I am so happy to be able to expand the amount of delicious and beautiful books, the number of recipes and the tons of new cooking experience I will obtain from cooking from them.
On my real birthday my Love gave me Jamie Oliver's 'Il mio giro d'Italia' for breakfast( first he woke me up with red roses), my first real Italian cookbook. So now I'm actually cooking and learning Italian at the same time, how convenient! He also gave me 'Il piccolo principe' a few weeks ago, to study my Italian. I thought all children books would be reasonably easy to read, but this beautiful story is actually written for adults in, for me, very difficult Italian. It was a good way to spend my time on the plane to Holland last week.
Last saturday, on my birthday party, I received 'De kunst van het koken' ( 'Mastering the art of French cooking') by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. This book is a Dutch version and it contents both parts one and two of the original edition. The book weighs about two kilos...and seems like a mission impossible. But I think I will cook my way through it slowly slowly and I will use it mostly as a sort of encyclopedia or study book. The lay-out is clear, not to crowded with text, and illustrated where needed.
Over the past few years I'm collecting must-have cookbooks, classics. My library exists of; 'The silver spoon', All classic Italian recipes are in there. 'The Cook's Book' by Jill Norman, a very precise guide for the home cook, although to me it seems more like a peek in a professional kitchen, as my croissants failed completely after a hard try. I will leave that art up to the French. But it's good to see how it is really done.
Another book I've used a lot is the straightforward 'River Cafe Cook Book' By Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. All easy to make, Italian dishes you can always fall back on.
My newest and favorite welcome edition is 'Home Made' by Yvette van Boven. I ran into it in the small bookshop in my mom's village and convinced her that this was the last birthday present I really wanted/needed. I know its sounds a bit like a small child begging his mom for a candy bar, but this book made my mouth water just the same.
I love the design, also home made with a paper cut out title for every chapter. Cute little drawings and handwritten titles with every recipe and beautiful photo's of real but very photogenic food. The book is written with loads of humor and passion for good quality ingredients. A very inspiring book written by a very talented woman. She and her nephew have a lunch restaurant and catering service in Amsterdam 'Aan de Amstel', too bad I'm already back in Como. I would have loved to try their food. Well, I have something to look forward to next time I go.
I'll keep you posted on the recipes I make from my favorite books, I think I'll start with
making brioche, as I've never made it but love eating the soft sweet bread when I'm in France.
A presto!
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