My new cookbooks.

I love that my friends know me and give such thoughtful gifts. For Christmas I received two new cookbooks that I am very excited about.

Bon Apetit Desserts was put together by the magazine's Editor-In-Chief Barbara Fairchild. It truly is a great reference book with 500 pages of every classic recipe that you can imagine and then some. This will keep me reaching for my cookbooks rather than running to the internet when I think to myself "Wait a minute...how much sugar is in pate brisee?" Cooking through this thing could give someone an education nearly as good as going to pastry school.

Also, to make sure I stay healthy while eating all the yummy desserts, I have Northwest Essentials by Gregory Atkinson. Obviously, the focus is on eating local food produced here in the Pacific Northwest. Mushrooms, apples, salmon, berries, mussels...and did you know hazelnuts are grown here? This one will definitely inspire me to hit the farmers markets when they come back in the late spring. I already made the chanterelle and potato gratin, and it was fantastic! (if a little liquidy, but that's nothing that can't be fixed)