The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl


Ree Drummond - 2008
    Drummond colorfully traces her transition from city life to ranch wife through recipes, photos, and pithy commentary based on her popular, award-winning blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, and whips up delicious, satisfying meals for cowboys and cowgirls alike made from simple, widely available ingredients. The Pioneer Woman Cooks—and with these “Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl,” she pleases the palate and tickles the funny bone at the same time.

Miette: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop


Meg Ray - 2011
    Miette's pretty Parisian aesthetic enchants visitors with tables piled high with beribboned bags of gingersnaps, homemade marshmallows, fleur de sel caramels, and rainbows of gumballs. This cookbook brings the enchantment home, sharing 100 secret formulas for favorite Miette treats from chef and owner Meg Ray. More than 75 gorgeous color photos capture the unique beauty of Miette desserts and shops. Scalloped edges on the book block enhance the preciousness of this fetching package. Just like the adorable cakes, cookies, clairs and tarts for sale in Miette's case, this book is irresistible!

Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season


Elisabet Der Nederlanden - 2017
     This instant holiday classic is packed with 50 recipes, each gorgeously photographed and meticulously tested, along with dozens of decorating and packaging ideas. Filled with reimagined favorites like Giant Molasses Spice Cookies and Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies; confections like Peppermint Bark, Smoked Almond and Cacao Nib Brittle, and Dark Chocolate-Hazelnut Fudge; and detailed instructions for gorgeous gingerbread houses, cookie place cards, and edible ornaments, this is a cookie book like no other. Because the recipes are easy to scale up or down, Holiday Cookies is perfect for cookie exchanges, gift-giving, and just enjoying throughout the season. From a veteran baker and recipe developer, each cookie in this collection is guaranteed to be a stand-out, and destined to become your new Christmas classic.

Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera


Delores Custer - 2010
    Filled with resources and organized in a simple problem-and-solution format, this is an ideal resource for both experienced foods styling pros and first-timers alike.This is the only book of its kind on the market, shedding light on the art and craft of food styling More than 300 full-color photos reveal the process of styling and the spectacular results, teaching and inspiring anyone interested in food and how it is presented in media The book features a timeline of 60 years of food styling, a glossary of important terms, and a listing of vital styling resources The only book the aspiring or professional food stylist will ever need, this exceptionally thorough resource covers challenges from flawless fried chicken to fluffy, cloudlike cake frostings-and everything in between Whether you're looking to break into the food styling business or just touch up on the latest and most effective techniques, Food Styling is the ultimate guide to creating stunning culinary visuals.

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant


Judy Rodgers - 2002
    But Zuni's appeal goes beyond recipes. Harold McGee concludes, "What makes The Zuni Café Cookbook a real treasure is the voice of Zuni's Judy Rodgers," whose book "repeatedly sheds a fresh and revealing light on ingredients and dishes, and even on the nature of cooking itself." Deborah Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) says the introduction alone "should be required reading for every person who might cook something someday."

Ebelskivers: Filled Pancakes and Other Mouthwatering Miniatures


Kevin Crafts - 2011
    This book includes everything you need to know to make and fill these treats, plus step-by-step photographs and recipes for sauces, toppings, and glazes. Originally from Denmark, ebelskivers (pronounced “able-skeevers”) are snacks or desserts traditionally served during holidays and at celebrations. Today, cooks offer these puffy, sphere-shaped pancakes with a wide range of sweet and savory toppings and fillings, varying them in countless creative ways. Making ebelskivers requires little more than ingredients you probably already have on hand—milk, eggs, flour—and a special seven-welled pan that forms the pancakes’ unique shape. Everything you need to know about making these treats is here: from mixing the batter; to cooking and filling the pancakes; to tips for creating perfect ebelskivers every time. Filled with luscious photographs and more than forty tempting recipes, this book will provide endless inspiration for any occasion. Served any time of day, these delicious recipes will change the way you look at pancakes forever!

