I like food. I like to cook. And yes, I have quite a number of cookbooks. But there are really only a handful I turn to again and again. In fact, there are only two cookbooks I really wouldn't want to do without.

 #1. My Clippings Cookbook. Yes, the cookbook I made myself is the cookbook I would least like to loose. In it are handwritten and typed versions of family recipes, plus clippings from a myriad of magazines and websites. This cookbook contains all my most-used recipes. Learn how to make your own, here.



#2. How to Cook Everything by Mark Brittman. When I want to cook a particular dish, but don't have a standby recipe for it, this is the first place I look. It has all the basics (and then some), and everything I've made from it is yummy. This is also my go-to gift for brides.

There are also a few other cookbooks that, while I could live without them, they'd be missed.
King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking, which explains how to bake virtually anything with healthier-for-you whole grains; Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn, which offers simple, good recipes that don't cost much; and The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum - because even though I rarely make dessert, when I do, I know I can pull something from this cookbook and it will be outstanding.

What are YOUR favorite cookbooks?