Cooking with maple everything

So to launch maple season in style, here's two awesomely great cookbooks!

First of all, winner of the Paris Cookbook Fair's "Cookbook of the year 2012" award: Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack, by Martin Picard.

The book is simply a work of art, filled with pictures, drawings, stories and anecdotes.  Doesn't matter if you like to cook or not, it's beautiful to look at.
The recipes' complexity goes from simple to Saint-honoré, so you should be able to find something you can make without setting your kitchen on fire or throwing the book out the window, which would be a bad idea 'cause it weights a ton and might kill someone if you live on the 2nd floor.


For those who prefer to keep a more classical approach, le Grand Livre de l'Érable is for you... if you can read french. A collaboration between Philippe Mollé and the Fédération des Producteurs Acéricoles du Québec, the book has three distinct chapters.

The first part talks about maple in all its shapes and colors; the history, legends, chemistry, properties and classifications. The second part is a collection of 40 of the best family recipes from all over Québec.
The last part has recipes by les Créatifs de l'Érable, professional chefs from Québec and Europe who work with maple to elevate it to another level.

Both books have been on my kitchen table for a few days and are steadily getting filled with post-it bookmarks.  I'm waiting for my annual trips to the sugar shack to fill in on maple goodness and start cooking!