Cookbooks to Impress

Do you know how much joy giving a book about someone’s little passion can bring? Gifting a cookbook may seem like a cliché but, honestly, I believe the right book can spark a hidden desire, bring out a dreamy smile, or become the reason to start a new chapter. Because we all have some whims, desires, or dreams linked to cooking, and there’s a wide variety of books — I’m sure the right book can often surprise!

Since some of the more organized among you have been contacting us for days to clear doubts about certain books, hoping to pick well and surprise on International Book Day, and because I’m eager to share some ideas that have worked very well for me when I wanted to give a present, today I’ll tell you about some books from the shop that I hope inspire you.

The first I’d like to mention is The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. There are two volumes, and if you want that loved one who adores cooking to have one of the best-known and most respected “cookbook bibles,” this is a wonderful gift — I assure you it will become their little treasure. It contains not only recipes but explanations of all kinds of techniques and secrets to learn the basics and what’s essential to be a good chef, explained in detail and in a very understandable way, and it’s useful both for someone starting out in the kitchen and for those who already have advanced knowledge.

Speaking of bibles, "The Weber BBQ Bible" is an ideal book to surprise that family member or friend who loves cooking outdoors. It’s a fabulous book that gives many ideas to get the most out of the grill.

For that mother wanting to delight the kids this summer, or that young person keen to make their own ice cream, the Quick Pops book is fun, engaging, and full of ideas. I’ve had great success several times pairing a Zoku ice cream maker with the book as a gift!

Zoku Quick Pops ice cream book and The Weber BBQ Bible

If you’ve heard someone say “someday I want to make my own bread at home!” or you know someone for whom that could be the next step — you’ll hugely surprise them with a book to learn how to make bread! Do you know how lovely it is to make it at home? Those who appreciate it enjoy it a lot and tackle the task with great enthusiasm. To satisfy this desire I recommend Iván Yarza’s books, both "Homemade Bread" and "Shall We Make Bread?" are ideal for entering this world, with clear explanations and a very well-structured learning progression.

Related to homemade products, there are two more very notable books: the Simili sisters’ book to make fresh pasta at home — there’s no other book like it to learn about the subject; and the book From Garden to Pantry, to learn how to preserve foods, drying methods, and canning techniques.

Book Homemade Bread and special edition of Homemade Bread (with visuals) by Ibán Yarza, Shall We Make Bread? by Alma Obregón and Ibán Yarza and Fresh Pasta by the Simili Sisters

And we move on to books that are more general cookbooks or recipe collections. There are many and very varied, but those I want to highlight that may suit different types of people are:

- Vegetables in Many Ways, a photo-free book of short recipes explained as simply as possible that ends up showing you hundreds and hundreds of varied, simple, delicious, and healthy recipes. The book goes through a multitude of vegetables and explores different ways to cook them and get the most out of them, enjoying healthy and varied cooking: salads, rice dishes, soups, stews, with meats, fish...

- The Vegetarian Gourmet, an award-winning book for its great work discovering intense flavors and delightful contrasts, and so rich in ideas that it’s highly recommended both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

- ZeroGluten, I’d say it’s a hidden gem: despite not being one of the best-known and originally intended so that people with celiac disease can fully enjoy cooking, I certainly also recommend it to non-celiacs. In its 192 pages it offers delicious recipes to make complete menus, from starters to main courses and delightful desserts.

- Cooking with a Club, by our beloved Martín Berasategui. In its pages you’ll find a wide variety of everyday recipes that are truly rich in flavor, with photos of the steps to follow that give confidence and clarify concepts, and tips from the great master to perfect the dish 100%. From first courses to mains with fish or meat, and desserts, it’s a very good option to learn and enjoy.

- Everyday Healthy Recipes, by the well-known Jamie Oliver, is a really fresh and dynamic book: its pages contain recipes full of flavor and color: energizing and healthy breakfasts like fruit cups with nut milk, cereal bars or rolls with ricotta, ham, mushrooms and tomato; dishes as varied as scrambled eggs with tomato, cheese and basil to mackerel roasted with mustard or delicious green or pasta salads; and snacks and drinks that are very tempting, from colored eggs to nut butter, seed cookies, fun yogurt and fruit ice creams or flavored waters. All of this with great photos and very clear recipes, to enjoy a type of healthy, innovative, attractive cooking that’s very accessible at all skill levels.

1. Cooking with a Club by Martín Berasategui; 2. My Home Cooking by Gordon Ramsay; 3. Italian Cooking and 4. Everyday Healthy Recipes, both by Jamie Oliver

- Italian Cooking, also by Jamie Oliver, is ideal to bring a smile to those who claim to love Italian cuisine and would enjoy discovering the very wide variety of dishes it contains. Soups, pasta, risottos, salads, fish, meats and typically Italian sweets. A complete cookbook where you’ll find recipes explained very simply to fully enjoy the results.

- My Home Cooking, by the popular Gordon Ramsay, is a book for lovers of cooking and good food. His proposals focus on traditional dishes but with a modern touch, all recipes accessible to every cooking level to achieve homemade dishes that are very rich in flavor and include an element that surprises as much as it delights: broccoli cream with Stilton and pear, pasta with bacon, peas, and sage, vegetable lasagna on the griddle, couscous with chorizo and fava beans, rice with pistachios and almonds, stuffed seabream wrapped with bacon, fish croquettes, red mullet with olives and anchovies, braised chicken thighs with honey and spices, spinach tart or mushroom and Parmesan tart, or a crisp coffee and almond cake! These are just some of the many recipes that will captivate you with their brilliant combinations and easy preparation.

I hope among these suggestions you find the right one for that person who loves cooking, creating, or eating and whom you want to surprise.

Finally, there’s a very special book, "Health from the Apothecary of the Lord". It’s a paperback that summarizes all of María Treben’s learnings regarding natural medicine. It contains all kinds of natural remedies focused on medicinal plants for all types of conditions and ailments. It helps us both to identify these plants and to know how to administer them correctly. If you’re interested in this topic, want to learn more, or know someone interested, I think it’s worth browsing to see if the saying “let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food” is true.

Note: You can consult all the books we have available in the Cookbooks section.

Book and tablet stand Kitchen Craft