Cookery books

I have a range of cookery books and use all my Delia ones regularly. Her recipes are reliable. I also like Nigella's Feast and Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall's Meat book.
I bought Supercooks in the 1970's but don't often use them now. I bought them as I decided that collecting them was more sensible than buying other women's magazines!

My favourite cookery books are ones I bought in my twenties, before I was married. Molly Weir. And Farmers Weekly.

I collect and store recipes from magazines etc. too and they're stored in a ring binder too. And I used to collect those part-works back in the 70s but never had the chance or encouragement to use any of the recipes so I just drooled over the pictures!

I've got a couple of old cookery books from my school days that I didn't give back (naughty!) and they are well thumbed. But nowadays my favourites are a mix of Delia and Nigel with all Jamie's, Rick Stein's, Nigella's, a few hairy bikers and lots of books from other cooks and chefs, some chosen for their photography and some for their recipes. I don't use them all but I do read them often... I also buy digital cookery magazines - Delicious is brilliant and I've used lots of their recipes in recent months. I think I must be obsessed!

I have hundreds, I'm addicted to them. But I never cook!
If I have to I grab my mothers prewar copy of Elizabeth Craig

The ones used most are Delia, Nigel Slater, British Bake off and one called Perfect by Felicity Clarke. This last one is a collection of classics, the author tried out various versions of each until she found the 'perfect' scone, crumble, quiche, stroganoff etc. I have found it very useful for improving my repertoire.

OH was given a day cookery course as a birthday present and went off to learn indian cookery, so we are currently being treated to some yummy curries with home made chappattis and dahl. Lucky me!

My baker's bible remains the Be-Ro book. I remember the one we had at home when I was a girl, with a photo of a schoolgirl in a blouse and gymslip, and the legend: Baking days would be dull days for little Marjorie withou Be-Ro. I taught myself to bake from its recipes and still turn to them. Even though it has been reprinted and revised, many of the orginal recipes are still there.

My ex SIL did ariadne and I copied quite a few recipes at the time. I still make a lemon and tomato relish and a cucumber relish from it. I have three files with plastic pockets into which I put favorite tried and tested recipes. Ones is for soups ,one for mains and cakes and puds go into no. 3 .ive stopped saving recipes- if I tear one out I have to make that week or it gets binned. I have a house full of rubbish.

I have a loose leaf binder too, and a recipe box given to me by and American friend and not much used. The binder used to be so well organised, and now bits of paper float out at random because I haven't put them back properly.

I have Nigella's "Feast" which has several food stained pages, and quite a few of Delia's books - nice and sensible. But, like everything else today, if I want a recipe, I tend to google it. I keep my iPod or iPad in its dock in the kitchen when I'm cooking seriously, the can switch from music to recipe..

BTW, did anyone collect those "Supercook" magazines back in the ??? 60s/ 70s. They used to have a monthly offer of cookware etc which I could never afford...

I love cookery books and I love cooking!!

My most used cookery book is a loose leaf binder (well 3 actually ) with recipes I've printed off, ripped out of magazines or hand written by/from friends. They are all in separate plastic envelope thingies that get really disgusting.

Isn't it funny that lots of cookery books have only one or two recipes in them that one uses regularly (or is that just me?) Apart from the sainted Delia, the ones I am using most at the moment are 'Nigellissimo' and the Lisa Faulkner one called something like 'From my mother to my daughter' Nigel Slater's 30 minute cook book provides lots of inspiration too.

I still have things like the Bero cookbook my Mum had, but don't use it, and a Mrs Beeton from around 1920 which is good for a laugh.

I love cookery books and have a huge range of them - sometimes I will even take them to bed to read! One I often use is actually one of those weekly magazine type series where you bought and then put them in a book - Perfect Cooking. It was my very first "book" and I still use recipes from it.