In my first post, I included a picture of one of my favorite tables. The table came from my grandmother's, and sits in a corner of my dinning room where I hoard recipes, contemplate meal planning, and collect various other things related to cook, eating, and celebrating. Some of my favorite cookbooks are found here. The one I use the most is Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. The cookbook was given to me years ago by, my now, brother & sister-in-law. I cried when I got it. It's easy to fall in love with her cooking philosophy that food should be consumed fresh and seasonally (especially after you try a few recipes).
Image from Stonehouse Olive Oil
Now when it comes to baking, I tend to take an aged approach. My favorite recipes are old ones, that have won county fair pie contests, bake-offs, and the like. Julie Richardson's book, Vintage Cakes, features award-winning cakes from the early 1900s into the 1950s. I absolutely adore how the book is arranged, and the photography is absolutely stunning. The first section of cakes are "hasty cakes" or cakes that can be prepared and baked in under an hour flat! The difficulty, pre time, etc increase from there to everyday cakes, up to multi-layered party cakes. For being such a concise cookbook, it is still able to provide ample technique tips for skill building.
Image from Sugar Loco
And then, there was this crazy little cookbook I feel in love with one day on the anthropologie sale rack. For $14, I figured I could use some of the pages as art work if the recipes sucked. See My Abuela's Table looked to me like it was going to be one of those way too pretty to be good cookbooks. I have never been more wrong (don't judge a book by its cover, right?). Although some of the fare I'm not particularly interested in (as in the octopus recipe photographed below), the authentic mexican staples do not disappoint. We have used all the sauce recipes multiple times as well as preparation techniques for chicken enchiladas and pork tacos. Every single time the recipes have been a success! Enjoy a few of its watercolored pages below!
Image from Appetite for Books
Image from The Design Files
Image from The Design Files
Image from Native Meadows
Image from Textile and Terrain