These are the ones I pull out most often:

BHG New Cookbook, 'cause that's what my mother used and I know and love the recipies. Except the one I have doesn't have the Blonde Brownie recipe that my mom's edition has, which still bugs me, I love blonde brownies. Incidentally, DH's mother used Betty Crocker cookbook which I detest but he prefers (he likes to cook too). So we have dueling cookbooks.

The Grilling Encyclopediaby A. Cort Sinnes that tells you how to grill anything. Split the fryer down the back and grill the whole chicken flattened out--never would have occured to me to do it, but we love chicken done this way. The sauces and marinades for the meats and veggies are fabulous. I love that book.

The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson. These are four and five star gourmet recipies for your crock pot.

The Best of Country Cooking by the folks of Country, Country Woman, and Reminisce magazines and A Taste of the Country cookbooks. These recipies are arranged in order of the seasons, so in spring you get the asparagus recipies, summer you get the berry recipies, etc. I love that about it and the recipies are fantastic.

50 Classic Curries by Manisha Kanani. We LOVE curries and Indian food, and this book simply, clearly, and deliciously shows you how to make the scrumtious sauces, curry powders and pastes, dips and relishes, and dishes that you find at the Indian restaurants.

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"If you want yor children to be bright, read them fairytales-- if you want them to be brilliant, read them even more fairytales" Albert Einstein