Whether you’re searching for new holiday recipes or just want to spice up your everyday gourmet, fall is the perfect time to channel your inner Ina Garten. The latest cookbooks will provide inspiration for your own kitchen, and delight the foodies on your gift list. Check out our list of tempting titles from an HGTV star’s favorite recipes for entertaining to Southern classics from a Hollywood A-lister. Stop by Park Road Books to stock up or shop via the Amazon links below (book summaries pulled from Amazon).
Comfort Food
Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter)
“As America’s most trusted and beloved cookbook author, Ina Garten–the Barefoot Contessa–has taught millions of people how to cook. A home cook at heart, Ina knows that cooking and entertaining can be difficult, so to make her recipes simple and streamlined, she tests and retests each recipe until it’s as straightforward and delicious as possible. Although Ina is completely self-taught and doesn’t consider herself to be a “professional” cook, she has spent decades working with chefs and learning the techniques that take their cooking to the next level. In Cook Like a Pro, Ina shares some of her most irresistible recipes and very best “pro tips,” from the secret to making her custardy, slow-cooked Truffled Scrambled Eggs to the key to the crispiest and juiciest Fried Chicken Sandwiches. Ina will even show you how to make an easy yet showstopping pattern for her Chocolate Chevron Cake–your friends won’t believe you decorated it yourself!
For Ina, cooking like a pro also means hosting like a pro, and along with know-how like how to tell when a filet of beef is perfectly cooked, you’ll find dozens of other great ideas to boost your cooking and entertaining skills such as how to set up an elegant home bar and how to make an impressive Raspberry Baked Alaska that can be completely prepared ahead of time so all you need to do is finish it for your guests before serving. Beginner and advanced cooks alike will love Ina’s delectable recipes, and if you have questions along the way, don’t worry–Ina’s practical cooking advice talks you through every detail, as though she were right there by your side.
With beautiful photos and a treasury of pro tips that span prepping, making, and serving, as Ina says, “You don’t have to be a pro to cook like one!””
The Happy Cookbook: A Celebration of the Food That Makes America Smile by Steve Doocy (William Morrow Cookbooks)
“A beautiful, full-color collection of recipes and stories that celebrate comfort and inspire happiness all year round from Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy and his wife, Kathy.
Steve Doocy calls Kathy, his wife of more than thirty years, “the best cook I’ve ever met.” Together, they take joy in cooking and entertaining with their family and friends. In The Happy Cookbook, the Doocys share favorite recipes, stories, and photos from their family life. In addition to beloved family dishes, this full-color cookbook includes recipes from friends like musician Kid Rock, professional golfer Greg Norman, and many more!
The Happy Cookbook will not only appeal to Steve’s legions of Fox & Friends fans, but to anyone looking for accessible, fun, and delicious food that will inspire great meals for every day and for special occasions. The Happy Cookbook includes a range of yummy dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, such as:
• Steve’s Breakfast Smoothie
• Eggs in a Nest
• Roma Tomato Flatbread
• Pimento Cheese Dip
• Bacon Corn Chowder
• Flaky Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
• Mamma Marie’s Meatballs
• Kid Rock’s Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie
• Ritz Cracker Breaded Pork Chop
• Buffalo Chicken Calzone
• Kathy’s Famous Sugar Cookies
• Betty’s Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake
Offering an inside look at the Doocys’ home life—their food, stories, and infectious family spirit—The Happy Cookbook is all-American home cooking at its best: nothing fancy, and everything delicious!”
Cravings: Hungry for More by Chrissy Teigen (Clarkson Potter)
“Cravings: Hungry for More takes us further into Chrissy’s kitchen . . . and life. It’s a life of pancakes that remind you of blueberry pie, eating onion dip with your glam squad, banana bread that breaks the internet, and a little something called Pad Thai Carbonara. After two years of parenthood, falling in love with different flavors, and relearning the healing power of comfort food, this book is like Chrissy’s new edible diary: recipes for quick-as-a-snap meals; recipes for lighter, brighter, healthier-ish living; and recipes that, well, are gonna put you to bed, holding your belly. And it will have you hungry for more.”
Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies by Cathy Barrow (Grand Central Life & Style)
“The delicious new food trend of slab pies that makes it easy to serve sweet or savory pastry to a crowd-or just your family!
For those of you who aren’t up on your Pinterest food trends, slab pie is just like regular pie-only better (and bigger)! Instead of crimping and meticulously rolling out a round crust, slab pies are an unfussy twist that are perfect for a potluck or dinner party or just a family dinner. Baked on sheet pans, slab pies can easily serve a crowd of people dinner or dessert. Pie Squared includes seventy-five foolproof recipes, along with inventive decoration tips that will appeal to baking nerds and occasional bakers alike. And this fresh, uncomplicated take on pie will surely pique the interest of those who have previously been reluctant to take out their rolling pin.
Barrow didn’t invent slab pie, but she definitely thinks outside of the crust. In addition to traditional pie dough, she offers more than a dozen crust recipes-from cracker crusts and cornbread crusts to cookie crusts and cheddar cheese crusts. Using these as a base, Barrow then entices readers with both savory and sweet slab pie creations, with recipes like Spinach, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Slab Pie and Curried Chicken Slab Pie to Sour Cream Peach Melba Slab Pie and Grande Mocha Cappuccino Slab Pie. The first book of its kind, this will appeal to lovers of easy food trends like sheet pan suppers and dump cakes. Don’t be surprised when you start spying slab pies at your next potluck!”
New Classics
The Kitchy Kitchen: New Classics for Living Deliciously by Claire Thomas (Atria/Emily Bestler Books)
“A playful and delicious cookbook from the host of ABC’s Food for Thought with Claire Thomas and creator of the much loved food blog The Kitchy Kitchen.
Every cook needs an arsenal of staples, whether for the perfect dinner party entrée to wow a crowd, or throw-it-together lunches for lazy afternoons…but we all know that the real fun comes in making basic recipes your own. The Kitchy Kitchen is tastemaker Claire Thomas’s solution for amping up your everyday culinary routine, introducing her approach to her own kitchen: loose, personal, unfussy, and most of all, fun.
With new takes on classic favorites—think adding farmer’s market peaches to upgrade a BLT, spicing up tempura cauliflower with a zesty harissa sauce, or transforming basic red velvet cupcakes into decadent pancakes—this cookbook is filled with fresh, produce-driven recipes for every skill set and occasion. It’s your best friend and personal chef, all rolled into one. Gorgeously illustrated and peppered with stylish entertaining tips and quirky essays that will inspire you to take the recipes you love and make them new, The Kitchy Kitchen will make your life in the kitchen a little easier, a little more fabulous, and positively delicious.”
Delish: Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend by Joanna Saltz and the Editors of Delish (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
“You don’t have to know how to cook, you just have to love to eat.
Delish.com speaks to food lovers who don’t fancy themselves chefs—and they do it through helpful, shareable recipes that are as fun to watch as they are to make. Now, they’ve crammed all of that insanity and entertainment into their first-ever cookbook. Inside, you’ll find more than 275 recipes and ideas that are meant to be devoured, not perfected—including Quesadilla Cake, Chicken Fried Cauliflower, and Cookie Dough Cheesecake—plus their best tips, tricks, and indispensable advice.
Eating healthy gets a whole lot easier with this delicious collection of 75 recipes–each one photographed–for nutritious and satisfying meals made quickly in your electric pressure cooker, all developed by a certified nutritionist and cookbook author for maximum health and flavor.”
Once Upon a Chef, the Cookbook: 100 Tested, Perfected, and Family-Approved Recipes by Jennifer Segal (Chronicle Books)
“If you’re a fan of Chrissy Teigen, Skinnytaste, Pioneer Woman, or Oh She Glowscookbooks, you’ll love Once Upon a Chef
Become the favorite family chef: Once upon a time Jenn Segal went to culinary school and worked in fancy restaurants. One marriage and two kids later she created Once Upon a Chef, the popular blog that applies her tried-and-true chef skills with delicious, fresh, and approachable ingredients for family-friendly meals. In Jenn’s book she shares 100 recipes that will up your kitchen game while surprising you with their ease. With the authority of a professional chef and the practicality of a busy working mom, Jenn teaches you to improve your cooking one recipe at a time, with helpful tips on topics such as how to season correctly with salt, how to balance flavors, and how to make the most of leftovers.
The healthy cookbook for every meal of the day:
• Breakfast favorites like Maple, Coconut & Blueberry Granola and Savory Ham & Cheese Waffles
• Simple soups, salads, and sandwiches for ideal lunches (try the Fiery Roasted Tomato Soup paired with Smoked Gouda & Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches)
• Entrées the whole family will love like Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
• Tasty treats for those casual get-togethers like Buttery Cajun Popcorn and Sweet, Salty & Spicy Pecans
• Go-to sweets such as Toffee Almond Sandies and a Classic Chocolate Lover’s Birthday Cake
If you have used recipes from Magnolia Table or Smitten Kitchen, you will want to own Once Upon a Chef: Flip through the pages of this book, and you’ll want to make every recipe-whether it’s an easy family dinner your kids will love, an indulgent dessert for someone special, or fun cocktails and appetizers for your friends. This is the book you’ll turn to again and again, and with Jenn by your side in the kitchen, every meal will taste like the best night out!”
Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita by Giada De Laurentiis (Clarkson Potter)
“With photos shot on location around her native Rome, Giada’s latest book–a New York Times bestseller–is a lavish exploration of her food roots and the lifestyle traditions that define la bella vita, with the contemporary California twist that has made her America’s most beloved Italian chef.
America knows and loves Giada De Laurentiis for her lighter, healthier takes on classic Italian fare. In her newest cookbook, she invites fans and home cooks to get to know the flavors and stories that have inspired her life’s work. Here, she shares recipes for authentic Italian dishes as her family has prepared them for years while infusing them with her signature fresh flavors to make them her own, like in her Grilled Swordfish with Candied Lemon Salad; Spaghetti with Chianti and Fava Beans; Asparagus with Grilled Melon Salad; Bruschetta with Burrata and Kale Salsa Verde; and Fennel Upside Down Cake. Filled with gorgeous photography of Italy, peppered with family stories, and complete with more of Giada’s tips and advice for cooking up fabulous meals with ease, Giada’s Italy is a stunning celebration of Italy’s flavors as only Giada could present them.”
Recipes for Entertaining
Platters and Boards: Beautiful, Casual Spreads for Every Occasion by Shelly Westerhausen with Wyatt Worcel (Chronicle Books)
“Entertaining and party dishes from Platters and Boards: Celebrated author and food blogger Shelly Westerhausen shares the secrets to creating casually chic spreads anyone can make and everyone will enjoy (and envy) in her bestselling Platters and Boards cookbook. This visual cornucopia of a cookbook is the guide to entertaining with effortless style.
Platters and Boards is an inspiring resource for throwing unforgettable get-togethers: Organized by time of day, 40 contemporary arrangements are presented with gorgeous photography, easy-to-prepare recipes, suggested meat and drink pairings, and notes on preparation and presentation.
Helpful advice includes:
• Tips on portioning
• Guides to picking surfaces and vessels
• Recommendations for pairing complementary textures and flavors
• A handy chart featuring board suggestions for a variety of occasions (from holiday parties to baby showers)
Fans of Cook Beautiful, The Art of the Cheese Plate, InStyle Parties, Magnolia Table, and Cravings will love Platters and Boards.”
Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering by Joanna Gaines (William Morrow Cookbooks)
“Magnolia Table is infused with Joanna Gaines’ warmth and passion for all things family, prepared and served straight from the heart of her home, with recipes inspired by dozens of Gaines family favorites and classic comfort selections from the couple’s new Waco restaurant, Magnolia Table.
Jo believes there’s no better way to celebrate family and friendship than through the art of togetherness, celebrating tradition, and sharing a great meal. Magnolia Table includes 125 classic recipes—from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to small plates, snacks, and desserts—presenting a modern selection of American classics and personal family favorites. Complemented by her love for her garden, these dishes also incorporate homegrown, seasonal produce at the peak of its flavor. Inside Magnolia Table, you’ll find recipes the whole family will enjoy, such as:
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Asparagus and Fontina Quiche
• Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Bacon, Toasted Pecans, and Balsamic Reduction
• Peach Caprese
• Overnight French Toast
• White Cheddar Bisque
• Fried Chicken with Sticky Poppy Seed Jam
• Lemon Pie
• Mac and Cheese
Full of personal stories and beautiful photos, Magnolia Table is an invitation to share a seat at the table with Joanna Gaines and her family.”
Tastes of the South
Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon (Touchstone)
“Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said that a combination of beauty and strength made southern women “whiskey in a teacup.” We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside we’re strong and fiery.
Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she meets. She takes the South wherever she goes with bluegrass, big holiday parties, and plenty of Dorothea’s fried chicken. It’s reflected in how she entertains, decorates her home, and makes holidays special for her kids—not to mention how she talks, dances, and does her hair (in these pages, you will learn Reese’s fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique). Reese loves sharing Dorothea’s most delicious recipes as well as her favorite southern traditions, from midnight barn parties to backyard bridal showers, magical Christmas mornings to rollicking honky-tonks.
It’s easy to bring a little bit of Reese’s world into your home, no matter where you live. After all, there’s a southern side to every place in the world, right?”
Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration by Carla Hall and Genevieve Ko (Harper Wave)
“Beloved TV chef (ABC’s Emmy Award-winning The Chew and fan favorite on Bravo’s Top Chef), Carla Hall takes us back to her own Nashville roots to offer a fresh, lip-smackin’ look at America’s favorite comfort cuisine.
In Carla Hall’s Soul Food, the beloved chef and television celebrity takes us back to her own Nashville roots to offer a fresh, lip-smackin’ look at America’s favorite comfort cuisine and traces soul food’s history from Africa and the Caribbean to the American South. Carla shows us that soul food is more than barbecue and mac and cheese. Traditionally a plant-based cuisine, everyday soul food is full of veggie goodness that’s just as delicious as cornbread and fried chicken.
From Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Hot Sauce Vinaigrette to Tomato Pie with Garlic Bread Crust, the recipes in Carla Hall’s Soul Food deliver her distinctive Southern flavors using farm-fresh ingredients. The results are light, healthy, seasonal dishes with big, satisfying tastes—the mouthwatering soul food everyone will want a taste of.
Recipes include:
• Cracked Shrimp with Comeback Sauce
• Ghanaian Peanut Beef Stew with Onions and Celery
• Caribbean Smothered Chicken with Coconut, Lime, and Chiles
• Roasted Cauliflower with Raisins and Lemon-Pepper Millet
• Field Peas with Country Ham
• Chunky Tomato Soup with Roasted Okra Rounds
• Sweet Potato Pudding with Clementines
• Poured Caramel Cake
With Carla Hall’s Soul Food, you can indulge in rich celebration foods, such as deviled eggs, buttermilk biscuits, Carla’s famous take on Nashville hot fried chicken, and a decadent coconut cream layer cake.
Featuring 145 original recipes, 120 color photographs, and a whole lotta love, Carla Hall’s Soul Food is a wonderful blend of the modern and the traditional—honoring soul food’s heritage and personalizing it with Carla’s signature fresh style. The result is an irresistible and open-hearted collection of recipes and stories that share love and joy, identity, and memory.”
Mississippi Vegan: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Boy’s Heart by by Timothy Pakron (Avery)
“Celebrate the gorgeous and delicious possibilities of plant-based Southern cuisine.
Inspired by the landscape and flavors of his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Timothy Pakron found his heart, soul, and calling in cooking the Cajun, Creole, and southern classics of his youth. In his debut cookbook, he shares 125 plant-based recipes, all of which substitute ingredients without sacrificing depth of flavor and reveal the secret tradition of veganism in southern cooking.
Finding ways to re-create his experiences growing up in the South–making mud pies and admiring the deep pink azaleas–on the plate, Pakron looks to history and nature as his guides to creating the richest food possible. Filled with as many evocative photographs and stories as easy-to-follow recipes, Mississippi Vegan is an ode to the transporting and ethereal beauty of the food and places you love.”
Healthy Cuisine
The Whole30 Slow Cooker: 150 Totally Compliant Prep-and-Go Recipes for Your Whole30 ― with Instant Pot Recipes by Melissa Hartwig (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
“Since 2009, millions of people have transformed their lives with the Whole30. Now, co-creator Melissa Hartwig is making it even easier to achieve Whole30 success with delicious slow cooker recipes that turn ingredients into delicious, hearty meals while you’re out and about. This follow-up to the best-selling The Whole30 Cookbook is packed with 150 recipes designed to get you out of the kitchen fast, so you can enjoy all the benefits of your Whole30-inspired lifestyle. The Whole30 Slow Cooker features delicious, no-fuss dinners that cook while you work; roasts that transform into tacos, salads, and soups, for easy meals throughout the week; and satisfying one-pot meals that make prep and cleanup a breeze.
These creative meals use whole-food ingredients found in any supermarket, and as an added bonus, feature recipes and directions for making your meals Instant Pot-friendly!”
The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook: 75 Easy Recipes for Light Meals to Make in Your Electric Pressure Cooker by Megan Gilmore (Ten Speed Press)
“In The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook, Megan Gilmore presents recipes that use easy-to-find, whole-food ingredients for simple weeknight meals from morning to night–through the revolutionary cooking power of the Instant Pot, an electric, programmable multicooker. There are gluten-free options for each recipe, and all recipes are free of refined sugar and many of the most common food allergens, yet don’t scrimp on flavor. With dishes like Korean Chicken Bowls, Eggplant Parmesan Bake, Peanut Butter Crunch Granola Bars, Flourless Banana Oat Bread, and One-Pot Chocolate Cake and Frosting, following a healthy diet while enjoying your favorite whole foods has never been more achievable. Every recipe is photographed in this highly visual and information-rich collection, and also includes nutritional information (calories, fat, carbs, fiber, and protein) and detailed timing for prep, coming to pressure, cook time, and release time.”
Inspiralized and Beyond: Spiralize, Chop, Rice, and Mash Your Vegetables into Creative, Craveable Meals by Ali Maffucci (Clarkson Potter)
“Spiralizing isn’t just about noodles anymore, so blogger Ali Maffucci satisfies paleo, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets with 125 healthy recipes for vegetarians and meat-eaters. Now, for the very first time, she is going beyond expectations—and beyond spiralizing. In this book she shows you a myriad of additional ways to add nutrients to your diet, reach a personal health goal, or just make good-for-you meals at home. Sweet potato slabs replace toast, cauliflower becomes pizza crust, broccoli turns into tots, avocado gets moussed, jackfruit mimics pulled meat—and that’s just the beginning. Among the brand-new recipes, complete with nutritional information, you’ll find Rainbow Lasagna, Apple French Toast, and Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri. Rest assured, Ali still offers up some favorite spiralized dishes, too. Get ready to get your veggies on.”
Skinnytaste One and Done: 140 No-Fuss Dinners for Your Instant Pot®, Slow Cooker, Air Fryer, Sheet Pan, Skillet, Dutch Oven, and More by Gina Homolka (Clarkson Potter)
“Skinnytaste One and Done is the perfect resource for busy home cooks looking for easy, good-for-you dinnertime solutions. #1 New York Times bestselling author Gina Homolka incorporates her healthy, flavor-forward recipes with everyone’s favorite way to cook—in one vessel, whether a sheet pan or multi-cooker, and everything in-between. No matter if you’d like to lose weight or just eat a little healthier, this book will make your weeknight dinner routine even simpler with satisfying, all-in-one recipes. Cooking in a single vessel means streamlined dinners with minimal fuss and cleanup—a huge plus after a long day.
