How often do you cook 'Spanish Food' and what books do you use?

[Ben]

Is Spanish food just for eating out (or in Spain) or do you whip something up in the kitchen every now and again?

Do you have a favourite recipe book you like to use?

[Brian]

We usually cook Spanish once a week or so. As my wife is Spanish, all our meals are Span-American, that is, she uses a lot of ingredients that one would find in Spanish food.

I'll cook a Paella over a wood fire once every few months or so.

We use a couple of cookbooks, and I've put publication information with them, if anyone were interested in ordering them:

Cooking in Spain by Janet Mendel Searl, copyright 1987 by Lookout Publications, SA.

This book is very interesting to read, as she ties her experiences in Spain with the recipes. Featured are a lot of local specialties. I've yet to use it extensively, as some ingredients are difficult to obtain. They just don't sell rabbit at the local markets, and fresh seafood is even more of a difficulty. On the negative side, my English measuring system mindset is used to ounces, cups, and the like, rather than litres and millilitres, so I'm always translating the quantities while cooking.

Classic Tapas by Rafael de Haro, copyright 2003, Edara Ediciones, S.L.

This is a very good tapa book, including a recipe for Ben's favorite croquetas. Fortunately, this has both metric and English measurement units, and the recipes are simple affairs, very easy to make.