COOKBOOKS

After my cooking post last week, I got quite a few questions about recipes, cookbooks and food. It's always nice to know that people are reading the blog, even if they prefer to post comments on Facebook or send me e-mails instead of commenting here.

Anyway, I decided to write a little something about the cookbooks/books about food that I own for those of you who enjoy cooking and/or reading mouth-watering fiction and need some suggestions. And if you are not one of those people? Well, it's always nice to try new things! I enjoy cooking immensely - something about the mixing of ingredients and all the luscious flavors - and maybe after trying it out you'll love it too.

1. The Book of New England Cookery is a very nice book that, curiously enough, I picked up at the Colby College campus bookstore one day after classes. I am really happy that I got it because it contains a ton of delicious recipes that remind me a lot of my Colby days in the US. Whenever I get nostalgic or start craving something like American-style pancakes, muffins or clam chowder, I turn to this book. I haven't been disappointed yet.

2. Cooking in New England. Now this is kind of a touristy cookbook that I bought from Boston, but it has such nice photos of New England that I couldn't resist. Actually, the recipes in it aren't bad at all, so buying it was definitely worth it.

3. 101 Cakes and Cookies is that little gem of a book that had the Nutella Cinammon Almond Cake recipe and has a 100 more very tasty looking dessert recipes that I'm determined to try out. Of course, converting from the American measurements can be annoying at times, but I've almost gotten used to it. I often resort to jotting down the metric equivalents of the measurements in the margins, so half of the pages are filled with notes :).

4. The Бон Апети cookbook collection is a must-have in my opinion. I've tried many recipes from the Бон Апети cooking show or from the various Бон Апети cookbooks, and I have never been disappointed. In fact, my famous tiramisu recipe is a very slight variation of the Бон Апети recipe. I have a bunch of small cookbooks devoted to different kinds of food and one big cookbook with 1500 recipes that I bought as a present to myself this past Christmas. I recommend these to anyone who can read Bulgarian.

5. Нови и класически коктейли. I have other cocktail books, but this one is actually my favorite. It might not have as many fancy photos as the other books, but it has the highest number of cocktail recipes, and they are very well organized. Also, it has a couple of intro chapters on types of drinks and ingredients and the kinds of glasses and various other tools used in mixing cocktails.

6. The Bulgarian classics: Българска национална кухня and 1585 от най-добрите и изпитани рецепти от Пенка Чолчева (pictured on the third photo). These books are a must for every Bulgarian who cooks! They are priceless with their great authentic recipes for traditional Bulgarian meals. One of my specialties - "peppers with colorful stuffing" is what it's actually called, no kidding - is from Penka Cholcheva's book, and everyone who's ever tasted it has always loved it. I guess Penka Cholcheva is our equivalent of Julia Child :).

5. Last, but not least: fiction about cooking and food!
- Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber: lovely, lovely book about exile, being an immigrant, finding your home, falling in love and letting go of the past, all infused with the lush scents and flavors of Middle Eastern food.
- Aphrodite by Isabel Allende: the Sheherazade of Chile presents a book about love, lust, and the aphrodisiac that is food, and she even gives us a bunch of recipes to experiment with.
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris (not pictured, but a vital part of my collection): don't read this book without a stash of chocolate nearby, as it will make your mouth water with every page.
- Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: a book about frustration, love and hope, all mixed in with Mexican food in every sense of the word. It can be a bit melodramatic at times, but it is magical nonetheless.