I love cookbooks. I study dinner cookbooks at breakfast and page through cake chapters whenever I end up eating dinner alone. I like big, researched tomes-The Essential New York Times Cookbook, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian-and dedicated single-subject books, on chocolate or beans or soups. I love old cookbooks and adore new ones, cherish my hardcovers and paperbacks alike, and enjoy both books bedazzled with full-bleed photos and those, like the Joy of Cooking, that let the words do the talking.
But in a small apartment, where on earth do they all go? When we moved in, the bookshelf on the left contained the entire collection. Then, I started piling new acquisitions on that little side table you see on the right. Soon, a tower grew.
Though I certainly don’t go around grabbing every cookbook I see, when I find out about an inspiring read, I have to pick it up. If I didn’t, I’d miss out on current food trends like Jerusalem and wind up getting all my inspiration from 2009 or, worse, 1931 (when Joy of Cooking came out).
So I was curious, especially as someone who writes a lot online, what role physical cookbooks still play in your life. Do they inspire you? Do you cook straight from their recipes? Or have you moved past cookbooks and to this internet world of blogs, e-books, and cooking apps? And, where do you store them all??
P.S. The one cookbook you have to make room for.
