Our good friend Penelope Casas has added another excellent cookbook to her impressive collection.

Personally, I think it is her best ---written with warmth and maturity. It is an invaluable key to the essence of Spanish cuisine.

Penelope presents "down home" recipes prepared by Spanish families through the years. These dishes, many from the families of world-famous chefs, serve as the foundation of the exciting cuisine that America is just beginning to explore as they capture the 'alegre' of Spain, which is exactly why our family brings you La Tienda.   (more info)

Our good friend Penelope Casas has added another excellent cookbook to her impressive collection.

Personally, I think it is her best ---written with warmth and maturity. It is an invaluable key to the essence of Spanish cuisine.

Penelope presents "down home" recipes prepared by Spanish families through the years. These dishes, many from the families of world-famous chefs, serve as the foundation of the exciting cuisine that America is just beginning to explore as they capture the 'alegre' of Spain, which is exactly why our family brings you La Tienda.

In this latest of her six cookbooks, Penelope Casas -- bearer of the gold standard of Spanish food writing -- has created a cookbook brimming with the irresistible flavors of authentic Spanish home cooking: simple, homespun food that reminds everyone of home and hearth: baby lamb chops, succulent garlic chicken, rib-sticking bean stews -- comfort foods beyond compare.

"What could be more basic than one of Spain's most beloved dishes, tortilla española, made from nothing more that egg, potato, and olive oil." writes Ms Casas, "or irresistible tortas de aceite, short wafers with just two principal ingredients: flour and olive oil? ... But it is the special touches that each imparts to even the most tradition-bound dishes that spark my interest."

Her book is perfect for cooks of all levels, as well as those who dream of going (or returning) to Spain.

Charlie Trotter, one of the preeminent restaurateurs in the world, summed up Penelope's new book perfectly: "The culinary innovation that the leading Spanish chefs have thrust upon the world over the past decade has been truly exhilarating. Now with 'La Cocina de Mamá', Penelope Casas shows us where their influences come from -- their mother's cooking! What a splendid and inspired work. Anyone who loves the exuberance and simplicity of Spanish cooking absolutely must have this sensational book."  (less info)