So you want to start a cookbook club?

The three cookbooks that your cookbook club should use:

I've always been envious of Movie people.  Not celebrities, but the characters in the movies.  Do you want to know why? Movie people are always having dinner parties!

I've been to plenty of dinner parties, and I've hosted my fair share, but it seems like the movie people are constantly moving from one dinner party to the next.  Can you imagine how much delicious food you would eat if you were a movie person?

Maybe that's just me.  Other people watch the movies and are moved by the characters and the plot; me, I'm moved by the food.

Alas, filling this dearth of dinner parties is something that I can easily fix by starting a cookbook club!

A cookbook club is a group of people who get together and eat food made from recipes in a single cookbook! Then at the party they can all discuss what they love about the food, the photography, and the writing. A little bit like a dinner club, a cooking club and a book club rolled into one super club. What a brilliant idea!

I can never make all the recipes in a cookbook, but I always want to taste everything.  The cookbook club makes it possible.

These are the three books that I would use if I started a cookbook club today.

If you're cooking club is with close friends: Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

Bread and Wine By Shauna Niequist via Teaandcookiesblog.com

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes is a combination memoir/recipe collection. Niequist weaves stories of sorrow and loss with joy and elation, feelings of guilt and shame contrasted with confidence and forgiveness. Her book is filled with personal essays that point to timeless truths that revolve around life around the table. A recipe accompanies every essay.  While a lot of the recipes have been published elsewhere, her helpful tips, conversational recipe writing, and excellent taste make this a unique and accessible cookbook. It's a perfect mixture of fancy gourmet dishes and simple daily fare, and would make a great cookbook for any party that has a mixed bag of culinary skills.

I love this cookbook because it is first and foremost a book and secondarily a recipe collection.  The old saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words, but Niequist prefers to use 1000 or more beautiful words and a winding life adventure to show us her food.  The book itself has no photographs even though she discusses dozens of dishes and hundreds of meals.

I would especially love to use Bread and Wine in a cookbook club with close friends because Niequist emphasizes the role that food plays in deepening her faith and her friendships. Like Niequist, I believe that life frequently begins around the table, and I yearn to bolster those friendships with a little more time and a lot more delicious food.

If your cookbook club is full of foodies: Jerusalem a Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Jerusalem Cookbook: Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce. Courtesy of Jonathon Lovekin via tablemag.com

Has any other cookbook in recent memory garnered as much attention as Jerusalem: A Cookbook? Personally, I cannot think of another one.  This cookbook has been inspiring home cooks with gourmet Middle Eastern flavors to the extent that cooks have started their own Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest campaign with the handle #TastingJrslm.

The excitement from this book is partially due to the fact that it elevates a lesser known cuisine (Middle Eastern food) to culinary prominence, and it is always exciting to try something new.  Additionally, the controversial melting pot methodology (featuring Jewish, Christian and Muslim dishes in a single cookbook) is an exciting connection.

Ottolenghi and Tamimi are sure to connect each recipe to the deep rooted history of the people and places in Jerusalem.  The combination of culture, the photography (second to none), and the unique cuisine, Jerusalem is the perfect cookbook club cookbook for foodies and culture aficionados everywhere.

If your cookbook club loves Pinterest: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook via Thephoenix.com

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is another example of a cookbook that I use all the time, but my favorite use is for coffee parties and dinner parties. Deb's humor shines through on each page, and her rambling in the recipe section is surprisingly helpful.  While some of the recipes in this book are likely to make it into your everyday repertoire, there are some (especially among the deserts) that require an event to get you into gear.

With the deep and wide range of meal types (breakfast, sweets, seafood, salads and more), the book feels like a Pinterest Board that has come to life.  I would love to attend a cookbook club meal where each person got to choose their favorite recipe from a certain section. It would be a regular smorgasbord of delicious food.

This is an especially great choice for cookbook clubs that have a wide variety of tastes and skills.  While some of the recipes are time consuming and technically tricky, others are quick and simple (all are delicious, at least among the recipes I've tried).

If your group is beholden to a sweet tooth, this is an especially great book to focus on the desert section.  Perelman's cookies, pies and cakes are second to none.  They are a combination of home baked with love and French bakery style.  Like your grandma ran off with a mysterious French Baker.

What about you? Are there cookbooks that you want to try for your cookbook club? Do you have a cookbook club? Can I join?