I own over 250 cookbooks. There, I've said it. I'm obsessed, I know, but they seduce me...Often with their gorgeous atmospheric photographs like this one and this one, sometimes with their promise of teaching me about the food of a different culture, like this one and this one and sometimes, just sometimes, they are fundamental at helping me with my cooking skills. Perhaps the last type should be the most important, but they just don't call to me in quite the same way.
Some of the most useful books I own could be easily fitted into a pocket and cost less than $10, like this one. I once read (probably written by a book publisher), that even if one recipe in a book appeals to you and helps you learn something, like a new technique or information about a new ingredient, then the book was worth it's price. This post is an example of that theory, one recipe that really sung to me from this book.
