Alex Guarnaschelli's Favorite Cookbook Is A Vintage Recipe Goldmine

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Alex Guarnaschelli is an incredibly talented and well-known chef. Not only has she hosted several popular Food Network shows, but she is classically trained in the culinary arts. Off the airwaves, she creates seasonal recipes for Butter Restaurant, a long-standing favorite in New York City. While Guarnaschelli and other professional chefs are tasked with creating original recipes, that doesn't mean they don't take inspiration from other chefs and food authors. When Food Network asked her what her favorite cookbook was, Guarnaschelli was quick to say, "I love 'The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook' by Dione Lucas. A huge source of information and inspiration. The book is organized by menu, and the recipes are unusual and exciting."

Lucas' cookbook was originally published in 1964 and contains recipes that Lucas taught at a school of the same name, one she founded in the 1950s. The first female graduate of L'Ecole de Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Dione Lucas had already opened several cooking schools and written cookbooks before she penned the one Guarnaschelli loves. "The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook" is full of vintage recipes, mostly of French origin, but with other classics peppered throughout. 

For example, her "Menu 12" chapter contains recipes for Braised Endive, Hot Chicken Mousse with Hollandaise Sauce, Hot Dilled Cucumbers, Home Baked White Bread, and Glace Crème au Praline. Other vintage recipes listed include pot au feu, pates, charlotte desserts, soufflés, and French-style omelets. Guarnaschelli attended culinary school in France and also trained in Paris, so there's no doubt the cookbook's French influence pulls at her own culinary heartstrings.

While most modern cookbooks are separated into sections by meal course or cuisine type, "The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook" is uniquely organized by menu ideas, making it a great choice for entertainers who appreciate retro, throwback dinner parties featuring recipes that deserve a comeback. Dione Lucas' recipes are also incredibly detailed, giving readers meticulous step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the full menus. She included lists of basic cooking and serving equipment to have on hand alongside staple ingredients. Some of these items might be a bit outdated for the modern cook (Lucas considered things like meat glaze, praline powder, pastry pincers, and larding needles to be essentials), but the recipes are written in such a way that anyone comfortable in the kitchen should be able to follow.

In the same interview with Food Network, Guarnaschelli also praised the cookbook "Salumi" by Michael Ruhlman. Unlike Lucas' book, "Salumi" highlights Italian food, specifically Italian cured meats. This choice makes more sense when you consider the fact Guarnaschelli is an expert in this type of cuisine (maybe that's why she's also very careful not to break a certain pasta rule). "Salumi" is still fairly easy to find and order, but Lucas' book is now out of print. Luckily there seem to still be used copies floating around on the internet.