Friday, April 3, 2009

Reading. Cookbooks. And more.

With my "rest" order from the doctor, I have decided to pick up some books to read. I have a very energetic nature, so reading is not something that I can do very well at. I do love cookbooks, so those are obvious choices:

1) Patricia Wells' cookbooks collection, my fave so far is her Bistro Cooking. This book is a proof that the best dishes can be made from the simplest recipes, using the most common ingredients. And yes, there are several variations of "potato gratins"or "apple tart" that deserve "the #1" praises!

2) Ina Garten's collection. Of course! I am contemplating whether I should purchase her Barefoot in Paris. I need to be able to purchase all of the ingredients on her recipes. Everything she has is unpretentious, thus irresistible. I have, so far, successfully convinced myself that I don't need a creme brulee torch. God forbids!

3) How to Cook Everything. This book actually belongs to Red. He has had this book for many years, and I decided to go through it for inspirations.

4) The Olive Harvest. This is a sequel of the Olive Farm book, another delicious memoir from Carol Drinkwater. Warning: Red believes that I should not read this book before bed, as it awakens my full tummy and convinces me that I need a plateful of juicy sliced tomatoes with young goat cheese, lathered in olive oil and ground black pepper for a 2nd supper.

5) Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Red got this for me for Christmas. This woman is genius. She goes through different baking and cooking technique in such great details, I am a better cook because of her.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are some fabulous cookbooks...especially Ina's! I also love reading the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

h2babe said...

I have yet to "dislike" any of her recipes...;-) I love your blog by the way. Any good recipes from Zuni cookbook? I will have to look it up sometimes!!

Anonymous said...

My favorite by far is her recipe for whole roasted chicken with bread stuffing. She also has a simple and delicious avocado and orange salad, and some great desserts, like crostata with flaky, buttery crust that can be made with any stone fruit.

h2babe said...

Yum, I have been wanting to make a crostata forever! I decided to make crumble instead. The salad sounds so refreshing, too!