I don’t know about other chefs, but I have a problem and it’s called Cookbook Addiction. I’ve struggled with this disease for years, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to resist the urge to buy cookbooks. One would think that now, more than ever, with everything available online and with video tutorials to boot, hard copy cookbooks would not be appealing. I am here, standing on my pallet of flour, letting every chef, author, photographer and publisher know that I will always be there, ready to buy whatever you create.

Some people read books, I read cookbooks. There are always at least two on my nightstand, waiting for me to crack open the covers before Wilson finds it and starts his destruction. Paper apparently tastes good.

One of my favorite cookbooks is by Kathleen King, owner of Tate’s Bakeshop. The cookbook is Kathleen’s Bake Shop Cookbook and it was one of the first baking cookbooks I purchased at the beginning of my career. It’s incredible to think about all that Kathleen has accomplished since she published this cookbook. Tate’s Cookies and the huge trend of crispy skinny cookies had yet to hit America.

At the time, I was working at a bakery in Vermont, and a customer had asked for more muffin varieties. I had the recipes from the bakery, but nothing else. No internet. No resources. Kathleen’s Bake Shop got me through years of baking and is still one of my go-to books when I need something simple and reliable. And, as you can see, it’s gotten a lot of good use.

What’s only slightly embarrassing is that this is actually my second copy. My original copy got utterly destroyed over the years. This one is starting to look a little beat up, but it still has a lot of life left.

Later this month, I will share one of my all-time favorite recipes from this book in honor of St. Patty’s Day. Any guesses what the recipe is for? 🙂

I’m curious – what is your favorite cookbook? Please share!