Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen


Laurie Colwin - 1988
    Equal parts cookbook and memoir, Laurie Colwin's "Home Cooking" combines her insightful, good-humored writing style with her lifelong passion for wonderful cuisine in essays such as "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant," "Repulsive Dinners: A Memoir," and "Stuffed Breast of Veal: A Bad Idea." "Home Cooking" is truly a feast for body and soul.

Every Day Easy Air Fryer: 100 Recipes Bursting with Flavor


Urvashi Pitre - 2018
    Enter the air fryer, the must-have, revolutionary kitchen device. As Urvashi Pitre, the best-selling author of Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, will show you, the air fryer makes home cooking easy. Every one of the recipes in this book can be made in an hour or less, and many are on the table in as little as 30 minutes. You won't find "cream of anything" cans in the ingredient list: instead you'll start with fresh ingredients—healthful meats and vegetables—and let the air fryer do the hard work. In her signature way, Pitre will walk you through the simple process so you can learn to use your air fryer like an expert in no time. And there is no shortage of flavors—with recipes inspired by authentic Indian, Korean, Mexican cuisines and more, including Poblano Cheese Frittata, Thai Chicken Sate, Chicken Fajitas, Shrimp Scampi, and Chinese Spare Ribs, to name just a few. And because you're using an air fryer, you won't need to cook with loads of oil to get incredibly tasty results. Just like the recipes on the author's popular blog, twosleevers.com, these recipes will always work perfectly and taste great.Benefits to Air Fryer Cooking: Minimal oil needed to cook most foods Doesn't heat up entire kitchen Has fan-forced heat so it reduces cooking time by 25 to 35%  Fan-forced heat can produce a crisper outer crust than baking alone More energy efficient: lower temperatures and shorter cooking times Splatters are contained to within the device All of the surfaces (drum and grid/basket) can be put in the dishwasher Smaller footprint than oven so it's great for smaller spaces like dorm rooms, apartments, and RVs. Drastically shorter pre-heating time

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace


Tamar Adler - 2011
    F. K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf— written in 1942 during wartime shortages—An Everlasting Meal shows that cooking is the path to better eating. Through the insightful essays in An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler issues a rallying cry to home cooks. In chapters about boiling water, cooking eggs and beans, and summoning respectable meals from empty cupboards, Tamar weaves philosophy and instruction into approachable lessons on instinctive cooking. Tamar shows how to make the most of everything you buy, demonstrating what the world’s great chefs know: that great meals rely on the bones and peels and ends of meals before them. She explains how to smarten up simple food and gives advice for fixing dishes gone awry. She recommends turning to neglected onions, celery, and potatoes for inexpensive meals that taste full of fresh vegetables, and cooking meat and fish resourcefully. By wresting cooking from doctrine and doldrums, Tamar encourages readers to begin from wherever they are, with whatever they have. An Everlasting Meal is elegant testimony to the value of cooking and an empowering, indispensable tool for eaters today.

Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food: Deliciously Doable Ways to Cook Greens, Tofu, and Other Plant-Based Ingredients


Hsiao-Ching Chou - 2021
    Though a popular cuisine across North America, Chinese food can be a little intimidating. But author Hsiao-Ching Chou's friendly and accessible recipes work for everyone, including average home cooks. In this new collection, you'll find vegetarian recipes for stir-fries, rice and noodle dishes, soups, braises, and pickles. Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without vegetarian versions of Chou's famously delicious dumplings, including soup dumplings and shu mai, as well as other dim sum delights. Separate chapters feature egg and tofu recipes. From Cauliflower with Spiced Shallot Oil to Kung Pao Tofu Puffs, and from Hot and Sour Soup to Ma Po Tofu to Steamed Egg Custard, these recipes will satisfy your every craving for classic Chinese comfort food--and all without meat.You will also find helpful information including essential equipment, core pantry ingredients (with acceptable substitutions), ways to season and maintain a wok, and other practical tips that make this an approachable cookbook. Home cooks are gently guided toward becoming comfortable cooking satisfying Chinese meals. Whether you're a vegetarian or simply reducing the amount of meat in your daily diet, these foolproof recipes are made to be cooked any night of the week. As the author likes to say, any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen!

