The Good Cook

Time and again, we return to our battered copies of The Good Cook, a 28-volume series overseen by the late, great food writer Richard Olney and published by Time-Life Books in the late 1970s and early '80s. Each volume is devoted to a single topic, such as Pork, Classic Desserts, and Snacks & Sandwiches. The beauty is in the attention that's given to technique (how to wrap a roast in caul fat, for example), to international recipes (making tofu, folding tamales), and to tips for entertaining: One of our go-to hors d'oeuvre recipes is The Good Cook's fantastic shrimp and herb canapes.