How many does one "need" - probably none, but I have 30-40, use 2-3 on occasion, but mostly use the internet now. The books are for perusing, not necessarily using, anymore.

We also subscribe to "Saveur" and "Food and Wine"

Need? hmmmm, I think you could be happy with maybe 15 or so. I like reading them, and have some from grandmothers, aunts, and mother, so I probably have 250 or so.

I'm also a fan of two websites.....Epicurious.com and the Splendid Table website.

I've found good recipes at epicurious, but I if I have some idea of what I'm looking for, I just type it in a search engine and see what pops up. I'll type 2 ingredients and the word recipe - like: "maple pork recipe". Could get weird though - like: "cabbage cake recipe" - I don't think I'd try that.

i'm a big epicurious fan too. I also use napastyle.com. And of course... google :)

I have less then 10, would like some more, 3/4's are drink cook books, i mean bar books :)

i was looking at the books on the shelf the other day - probably between 20 and 30 - but since I cook infrequently, that's more than I probably need. I did decide not to get rid of the cookbooks but instead to throw out the old cooking magazines that I was also keeping.

I use search engines when I'm looking for ideas for specific things, like broiling the mahi mahi or swordfish I had the other day.

"need" and "want" are two very different concepts when it comes to cookbooks! You might only need half a dozen, or fewer; but I probably own about 100, and used to own more but had to reduce the herd during a move. Some are more used than others, but they are all fun to read. I also use Epicurious quite a bit; my go to cookbooks are probably Gourmet's big cookbook, a Mario Batali cookbook, a cookbook called Best of the Midwestern Table, and a few specialty cookbooks for cuisine like Thai food. I think the only time a recipe is truly essential is in baking...and I have probably twenty cookbooks just devoted to baking!

I have probably close to 100 cookbooks - many are regional or fundraiser-type, a few are antiques. Also subscribe to Bon Apetit, so have a lot of recipes I've torn form mags.

Rarely do I follow recipe exactly. Use as a suggestion for starting point.

I have about 40, but there are only 3 or 4 that I refer to year in and year out, normally for techniques and technical information, including The Joy of Cooking and Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' and 'The Way to Cook'. Beyond that, like others, I use the remainder mostly for inspiration rather than to follow specific recipes to the letter.

During my last move I decided to unclutter my life and donated 30-40 books. I now only own 5. Betty Crocker - because for some reason I can never ever remember how to hard boil and egg:) and 4 Williams Sonoma books. Fish, Seafood, Vegatables and Pasta. With these I manage to come up with some variation of a recipe that I love.

I think there are a couple cooking "bibles" - for me, the first one is of course The Art of French Cooking by Julia Childs. Can't have a kitchen without it.

After that, I need one or two dessert books, a cocktail book, something by Bobby Flay (big fan of his style of cooking), need a New Mexican cookbook, and probably a Barefoot Contessa book.

I like the regional church cookbook idea. I'd imagine there are a few treasures to be discovered.

Can you post a couple?

Great Cookbook!
 

Susan Mason's Silver Service -- Elegant Savannah Cuisine. Every recipe I have tried has been fab. Best crab dip, wonderful salads. She is a caterer so all the recipes are tried and true. Just delicious.

I probably have 20-25 cookbooks. I use quite a few recipes from maybe 4 or 5 of these -- of the remainder, maybe 2 or 3 recipes from each. So I've started checking cookbooks out of the library, and photocopying those few recipes I like.