Every Christmas morning, I ask my kids “what’s the best gift?” and they respond “A BOOK!” Last week, my daughter asked which books I would like for Christmas. My son, the teenager that he is, responded that he was just going to give me a note telling me to read the books he gave me last year. My husband reminded him that I’m the one that buys the gifts, so my son may want to rethink his strategy.
We’re hoping to help you with your holiday shopping. We’re encouraging you to shop at an independent bookstore by rewarding one lucky shopper, our official Holiday Helper, with an ABA gift card. Additionally, as we did last year, we’ve asked booksellers, experts, and opinionated people to recommend various genres of books (regardless of when they were published) as gifts for the holiday season. This year we’re launching our Best Gifts for Readers lists with cookbooks.
Catherine Ettlinger started Unconfidential Cook, a unique food blog with scrumptious recipes contributed by her and her readers. Catherine’s theory is that many of us are happy to share our cooking experience, hence the name ‘unconfidential cook’. From the chatting on her blog, she’s right. To complement her blog, Catherine hosts unconfidential cook dinners where the guests bring a dish and the recipe, then eat every thing in sight. I’ve been to three of the dinners and they are a Los Angeles foodie treat. The perfect pairing of great food and interesting conversation, each evening combines the necessary ingredients for a lovely meal. I asked Catherine for her cookbook recommendations, and while she mentioned that much of the innovative recipes and culinary writing is online, these cookbooks were so terrific, every foodie should own one:
Lost Desserts by Gail Monaghan: If you think one of your all-time favorite desserts has vanished forever with the demise of a restaurant or the retirement of a chef, don’t despair. Monaghan has gathered dozens of legendary recipes and assembled them with mouth-watering photos by Eric Bowman. You’ll never make a dessert again without first referencing this beautiful book. (Kim’s comments: I’ve seen this cookbook at Catherine’s house and it is a work of art. More importantly, I’ve tasted a few of the desserts and they are more than calorie worthy.)
The Art of Simple Foodby Alice Waters, Clarkson Potter: There are more than 250 recipes in this book by the champion of the phrase “eat locally and Read the rest of this entry »
Claire
Kim
