Best New Cookbooks For Christmas 2011

Best New Cookbooks For Christmas 2011

Do you have cooks in your family?

I can think of nothing better than tearing off the Christmas wrapping to reveal a new cook book.

It provides you with something to browse whilst you're still full of Christmas 'stuffing' and gives you some ideas for the winter months ahead - scrumptious new meals to lightnen those dark evenings and put smiles on faces.

Well I've already decided that everyone in my family is getting a book as one of their gifts and I'm lucky that my family are, in general, keen readers.

There will be no disappointed faces when they tear off their Christmas wrapping paper this year; the question is - books about what? In my family, that one is easy. Maybe in yours too?

Cookery books make excellent Christmas Presents, so here are some already released and some soon to be hot off the press.

We are so lucky these days to have really good bookshops in the U.K. like Waterstones, W.H. Smith, and Blackwells but the rise and rise of booksellers online has made Christmas book shopping a lot easier than it once was. You no longer need to troop around in big cities in the weeks leading up to Christmas (and in the last two years, in yer wellies in the snow) carrying heavy bags; you can now go online to see what's up and coming. So without further ado, here are the books due for release in the next few weeks.

Get them in now and save your evenings leading up to Christmas for sitting at home drinking hot chocolate or sitting in the pub with a wee drinkie (or three).

This wonderful book is due for release next week so get in there quickly with your order.  Cupcakes are big news in the culinary world in the U.K. at the moment and this book is a seasonal twist on one of our favourite desserts.

Buy this one for someone in your family who also liked history.  The book is based on a 100 year old recipe book found amongst the papers of a wealthy duchess.  Monica Meehan has used the original recipes as a base but given them a modernist twist, so you have a fusion of old and new. Delicious recipes, both sweet and savoury but with a certain emphasis on the wonderful, delicate pastries for which Vienna is famous.

Hugh does it again with another opus to add to his ever growing oeuvre. This book concentrated on his cooking philosophy in regard to vegetables so may be more suitable for a veggie but hey, we should all be listening to his wisdom; he certainly knows his stuff. He has another recent book out so I've included that one too.

Hugh's mortification at the way British people buy their produce (supermarkets from often unkown sources) is what drove him into his River Cottage lifestyle. He believes that we should all try to grow our own food or at least buy it from local providers. We should know where our meat and poultry comes from, not just pick it up from the supermarket fridge without any knowledge of its provenance. His recipes reflect his desire to use fresh produce to create hearty, delicious meals for all of the family.

Okay, okay, I've been going crazy on the cake recipes. Well never fear, I do think about everyone out there - everyone loves cake don't they?

So here is a book which creates cakes from those with a wheat, gluten and/or dairy intolerance. More and more these days, we hear about friends and family with food intolerances and this book is wonderful in that it is still about the foods we all love but written for those who might normally have to forego such pleasures.

Jamie Oliver is a busy bee.  No sooner had he finished preparing these 'meals in minutes' on British TV than he'd rattled off this book to accompany the programme.  I watched every episode of the show so I'm hoping I get to unwrap this particular volume on Christmas morning.

You can't go wrong with Jamie, really well-explained recipes and methods accompanied by glossy photographs.  Jamie's use of fresh, local produce is the most important element of his book; being able to make the meal in minutes doesn't give you the excuse of using any old rubbish to make it.  Preparation is everything, in the show and the book - if you're well prepared then you really can makes these meals in about 30 minutes.  Delicious.