Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking


Michael Ruhlman - 2009
    Why spend time sorting through the millions of cookie recipes available in books, magazines, and on the Internet? Isn’t it easier just to remember 1-2-3? That’s the ratio of ingredients that always make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want—chocolate, lemon and orange zest, nuts, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite additions. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture. Ratios are the starting point from which a thousand variations begin. Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor. Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes. As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists, Michael Ruhlman blasts through the surplus of information and delivers this innovative, straightforward book that cuts to the core of cooking. Ratio provides one of the greatest kitchen lessons there is—and it makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like You Give a F*ck


Thug Kitchen - 2014
    Beloved by Gwyneth Paltrow ("This might be my favorite thing ever") and named Saveur's Best New Food blog of 2013—with half a million Facebook fans and counting—Thug Kitchen wants to show everyone how to take charge of their plates and cook up some real f*cking food.Yeah, plenty of blogs and cookbooks preach about how to eat more kale, why ginger fights inflammation, and how to cook with microgreens and nettles. But they are dull or pretentious as hell—and most people can't afford the hype.Thug Kitchen lives in the real world. In their first cookbook, they're throwing down more than 100 recipes for their best-loved meals, snacks, and sides for beginning cooks to home chefs. (Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos? Pumpkin Chili? Grilled Peach Salsa? Believe that sh*t.) Plus they're going to arm you with all the info and techniques you need to shop on a budget and go and kick a bunch of ass on your own.This book is an invitation to everyone who wants to do better to elevate their kitchen game. No more ketchup and pizza counting as vegetables. No more drive-thru lines. No more avoiding the produce corner of the supermarket. Sh*t is about to get real.

Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions


Elizabeth Andoh - 2010
    The spirit of kansha, deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy and practice, encourages all cooks to prepare nutritionally sound and aesthetically satisfying meals that avoid waste, conserve energy, and preserve our natural resources. In these pages, with kansha as credo, Japan culinary authority Elizabeth Andoh offers more than 100 carefully crafted vegan recipes. She has culled classics from shōjin ryōri, or Buddhist temple cuisine (Creamy Sesame Pudding, Glazed Eel Look-Alike); gathered essentials of macrobiotic cooking (Toasted Hand-Pressed Brown Rice with Hijiki, Robust Miso); selected dishes rooted in history (Skillet-Scrambled Tofu with Leafy Greens, Pungent Pickles); and included inventive modern fare (Eggplant Sushi, Tōfu-Tōfu Burgers).  Andoh invites you to practice kansha in your own cooking, and she delights in demonstrating how “nothing goes to waste in the kansha kitchen.” In one especially satisfying example, she transforms each part of a single daikon—from the tapered tip to the tuft of greens, including the peels that most cooks would simply compost—into an array of wholesome, flavorful dishes. Decades of living immersed in Japanese culture and years of culinary training have given Andoh a unique platform from which to teach. She shares her deep knowledge of the cuisine in the two-part A Guide to the Kansha Kitchen. In the first section, she explains basic cutting techniques, cooking methods, and equipment that will help you enhance flavor, eliminate waste, and speed meal preparation. In the second, Andoh demystifies ingredients that are staples in Japanese pantries, but may be new to you; they will boost your kitchen repertoire—vegan or omnivore—to new heights.  Stunning images by award-winning photographer Leigh Beisch complete Kansha, a pioneering volume sure to inspire as it instructs.

Vegan Vittles: Recipes Inspired by the Critters of Farm Sanctuary


Joanne Stepaniak - 1996
    The book includes a section on nutritional information and a chapter on veganism.

Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook


Richa Hingle - 2015
    You’ll explore some well-known and new Indian flavor profiles that are easy to make in your own kitchen. Learn the secrets of eclectic Indian taste and textures, and discover meals in which pulses and vegetables are the stars of the dish. And once you taste Richa’s mouth-watering desserts, they will likely become your new favorites.Within these pages you will find recipes to please all the senses, including:• Mango Curry Tofu• Whole Roasted Cauliflower in Makhani Gravy• Baked Lentil Kachori Pastries• Quick Tamarind-Date Chutney• Avocado Naan• Fudgy Cardamom SquaresThe recipes have been designed to simplify complex vegan cooking procedures, and Richa’s workflow tips incorporate modern appliances and techniques from other cuisines to reduce cooking times. Replacement spices are indicated wherever possible, and Richa also provides alternatives and variations that allow people to be playful and creative with the Indian spices called for in the recipes.The restaurant-quality vegan recipes are ideal to make for yourself, for family, and for entertaining guests.

The Love and Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking


Jeanine Donofrio - 2016
    The Love & Lemons Cookbook features more than one hundred simple recipes that help you turn your farmers market finds into delicious meals.    The beloved Love & Lemons blog has attracted buzz from everyone from bestselling author Heidi Swanson to Saveur Magazine, who awarded the blog Best Cooking Blog of 2014.    Organized by ingredient, The Love & Lemons Cookbook teaches readers how to make beautiful food with what’s on hand, whether it’s a bunch of rainbow-colored heirloom carrots from the farmers market or a four-pound cauliflower that just shows up in a CSA box. The book also features resources to show readers how to stock their pantry, gluten-free and vegan options for many of the recipes, as well as ideas on mixing and matching ingredients, so that readers always have something new to try.Stunningly designed and efficiently organized, The Love & Lemons Cookbook is a resource that you will use again and again.

