
- A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey
- Thai Food by David Thompson
Regional American Cuisines
- Frank Stitt's Southern Table by Frank Stitt
- The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain
- Real Cajun by Donald Link and Paula Disbrowe
- The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
Chefs and Restaurants
- Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller
- Cooking By Hand by Paul Bertolli
- Essential Cuisine by Michel Bras
- The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual by Frank Castronovo, Frank Falcinelli, and Peter Meehan
- French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller
- Larousse Gastronomique
- La Technique by Jacques Pepin
- Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan
- A Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman
- Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
- The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers
Baking, Pastry, and Desserts
- Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
- Baking With Julia by Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan
- The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Vegetables and Vegetarian
- The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen
- Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
- Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by the Moosewood Collective
- Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
