Everyone loves to eat!
As the weather gets cooler, I am always inspired to try out new cookbooks and make new recipes. In addition to loving to eat and to feed people, I also think that cookbooks make amazing gifts. Every year, I give my brother a cookbook for his birthday or Christmas, but I always take it home and try it out first. Not only does my brother get a new cookbook to try, but he also gets one full of notes and food dribbles so that when he cooks, it can be like we are cooking together. Some people say that this is such a sweet tradition, but the reality is it gives me an excuse to buy a book that I am curious about. I cook out of it, passing all of my notes and ideas on to him, that way I get all the perks of a new cookbook and do not have to necessarily keep it if I feel that it has done its duty. Sometimes, however, the book is so good that I keep it and get him another one. Sibling love... This is so much fun, I have started doing the same for my son and daughter. My daughter is vegan, and my son is an ardent omnivore. So, I get to expand the range of my cooking experiences complete with smudges, spills and notes.
Here is my short list of delicious reads, enjoy and Bon Appetit!
Do you wish you could cook more, but don't know where to start? Bee Wilson has spent years collecting cooking "secrets" ways of speeding cooking up or slowing it down, strategies for days when you are stretched for time, and other ideas for when you can luxuriate in kitchen therapy. Bee holds out a hand to anyone who wants doable, delicious recipes, the kind of unfussy food that makes every day taste better: quick feasts from a can of beans; fast, medium, and slow ragus; and seven ways to cook a carrot. With advice on seasoning, cleaning up, and choosing the best equipment, Wilson reimagines modern cooking and brings the spark back into everyday meals. As Bee says, "There's still magic in the kitchen, if you know where to look."
Reads like a novel inspiring all kinds of kitchen experimentation. -- Rebecca G
East Meets Vegan: The Best of Asian Home Cooking, Plant-Based and Delicious by Sasha Gill
A vibrant tour of Asia in 90 vegan recipes. When Sasha Gill went vegan, she wasn't about to leave her family's home-cooked favorites behind. Pad thai without fish sauce? Curry without ghee? In East Meets Vegan, Sasha proves that Asian cooking can be plant-based--as well as easy, affordable, and delicious! Here are:
- Veganized favorites: Spring rolls, red bean pancakes, shiitake ramen, mango lassis
- Can't-believe-it's-vegan twists: Tandoori cauliflower "wings," pineapple fried rice, jackfruit biryani, "butter chicken," a sushi feast to feed a crowd.
- Mix-and-match pairings: Combine leftovers for your own take on Asian fusion.
Bursting with more than 100 sumptuous photographs, this is your passport to a culinary adventure--from the comfort of your kitchen.
Such a fun and tasty book!! -- Rebecca G (and her daughter Emily)
The ultimate guide for cooking outrageously delicious, vegetable-packed meals every day of the week, from bestselling author of The Love & Lemons Cookbook. Known for her insanely flavorful vegetable recipes and stunning photography, Jeanine Donofrio celebrates plants at the center of the plate with more than 100 new vegetarian recipes in Love & Lemons Every Day. In this book, Jeanine shows you how to make any meal, from breakfast to dessert, where produce is the star. Butternut squash becomes the best creamy queso you've ever eaten, broccoli transforms into a zesty green "rice" burrito filling, and sweet potato blends into a smooth chocolate frosting. These exciting and approachable recipes will become instant additions to your family's regular meal rotation.
This book is a resource, filled with smart tips for happier, healthier eating. You'll find inspiration from Jeanine's signature colorful infographics - such as a giant matrix of five-ingredient salad dressings, a guide to quick weeknight pastas, and a grid to show you how to roast any vegetable. There are also plenty of practical charts, such as a template to make versatile vegetable broth, seasonal produce guides, and clever ideas to use commonly tossed vegetable parts -- you'll never toss those cauliflower cores, corn cobs, or broccoli stalks again! Packed with imaginative everyday meals, go-to cooking tips, alternatives for dietary restrictions, and guides for mastering produce-based kitchen staples, Love & Lemons Every Day is a must-have for herbivores and omnivores alike.
Love the versatility of this book! -- Rebecca G (and her daughter Emily)
Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence by Claire Saffitz
"There are no 'just cooks' out there, only bakers who haven't yet been converted. I am a dessert person, and we are all dessert people."--Claire Saffitz
Claire Saffitz is a baking hero for a new generation. In Dessert Person, fans will find Claire's signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah (a babka-Challah mashup), Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie, Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake, Crispy Mushroom Galette, and Malted Forever Brownies. She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe--like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks (patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste!)--as well as practical do's and don'ts, skill level, prep and bake time, step-by-step photography, and foundational know-how. With her trademark warmth and superpower ability to explain anything baking related, Claire is ready to make everyone a dessert person.
Takes baking to a whole new level.-- Rebecca G
Home is Where the Eggs Are by Molly Yeh
Home Is Where the Eggs Are is a beautiful, intimate book full of food that's best enjoyed in the comfort of sweatpants and third-day hair, by a beloved Food Network host ("Girl Meets Farm") and new mom living on a sugar beet farm in East Grand Forks, MN. Molly Yeh's cooking is built to fit into life with her baby, Bernie, and the naptimes, diaper changes, and wiggle time that come with having a young child, making them a breeze to fit into any sort of schedule, no matter how busy. They're low-maintenance dishes that are satisfying to make for weeknight meals to celebrate empty to-do lists after long workdays, cozy Sunday soups to simmer during the first (or seventh!) snowfall of the year, and desserts that will keep happily under the cake dome for long enough that you will never feel pressure to share.
