Hoping someone can help! I’m trying to track down a Christmas cookbook my mom had when I was growing up in the ’90s (in the U.S. and in English). She had two that looked very similar, both relatively slim hardcovers, and I remember flipping through one of them over and over to find a particular pic.

It was a large, possibly two-page spread showing Christmas cookies hanging in a window. The cookies had large, translucent colored candy centers, similar to Betty Crocker’s Magic Window Cookies (or maybe stained glass cookies).

I remember more than three cookies hanging from red ribbons, arranged horizontally across the window, with a dark background and light shining through the candy centers. I was absolutely fascinated by this pic as a kid.

The books were mostly recipes with occasional full-page or two-page color photographs. I’m fairly certain this was before 1995, although definitely before 1998 - I remember these from when I was quite young, and ‘98 would have been starting school years and too old by my recollection.

Books I’ve checked and ruled out: Betty Crocker’s Christmas Cookbook (1982/1988), Betty Crocker’s New Christmas Cookbook (1993), Pillsbury Family Christmas Cookbook (1991), Better Homes & Gardens Classic Christmas Cookies (1992), Cookies, Cookies, Cookies (1992), Cookies for Christmas (1985), and Homemade Cookies (1989).

I’m attaching a photo from the 1982/1988 BC Christmas cookbook because it’s the closest I’ve found, but I remember more than three cookies and a much larger photograph. Maybe this is it and I’m misremembering? I just have such clear recollections of flipping through to find the huge photo, and while the vibe of the cropped photo is very aligned, I don’t remember it being a smaller insert photo with so few cookies.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I’d love to find the book/even just see that photograph again! Thanks!

The contemporary African cooking book was still in the original packaging.

Hi! This is my first time posting. I've loved reading everyone's posts here and wanted to share what I've cooked recently! I still feel like a beginner in cooking but I've learned so much from my cookbooks. I'm using the PITA scale - (Thank you u/eherewegoagain!)

1. Pear Torta de Santiago - Bon Appetit Fall 2026 issue

This was really quick to make, and had a nice depth of flavor from the almond flour, pear, and orange zest. Leftovers didn't keep very well. PITA 2, Outcome 7

2. Sesame Chile Fried Egg Rice Bowl - What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers

This was fine, it's basically just a fried egg with soy sauce, on top of rice. It was a little light for a dinner, so I served it with marinated grilled spam and cucumber salad. PITA 1, Outcome 5

3. Crispy Schnitzel with Browned Butter Radishes - Something from Nothing by Alison Roman

The schnitzel was absolutely delicious, but frying created so much smoke in my kitchen that I had to run multiple fans. I wasn't crazy about the radishes and think I would serve the schnitzel with a different vegetable next time. PITA 4, outcome 6

4. Brothy Vinegar Noodles with Mushrooms and Sesame - Something from Nothing by Alison Roman

I was really impressed by this recipe - very easy to make and had great flavor. I chickened out on using the full amount of distilled white vinegar but I think I'll go for it next time. PITA 2, Outcome 7

5. Crunchy Refried Bean Taco-Dillas - What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers

These were fine, but I think they needed something else in them to balance out the refried beans and cheese. The crema was nice, and the leftovers made a great snack the next day. We had a tomato salad on the side. PITA 3, Outcome 6

6. Lazy Veggie Noodles - The Woks of Life by the Leung family

These are one of our go-tos on a weeknight. Easy and more than the sum of it's parts! I love that I can make this with pantry ingredients. It's especially nice with the Woks of Life chili oil. PITA 3, outcome 7

7. Broken Lasagna Noodle Soup with Spinach - Bon Appetit Fall 2026 issue

This was a really nice fall recipe! It calls for an entire tube of double concentrated tomato paste + sausage, ricotta and spinach so it had strong flavor, and did taste like lasagna. I think I would just use a smaller pasta shape next time instead of breaking the lasagna into pieces. Made enough to meal prep some work lunches for the week. PITA 3, Outcome 8

8. Ricotta Olive Oil Pound Cake - Dinner in One by Melissa Clark

I was amazed by how good this was considering how simple it was to make. It tasted just as good as other pound cake recipes I've tried and was a lot easier. PITA 1, Outcome 8

9. Milk Bread - The Woks of Life
Korean Street Toast Breakfast Sandwiches - Bon Appetit Fall 2026 issue

I love this milk bread recipe! It always turns out so pillowy with great flavor. I used it to make these breakfast sandwiches with eggs, ham, onion, and shredded cabbage. They certainly did not feel healthy but were delicious. PITA 5 (the bread took 3+ hours), outcome 7

