Thursday, June 25, 2020

Arzak + Arzak and Create Beautiful Food at Home: BOOK BEGINNINGS


It's Friday! Time to share the first sentence (or so) of the book capturing your attention right now. For me, two new cookbooks have captured my attention.

Please share your Book Beginning on Friday by adding the link to your post below, or leaving a comment telling us where to find you on social media. Or just leave a comment with the opening sentence and name of the book.

Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so we can find each other.

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

Arzak + Arzak by Juan Mari & Elena Arzak (Grub Street Books)

Arzak has been a household name in Spain since the 1970s and Juan Mari Arzak, who presides over the family restaurant, is the innovative force behind its rise to the upper echelons in the world of culinary art.

-- from the Introduction by Gabriella Ranelli.

Restaurante Arzak in San Sebastian is legendary. It has had three Michelin stars, the most awarded, since 1989. I’ve never been to Spain, San Sebastian, or Arzak. But I am fascinated by San Sebastian and Restorante Arzak since I watched an episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain when he visits Arzak and tours San Sebastian with Juan Mari. Juan Mari is the third generation of chefs at his family's eponymous restaurant. He has shared chef duties with his daughter Elena for 20 years.

This new cookbook is half a history of the New Basque cuisine that Juan Mari pioneered, and half featured recipes from the last ten years. The photographs throughout are stunning. I will most likely never cook out of this book, but I will read it cover to cover.

Creating Beautiful Food at Home by Adrian Martin (Mercier Press)

Food is something that keeps me up at night. I dream of the perfect, balanced recipe.

Adrian Martin is a young, popular Irish chef. His new cookbook takes reasonably easy to make at home recipes and makes them look very, very fancy. His breezy explanations and the lovely photographs have me convinced.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

Please also share a teaser from page 56 of your current book on The Friday 56, hosted by Freda on Freda's Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56s

From Arzak + Arzak:

During the development process, a dish's foundation may depend on a specific ingredient or technique that fascinates the team, but something keeps it from coming together. Time marches on, the search continues until a new element arrives, if it ever does. 

From Create Beautiful Food at Home:

Mushroom soup made from wild mushrooms has the most extraordinary, intense flavour. Don't be afraid to mix and match the mushrooms here. 


WEEKEND COOKING



Weekend Cooking is a weekly blog event hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. Beth Fish Reads started the event in 2009 and bloggers have been sharing book and food related posts ever since.


20 comments:

  1. Hi Gilion,

    Okay! Confession Friday time … I can't remember the last time I actually used a cookery book … There, I've said it!

    I'm not a bad cook, but I tend to stick to pretty much the same menu week on week and I'm not one for trying new ideas.

    Similarly with baking … there are only the two of us, so to start making elaborate cakes, breads and biscuits, would only mean that we end up eating more than we should, just so that the goodies don't go stale … so if there are none of the offending items in the house, then we are not too tempted!

    I hope that you discover some great dishes to tempt you and enjoy browsing the book :)

    Yvonne
    xx

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    1. I tend to make the same things too, even though I have a lot of cookbooks. I am trying to use my cookbooks more, at least for inspiration.

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  2. I love reading cookbooks, even though I don't use them too often. My book this week is one I just might use -- "Sandwiches: A Global History" with a few recipes. https://booktapestry.blogspot.com/2020/06/book-beginning38.html

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    1. I'm the same way! I read the cookbooks more than I cook from them. I saw your Global History book on your post and it looks good.

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  3. Sounds like an interesting book.

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    1. The history of the Arzak family and their restaurant is particularly interesting!

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  4. These sound interesting. I don't really like to cook but I do enjoy reading cookbooks and, especially, looking a gorgeous pictures of food. This week I'm spotlighting Aloha Night by Nalini Singh. Happy reading!

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    1. These both have gorgeous pictures. The book you are reading sounds really good.

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  5. Sounds like a good book. I love cookbooks, particularly baking ones! I need to do more... Have a lovely weekend, Gilion!

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    1. I like to poke around in cookbooks even if I don't cook from them often. Enjoy your weekend as well!

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  6. Sounds like a good cookbook. I don't do much cooking, but it's always fun to discover new recipes.

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    1. I cook a lot, but usually the same things. So I am trying to get new ideas!

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  7. I love all things food, especially cookbooks! Happy weekend!

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    1. I am right there with you! Thanks for hosting The Friday 56!

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  8. I'm always looking for new recipes to try out! These books sound interesting :)

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  9. I like the sound of your cookbooks (got here via Weekend Cooking) but I'm also interested in Hidden Falls in another of your posts. Somehow I missed hearing about that Massachusetts book!

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  10. I love how clean and pretty the cover for Create is! Thanks for linking up with Weekend Cooking!

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    1. Thank you for hosting Marg! I like the covers on both of them. The cover on Arzak matches the building that the restaurant is in, which is pretty cool.

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