The flavors in this book draw inspiration from a distinctive blend of Molly's experiences--her Chinese and Jewish heritage, her time living in New York, her husband's Scandinavian heritage, and their farm in the upper Midwest. She uses seasonal ingredients that are common in her region while singlehandedly supporting the za'atar and sumac import industry in her small town. In Home Is Where the Eggs Are, the feeling of home starts in the kitchen; just melt some butter, fry an egg, and build a little memory around it. Home food with a twist!
Having lived here, I can totally appreciate Molly's recipes and comforting nature of this book! If you ever happen to be in East Grand Forks, MN, stop by Molly's restaurant, Bernies! You won't regret it. -- Rebecca G (and her son Ben)
Toya Boudy's father grew up in the Magnolia projects of New Orleans; her mother shared a tight space with five siblings uptown. They worked hard, rotated shifts, and found time to make meals from scratch for the family. In Cooking for the Culture, Boudy shares these recipes, many of which are deeply rooted in the proud Black traditions that shaped her hometown. Driving the cookbook are her personal stories: from struggling in school to having a baby at sixteen, from her growing confidence in the kitchen to her appearances on Food Network. The cookbook opens with Sweet Cream Farina, prepared at the crack of dawn for girls in freshly ironed clothes--being neat and pressed was important. Boudy recounts making cookies from her commodity box peanut butter; explains the know-how behind Smothered Chicken, Jambalaya, and Red Gravy; and shares her original television competition recipes. The result is a deeply personal and unique cookbook.
This book makes your tastebuds SING!-- Rebecca G and Hanna
Celebrate the rich culture of Ukrainian cuisine with these traditional Eastern European recipes infused with a fresh, contemporary approach for today's home kitchen, from one of today's most exciting young chefs of Ukrainian cuisine. With its emphasis on fresh ingredients, time-honored heritage, and warm hospitality, Eastern European cuisine is having a culinary moment, in addition to Ukraine being of great current interest. Meaning "cheers!" in Ukrainian, Budmo! is the first cookbook to celebrate classic Eastern European recipes with a modern, creative twist. Presented by Ukrainian-born, California-based chef, blogger, and culinary instructor Anna Voloshyna, bright flavors and vibrant ingredients sing from each plate. A gorgeous magenta pkhali comes alive with roasted beets and a tangy pomegranate molasses. Borscht is reinvented with green sorrels and semi-soft eggs. And Voloshyna even shares a personal recipe for her Ukrainian grandmother's duck--roasted to a delicious crispy-brown perfection. These are the dishes that are perfect for gathering your favorite people with, and each one is bound to uncover the mouthwatering flavors and traditions of this endlessly fascinating part of the world.
This book is as delicious as it is BEAUTIFUL! -- Rebecca G and Hanna
Savor: Entertaining with Charcuterie, Cheese, Spreads, and More by Kimberly Stevens
Savor celebrates the art and pleasure of beautiful charcuterie boards and platters--demystified and made simple!
Serving boards possess an uncanny ability to mirror the mood of a host and transform a room's ambiance as friends and family gather around them to both eat and enjoy time together. This book lavishly details how to create memorable and delicious serving boards, no matter the season or the occasion.
Inside Savor, you'll find:
- Expert Advice and Recipes from Murray's Cheese, Publican Market, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, Lady & Larder, Mike's Hot Honey, Blake Hill Preserves, Esters Wine Shop & Bar, and Vermont Creamery
- Practical & Delicious Guides on how to pair cheeses, meats, condiments, and an array of other ingredients that can be used on serving boards. Also included are suggested drink pairings
- Over 100 Recipes for crackers and bread, preserves, pickles, flavored nuts, dips, spreads, some bigger bites, and even desserts
Expert advice and insights provide strategies and approaches for composing boards that balance flavor profiles and textures, using elegant and inventive recipes. Elevate your home entertaining with Savor!
This book puts the fun back into entertaining, guests or even just a delicious board for yourself. - Rebecca G
Grains for Every Season: Rethinking Our Way With Grains by Joshua McFadden
Grains for Every Season will change the way we cook with barley, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, wheat (bulgur, farro, freekeh, spelt, wheat berries, and whole wheat flour), and wild rice.The book's 200 recipes are organized into chapters by grain type, unlocking information on where each one comes from, how to prepare it, and why the author--the multi-award-winning chef/owner of Ava Gene's in Portland--can't live without it. McFadden uses grains both whole and milled into flour. The many gluten-free recipes are clearly designated. McFadden reveals how each grain can be used in both savory and sweet recipes, from Meat Loaf with Barley and Mushrooms to Peanut Butter-Barley Cookies; from Buckwheat, Lime and Herb Salad to Buckwheat Cream Scones. He folds quinoa into tempura batter to give veggies extra pop and takes advantage of the nutty flavor of spelt flour for Cast-Iron Skillet Spelt Cinnamon Rolls. Four special foldout sections highlight seasonal variations on grain bowls, stir-fries, pizzas, pilafs, and more, to show how flexible and satisfying cooking with grains can be.
We are in year 2 of cooking our way through this one and the whole experience has been absolutely delicious!! - Rebecca G and Hanna