The holidays. They bring us lots of cooking challenges and lots of book gift giving. Knowing both are right around the corner, we pulled together a list of the best cookbooks to get and give, whether you’re a beginner or the most gifted of chefs. The one rule of this post is you MUST treat the messenger with your favorite dish from each book. You have my number.
A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis boasts a great book for the beginner to the career chef. In this book you’ll find seasonal, market-driven menus, from spring’s Supper of the Lamb (Warm Asparagus Vinaigrette; Shoulder of Spring Lamb with Flageolet Beans and Olive Relish; Rum Baba with Cardamom) to winter’s North African Comfort Food (Carrot and Coriander Salad; Chicken Tagine with Pumpkin and Chickpeas). Best of all, Tanis is an engaging guide with a genuine gift for words, whose soulful approach to food will make any kitchen, big or small, a warm and compelling place to spend time.
All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Art by Molly Stevens breaks down how and when to use high heat, moderate heat, or low heat to produce juicy, well-seared meats, caramelized drippings, and concentrated flavors. Her 150 recipes feature the full range of dishes from beef, lamb, pork, and poultry to seafood and vegetables including Sunday supper roast chicken, herb-roasted shrimp, and blasted broccoli.
America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook is an all-purpose cookbook delivering 800 foolproof recipes for healthier everyday fare from breakfast dishes and appetizers to pasta, meat, chicken, kid-friendly favorites, desserts, and more. There’s a recipe for healthy pancakes in here. Enough said.
Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan includes many superb renditions of the great classics: a glorious cheese-domed onion soup, a spoon-tender beef daube, and the “top-secret†chocolate mousse recipe that every good Parisian cook knows—but won’t reveal. Dorie captures all the excitement of French home cooking, sharing disarmingly simple dishes she has gathered over years of living in France.
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten writes recipes that make home cooks look fancy but any of us (well, most of us) can prepare. I love anything named Foolproof. Check out this Food Network star’s takes easy a step further, sharing her secrets for pulling off deeply satisfying meals that have that “wow!†factor we all crave.
Bride & Groom: First and Forever Cookbook by Barber & Whiteford will be Katherine’s second gift to me when I get all hitched up (her first will be to actually teach me three dishes I can cook to perfection). The book is for any new bride who wants to show her man she can get it done in the kitchen. Y’all know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…
Frank Stitt’s Southern Table by Frank Stitt, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Pat Conroy is basically the “I cannot live without this book†from both Katherine and Nikki. He’s a Southern chef and teaches us how to fix everything from Spicy Green Tomato and Peach Relish, Spoonbread, and Pickled Shrimp to Slow-Roasted Black Grouper with Ham and Pumpkin Pirlau and Pork Loin with Corn Pudding and Grilled Eggplant. Desserts such as Bourbon Panna Cotta and Sweet Potato Tart with Coconut Crust. (GAH! I’m so hungry!)
Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America by Maricel Presilla makes you wanna salsa in your kitchen and turn down the AC because this food is Latin Lover hot! This one book features 500 recipes for the full range of dishes, from the foundational adobos and sofritos to empanadas and tamales to ceviches and moles to sancocho and desserts such as flan and tres leches cake.
Mastering Fermentation: Recipes for Making and Cooking with Fermented Foods by Mary Karlin with an introduction to the wide world of fermentation, explaining essential equipment, ingredients, processes, and techniques. The diverse chapters cover everything from fermented dairy to grains and breads; legumes, nuts, and aromatics; and fermented beverages.
Not Afraid of Flavor: Recipes from Magnolia Grill by Ben & Karen Barker feature two well-reknowned chefs, who happened to also be married, AND run the delicious Magnolia Grill in Durham. While not strictly Southern, many of the dishes display a Southern sensibility–making creative use of regional ingredients or offering a new twist on a familiar favorite. Clear, detailed directions encourage readers to try such “fearless” creations as okra rellenos, spicy green tomato soup with crab and country ham, pan-roasted duck breast with sun-dried cherry conserve, striped bass with oyster stew, wild mushroom bread pudding, brown sugar pear poundcake, and Jack Daniels vanilla ice cream. These aren’t simple but they’re well-worth the time spent cooking.
Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart will make you feel so okay about carbs. Or propel you through your next hardcore workout. Reinhart begins with the simplest French bread, then moves on to familiar classics such as ciabatta, pizza dough, and soft sandwich loaves, and concludes with fresh specialty items like pretzels, crackers, croissants, and bagels. Each recipe is broken into “Do Ahead” and “On Baking Day” sections, making every step–from preparation through pulling pans from the oven–a breeze, whether you bought your loaf pan yesterday or decades ago.
The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert is hailed the queen of Mediterranean cooking and provides quite a delicious guide of recipes forfood lovers. Lavishly photographed and packed with tantalizing recipes to please the modern palate, The Food of Morocco provides helpful preparation techniques for chefs, home cooks, and any serious student of the culinary arts and culture.
The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen by Matt Lee and Tim Lee hail from Charleston and moved to NYC and cook real good. I may or may not have googled to see if they are single. In this book the brothers show us how to cook She-Crab Soup, Hoppin’ John, and Huguenot Torte, but the Lee brothers also aim to reacquaint home cooks with treasures lost to time, like chewy-crunchy, salty-sweet Groundnut Cakes and Syllabub with Rosemary Glazed Figs.
The Pie & Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum is my dream come true if the goodness pops out of the page and into my kitchen. In this book you’ll find, easy-to-follow recipes for fruit pies, chiffon pies, custard pies, ice-cream pies, meringue pies, chocolate pies, tarts and tartlets, turnovers, dumplings, biscuits, scones, crostadas, galettes, strudel, fillo, puff pastry, croissants (chocolate, too), Danish, brioche, sticky buns, cream puffs, and profiteroles.
