COOKBOOK CHALLENGE OF THE DAY AND IT'S TEARFUL CONTESTANTS

Today's contenders for the great cookbook challenge are:

THE HOMEMADE PANTRY BY ALANA CHERNILA

THE MINIMALIST COOKS DINNER BY MARK BITTMAN

MR FOOD COOKS CHICKEN BY ART GINSBURG

The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila -winner of today's challenge

This book is soooo cool.  It tells you how to make everything from how to make jelly to ketchup and mustard to crackers, you name it and it's in there.  The home cook reading this book can be ready for the zombie apocalypse because you can make anything you would normally go to the grocery store and buy and not have to face the flesh eating zombies.  So for this alone, I am definitely keeping this volume on my shelves.  That and if I get insanely broke I can reach for this and make groceries - definitely a keeper....

The Minimalist Cooks Dinner by Mark Bittman - please pack your bags

This book coulda been a contender, actually was for a while there.  It's a great book that had a variety of gourmet-y type recipes with not too many ingrediants.  In fact before I sell this I plan to scan a sizeable amount of recipes from this book.  But still....it wasn't something that I would refer to all the time and get a great amount of use out of.  It had good recipes with not too many ingrediants, yes a definite plus, but there were just too many recipes with ingrediants that my picky sons wouldn't eat or would complain about so while I will be trying out some of the author's recipes, the whole book just didn't make the cut.  For families with less picky children, I would highly recommend this book.

Mr. Food Cooks Chicken by Art Ginsburg - sorry pack your bags

While this book had enough recipes to cluck about...it missed the mark as it just didn't have enough chicken recipes to keep it on my shelf.  Again with the picky eaters that are my sons there are only so many things I can get away with, so while the recipe collection was great and sizeable, I will be scanning the ones I need and sending this book packing....sorry Mr Food - it could have been good but I can't put mayo on chicken casserole and answer to my sons....