Favourite Books

All books are available on Amazon.com. All product and image links are to Amazon and description links are to my blog.
Vancouver's premier Oceanwise and Sustainable Seafood restaurant.  The food is creative and elegant and above all delicious.


I have had the great pleasure of eating at one of his restaurants in Toronto, Madeleine's.  He was cooking that night and he visited all the tables.  The food was amazing while I am not sure I can say the same about the dark Lolita decor.  :^P


He was the Jamie Oliver of his day. Still a British Icon, he is one of my faves. Though his 6 step method for making chips, I'll pass on but his simple food is great.


For V! Man is an egoist but he can cook. He makes cooking accessible in a busy world without being sanctimonious about it. Make your own healthy choices and cook with your family.  My words, not Gordo's.

The fact that man could charm the pants off any of the Top Chef Masters judging panel aside, he can cook!  Gorgeous recipes. It is one of D's favourite books.  I do not remember his show but D used to watch it all the time.  If he does not get a new one after his time on Top Chef Masters, I would be surprised.   I mean really some of the current line up like French Cooking at Home or Everyday Exotic or the Main could be cancelled and I would not protest one iota. Where does Anthoy Sedlak's affected accent come from?  He is a Vancouver boy.  It is very annoying to listen to.  Bring back Ciarello to Food TV! :-)


Nigella Bites: From Family Meals to Elegant Dinners - Easy, Delectable Recipes For Any Occasion
Thankfully, her popularity here is reserved to her food and not some inexplicable British interest in her as a voluptuous sex symbol.  Her recipes make cooking fun and does try to make the ingredients and use of store bought pre-made products accessible to the UK populace who have a national penchant for ready-made meals and take-away.  


Not as famous here in North America, but he is widely known in the UK. His cooking style and approach to eating is very accesible.  He used to host these 'Britain's Best Of' shows for food, like Britains Top 10 Breakfasts, I used to watch all the time.

 

Quintessential San Francisco.  This is one of D's favourite cookbooks.  The dust cover is torn and stained from frequent use.  It is sophisticated comfort food from France and the mediterranean.
 


This has been one of my goto vegetarian cookbooks for more than a decade.  It's the type of interesting and uncompromising type of vegetarian food that makes you forget it is vegetarian.  The brownies are insanely YUMMO!


Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite
Alot of the recipes from the F word where Gordon cooks fast-fire recipes are here. I'm not a big fan of the format and some of his photos are a bit RI-DONK-ULOUS, i.e. peak-a-boo with salad greens. That said, the recipes are delicious and creative.



These very very English ladies run one of the most authetico Italian restaurants in London. They inspired the lad below where he was a sous chef. They're awesome though not TV friendly. Much more accessible $$$$ than their restaurant.


Before Jamie got all super annoying on his PR knighthood campaign. Yawn. Still this book is very accessible which was his point of Naked food



Peter Gordon is a very innovative Kiwi chef. He has another book on Vegetables that is also amazing.


This has been one of my goto vegetarian cookbooks for more than a decade.  It's the type of interesting and uncompromising type of vegetarian food that makes you forget it is vegetarian.  The brownies are insanely YUMMO!


Low-Carb Vegetarian
Easy to follow without the need for specialty vegan grocery.  I tried to go low carb a few years ago but it was virtually impossible as a vegetarian.  This helped and your appetite does diminish when you cut out the High Glycemic Index foods.  But I went off it after a while.  I missed rice and bread too much :-)
 
Non Cooking Book Reccos:











In the Kitchen: A Novel