The Gifts that Keep on Giving

No, I'm not talking about Harper as the gift that keeps on giving.  I mean, she is.  She will provide us joy, companionship, and plenty of poop for hopefully years to come.

What I am referring to, however, is the new additions to my cookbook library.  These gifts will be used until the bindings are breaking and the pages are stained and creased.  And in all honesty, these gifts will especially keep on giving to my dear husband.  He should start stocking his wishlists with cooking gifts for me, honestly.

Baked Explorations was high on my wish list, and luckily my mom/Santa reads my blog.

I need to make speculaas this weekend or else my life will not be complete.  Must.make.now.

Ready for Dessert will probably make me gain two pant sizes, but that's okay since it will be worth it.  This summer I really want to make the mixed berry pie.  Is it berry season yet?

John's mom got me Best of the Best, a cookbook by Food & Wine that picked out the best recipes from the best cookbooks of the year.  The above recipe for roasted tomato soup caught my eye.  Not only is this cookbook concept a dream come true for home cooks, but it also lets you have a cookbook with all types of cuisines and foods in one book.  Not many have Italian, Latin, and Grilling all in one.

Ah, my beloved Peter Reinhart.  It's amazing that this is the first book of his that I actually own.  I've gotten almost all of his work from the library at some point, so it's about time I finally contributed to his livelihood.  Maybe his kids need braces or something.  Mine will need artisan breads every day, so we're even.