Top Secret Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods


Todd Wilbur - 1993
    Big food manufacturers guard their recipes like the gold in Fort Knox, but Wilbur's dogged pursuit of taste-alike versions of his—and our—all-time favorites has paid off in this unique cookbook of 50 scrumptious treats. Whether you're a kid or just a kid at heart, you'll have a great time making the incredible clones of a Hostess® Twinkie®, McDonald's® Big Mac®, a Burger King® Whopper®, a Tastykake® Butterscotch Krimpet®, a Yoo Hoo® Chocolate Drink, and all the other famous foods. Helpful illustrations let you recreate them to perfection. And both taste and guilty pleasures are just like the real thing!

Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond


Sabrina Ghayour - 2014
    A celebration of the food and flavours from the regions near the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, with over 100 recipes for modern and accessible Middle Eastern dishes, including Lamb & Sour Cherry Meatballs; Chicken, Preserved Lemon & Olive Tagine; Blood Orange & Radicchio Salad; Persian Flatbread; and Spiced Carrot, Pistachio & Coconut Cake with Rosewater Cream.

The Bread Bible


Rose Levy Beranbaum - 2003
    The accessibility of Beranbaum's recipes and the incomparable taste of her creations make this book invaluable for home cooks and professional bakers alike. Easy-to-use ingredient tables provide both volume and weight, for surefire recipes that work perfectly every time.

The Savory Way


Deborah Madison - 1990
    From soups to salads, sandwiches to crepes, breads to sweetmeats, The Savory Way reflects Deborah Madison's personal brand of contemporary vegetarianism.

Chef Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen


Paul Prudhomme - 1984
    The extraordinary Cajun and Creole cooking of South Louisiana has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background.Chef Prudhomme's incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. Logical though this is, it was an unprecedented way for a chef to write a cookbook. But Paul Prudhomme started cooking in his mother's kitchen when he was a youngster. To him, the difference between home and restaurant procedures is obvious and had to be taken into account.So here, in explicit detail, are recipes for the great traditional dishes--gumbos and jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Cajun "Popcorn," Crawfish Etouffee, Pecan Pie, and dozens more--each refined by the skill and genius of Chef Prudhomme so that they are at once authentic and modern in their methods.Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is also full of surprises, for he is unique in the way he has enlarged the repertoire of Cajun and Creole food, creating new dishes and variations within the old traditions. Seafood Stuffed Zucchini with Seafood Cream Sauce, Panted Chicken and Fettucini, Veal and Oyster Crepes, Artichoke Prudhomme--these and many others are newly conceived recipes, but they could have been created only by a Louisiana cook. The most famous of Paul Prudhomme's original recipes is Blackened Redfish, a daringly simple dish of fiery Cajun flavor that is often singled out by food writers as an example of the best of new American regional cooking.For Louisianians and for cooks everywhere in the country, this is the most exciting cookbook to be published in many years.

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook


Martha Hall Foose - 2008
    Born and raised in Mississippi, Foose cooks Southern food with a contemporary flair: Sweet Potato Soup is enhanced with coconut milk and curry powder; Blackberry Limeade gets a lift from a secret ingredient–cardamom; and her much-ballyhooed Sweet Tea Pie combines two great Southern staples–sweet tea and pie, of course–to make one phenomenal signature dessert. The more than 150 original recipes are not only full of flavor, but also rich with local color and characters. As the executive chef of the Viking Cooking School, teaching thousands of home cooks each year, Foose crafts recipes that are the perfect combination of delicious, creative, and accessible. Filled with humorous and touching tales as well as useful information on ingredients, techniques, storage, shortcuts, variations, and substitutions, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea is a must-have for the American home cook–and a must-read for anyone who craves a return to what cooking is all about: comfort, company, and good eating.

Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys: Recipes, Strategies, and Survival Techniques


Lucinda Scala Quinn - 2009
    The book went on to launch a TV series (Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn) and now, with over 65,000 copies sold, it is available in a paperback edition that will reach a yet wider audience. In Mad Hungry, Scala Quinn shares winning strategies for how to sate the seemingly insatiable, trade food for talk, and get men to manage in the kitchen. She provides recipes for single-skillet meals, dinners that yield fabulous leftovers, and dishes that are a cinch to stretch for extra guests. Her grab-and-run breakfasts will help kids start the day right, and her healthful drinks make it easier for guys to say no to soda. Along with her techniques that help make homemade meals second nature, nourishing both diner and cook, Scala Quinn offers empowering advice on how to feed one's family's spirits as well as fill their bellies.

Feast: Food to Celebrate Life


Nigella Lawson - 2004
    Feast, Nigella's most festive book yet, offers savory, spicy, and delicious recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Eid, New Year's, Passover, Easter gatherings, and any time you want to celebrate food and life. This book is filled with festive recipes, and in it, Nigella offers tips, tricks, and shortcuts that will ensure you dine with ease, style, and fun. Feast also includes some surprising gems, like Nigella's Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame, and her best cheeseburger. And like her other cookbooks, Feast is a cookbook that will be treasured all year long.

