Cookbook Club : gourmet.com

Cookbook Club

Deborah Madison's modern classic features imaginative and delicious dishes and has been a kitchen essential for ten years.

Read our review and then head to the forums to discuss our pick. And if you complete a quick, free registration, you'll gain access to exclusive videos, recipes from our selections, and more. You'll also be entered to win a vacation in London (complete with a visit to one of the world's great cookbook shops).

Purchase this month's selection for 40% off at ecookbooks.com. Also available at other major booksellers.

A regular contributor to this site, Madison has written about her passion for micaceous pots, the comfort of Purepechan beef stew, and the joy of cooking in traditional clay ovens.

We've created three exclusive menus using recipes from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and favorites from the Gourmet archive. (registration required)

See how oils can enhance the flavor of vegetarian dishes; find out how to tackle the center-of-the-plate problem; and tour Deborah Madison's kitchen. (registration required)

Enter to win an upcoming Gourmet Cookbook Club selection. There's a new winner every day, so remember to come back and enter again tomorrow.

See all our past cookbook club selections; watch videos; get recipes and exclusive menus; and more. (registration required)

Over the years I've corresponded with many of the people who have cooked from my books, and when we were starting the Gourmet Cookbook Club, I went back and looked at how they did it. If you want to create your own cookbook club at home, these are their suggestions.

By Ruth Reichl

Today we're accustomed to seeing food celebrities leap to fame, reign for a moment, then fade. But there was nothing superficial or faddish about Beard's cooking: He was concerned with the essentials of technique, taste, and pleasure just as Julia Child was, and he was way ahead of her in his passion for American ingredients.

By Laura Shapiro

They look like prim Eisenhower-era kids, and they have wholesome names to match: Donna, Peter, Lucy, Ricky, Becky, Eileen. But did the team of young recipe testers in Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls really exist?

By Missy Ketchum