Top Ten Tuesday: Yummy Food Books

Let me tell you, when you’re on a diet, there is nothing more tantalising to talk, dream, and think about than food. So when I saw this post, I instantly knew it would be something that I would enjoy talking about. I’m sure we’ve all experienced reading a book and coming across the section that is nothing short of saliva inducing food porn? We’ve all flicked through cookbooks and felt our mouths water whilst looking at pictures of recipes that we realistically know are too difficult for us to manage? Oh, just me…

For all of you who don’t know what Top Ten Tuesday is, or don’t know how to get involved, click here. The lovely folks at Broke and Bookish tam together to produce a book related topic each week, and you simply list the top ten of that topic.

I decided this week to split my top ten list into two sets of five. The reasoning: because I can and it’s my list, but also because there are some books that I read and wish I could be in to sample the food, and there are some cookbooks that I just absolutely love to cook from, or stare at the pictures in.

1. Harry Potter Series J K Rowling: This has multiple layers, so to begin with: Honeydukes: I mean c’mon. We all want to be able to go into actual Honeydukes and try some of the crazily awesome sweets that are on offer; Florean Fortescue: I have been to the ice cream parlour in Harry Potter world, and even though I know this is as close as I can get, I wish I could be in the book on a warm afternoon with a scoop or 5; Mrs. Weasley’s cooking: She is just the quintessential home cook. Her food sounds amazing to eat, she makes an effort for special occasions, and never forgets daily meals are still for enjoying; Hogwarts feasts: My mouth is salivating just thinking about them.
2. The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins: Forget the poor districts for a moment, I am thinking strictly Capitol here, where food is not at a premium, where every single thing is on offer, and you are provided potions to make you sick so you can try everything and keep eating because there is just that much choice and you don’t want to miss out.
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl: There is something very magical about the idea of a chocolate factory. I think it takes us all back to our childhoods, where we dream of sweets and free access to crazy candy concoctions.
4. The Lord of the Rings J R R Tolkien: I really want to enter The Lord of the Rings books, and wander into Hobbiton. I want to enter The Green Dragon Inn, get a flagon of ale, and enjoy some proper home cooked food. Hobbits seem to live the best lives, and live by the best food schedules!
5. Cocktail Series Alice Clayton: Throughout the Cocktail series, but especially in those books featuring Caroline, there is a central theme of cooking that seaps its way through. Whether it’s eating at the local diner, getting takeout from the local restaurant, or baking the most delicious sounding pies in the world.

5 Favourite Cookbooks

1. Nigella‘s Christmas Nigella Lawson: This just makes me think of home over Christmas, and of chorizo chocolate chilli.
2. Lean in 15 Joe Wicks: I like what Joe Wicks has done. He’s made time conscious cooking look and taste appealing, while being healthy and easy to master. And he has made the recipes possible for one person.
3. The Tucci Table Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt: OK, so we haven’t actually ever made anything from this book (yet) but we bought it because of Tucci’s masculine forearms, and the stunning food pictures within. I think I might attempt some things from this book over the next month to change up my diet repertoire.
4. One Pot Cooking Pocket Chef series: This has been such an awesome little book, even for just meal ideas. We have a slow cooker that we don’t use nearly as much as we could or should do, but it’s nice to find easy, bung it in the slow cooker and let it do it’s thing recipes.
5. The Whitehouse Family Cookbook: This is not a cookbook, or something you will find anywhere other than my parents cupboard. It’s a thick collection of hand written recipes that have been passed down the generations, it’s full of recipes cut out of magazines and newspapers that someone has discovered at some time in the past, and has the odd recipe card from the back of a packet or the entrance to a supermarket thrown in for good measure. I desperately hope I inherit it some day.

All this talk of food has left me hungry!! What books featuring all things food do you particularly love? I’d love to hear about them below.