First off, add me to the list of those lusting after that Radarange!

I do pull my share of recipes from on-line sites and keep them in ever-thickening Pee-Chee type folders alongside cookbooks in the kitchen, but I still have so many books that I don't have space for all of them there.  The ones I keep in the kitchen I tend to actually use, whereas the ones kept in the den are primarily for reference, technique or inspiration. 

Some books belonged to my mom, like the Encyclopedic, The Pope School (Mom just called it "Mrs. Pope's), James Beard's American Cookery, Sebastiani Family (aka Mangiamo!) and nearly all of the spiral bound ones.  The bulk of them were my own thrift store finds or free discards, and I've had to start getting rid of some that I've never touched.  Kind of a one-in, one-or-more-out rule now.  I'm still waiting to see something by Lidia Bastianich show up at a thrift store.  I'd snap it up in an instant.

A couple I bought because I liked how they looked:  Elizabeth David's Mediterranean and French Country Food, and a first edition of The Sunset Cook Book from 1960, and the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook because it's autographed by Alice Waters.

I still like to see the recipe in print myself.  My wife is a cookbook collector, and I've also inherited some family recipe boxes filled with great memories over the years.  I've found that local cookbooks from churches, civic groups etc. are some of the best because the recipes are most often tried & true family favorites.

I love that idea!! And any of Betty Feezor's are at the top of my list. 

Thanks Eugene!!!

Ketchup, white vinegar, worcestershire, chili powder, beef broth?   In pasta sauce?  Never in a million years!

That's more of a light chili sauce minus the beans.  But it's probably good regardless.  I actually like spaghetti with a hearty/spicy chili for the sauce.  

A nice table radio is always a good addition to your kitchen counter like the one next to your toaster. A little music always makes the recipe turn out better. 

I have that very same light-up Jack-O-lantern. My dad bought it for me when I was 7 or so. I still use it every year.

Hans, I noticed you have a cook book titled The Basic Cook Book. I had a very similar looking book when I was a kid that was lost. It was my very first cook book. I've been wanting to find it for years. By any chance, does that book you have have photos of a woman demonstrating how to cook the recipes? I remember the pictures were in black and white, they were printed on shiny paper. Some of the images showed an antique gas stove from the late 20's or early 30's. There were recipes for no egg cake, 1 egg cake and so on. There was a delicious recipe for nutmeg doughnuts (my very first try in making doughnuts). Can you check if that is the book you have? Thanks in advance!

Eddie, that Sunset "Easy Basics for Good Cooking" has been a go-to for simple recipes ever since I met Dave.  He had a copy that was so used that its binder-like cover had to be taped back together.  His oldest daughter got that one after I got a pristine spiral bound one like yours from my mom's stash. 

I found another of the binder type (see the similarly bound EB for International Cooking in my 2nd pic above) somewhere along the line and gave it to Dave's younger daughter.  It's the book she and her sister learned from.  She now uses it with her own daughter.

I'm like you.  I draw from more than one recipe and use what I like from them.  I do that with apple pie, using parts of the Land O' Lakes and Sunset EB recipes, and my banana bread comes from the L.A. Times book and another that escapes me.  I wrote that one down on paper. 

The L.A. Times book has some interesting entries.  One of them is a chili recipe from Paul Lynde.  It's nothing but opening cans and tossing the contents into a pot.  I'm sure he didn't expect them to print it, but I guess the editor didn't get the joke.

Thanks Hans! But it's not the one. Oh well. I wish I could remember the title. What I remember the most is the green and black hard cover. Anyway thanks again!