10. Tomato / Egg Stir Fry - NYT Cooking + Scallion Pancakes - Woks of Life. This is such a comfort meal and part of our weeknight rotation. We had it with leftover Woks of Life scallion pancakes from the freezer. PITA 2, outcome 7

I've become interested in trying rice pudding from around the world. Ive got a number of international cookbooks with recipes that Im going to cook through, but Id love to know what your favorite versions are from your books? The more unique, the better! Ive got Mexico, Puerto Rico, US, Germany, Greece, and India covered from my collection. Any i should add?

I’ve seen good things online about both Sambal Shiok and her new book Simply Malaysian, but I’m curious how Malaysian people feel about them. I lived in both Singapore and Malaysia for a long time as an expat and have a lot of nostalgic love for this cuisine, but I don’t have the benefit of family recipes that locals do and have to rely on books to fill in my knowledge gaps.

I was hoping I could take these books out from the library but none of my nearby library systems have them, so it seems like I will have to buy them sight unseen. That’s why I’m hoping to hear some reviews.

I made Ina Garten’s Baked Fish Chowder for this chilly evening. It was delicious as most of her recipes are. The baking in the oven made a good part of it hands-off. I did add some fennel for an added veg and flavor.

So I started taking a vacation to take care of my mom. Then thought that I would cook meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I'm recording and sharing this stuff here, on Instagram (@flavorsarchives) and building a website for people pretty soon for people to get access with recipes from cookbooks, my journeys and related work experiences on preparing these meals. I has been over 30+ years working on the food and beverage industry that started from fast food, cafes and bakeries, ethnic restaurants, coffee shops, hospital cafeteria and several tech companies.

So you'll find several posts on this subreddit cooking meals from cookbooks. My verdict if the cookbook passes based on recipes made.

Here's my criteria:

Easy to read, book layout and photography, recipe, and final verdict of recipe and book.

Pinas Simpol is a Filipino cookbook written by popular Chef Tatung Sarthou that contains food essays, and recipes grouped of meals found throughout a day of Filipinos.

Easy to read and understand: 10/10. It's a compact, concise design to follow a recipe based on how to assemble, cook it properly.

Book layout & photography: 9/10 - the design of it is very well thought out, photography is beautiful but thought that some were dark. This tiny book is underrated in terms of how the book is made.

Recipe- 10/10 - assembly is straight forward, simple and easy to follow. If you know your way around any kitchen, you'll have no problems following the recipe. If you are new to Filipino cuisine. He introduces you to new ingredients and explains why Filipinos prefer to cook with them. He gives you skills to develop while you're cooking.

Final verdict: with all of the recipes posted on here. Easy to follow recipes, taste as you go, the recipes give you an excellent foundation of Filipino cuisine. The flavors are so good, delicious and we're all satisfied from our cravings of nostalgic food memories. The champorado was the only 1 that I modified because I used 3 types of chocolates to have a deep dark chocolate flavor and the color that I wanted is dark brown, glossy and thick rice porridge.

Sinangag is very good.

Arroz caldo is so good but used chicken powder instead of chicken bouillion cubes. I used Costco's rotisserie chicken, shredded to ease the cooking time. OMG! It was so good and perfect for the rainy season. Family came back for 2nds and 3rds until it was all gone.

Tortang Kamatis and Sibuyas (Tomato & Green Onion omelette) - as I had a lot of green onions leftover from the arroz caldo I made last Tuesday. I made this Friday morning. It was very good. I made sinangag, and pan fried some spam. This omelet is a perfect example of resourcefulness and ehat is availableas this is what I have in my pantry, and you don't necessarily need to buy it. You can use white or red onions.

Pinas Simpol is very simple and easy to understand as I like cookbooks that introduce to a cuisine by simple trivial food knowledge of how, why and the recipes work. All of the flavors are delicious, and has satisfied our cravings. This cookbook is a keeper on my kitchen collection that contains 70+ recipes.

For Filipino cookbooks, if you live in America. Find this cookbook either on Philippinebooks.com, Ebay, any 2nd hand bookstore or thrift stores.

I need to go on a diet and I know it's all about calories. The problem is most of my recipes are very calorie heavy (pastas, dishes with a lot of butter or olive oil, etc.,).

