food hits and misses

I've been cooking for a long time now; long enough to create my own recipes, or tweak something found on the web to suit the way we like to eat. But no matter how many dishes I create, I still love cookbooks.

Needless to say, my kitchen library is enormous. These are the ones I keep coming back to. Click the cover images to read summaries and reviews.

Essential reference books

The Cook's Companion is my go to book for just about any ingredient. There are no pretty pictures, but I've never had a food miss from this book.




Maggie's Harvest is a great companion to The Cook's Companion, especially if you like to cook from seasonal produce.

Vegies

This one is absolutely full of healthy comfort food that almost looks after itself. The perfect winter cookbook.



Cooking from the Market is based around ideas for foods you're likely to encounter at farmers' markets. Another good one for seasonal cooking.



Garden Feast is unique in that it's a gardening book and a cookbook. If you've ever thought about planting a kitchen garden, you need this book.

International

If you're after enchiladas and nachos, give this one a miss. If, on the other hand, you want to learn authentic recipes, then grab a copy.



Brazilian food is delicious, and the recipes in this book are no exception. Well worth a look.



This one also classifies as an essential reference at our house. We haven't bought take away Indian food for a very long time...



Spanish food is a lot more versatile than just paella. This isn't a comprehensive book, but it's a good start.



This one is super inspiring. The book I get out when I have a bunch of foodies coming over for dinner.



What's not to love about French food? This is another great reference.



Moroccan food smells and tastes divine. What's more, a lot of it is cooked in a single pot. Win win!



Tagines are a regular menu item for us over winter. They're simple, and like slow cooker recipes, really look after themselves.



Another great reference book, this time of Italian food and cooking.

Baking and decorating

I have a feeling this book is to adults what the AWW Birthday Party book is to Australian kids. I've certainly had a few friends pick their cakes out of this one.



An excellent reference for people starting out in cake decorating.



If you don't have the strength to get in to cake decorating, there's always cookies. There are loads of ideas in this little book.

Preserves

Making jams and preserves is really satisfying. This book has step by step instructions, with pictures, and is really quite failsafe.


Find other great cookbooks at fishpond.com.au: