The ommittee just released their list of 20 "essential" cookbooks and, on the whole, I can get behind it. Sarasota's own Marcella Hazan gets a nod with her classic Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and there is a fine spread between omnibus compilations (Bittman's How To Cook Everything, Silver Palate) and a smattering of ethnic specialties (especially Bayless' Authentic Mexican). In my opinion, though, there are two glaring omissions.
fiddle without screwing things up. It's a necessity in any kitchen.
The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Peter Reinhart — Yet again, this is a book that combines recipes that are relatively simple to follow with detailed and engaging explanations of why the steps work the way they do. Reinhart also made a "breakthrough" in explaining a process of slow, cold fermentation of dough that results in incredible flavor. Anyone intrested in the process of bread baking should have this book.
Check out the full Beard Foundation list after the jump and let me know if there are any of your favorites missing.
This article appears in Nov 7-13, 2007.