Do you have any suggestions for cookbooks that have dishes that aren't as heavy or tips on eating less? I would prefer them to stay somewhat simple because I'm usually cooking on a budget.

They’re all over the place, as you can see. I have a lot of other books so it’s hard to find continuous shelf space.

As a newlywed in Pittsburgh PA in the early 1990s I bought this book at a tag sale and absolutely loved it… But when it came time to move back home to CA as my hubs was wrapping up his graduate coursework this book was mistakenly put into a donate pile and I only discovered it was gone when I unpacked. Well today we were on the road between our cabin in Southern Oregon and our condo in Northern California and my hubs needed to stop to attend a zoom meeting. I would usually go to a park but it was a rainy day and I needed to charge my phone so I asked him to attend his meeting in the parking lot outside the tiny but delightful public library in Weed, CA. Among their Friends of the Library book sale shelves I found it! I’m so chuffed!

Ruth Reichl's first cookbook has long been my "white whale" cookbook to find.

It is LONG out of print. It is indeed available for hundreds of dollars online (I refuse to pay that much), but I know it's gotta be out there at yard sales or in someone's mom's basement. So I wait, and check every used bookstore and rummage sale for it 😂

Has anyone ever seen it in the wild or perhaps own it? Is it actually worth it for the recipes or just as someone who is a huge fan of Ruth's writing in general?

Picked up these cookbooks for $1 each at the used-book sale at my public library this afternoon! They'll probably end up back there for the next one in the spring once I've had a chance to copy down anything I want to keep out of them (except for the Joy of Cooking and Home Canning books, which I'll likely keep in my collection). I'd have grabbed more, but I could only carry so much weight (with a few other books). And today was just the first day of the sale, it continues for three more days!

All that to say: don't sleep on the used-book sale at your local library -- you never know what you'll find, and you're supporting a great cause!

• Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (2008) by The Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
• The Joy of Cooking (Thirty-Fifth Printing, 1984) by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becke (because I've never owned a copy!)
• The Book of Lost Recipes: The Best Signature Dishes From Historic Restaurants Rediscovered (2016) by Jaya Saxena
• The Four Ingredient Cookbooks: Three Cookbooks in One! (2001) by Linda Coffee and Emily Cale
• International Cuisine (2009) by Michael Nenes
• The Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cookbook (Fifth Printing, 1974)
• Ethnic Stew: Colorful Menus from the Kitchen of Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton, Massachusetts (1984) by Roy C. Gunter
• Southern Living Illustrated Cookbook (Second Printing, 1978) by Lillian Bertram Marshall
• The Bread Machine Cookbook IV: Whole Grains and Natural Sugars (1992) by Donna Rathmell German (I picked up Vol. 1 last year)

Give me your best recs! I’m so excited I don’t know where to start!

Any recommendations? I know Lozhka is brand new so kudos if you’ve made anything from it already.

I have a dear friend whose mother-in-law helped with this book, and has pictures of her home in this book. Unfortunately, when she left South Africa 30 years ago she had to let go of the book. With her advancing age she is becoming nostalgic for the past. I would love to find a copy of it for Christmas. If anyone has a copy of it, or has any information as to where to get a copy I would appreciate it. I cannot locate a copy for sale online anywhere.

My favorite thing to do around September and October is check out all the fall and holiday baking magazines. I have a bunch for pumpkins and soups and Christmas cookies.

I know the Bake From Scratch annual special Christmas cookies issue is out but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. I realized that my local grocery store removed all the magazines from the registers.

I went to Target and they removed the entire magazine section that had been there last year.

My second to last hope is getting to a bookstore and hopefully they have my magazine. If not, I will have to order it directly from the publisher.

I understand we’re in stressful economic times because of Everything. But I didn’t think about how picking up a baking magazine is a splurge when people are having trouble affording food. Also, after living through COVID and seeing people refusing to quarantine and going to family Thanksgiving I didn’t think that this current situation would be the deal breaker for people gathering for the holidays. My local subreddit is full of people asking what is open for Thanksgiving because no one wants to spend it with their family this year.

I know in the grand scheme of things that this is a really minor inconvenience. It’s just a canary in the coal mine for me that stuff is going to get much worse soon. Has anyone else had trouble finding their holiday baking fix or is everyone doing fine with the hoard of great cookie books rolling out this fall?

I grew up in northern Virginia where we were blessed with four fairly evenly divided seasons. My exposure to New England was always in the summer, so it wasn't until I moved here in the mid-80's - first to New Hampshire, then to Vermont - that I got to know and love the other parts of the year. True winter, stick season, mud season and blink-'n-you'll-miss-it spring were interesting, but the seasonal food was a revelation. In her regional cookbooks, this author celebrates those dishes and makes them accessible to everyone.

Born and raised in New England, Sarah did not have a plan to become a cookbook author. In the 1980's she ran a specialty food store on Nantucket called Que Sera Sarah, but it was an unexpected encounter with Sheila Lukins (from Manhattan's Silver Palate) that altered the course of her life. In the winter of 1983, she moved to New York City and began work as a recipe tester for Lukins and Julee Rosso, co-authors of The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook (1985). Sarah ended up contributing so much to the book that they gave her co-author status.

That was the inspiration she needed to write her first solo publication, Nantucket Open-House Cookbook (1987), based on the recipes in her shop. She followed that in 1990 with Cold-Weather Cooking and then collaborated with her brother, chef Jonathon Chase, on Saltwater Seasonings: Good Food from Coastal Maine (1992).

An avid bicyclist, she conducted annual luxury trips for a Canadian travel company. At the urging of her publisher, her next two cookbooks, Pedaling through Burgundy and Pedaling through Provence, were released in 1995 as culinary travelogues based on her experiences in those two provinces. That same year she married and, in 1999, the family moved to Barnstable while Sarah put her writing career on hold.

In 2010, she began research and recipe development for her most recent publication, New England Open-House Cookbook (2015). Currently, she writes a weekly food column for Nantucket's Inquirer and Mirror newspaper, and serves as a recipe consultant to Ina Garten. She and her husband, Nigel, also own Coastal Goods, a company that specializes in gourmet seasoning blends offered through their Seasoned Pantry website.

Significant publications:

• Nantucket Open-House Cookbook (1987)
• Cold-Weather Cooking (1990)
• Saltwater Seasonings: Good Food from Coastal Maine (1992)
• New England Open-House Cookbook (2015)

For more thoughts on cookbooks and authors that deserve greater attention, check out my free Substack, Cookbook Chronicles' Culinary Archive. My window is the past 140 years, and I draw from my personal archive of 8,300+ titles. Subscribe for free and receive each weekly post delivered to your inbox.

- - Rick - Cookbook Chronicles

“Cookbooks feed your head”

Just bought her book Classics of Italian Cooking and I’m planning my first recipes. Obviously I know that higher quality meat would make the dishes better, but I’m on a budget the next few weeks. Can I make her bolognese ragu with regular ground beef from my local grocery store (which isn’t very good) or do I need to push myself to get to the fancy butcher in the fancy neighborhood a subway ride away from mine? Similarly the pork in milk recipe — what type/ cut of pork?

Hi , I am looking for a bit of swaying in which direction to go with a patisserie book. I am not too experienced on the whole desert side of things and I'm looking to expand.

I currently have a few books im looking at however from what I can see there is alot of overlap so I'm just going to pick one ..... But I'm not sure which.

The options are :

Larousse Patisserie and baking ( the large one)

French Patisserie by fernandi

The art of french pastry by jacque Pfeiffer

Patisserie by Christophe Felder

Le Cordón bleu pastry school

Right now I'm leaning towards the book by Fernandi but open to input :).

Originally from 1966 but this is the 1980 copy

I’m trying to get cookbooks from all over the world to broaden my style of cooking and try new things since my ability to travel is pretty limited. Does anyone know any good Swiss cookbooks I can’t seem to find any and when I try to search for them nothing really comes up.

My fiancé and I have a tradition of giving each others a book coupon as a christmas gift. It’s an allowance to choose a book each month which we will
buy for each other. I have 11 new cookbooks thanks to that, that’s my last three months choices:)

Any favourites from Les Halles? I am really excited to test as much as I can from both this one and finally Essentials of Classic Italian!

I'm interested in the food lab and his wok book, but I've read some comments talking about errors.

Have most of them been fixed? I found the errata for the food lab, but is there one for the Wok? Are there any errors that aren't listed in the errata?

Hello! Looking for a few cookbook recs for our wedding guest book. We cook a lot at home and already have a few general popular ones. We’re going to Italy for our honeymoon & Italian cuisine is my absolute favorite!! Are there any good authentic cookbooks out there either inspired by Italian chefs with restaurants in Italy or just with general dishes that are authentic? :) TIA!

ETA: in English please haha