If you saw my collection of cookbooks, you would know I am a cookbook junkie.  It all started with my first Betty Crocker Cookbook that my mom bought for me and my sister which I still have.

I have such fond memories cooking with my sister under my mom’s watchful eye.  I love how my mom taught us the joy of cooking and didn’t worry about us making a mess in the kitchen.

Cookbook Inspiration

When I buy a new cookbook, I enjoy flipping through every page!  Whether I make a recipe from it or not, they give me inspiration in the kitchen.

Over the years I have developed a great system to find my favorite recipes within those cookbooks.

Add Tabs to Your Cookbooks

Whether you have a dozen cookbooks or dozens of them, you need a system to find your favorite recipes quickly.

I may know that my Remoulade Sauce is from my Joy of Cooking cookbook but why take the time to go to the table of contents to find out what page it’s on?  I add a post it note tab to the page so I can quickly access the recipe.  (By the way, this is a delicious sauce I serve with crab cakes).

Over the years new post it notes have become available.  I now like to use these tabs by 3M which are more sturdy.

Rate Your Recipes and Add Notes

It’s also wise to rate each recipe that you make and to add a personal note for future reference.  I like to write the date I first made the recipe and a rating such as Excellent, Good or No Good (so I know not to make it again).

I also add comments such as ingredient substitutions or extra baking time so I know to make the adjustments the next time I make it.

Sort Your Cookbooks

Much like a bookstore, my cookbooks are sorted by type.  I have my go to Party & Entertaining cookbooks displayed together as well as my ethnic cuisine, salads, brunch, soups, desserts, and misc.

Custom Cookbooks

Hands down, my favorite cookbook is a collection of my mom’s Lifetime Lebanese Recipes that my sister had made for our family through Blurb.  If you like Lebanese food, you will love her Baba Ghannuj and Lentil Soup recipes which I have shared on the blog.

If you have family recipes that you enjoy, consider creating your own personal cookbook.  They make great gifts!

Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks

I love Ina Garten’s Barfefoot Contessa cookbooks.  I like her style of cooking and choice of ingredients.  If I am entertaining I will often select a recipe from one of her books.  And yes, I have all 10 of them.  My most recent one, Cooking for Jeffrey, is not in the photo.

I recently discovered a Cookbook Index for all of her recipes.  If you are a fan like me, you will love this printable index.  You can also highlight the recipes you have made for easy access.

Barefoot Contessa – Cookbook Index

This index does not include her latest cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey.  You can find a new link to her latest index here.  However, it’s not as condensed as the one above if you are interested in printing it out.  You can save this one on your iPad or computer for future reference.  I like to save PDF’s in iBooks for easy access.

Souvenir Cookbooks

One of my favorite ways to collect cookbooks is buying one from each city I visit.

You can never go wrong with a Junior League cookbook.  They are filled with tried and true recipes from the Junior League members from that city.

Managing Recipes on Line with Pinterest

I also find recipes on line.  My favorite way to file a recipe that I have found on the web is to save it to Pinterest.  You can save any recipe from any site this way.  Pinterest also has a new “Tried It” tab where you can leave notes for future reference.

Within your Pinterest account, you can have boards for each category of food that you want.  Click on the link and visit my Pinterest boards for a great collection of recipes.   While there, be sure to follow so you can see future additions.

Do you enjoy cookbooks as much as me?  If so what tips can you share?

Thanks for stopping by.