I recently treated myself to a couple of new cookbooks for some culinary inspiration. I have been thrilled by my choices and thought that I should share my finds.

The first book is called High Flavor; Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking by J.M. Hirsch who is the food editor for the Associated Press. His book is full of tasty dishes that veer away from the typical dinner menu just enough to make the dishes unique but not enough to have any family revolts. In fact, my family consists of a very picky eater (no names will be mentioned here… you know who you  are) and two more adventurous eaters that each have their own, and usually opposite, tastes. I have had great success! How can a family resist Bow Tie Pasta with Bacon Pesto. Yummy! Hirsch’s recipes are simple, straight forward, quick and result in simple meals packed full of great flavor.

The second book that I bought is called What To Cook and How To Cook It by Jane Hornby. I first saw this cookbook in the store Anthropology. It’s that kind of book. It was published by Phaidon which in itself tells you that it is special. Phaidon publishes books on art, food, design, photography and architecture. The beautiful thing about this cookbook is its emphasis on comfort food, the simplicity of its recipes and its layout. Each recipe has a full picture showing every ingredient in the depicted amount and gorgeous photos of each step of the cooking process. This book makes cooking easy enough for kids who can read and really fun for those of us who have been cooking dinners for a while.

Bon appetit!