The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook


Cook's Illustrated - 2011
    Now subscribers and non-subscribers alike can benefit from the expertise of these America's Test Kitchen cooking wizards. This deluxe hardcover contains more than 2,000 foolproof recipes and 150 test kitchen discoveries. Browse it; buy it; use it.

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.

The Pleasures of Cooking for One


Judith Jones - 2009
    It’s a fulfilling and immensely economical process, one perfectly suited for our times—although, as Jones points out, cooking for one also means we can occasionally indulge ourselves in a favorite treat.Throughout, Jones is both our instructor and our mentor, suggesting basic recipes—such as tomato sauce, preserved lemons, pesto, and homemade stock—that all cooks should have on hand; teaching us how to improvise using an ingenious strategy of building meals through the week; and supplying us with a lifetime’s worth of tips and shortcuts. From Child’s advice for buying fresh meat to Beard’s challenge to beginning crêpe-makers and Lidia Bastianich’s tips for cooking perfectly sauced pasta, Jones’s book presents a wealth of acquired knowledge from our finest cooks.The Pleasures of Cooking for One is a vibrant, wise celebration of food and enjoying our own company from one of our most treasured cooking experts.

Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals


Lukas Volger - 2020
    His methods aren’t about subscribing to a specific dietary regimen; they are about simply recognizing and embracing the way people cook and eat today. Creating weekly meal plans based on intricate recipes sounds good, but it can be difficult to execute. Having a well-stocked pantry paired with a choose-you-own adventure guide to creating simple yet inventive meals is more practical for your average home cook.

Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen


Adeena Sussman - 2019
    Every morning, Sussman makes her way through the bustling stalls of Shuk Hacarmel, her local market, which sells irresistibly fresh ingredients and tempting snacks--juicy ripe figs and cherries, locally made halvah, addictive street food, and delectable cheeses and olives. In Sababa, Sussman presents 125 recipes for dishes inspired by this culinary wonderland and by the wide-varying influences surrounding her in Israel. Americans have begun to instinctively crave the spicy, bright flavors of Israeli cuisine, and in this timely cookbook, Sussman shows readers how to use border-crossing kitchen staples-- tahini, sumac, silan (date syrup), harissa, za'atar---to delicious effect, while also introducing more exotic spices and ingredients. From Freekeh and Roasted Grape Salad and Crudo with Cherries and Squeezed Tomatoes, to Schug Marinated Lamb Chops and Tahini Caramel Tart, Sussman's recipes make a riot of fresh tastes accessible and effortless for the home cook. Filled with transporting storytelling, Sababa is the ultimate, everyday guide to the Israeli kitchen.

The Comfortable Kitchen: 105 Laid-Back, Healthy, and Wholesome Recipes


Alex Snodgrass - 2021
    Her eagerly awaited new book will make that goal a reality.What does comfort mean in The Comfortable Kitchen? These are recipes you’ll feel comfortable making and comfortable feeding your family—and although these meals may fit the bill when it comes to “comfort food,” Alex’s eager audience expects a healthy angle from her cooking. Though many of her meals are fully Whole30, or at the very least Whole30-ish, they are recipes with simple ingredient swaps for a cleaner meal everyone will love and perfect for people who are on the “food freedom” stage of their Whole30 health journey as well. She provides food for every occasion, from one-pot meals to not-so-junky junk food, even including cocktails and desserts, with recipes including:Cajun Chicken and Wild Rice SoupGreen Curry Poached Halibut with HerbsSpicy Chicken Dan Dan NoodlesTexas Style Brisket TacosSheet Pan Honey-Sesame CauliflowerClayton’s Margarita7-Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies With 105 approachable and nutritious recipes for real, busy life, The Comfortable Kitchen is a must-have cookbook for everyone who cares about what they eat and what they make.

James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking


James Beard - 1977
    No one knew food better than Beard, and in these pages his timeless wisdom is on full display. Perfect for both seasoned chefs and those just starting out in the kitchen, James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking will be one of the most comprehensive and important cookbooks in your library.   With a guide to kitchenware, step-by-step explanations of foundational cooking techniques, and more than 300 classic recipes to add to your repertoire, this invaluable volume provides all you need to become a star in the kitchen. Beard’s dishes, from poached pears to steak au poivre, stuffed clams to chocolate soufflé, will delight the senses. And his unpretentious advice, alongside personal anecdotes and food histories, will make cooking a joy.

Whole Bowls: Complete Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Meals to Power Your Day


Allison Day - 2016
    Over fifty full-meal, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes from nutritionist Allison Day. From the creator of the award-winning food blog Yummy Beet, turn familiar and traditional tastes into healthy, one-bowl meals. Healthful, plentiful, and simple kitchen creations feel at home in a bowl. Whether a meal is enjoyed as a weekday breakfast for one or part of a leisurely dinner with friends, whole foods come to life when presented within the walls of this steadfast kitchen vessel. For Allison Day, the nutritionist and food blogger behind Yummy Beet, meal-sized bowl recipes showcase her love of this cozy serving dish, staying true to her philosophy of eating with visually alluring, seasonal, and delicious food you can feel good about.Along with more than fifty full-meal, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes (not to mention the dozens of mini recipes-within-recipes), these pages contain an innovative, easy-to-follow “Whole Bowls Formula” to build your own creations for quick, everyday lunches and dinners. Recipes include:Curried falafel and kale salad bowlsBlack bean bowls with butternut squash, black rice, and chimichurriOat risotto bowls with soft-boiled eggs, avocado, and hazelnut dukkahSunny citrus bowls with orange pomegranate salsa and lemon creamCarrot cake bowls with a cream cheese dollop and candied carrotsSouthern Cheddar Grits with Tomatoes, Kale, and Black BeansAlmost Noodle Salad with Radishes and BasilChili con Veggie with CornbreadMediterranean Pasta with Arugula, Peas, Yellow Tomatoes, and FetaGreek Mushroom Stifado with Horseradish Mashed PotatoesTuscan Bean StewBaked Polenta with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and MarinaraUsing real, fresh ingredients, Allison offers straightforward and approachable creations that can be made ahead of time, whipped up quickly on a weeknight, or invented off-the-cuff with her Bowl Formula Guide. With vibrant and exciting photography shot by Allison herself, you’ll be eager to cook and eat her fun, foolproof, and inventive whole bowls.

Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce, with Over 350 Recipes


Jack Bishop - 2001
    Consumers are tempted by kale and kohlrabi, taro and tomatillos, bok choy and burdock, along with all the familiar choices. Now acclaimed cookbook author and food writer Jack Bishop offers a comprehensive A-to-Z guide to this bounty of produce, complete with selection tips, preparation instructions, and hundreds of recipes for more than sixty-six commonly available vegetables. With Bishop's expert advice, you'll learn how to coax the very best flavor from every vegetable, whether it's a carrot, cauliflower, or cardoon. Wondering how and when to buy the sweetest green beans? Bishop suggests buying at the height of summer, and selecting beans that are crisp and slim (older, thicker beans will be mealy and bland). Confused about how to cook the spring's first sorrel? Bishop offers such unique and delicious dishes as Sorrel and Potato Soup and Sorrel Frittata. These recipes -- like all 350 in the book -- are clear and uncomplicated, ensuring success for even the novice cook. So whether you are looking for a salad or side dish, a vibrant main course, or simply great mashed potatoes, you are sure to find it in this essential kitchen companion. We all know that vegetables are the key to healthful eating -- now it's time to discover how great they can taste, each and every day!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking


Jeff Hertzberg - 2007
    With more than half a million copies of their books in print, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois have proven that people want to bake their own bread, so long as they can do it easily and quickly.Crusty baguettes, mouth-watering pizzas, hearty sandwich loaves, and even buttery pastries can easily become part of your own personal menu, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will teach you everything you need to know, opening the eyes of any potential baker."

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts


Stella Parks - 2017
    Whether down-home delights like Blueberry Muffins and Glossy Fudge Brownies or supermarket mainstays such as Vanilla Wafers and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, your favorites are all here. These meticulously tested recipes bring an award-winning pastry chef’s expertise into your kitchen, along with advice on how to “mix it up” with over 200 customizable variations—in short, exactly what you’d expect from a cookbook penned by a senior editor at Serious Eats. Yet BraveTart is much more than a cookbook, as Stella Parks delves into the surprising stories of how our favorite desserts came to be, from chocolate chip cookies that predate the Tollhouse Inn to the prohibition-era origins of ice cream sodas and floats. With a foreword by The Food Lab’s J. Kenji López-Alt, vintage advertisements for these historical desserts, and breathtaking photography from Penny De Los Santos, BraveTart is sure to become an American classic.