I'm cookbook obsessed.
There I said it, it's out in the open and no longer a nasty secret addiction. If there is a new cookbook out chances are I've pre-ordered it or buy it as soon as it hits the shelves. In the lead up to Christmas and my birthday I abstain from my cookbook fix, no matter how difficult it is, and compile a list of what i would have bought for my family.

If you know someone like me then this is your lucky day. These are the books to get them, if they don't like them I'll happily take them off their hands. Win Win!

They range from the simple to the ridiculous! Hopefully by January 1st 2010 they will all be taking residency on my bookcases!

If you follow me on Twitter, You will know that i'm a bit bonkers for Ad Hoc at home and rightly so.

Thomas Keller has been one of the great providers of hardback bound porn in my household. In fact French Laundry was my first real food porn book I purchased. Now there are cookbooks that are pure sex to look at and those that will get abused and used within an inch of their lives. Until now the two have never crossed paths. Ad Hoc at Home is the latest cookbook from America’s most noteworthy chef, Thomas Keller.

In Keller’s previous books he instills precision of technique and refinement of flavours, but most of the recipes were out of reach from home cooks.  With Ad Hoc at Home Keller delivers a Michelin starred execution of home-style dishes that people can actually easily achieve at home. 

Anyone familiar with Keller's techniques is that he is the master of perfection and refinement akin to Heston Blumenthal.  This book follows a similar pursuit  of Heston's In Search for Perfection.

The preserving process is something that I remember quite fondly as a child. My mother had all of these weird and unusual equipment that she pulled out for a couple of weeks each year for a sort of Preserving Marathon. Everything was preserved, be it stone fruit in syrup, to pickles, relish, jams and jellies. The produce that was being preserved was either from the vegetable garden in our back yard, or from the farms on the 'Mesa' in the outskirts of Pueblo. The process was quite methodical in the kitchen during canning times.

Preserving is a centuries-old way to make the most out of every season, stretching the more bountiful months into the sparser ones. from a child's prospectus it all seemed quite complicated, but through adult eyes it's quite easy and rewarding.

I'm not a huge fan of fussy food in small proportions, But I am a HUGE fan of Maximum Taste Sensations Per Bite (MTSPB Ratio). So anything that has an explosion of complimenting taste sensations is a winner for me. To give you an idea of what rates high on the MTSPB ratio lets take the Burger King Whopper With Cheese as a test sample. In one bite you can have the slightly sweet bread studded with nutty sesame seeds, crisp cool lettuce, bracing onion, sweet tomatoes, acidic gherkins (pickles), creamy on the tongue mayonnaise, smokey flame grilled beef, creamy smooth cheese, and a mild spice from mustard. Whew that was a moutfull, Literally!

Terrines & Verrines takes this maximum taste sensation per bit and gives you easy to create amuse bouches & pre-deserts that not only look stunning, but taste incredible in a few tiny bites.

I'm a sucker from bright flavours that inject sunshine in my life on the the most dreary of days. I'm also a bit of a Phaidon whore! Enter 1080 Recipes, Phaidon's follow-up to " The Silver Spoon". Spanish food one of the fastest growing food style.

"1080 Recetas De Cocina" is a comprehensive collection of traditional and authentic Spanish recipes, covering everything from tortilla to bacalao. This title has been a bestseller in Spain since it was first published, and with over 2 million copies sold it can be found in most kitchens across the country.

The book's author, Simone Ortega is considered to be the doyenne of cooking in Spain and has written about food for numerous years, including for magazines and in books. Since its first publication, over 35 years ago, "1080" has undergone several updates to keep it relevant to modern living while still preserving the integrity of the original book.

Doing what "Silver Spoon" did for Italian & "1080" did for Spanish cuisine, Phaidon's next local cuisine installment "Vefa's Kitchen" is the first authoritative and all-encompassing Greek recipe book in English. If you have either of the other two excellent book, "Vefa's Kitchen" with feel familar like an old friends face. With over 700 fully updated recipes for the world markets that are straightforward and utterly mouthwatering.

If you love Mediterranean food then this book is for you. It's loaded with easy to cook, tempting,and seasonal dishes. Everything from light salads and mezedes in summer, to winter warming dishes of slowly simmered meat dishes and filo pastries in winter.

The Silver Spoon is the most influential and successful cookbook in Italy. Originally published in 1950, it became an instant classic, selling over one million copies in eight editions. Considered to be essential in every household, it is still one of the most popular wedding presents today.

The Silver Spoon was conceived and published by Domus, the design and architectural magazine famously directed by Gio Ponti from the 1920s to the 1970s. A group of cooking experts was commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional Italian recipes and make them available for the first time to a wider audience. In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations.