Just bought a couple of excellent books which I would recommend particularly for those on this side of the pond or for anyone of Irish descent:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1856267296/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1ZJ8MGQV4TG9RMS5Q256&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Skills-Cooking-time-honoured-recipes/dp/1856267881/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
The cheapest place I have found to buy them is:
http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/
at £9.99 each, against rrp of £30 each. ;) Both these books are over 600 pages each and with free delivery over £25 in the UK it is well worth spending the extra fiver to qualify for this.
One of them has a good section on food smoking together with some great recipes, the reviews say it all.
Thanks for the recommendation manxman.... it's really quite funny timing. I just watched the film "Julie & Julia" last night and once again found myself coveting a copy of Larousse Gastronomique (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Larousse-Gastronomique-Greatest-Cookery-Encyclopedia/dp/0600602354/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268304193&sr=1-3) and now possibly the Julia Child book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Vol/dp/0375413405/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268304269&sr=1-11)" The Larousse book is quite expensive though, but I did notice my wife paying particular attention when I mentioned it, so who knows, it may appear on my birthday or something ;)
I do tend to collect interesting cookbooks.... my last purchase was a fantastic Middle Eastern book by Tess Mallos called "The Complete Middle East Cookbook".... I find them fascinating.... and my wife think I'm slightly crazy sitting in bed at night with a stack of them around me learning about different things.
QuoteI do tend to collect interesting cookbooks....
I am exactly the same, and I also admit to the odd late night sitting in bed nosing through them!! :-[
The Middle East Cookbook sounds right up my street, will check it out.
I am off skiing on Saturday to France so may well come back with a desire to learn more about French cooking. ;) :D