The cookbook is organized by vessels that include everyday cooking equipment such as an Instant Pot®, a sheet pan, a Dutch oven, a skillet, a slow cooker, and an air fryer. As always, the recipes are big on flavor and light on calories, and now more convenient than ever. With 140 healthy, family-friendly recipes, 120 full-color photos, nutritional information for every recipe, and Gina’s signature cooking tips, Skinnytaste One and Done will be a weeknight game changer. Even if you don’t own all of the appliances, Gina gives alternative cooking directions using everyday cooking equipment where possible, so you won’t miss out.”
Sweet Treats
Food52 Genius Desserts: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Bake by Kristen Miglore (Food52 Works)
“In this follow-up to the IACP award-winning, New York Times best-selling cookbook Genius Recipes, Food52 is back with the most beloved and talked-about desserts of our time (and the under-the-radar gems that will soon join their ranks)—in a collection that will make you a local legend, and a smarter baker to boot.
Drawing from her James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column and powered by the cooking wisdom and generosity of the Food52 community, creative director Kristen Miglore set out to unearth the most game-changing dessert recipes from beloved cookbook authors, chefs, and bakers—and collect them all in one indispensable guide.
This led her to iconic desserts spanning the last century: Maida Heatter’s East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies, and Nancy Silverton’s Butterscotch Budino. But it also turned up little-known gems: a comforting Peach Cobbler with Hot Sugar Crust from Renee Erickson and an imaginative Parsnip Cake with Blood Orange Buttercream from Lucky Peach, along with genius tips, riffs, and mini-recipes, and the lively stories behind each one.
The genius of this collection is that Kristen has scouted out and rigorously tested recipes from the most trusted dessert experts, finding over 100 of their standouts. Each recipe shines in a different way and teaches you something new, whether it’s how to use unconventional ingredients (like Sunset’s whole orange cake), how to make the most of brilliant methods (roasted sugar from Stella Parks), or how to embrace stunning simplicity (Dorie Greenspan’s three-ingredient cookies). With photographer James Ransom’s riveting images throughout, Genius Desserts is destined to become every baker’s go-to reference for the very best desserts from the smartest teachers of our time—for all the dinner parties, potlucks, bake sales, and late-night snacks in between.”
Baking All Year Round: Holidays & Special Occasions by Rosanna Pansino (Atria Books)
“New York Times bestselling author of The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook and beloved YouTube star Rosanna Pansino is back with a delicious and inspired new collection of recipes!
In this book you will find more than 85 recipes for many of the holidays and special occasions that Rosanna Pansino’s family celebrates, such as Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and more. It will be your guide for years to come with fun, creative, and delicious ideas to make and share. This book has everything you’ll need to make a lasting impression. It’s also sprinkled with several recipes that are either gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy and celebrate all year round!”
All About Cake by Christina Tosi (Clarkson Potter)
“Welcome to the sugar-fueled, manically creative cake universe of Christina Tosi.
It’s a universe of ooey-gooey banana-chocolate-peanut butter cakes you make in a crockpot, of layer cakes that taste like Key lime pie, and the most baller birthday cake ever.
From her home kitchen to the creations of her beloved Milk Bar, All About Cake covers everything: two-minute microwave mug cakes, buttery Bundts and pounds, her famous cake truffles and, of course, her signature naked layer cakes filled with pops of flavors and textures.
But more than just a collection of Christina’s greatest-hits recipes (c’mon, like that’s not enough?) this book will be your guide for how to dream up and make cakes of any flavor you can think of, whether you’re a kitchen rookie or a full-fledged baking hardbody.”
