Family Encyclopedia >> Food

Illustrated cookbooks

Cut, Heat, Wow. (Phaidon)

The recipes ? 50 iconic Italian recipes from the best-selling Silver Spoon, the bible of authentic Italian cooking (with over 1,000 pages!).

What do we like? The very clear step-by-step cartoon-style presentation and the many contents in the appendix:key ingredients by region, buying advice, detailed techniques, menu ideas...

What we like less? Nothing, we want to cook everything, from simple Bolognese lasagna to turron soufflé!

Cut, Heat, Wow, illustrations Adriano Rampazzo, Phaidon, €16.95.

Look. Do. Eat. (Tana Editions)

The recipes ? 50 recipes from breakfast (cereals, omelet…) to dinner (Vrai Pho, white lasagna…), including sauces and drinks (eskimo smoothie, authentic chai tea…).

What do we like? The diversity of the dishes offered, which sometimes take us on a journey to Italy, Vietnam or Latin America, and the index which allows us to distinguish at a glance vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free recipes , etc.

What we like less? "50 Fully Drawn Recipes to Make You Want to Cook," reads the cover of the book. Yes when it comes to a dish for which we already imagine the result, because we have already more or less made it or seen it elsewhere in photos, a little less when it comes to a completely new recipe for us, like gourmet kugel or panzanella. But hey, as the author reminds us, "These recipes aren't set in stone. Rather, they are designed to allow room for improvisation, experimentation, and play." It's up to us to play and dare!

Look. Do. Eat., by Katie Shelly, Tana Editions, €14.95.