Seriously Delish: 150 Recipes for People Who Totally Love Food


Jessica Merchant - 2014
    Her playfulness jumps off the page in her inventive and incredibly delicious recipes, such as Amaretto–Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Toast Croutons, Mini Crab Cakes with Sweet Corn and Blueberry Salsa, and Fleur de Sel Caramel Bourbon Brownie Milk Shakes. Her sense of humor, which brings millions of visitors to her site, shows through in chapter titles like “Breakfast (. . . for Dinner?)” and “Salad, Soups, and Vegetable-like Things (Ugh, if We Must).” Merchant makes food that people get excited about, nothing run-of-the-mill or expected. As an added bonus, all of the photographs in the book were taken by Merchant herself, giving her cookbook the personal touch that her fans love and newcomers will appreciate. Seriously Delish features imaginative recipes that are tasty and original and bring readers to a place where cooking becomes adventurous and food becomes fun.

Marcella Cucina


Marcella Hazan - 1997
    Marcella, whose name conjures up a splendid world of food for the devoted millions who love her books and attend her cooking classes, is back again with her finest book yet, Marcella Cucina. Filled with the passion and personality of its author, it is a book not only of fine food and its careful preparation but of personal reminiscences and penetrating commentary about the sensual pleasure of food and its place in our lives.In vivid introductory essays and seductive headnotes, the narrative of an extraordinary culinary life unfolds. With each memory of a trip, a meal or a flavor, we are treated to the perspective of a great cook and teacher--one who believes that the finest Italian cooking is found in the home. In Marcella Cucina, she focuses on regional cooking, turning her sharp eye to every area of Italy and offering a rich array of flavors and textures from cities and villages alike. Best of all, Marcella cooks at your side with easy-to-follow instructions and lavish full-color photographs that teach you her techniques--from preparing homemade pasta to cleaning artichokes--and allow you flawlessly to re-create her magic in your own kitchen.

The Southern Bite Cookbook: 150 Irresistible Dishes from 4 Generations of My Family's Kitchen


Stacey Little - 2014
    Luckily for Stacey Little, home cooks run in the family. Whether it’s fried chicken or pimento cheese, fruit salad or meatloaf, everybody’s family does it a little differently. The Southern Bite is a celebration of those traditions and recipes every Southern family is proud to own. It’s the Pecan Chicken Salad that’s mandatory for every family reunion and the hearty Goulash, so comforting after a long day. It’s the Glazed Ham that makes its way to the Easter table every year. If you’re lucky enough to hail from the South, you’ll no doubt find some familiar favorites from your own family recipe archives, along with a whole slew of surprises from Southern families a lot like yours! There’s Turnip Green Dip for your next party, Chicken Corn Chowder for those chilly fall nights, and Cornbread Salad for when you really need to make an impression.No matter what’s cooking, Little’s goal is the same: to revel in the culinary tradition all Southerners share. These are the recipes that bring us together and the meals our families will cherish for generations to come.

Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Home Cooking Triumphs


Julia Turshen - 2016
    The process of truly great home cooking is demystified via more than a hundred lessons called out as "small victories" in the funny, encouraging headnotes; these are lessons learned by Julia through a lifetime of cooking thousands of meals. This beautifully curated, deeply personal collection of what Chef April Bloomfield calls "simple, achievable recipes" emphasizes bold-flavored, honest food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. More than 160 mouth-watering photographs from acclaimed photographers Gentl + Hyers provide beautiful instruction and inspiration elevate this entertaining and essential kitchen resource for both beginners and accomplished home cooks.

Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables


Cheryl Sternman Rule - 2012
    Because they are beautiful. And satisfying. And you desire their freshness, flavor, and simplicity. That’s why Ripe is arranged by color, not season. Author and food writer Cheryl Sternman Rule, who is also the voice behind the popular blog 5 Second Rule, and award-winning food photographer Paulette Phlipot, have teamed up to bring inspiration to hungry home cooks. Their goal is not to deliver another lecture on eating for the sake of nutrition or environmental stewardship (though they affirm that both are important), but to tempt others to “embrace the vegetable, behold the fruit” because these foods are versatile, gorgeous, and taste terrific. Starting with red and progressing towards a calmer white, Ripe is arranged by color to showcase the lush, natural beauty of the following fruits and vegetables: RED: beets, blood oranges, cherries, cranberries, grapefruit, pomegranate, radicchio, radish, raspberries, red apples, red bell peppers, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelon ORANGE: apricot, butternut squash, carrots, clementines, kumquats, mangoes, nectarines, papaya, peaches, persimmon, pumpkin, and yams YELLOW: banana, corn, lemon, pineapple, pomelo, squash blossoms, and yellow onions GREEN: green apples, artichokes, asparagus, avocado, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, celery, cucumber, edamame, fava beans, fennel, green beans, honeydew, kale, kiwi, leeks, lime, peas, spinach, swiss chard, watercress, and zucchini PURPLE and Blue: blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, figs, plums, purple cabbage, purple grapes, red leaf lettuce, and red onion WHITE: bosc pears, cauliflower, coconut, endive, garlic, jicama, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes, and turnip Each fruit and vegetable is accompanied by a lighthearted essay, breathtaking photography, and one showcase recipe, along with three “quick-hit” recipe ideas. With 150 photos and 75 recipes, this unique cookbook will quicken your pulse and leave you very, very hungry. For more information, visit RipeCookbook.com

Betty Crocker's Cooking Basics: Learning to Cook with Confidence


Betty Crocker - 1998
    Designed for people who are lost in the kitchen, the book starts with 100 recipes each presented in an non-intimidating way and accompanied by a picture. How To photographs illustrate the techniques used.

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.