Oh She Glows Every Day: Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes to Keep You Glowing from the Inside Out


Angela Liddon - 2016
      Angela Liddon’s irresistible and foolproof recipes have become the gold standard for plant-based cooking. Her phenomenally popular blog and New York Times–bestselling debut, The Oh She Glows Cookbook, have amassed millions of fans eager for her latest collection of creative and accessible recipes. Now, in this highly anticipated follow-up cookbook, Liddon shares wildly delicious recipes that are perfect for busy lifestyles, promising to make plant-based eating convenient every day of the week—including holidays and special occasions! Filled with more than one hundred family-friendly recipes everyone will love, like Oh Em Gee Veggie Burgers, Fusilli Lentil-Mushroom Bolognese, and Ultimate Flourless Brownies, Oh She Glows Every Day also includes useful information on essential pantry ingredients and tips on making recipes kid-, allergy-, and freezer-friendly. A beautiful go-to cookbook from one of the Internet’s most beloved cooking stars, Oh She Glows Every Day proves that it’s possible to cook simple, nourishing, and tasty meals—even on a busy schedule.

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science


J. Kenji López-Alt - 2015
    Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day


The Moosewood Collective - 1994
    Busy balancing home, work, and other commitments, they've been cooking for family and friends every day of the week for over twenty years. Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home is the result of that experience -- over 150 carefully honed and tested recipes calling for the best ingredients, accompanied by time-saving tips and planning suggestions, add up to a delicious whole-foods cuisine that is versatile and healthful and can be prepared with a minimum of effort.This book contains dishes full of exciting flavors, sure to please every taste, from savory soups to substantial main-dish salads, from hearty stews to palate-teasing "small dishes." Sauces, salsas and dressings, and a collection of almost-instant desserts turn the simplest meal into an occasion.Chapters on techniques and menu planning, lists of recipes for special needs, including nondairy and vegan fare and kid-pleasing food, as well as an in-depth guide to stocking the meatless pantry (including a list of recommended convenience foods), make Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home the essential companion to everyday cooking.

The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen


Cook's Illustrated - 2012
    Unlike other food science books, we make a direct and practical connection between the science and the cooking. We divide the book into 50 core principles, support them through detailed yet friendly explanations, bring them alive with color illustrations and inventive experiments, and reinforce them through recipes that put the principle to work. At Cook's Illustrated, we've been asking why in the kitchen for over 20 years and often find our answers in science. We believe good science makes great food and that understanding basic science will make you a great cook.

Appetites: A Cookbook


Anthony Bourdain - 2016
    And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown, he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking, it’s for family and friends.Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down forty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a tight repertoire of personal favorites—dishes that everyone should (at least in Mr. Bourdain’s opinion) know how to cook. Once the supposed "bad boy" of cooking, Mr. Bourdain has, in recent years, become the father of a little girl—a role he has embraced with enthusiasm. After years of traveling more than 200 days a year, he now enjoys entertaining at home. Years of prep lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen, however, have caused him, in his words, to have "morphed into a psychotic, anally retentive, bad-tempered Ina Garten."The result is a home-cooking, home-entertaining cookbook like no other, with personal favorites from his own kitchen and from his travels, translated into an effective battle plan that will help you terrify your guests with your breathtaking efficiency.

Vegetarian Epicure


Anna Thomas - 1972
    For all who love the fruits of the earth and the art of cooking. A classic with almost a million copies sold to date.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking


Julia Child - 1961
    Featuring 524 delicious recipes, in its pages home cooks will find something for everyone, from seasoned experts to beginners who love good food and long to reproduce the savory delights of French cuisine, from historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. Here Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle break down the classic foods of France into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of dishes. Throughout, the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations--bound to increase anyone's culinary repertoire. With over 100 instructive illustrations to guide readers every step of the way, Mastering the Art of French Cooking deserves a place of honor in every kitchen in America.

Viva Vegan! 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers


Terry Hope Romero - 2010
    Now, in her first solo cookbook, Romero opens the world of Latin flavor to vegans and foodies alike. Viva Vegan! expands the palates of anyone looking for a way to add fresh, seasonal ingredients and authentic spice to their meals without relying on animal products. A proud Venezuelan-American, Romero's enthusiasm for her culture shines through every recipe.Viva Vegan! covers every aspect of Latin cooking across the Americas: refreshing bebidas (drinks), vibrant ensaladas, hearty empanadas, nourishing stews, and one-dish wonders. Learn the basics: how to make the perfect tamale, salsa to complement any dish, and beans from scratch--plus special treats like flan, churros, and more.Complete with gorgeous color photos, Viva Vegan! is the ultimate guide to authentic and inspired new Latin cuisine.

The Tassajara Bread Book


Edward Espe Brown - 1970
    It requires nurturing and care. In this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the international best-seller that started a generation of Americans baking, Ed Brown shows how to make—and enjoy—breads, pastries, muffins, and desserts for today's sophisticated palates. And in a new afterword, he reflects on the widespread influence of the book and offers five new recipes.This is 2010. I have just purchased a new copy of this book, which I first owned back in 1970 or 1971. I love them and use them until they fall apart. I believe they are a GREAT introduction to breakmaking for a new baker, and an excellent wedding gift.