lists 2008, continued

well, it's that time again...end of the year lists. i usually send out christmas cards with some sort of venn diagram, chart, list, or letter encapsulating our year around these parts: reading material, meals, activities, and so on. this year i went more on the simple side (well, not so much, because i printed all of our cards and so it ended up being a very long-and-not-yet-completed process), and refrained from including anything in our card. that said, it's kind of nice to think back over the year and commemorate what has captured our imagination, time, and energy. as i've mentioned, i'll continue this lists up until the end of the month.

today's list...our favorite cookbooks of the year:

matt: 

• the art of simple food, alice waters             
  

his vote for best recipes- poached egg with curly endive salad, roast chicken, polenta, carrot soup, almond tart

when i asked matt which his favorite recipe was out of this cookbook, he said," there are just so many, wifey, i just can't handle it, you know what i'm sayin'?")

• the central cuisines of mexico, diana kennedy

susannah:

• tartine, elizabeth pruiett + chad robertson

my vote for best recipes- shortbread, lemon bars, fresh fruit galette

• the art of simple food, alice waters

best recipes- onion panade, risotto bianco, eggplant caviar, italian meatballs

• jamie at home + jamie's italy, jamie oliver

these two cookbooks also get my gold star for best food photography and most entertaining read

• staffmeals from chantrelle, david waltuck + melecia phillips

this hand me down we got randomly last year is still one of my favorites; the recipes are easy and homey, and originated from the staff meals before the evening meal service at the new york restaurant chantrelle. this is a great cookbook to have on hand, especially when cooking for a group of people or when you need to throw good food together fast!

my other favorite recipe locations: epicurious.com, cooking light + cook's illustrated magazines

happy eating!