Cookbooks to Impress

Do you know how much excitement comes from giving a book about what is your little passion? Giving a cookbook may seem like a cliché, but honestly, I think the right book can awaken a hidden desire, spark a dreamy smile, or become the reason to start a new chapter. Because we all have certain whims, desires, or dreams linked to cooking, and there is a huge variety of books — I'm sure the right book can often surprise!

Since a few days ago, the most forward-thinking of you have been contacting us to clear up doubts about some books, hoping to get it right and surprise someone on International Book Day, and because I really want to share some ideas that have worked very well for me when I've wanted to give a gift, today I'm talking about some books from the shop that I hope will inspire you.

The first one 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 is passionate about cooking to have one of the best-known and most highly regarded "cookbook bibles", this is a wonderful gift — I can assure you it will become their little treasure. It contains not only recipes but also explanations of all kinds of techniques and secrets for learning the basics and the essentials to become a good chef, explained in detail and in a very easy-to-understand way, and it works both for someone who wants to get started in cooking and for someone who already has advanced knowledge of the subject.

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

For that mother who wants the little ones to have fun this summer, or that young person who wants to make their own ice cream, the Quick Pops book is fun, engaging, and full of ideas. I’ve had great success several times giving a Zoku ice cream maker along with the book!

Zoku Quick Pops ice cream book and The Weber Bible for Barbecues

If you have heard someone say, "One day I want to make my own bread at home!" or if you know someone who you think could be about to take that next step. You’ll really surprise them with a book about learning to make bread! Do you know how wonderful it is to make it at home? Those who appreciate it enjoy it a lot and approach the task with great enthusiasm. To satisfy this wish, I recommend Ibán Yarza’s books; both "Homemade Bread" and "Shall We Make Bread?" are ideal for getting into this world, with clear explanations and a very well-paced learning curve.

Related to homemade products, there are two more very noteworthy books: the one by the Simili sisters for making fresh pasta at home — there is no other book like it for learning about the subject; and the book From Garden to Pantry, for learning how to preserve food, drying methods, and making preserves.

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 into books that may be more about cooking or recipes in general. There are many and very varied, but the ones I want to highlight and that may be for people’s profiles you might be interested in are:

- Vegetables in Many Ways, a book without photos, with short recipes explained in the simplest way, that ends up showing you hundreds and hundreds of varied, simple, delicious, and healthy recipes. The book covers a wide range 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, meats, fish...

- The Vegetarian Gourmet, an award-winning book for the great job it does in discovering intense flavors and delicious contrasts, and so rich in ideas that it is highly recommended both for vegetarians and for those who are not.

- ZeroGluten, I would say it is a diamond in the rough: despite not being one of the best known and initially intended so that people with celiac disease can enjoy cooking to the fullest, I definitely recommend it to non-celiacs as well. In its 192 pages it offers delicious recipes for making complete menus, from starters to main courses and delicious desserts.

- Cooking with Garrote, by our beloved Martín Berasategui. In its pages you will find a wide variety of recipes for your everyday life that are truly rich in flavor, with photos of the steps to follow that build confidence and clarify concepts, and the great master’s tricks to round out the dish to 100%. From first courses to mains with fish or meat, and desserts, it is a very good option for learning and enjoying.

- Healthy Recipes for Every Day, by the well-known Jamie Oliver, is a really fresh and dynamic book: in its pages you’ll find recipes full of flavor and color: energizing and healthy breakfasts, such as fruit cups with nut milk, cereal bars, or buns with cottage cheese, ham, mushrooms, and tomato; dishes as varied as scrambled eggs with tomato, cheese and basil to roasted mackerel with mustard or delicious green salads or pasta; and snacks and drinks that are especially tempting, from deviled eggs to nut butter, seed cookies, fun yogurt and fruit ice creams, or infused waters. All of this with great photos and very clear recipes, to enjoy a kind of cooking that is healthy, innovative, appealing, and very accessible at all levels of knowledge.

1. Cooking with Garrote by Martín Berasategui; 2. My Home Cooking by Gordon Ramsay; 3. Italian Cooking and 4. Healthy Recipes for Every Day, both by Jamie Oliver

- Italian Cooking, also by Jamie Oliver, is ideal for bringing a smile to those who say they are lovers of Italian cuisine and can enjoy discovering the vast variety of dishes that exist in it. Soups, pasta, risottos, salads, fish, meat, and typical Italian sweets. A complete recipe book in which you will find recipes explained in a very simple way that you can enjoy to the fullest with their results.

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

I hope that 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 is a very special book, "The Health of the Lord's Apothecary". It is a paperback book that summarizes all of María Treben's learnings regarding natural medicine. It contains all kinds of natural remedies centered on medicinal plants for all types of conditions and ailments. It helps us both identify these plants and know how to administer them correctly. If this subject interests you, you want to know more, or you know someone interested in it, I think it’s worth taking a look to see whether 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 in the Cookbooks section.

Kitchen Craft book and tablet stand