from Spain & Italy

If the summer of Julie and Julia has left you with a yen for epic cookbooks, then investigating 1080 Recipes and The Silver Spoon, both published by Phaidon Press, might be just what you need. Each book is the beloved bible of authentic home cooking for their countries, Spain and Italy respectively. Sitting on a stoop in Brooklyn, alternating sips of wine and page turns, it is easy to feel a sense of solidarity with the home cooks that have done the same for decades. A romanticized view? The wine helps. Nevertheless, regional recipe collections, as a rule, serve the daily plebeian needs of the home cook, act as a lifetime reference, and inspire the family heirloom versions of local food traditions. Now that both 1080 Recipes and The Silver Spoon are available in English, others can enjoy a full immersion cooking experience. At nearly three inches thick, these tomes demand a commitment of shelf space and plenty of time to discover its recipes -- each is worth the investment. Not being able to resist the colorful and rustic illustrations on the cover and nearly every page, I have spent more time with the 1080 Recipes. A fan of simple Spanish food, particularly salt cod, I think this cookbook a joy. Others may find the minimalist approach unsatisfying. Numerous recipes feature the same main ingredients and recipe titles that double as the shopping list. But this is the way it goes with indigenous food collections – what is found is what is favored. Originally, the book, most likely included multiple asparagus recipes, for example, to help the Iberian home cook work through a bumper crop. The English version seems right for the times offering kindly inspiration for working through the “bumper crops” yielded from recession triggered victory gardens or from zealous acquisitions at grocery store sales. These collections honor, and in part, elevate the traditional everyday cooking of Spain and Italy to admirable lifestyles that our recently revised menu planning can emulate. 1080 Recipes and The Silver Spoon also offer a smattering of celebratory recipes keen for family special occasions or company and desserts to make any afternoon a party, but the thrust is about how to live everyday. If you are looking for a modest but memorable wedding gift, 1080 Recipes and The Silver Spoon are wise choices, even if they are not listed on the wedding registry. Years into the marriage, when the couple has lost their lust for the shiny blenders and other things that lined their wedding registry, they will thank you enthusiastically for their well-loved and homey cookbook that they read on their porch with a glass of wine.

under $30 AT AMAZON