6 Favorite Cookbooks {Chino House Favorites)

A photo shoot at Argenta Market would not be complete without a few shots of us with our favorite cookbooks!  I have entirely too many cookbooks.  So it was hard to choose favorites, but here they are:

My 6 Favorite Cookbooks!

1.The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

This one is the newest member of my cookbook family.

I have followed Deb forever at The Smitten Kitchen, so my sister gave it to me for my birthday this year.  From these pages filled with Deb’s gorgeous photos, I have made several salads, the granola and the lemon bars.

I still have loads of recipes to try.

Like these cookies.  Yikes.  They look too delicious!

2.Seasonal Recipes from the Garden by P. Allen Smith

Last spring, I got to visit P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home and I picked up his Seasonal Recipes from the Garden.  I love to try to cook with the seasons, even though I don’t have a garden, so this book has been a great resource.  Lots of great vegetarian recipes.

3. Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Heidi writes 101 Cookbooks, which is my go to online resource for healthy cooking.  Her photos make me want to move to California and love on the earth more.  Amazing soups and curries.

4. 5 Ingredient Fix by Claire Robinson

Claire Robinson, from the Food Network, has written a cookbook that I really should keep in the car because you can stop at the store on the way home, pick up 5 ingredients and then make dinner.  (Or that appetizer you need for a party)  I love the simplicity of this concept.

5. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

I really need to say that all of Ina’s cookbooks fall here into Number 5.  I have six of her gorgeous cookbooks and I pile them in my lap monthly with my calendar and play, What Do I Want to Try Next? 

Honestly I don’t know anyone else in the world of food who has influenced modern cooking as much as Ina Garten has in the last ten years.

Ina taught me to roast vegetables, to make my own hummus, to throw a party and to enjoy doing all those things with my friends and family around.

This cookbook is her first one and it is a staple wedding gift.  Everyone needs it.

6. Simple Abundance, edited by Sarabeth Jones with pictures by Whitney Loibner

This cookbook was put together by a team from our church with loads of recipes from the women (and the men) in our congregation.  Since it has so many of my own recipes in it, as well as those of lots of friends, we pull it off the shelf all the time.  If you need one of your own, I might can tell you who to call.

Did I miss your favorite?  What cookbook could you not live without?