Best Food Writing 2016


Holly Hughes - 2016
    For seventeen years, Holly Hughes has delved into piles of magazines and newspapers, scanned endless websites and blogs, and foraged through bookstores to provide a robust mix of what's up in the world of food writing. From the year's hottest trends (this year: meal kits and extreme dining) to the realities of everyday meals and home cooks (with kids, without; special occasions and every day) to highlighting those chefs whose magic is best spun in their own kitchens, these essays once again skillfully, deliciously evoke what's on our minds-and our plates. Pull up a chair.Contributors include:Betsy AndrewsJessica BattilanaJohn BirdsallMatt BuchananJennifer Cockrall-KingTove DanovichLaura DonohueDaniel DuaneVictoria Pesce ElliottEdward FramePhyllis Grant Andrew Sean GreerKathy GunstL. Kasimu HarrisSteve HoffmanDianne JacobRowan JacobsenPableaux JohnsonHowie KahnMikki KendallBrian KevinKat KinsmanTodd KlimanJulia KramerCorby KummerFrancis LamRachel LevinBrett MartinTim NevilleChris NewensJames NolanKeith PandolfiCarol Penn-RomineMichael ProcopioKathleen PurvisAlice RandallBesha RodellHelen RosnerMichael RuhlmanOliver SacksAndrea StrongJason TesauroToni Tipton-MartinWells TowerLuke TsaiMax UfbergDebbie WeingartenPete Wells

Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch Beyond from New York's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant


DeDe Lahman - 2010
    Baking Company is one of the hottest brunch spots in a city obsessed with brunch. A tiny thirty-two-seat eatery on Manhattan's trendy Lower East Side, the restaurant draws long lines of customers who come from far and wide to sample fresh-baked goods, hearty omelets, sugar-cured bacon, and light-as-air pancakes with maple butter. In the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook, owners DeDe Lahman and Neil Kleinberg share more than 100 treasured recipes that have made their restaurant a sensation. Learn the secret to their house-made buttermilk biscuits and tomato jam, irresistible muffins and scones, delicious soups and sandwiches, and their decadent, eye-catching desserts. Helpful techniques, like Neil's patented omelet "flip and tuck," and gorgeous color photographs throughout will have readers cooking like pros in no time, and sharing the delicious results.

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.

Pasta, Pretty Please: A Vibrant Approach to Handmade Noodles


Linda Miller Nicholson - 2018
    Her creations became a viral sensation, attracting fans worldwide who are mesmerized by her colorful and flavorful designs. Now, with Pasta, Pretty Please home cooks can create dreamy, dazzling pastas in their own kitchens using only all-natural ingredients—flour, eggs, vegetables, herbs, and superfoods—that are true works of art.Playful and inviting, Pasta, Pretty Please includes recipes, techniques, tips, and inspiration. Linda starts with recipes for basic doughs—standard egg dough, various gnocchi doughs—and works her way up to recipes for dough in many colorful shades. She teaches you just how many colors are pastable and what kinds of pigmented vegetables, fruits, and spices you can use to color your pasta—such as mixing turmeric with parsley for just the right shade of chartreuse, or using activated charcoal powder to create black pasta. She also shows you how to roll out dough, cut and form many pasta shapes, and gives tips for retaining brilliant colors even when cooked.Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll find recipes for more elaborate patterns and colors that are sure to impress your family and friends. Linda reveals how to layer colors to make multi-colored doughs in recipes including:Rainbow CavatelliPolka Dot FarfalleEmoji RavioliAvocado GnocchiHearts and Stripes PappardelleArgyle Lasagna Sheets6-Colored FettucineYou’ll also find recipes for spectacular sauces and fillings, such as:Golden Milk RaguPecorino Pepper Sauce with BroccoliniRoasted Tomatoes with Basil Oil and BurrataSpiced Lamb Yogurt SauceRustic Squash FillingClassic Ricotta FillingPepperoni Pizza FillingFeaturing beautiful pasta in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes, patterns, and sizes, Pasta, Pretty Please is an artistic treasure trove that will please the eye and the palate. Buon Appetito!

The Art of French Baking


Ginette Mathiot - 2003
    Beautiful, elegant and delicious, French desserts are easy to create at home as only a few basic recipes are needed to make some of the world's most renowned cakes and tarts. The Art of French Baking is the definitive collection of authentic French pastry and dessert recipes. From Tarte Tatin and Hazelnut Petit Fours to Cherry Tartlets and Choux Buns, it contains more than 350 simple recipes that anyone can follow at home.

Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes


Rick Stein - 2007
    Rick Stein's culinary odyssey takes in both the islands and coast of this remarkable region.Travelling often by public ferry boat, and encountering extraodinary people along the way, Rick has sought out the very best of the region's food. This is a land where culinary trends are looked down upon. What matters is how good the lemons are this year and who is pressing the best olive oil. Rick's pick of more than 100 recipes includes Catalan Grilled Stuffed Mussels, Feta and Mint Pastries, Puglian Fava Bean Puree, Corsican Oysters with a Pernod and Tarragon Dressing, Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Olives, Sicilian Orange Cake and Corfiot Rice Pudding.Fully illustrated with beautiful food photography by Earl Carter and landscape photography by Craig Easton, Rick Stein's Mediterranean is a fascinating journey into a rich and varied culinary heritage.

Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables


Joshua McFadden - 2017
    After years racking up culinary cred at New York City restaurants like Lupa, Momofuku, and Blue Hill, he managed the trailblazing Four Season Farm in coastal Maine, where he developed an appreciation for every part of the plant and learned to coax the best from vegetables at each stage of their lives.In Six Seasons, McFadden channels both farmer and chef, highlighting the evolving attributes of vegetables throughout their growing seasons—an arc from spring to early summer to midsummer to the bursting harvest of late summer, then ebbing into autumn and, finally, the earthy, mellow sweetness of winter. Each chapter begins with recipes featuring raw vegetables at the start of their season. As weeks progress, McFadden turns up the heat—grilling and steaming, then moving on to sautés, pan roasts, braises, and stews. His ingenuity is on display in 225 revelatory recipes that celebrate flavor at its peak.

The Whimsical Bakehouse: Fun-To-Make Cakes That Taste as Good as They Look


Kaye Hansen - 2002
    There, mother-daughter bakers Kaye and Liv Hansen turn out some of the most charming, refreshingly eccentric cakes ever to grace a birthday or wedding celebration. Kaye and Liv believe that a cake should taste as good as it looks, so they skip esoteric (and inedible) decorations in favor of simple buttercream, flavored whipped cream, and tinted candymaker's chocolate, covering their luscious cakes with amusing designs and gorgeous color that are easy to make and delicious to eat. The cakes themselves are no less enticing, pairing old-fashioned favorites like Banana Cake and Spice Cake with sumptuous fillings such as French Custard and Chocolate Mousse. Simple step-by-step lessons, illustrated with photographs, explain how to re-create Liv's charming chocolate designs, from the bright polka dots that shine against dark chocolate glaze to the shimmering stars that adorn the enchanting "Starry Night." Templates for the delightful designs allow you to adapt these techniques to create your own unique decorations. With time-tested tips and complete information on everything from mixing colors to adjusting pan sizes, the Hansens explain all you need to know to get started. Whether you're dreaming of an elegant Chocolate Apricot Pecan Torte or a three-tiered butter cake filled with spiked mocha cream and embellished with fantastical spring flowers, The Whimsical Bakehouse is the ultimate guide to creating delicious, showstopping confections that are completely original.

Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza


Ken Forkish - 2012
    For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country. In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all suited for the home baker. Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven, and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere. Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker, Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time, or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish. If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level, follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water, and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread. Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet. Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education, with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart. Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages, advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs, tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life, and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process, Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread.