Its the final week of my gift guide series, and for those last-minute shoppers, I always advise the simplest and best of gifts a book. More specifically, a cookbook! As the old saying goes, Give a girl some chocolate, shell be fed for a day; teach a girl to make chocolate, and youve created a lifetime obsession. Or, something like that.
Here are five Canadian cookbooks that have rocked the stands this year, are easy to wrap, and most importantly contain recipes that taste extra primo super good. Available at Barbara-Jos Books to Cooks (BooksToCooks.com) or your local bookstore.
The Butcher, the Baker, the Wine and Cheese Maker: An Okanagan Cookbook by Jennifer Schell
This book just won the Gourmand International Cookbook Award for Best Local Cuisine Book in Canada, and justifiably so. Schell is a passionate advocate of all things local, and comes from a long line of Okanagan farmers. Each recipe is also a story about the various chefs, winemakers, farmers and producers who worked together to create each pairing. It is a heartfelt testament to the dedicated people behind BCs food scene. $24.95
Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes from a Little Neighborhood Bakery by Rosie Daykin
Its the sweetest cookbook from what started as a tiny little bakery on Vancouvers West Side, and is now famed for its delectable baked goods, and what are widely acknowledged as the best gourmet marshmallows in North America. With over 100 recipes for everything from cakes and pies to confections and creams, this is sure to please the avid home baker in your life. $35
The Complete Chocolate Book by the Canadian Living Test Kitchen
Because its Christmas, a list of cookbooks without chocolate just wouldnt be complete and this is one complete list. With recipes divided into categories like Gooey, Creamy, Crumbly, Melty, Chewy, Chilly and Cakey, the mouth is already starting to salivate. Every recipe has been triple-tested for perfection, and there are more than 100 tips and how-to photos to guide you through everything from slow-cooker hot cocoa cake to Earl Grey chocolate truffles. This is the chocoholics guide to heaven. $34.95
Alice Eats: A Wonderland Cookbook by Julie van Rosendal and Pierre A. Lamielle
Anyone with kids or whos still a kid at heart will enjoy one more trip down the rabbit hole with Alice, the Mad Hatter and all the rest of Lewis Carrolls timeless characters. Even better, this time you can eat along with them, everything from Dinahs saucer of panna cotta to the Dormouses sticky toffee tea cake. Recreate the Mad Hatters tea party, as well as more savoury dishes like the pork and pepper soup in chapter six, and enjoy the trip back to Wonderland. $34.95
White Spot Cookbook by Kerry Gold
Its BCs original family restaurant, founded by Nat Bailey, and has been serving burgers with Triple O sauce since 1928. With recipes for classics like the chicken pot pie to contemporary additions from local celebrity chefs, such as John Bishops chicken curry, its all here. You can recreate your childhood experience at home, while reading about the history of this landmark institution just dont look for the secret of the Triple O sauce. Thats one recipe staying locked in the vault. Available at White Spot locations for $19.28 or in stores for $24.95.
Hear Anya Levykh every Monday on CBC Radio Ones On the Coast, follow her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and catch up at FoodGirlFriday.com.
