Cooking is a necessity, a hobby, a career, a sometimes-chore. Whatever cooking means for you, there’s always enough time for a new recipe. This month we have selected our Top Five Creative Cookbooks to tantalise your tastebuds. From stewing to baking and even cocktail making, be inspired by our creative cookbooks and share some of your own favourites with us.
Nadiya’s Bake Me A Story – Nadiya Hussain
Our first cookbook on the list is the epitome of creative! Designed as a kids’ cookbook, Nadiya’s Bake Me A Story reimagines classic fairytales with a twist of contemporary recipes. The storybook-come-cookbook contains fifteen stories and fifteen recipes that appear after each story a participatory counterpart. The book also contains photographs and adorable illustrations to help your little readers and mini cooks along the way.
Nadiya Hussain, who rose to fame by winning The Great British Bake Off in 2015, has three children of her own and often speaks about the amazing bond that comes from cooking with children. Encouraging children’s interest in cooking by incorporating delicious foods into stories is a stroke of genius. Check out more of Nadiya Hussain’s books here.
The Prosecco Cookbook – Cooknation
Prosecco is one of the most popular drinks on the market when it’s time to celebrate. But if you consider yourself a bit of a prosecco king or queen, then why only use it to celebrate? The Processo Cookbook from Cooknation is the best excuse to buy that extra bottle and sprinkle a dash more sparkle into your kitchen.
The Prosecco Cookbook is certainly a creative one, as it’ll teach you dozens of new ways to use your bottles of fizz in more than just cocktails. Of course, there is a section dedicated to prosecco cocktails, but who knew you could bring glitz to a pan-fried chicken, or glamour to your Yorkshire puddings? Call it creative, call it crazy, but there are more than a few of these boozy recipes that we’d like to try! If you fancy more traditional uses for your beverages, check out our mixology and cocktail recipe books.
Doctor Who: The Official Cookbook – Joanna Farrow
Whovians, this one’s for you. There are quite a lot of pop culture-themed cookbooks out there, but this one may just top them all. This Doctor Who cookbook includes a whole host of recipes for meals, savoury snacks, and sweet treats too. Perfect for Who themed celebrations, convention parties, or to exterminate the competition at a baking event.
Out of the 40 different recipes, our favourite is the Zygon Pie. Just like all of the recipes, this one requires a simple set of ingredients and instructions that are easy to follow. The pie is a lovely homely dish while still looking awesome. It makes this creative cookbook a great little gift for Whovians young and old, but also something for all the family to get involved in.
Appetite – Nigel Slater
Nigel Slater does not use gimmicks or puns to made cooking fun. He’s a classic chef, inspirational thanks to his down to Earth nature which shines through in his written narrative. Nigel Slater’s Appetite earns a spot on our creative cookbooks list because it encourages using your instinct. Testing and tasting the food to suit you, rather than blindly following recipes.
‘I love sitting down at a table with a knife and fork – what I suppose you could call proper eating – but I also eat curled up in a squashy chair, plate balanced perilously on my lap; lying on the sofa, propped up by cushions (plate resting on tummy); flat on my stomach while I watch the telly (plate on floor now); and sometimes standing up, plate in one hand, fork in the other. Sometimes I eat at the cooker. It saves washing up and when I am alone no one can see me anyway.’
Nigel Slater, Appetite
Nigel Slater’s approach to cooking gives free rein to the cook. You don’t need to know exact measurements or hunt down rare ingredients to make a great dish. Appetite teaches that you can also be as expressive and creative as you like. With gorgeous photography paired with prosaic guides, this cookbook is a firm favourite of ours.
The Retro Cookbook – Women’s Weekly
Australian’s Women’s Weekly brings us a wonderful cookbook full of recipes from the 50s and a selection of twists on the retro with 21st-century dishes. The Retro Cookbook is all about bringing culinary influences from the past into the present-day. Whether the old recipes are a blast of nostalgia for you or a dip into unseen history, you’ll be able to explore the dishes that have stood the test of time as well as some that have taken a bit of a backseat.
You can work your way through the recipes with springtime Devilled Eggs all the way through to Here Comes Santa for a truly showstopping holiday. Even if you don’t get round to trying out all the recipes, the illustrations themselves are so gorgeous that it wouldn’t matter too much! Grab a copy for the vintage lover in your life or satisfy your own retro needs with a book to brighten up your kitchen shelf.
We hope you have enjoyed our selection of creative cookbooks. Why not have a browse through all our cookery books from big BBQ cooks to Great British Bake Off books? If cooking is not usually your thing, buying second-hand cookbooks and recipe books is the best way to launch yourself into the kitchen with confidence!
What do you think our of Top Fives choices this month? Do you have a favourite cookbook? Let us know your favourite cookery books and recipes in the comments below.
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