The Man Who Ate Everything


Jeffrey Steingarten - 1997
    He succeeded at all but the last: Steingarten is "fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad." In this impassioned, mouth-watering, and outrageously funny book, Steingarten devotes the same Zen-like discipline and gluttonous curiosity to practically everything that anyone anywhere has ever called "dinner." Follow Steingarten as he jets off to sample choucroute in Alsace, hand-massaged beef in Japan, and the mother of all ice creams in Sicily. Sweat with him as he tries to re-create the perfect sourdough, bottle his own mineral water, and drop excess poundage at a luxury spa. Join him as he mounts a heroic--and hilarious--defense of salt, sugar, and fat (though he has some nice things to say about Olestra). Stuffed with offbeat erudition and recipes so good they ought to be illegal, The Man Who Ate Everything is a gift for anyone who loves food.

Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round


Marisa McClellan - 2011
     Popular food blogger and doyenne of canning, Marisa McClellan, is using small batches and inventive flavors to make preserving easy enough for any novice to tackle. If you grew up eating home-preserved jams and pickles, or even if you're new to putting up, you'll find recipes to savor. Sample any of the 100 seasonal recipes:In the spring: Apricot Jam and Rhubarb SyrupIn the summer: Blueberry Butter and Peach SalsaIn the fall: Dilly Beans and Spicy Pickled CauliflowerIn the winter: Three-Citrus Marmalade and Cranberry KetchupMarisa's confident, practical voice answers questions and quells any fears of accidental canning mistakes, and the book is written for cooks of any skill level. Stories of wild blackberry jam and California Meyer lemon marmalade from McClellan's childhood make for a read as pleasurable as it is delicious; her home-canned food-learned from generations of the original "foodies"-feeds the soul as well as the body.

Very Fond of Food: A Year in Recipes


Sophie Dahl - 2011
    Favoring natural sweeteners, minimal meat, and abundant produce, these dishes satisfy yet never feel ascetic. Recipes ranging from Roasted Pumpkin with Sautéed Greens and Toasted Cumin Dressing to Rhubarb Rice Pudding are organized seasonally, and the book finishes with a full chapter of luscious desserts. But the recipes are only part of the story--Sophie’s food-filled memories and musings on the good life make this a book to treasure for its writerly charms as much as for its advice in the kitchen.  Very Fond of Food will enchant the eye with evocative photography and whimsical drawings; inspire the mind with witty recollections on family, travel, and romance; and captivate the palate with recipes that comfort body and soul. Sophie Dahl invites you into a delightful world where every meal is a story, and there’s always an excuse for cake.

Antoni in the Kitchen


Antoni Porowski - 2019
    With appealing vulnerability, he shows cooks of all levels how to become more confident and casual in the kitchen. The verve and naturalness of his approach earned raves from Food & Wine and Bon Appétit to GQ and the New York Times, which noted his dishes prove that “sometimes simple is anything but simplistic.” Some of the recipes in this book are weeknight healthyish meals, while others are perfect for off-the-cuff entertaining. Visual stunners, they’re often composed of fewer than five ingredients. Whether Bastardized Easy Ramen; Malaysian Chili Shrimp; Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto; or Salty Lemon Squares, all are visual stunners and can be carried off with panache, even by beginners.

Indian Food Made Easy


Anjum Anand - 2007
    Throughout the book there are tips and techniques as well as expert secrets from top Indian chefs.

Now Eat This!: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories


Rocco DiSpirito - 2010
    What’s more, Rocco provides time-saving shortcuts, helpful personal advice, and nutritional breakdowns for each recipe from a board-certified nutritionist. So prepare your favorite foods without the guilt. Finally, a world-class chef has made healthy food taste great!

Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food


Nik Sharma - 2018
    Season features 100 of the most delicious and intriguing recipes you've ever tasted, plus 270 of the most beautiful photographs ever seen in a cookbook. Here Nik, beloved curator of the award-winning food blog A Brown Table, shares a treasury of ingredients, techniques, and flavors that combine in a way that's both familiar and completely unexpected. These are recipes that take a journey all the way from India by way of the American South to California. It's a personal journey that opens new vistas in the kitchen, including new methods and integrated by a marvelous use of spices. Even though these are dishes that will take home cooks and their guests by surprise, rest assured there's nothing intimidating here. Season, like Nik, welcomes everyone to the table!

Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups


James Peterson - 1993
    A comprehensive cookbook with over 500 foolproof recipes covering every conceivable kind of soup--including Asian and South American recipes that have not previously appeared in American cookbooks--and sections featuring unusual ingredients, secrets for lowering fat, and more.

The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook


George Stella - 2014
    All 130 recipes are made without any wheat or added sugar, making them gluten-free, and great for diabetics as well.

The Curry Guy


Dan Toombs - 2017
    In other words, Dan makes homemade curries that taste just like a takeaway from your favourite local but in less time and for less money. Dan has learnt through the comments left on his blog and social media feeds that people are terribly let down when they make a chicken korma or a prawn bhuna from other cookbooks and it taste nothing like the dish they experience when they visit a curry house…but they thank him for getting it right.

The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners


Matt Lee - 2006
    The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook tells the story of the brothers' culinary coming-of-age in Charleston—how they triumphed over their northern roots and learned to cook southern without a southern grandmother. Here are recipes for classics like Fried Chicken, Crab Cakes, and Pecan Pie, as well as little-known preparations such as St. Cecilia Punch, Pickled Peaches, and Shrimp Burgers. Others bear the hallmark of the brothers' resourceful cooking style—simple, sophisticated dishes like Blackened Potato Salad, Saigon Hoppin' John, and Buttermilk-Sweet Potato Pie that usher southern cooking into the twenty-first century without losing sight of its roots. With helpful sourcing and substitution tips, this is a practical and personal guide that will have readers cooking southern tonight, wherever they live.

The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook


Williams-Sonoma - 2008
    The increasing availability of high-quality, local, and exotic ingredients has transformed the way we cook with delicious results. This comprehensive volume, , reflects this new diverse interest in food. Among its more than 370 recipes are time-tested classics, fresh new favorites gleaned from restaurant menus, popular ethnic dishes customized for the home cook, and dozens of breakfast and dessert choices, from the simple to the spectacular. Whether you are stir-frying a spicy basil-scented chicken dish for a simple weeknight supper, grilling fish steaks for a summer cookout, preparing a standing rib roast as the centerpiece for a multicourse special-occasion meal, or simply looking for a recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies, this book is the perfect resource. The recipes are organized into 12 chapters so you can easily find the right dish for your needs. These include: Appetizers; Soups; Salads; Fish and Shellfish; Poultry; Beef and Veal; Pork and Lamb; Vegetables; Breads; Desserts; and Breakfast and Brunch. Sumptuous photographs for every recipe will show you how the finished dish should look. Dozens of photographed sidebars throughout the book illuminate cooking techniques, explain how to work with unfamiliar ingredients, and suggest flavorful sauces or condiments to accompany the main recipe. Among the recipes are classics that you will come back to again and again, like stuffed mushrooms, Cobb salad, potato gratin, Louisiana-style gumbo, bistro-style roast chicken, eggs Benedict, and devil's food cake. You will also find many dishes inspired by international flavors, such as pot stickers, gazpacho, tabbouleh, carnitas, tandooristyle chicken and tiramisu -- all destined to become new favorites in your home. Look, too, for plenty of kid-friendly recipes such as baked macaroni and cheese, chicken potpie, spaghetti and meatballs, and chocolate brownies, all of which could become some of the most-requested dishes in your cooking repertory. No matter the occasion, The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook will provide the perfect recipe and plenty of inspiration for many years to come.

Maggie's Harvest


Maggie Beer - 2007
    The recipes highlight Maggie's philosophy of using the freshest and best seasonal produce available in the Barossa Valley and treating it simply, allowing the natural flavours to speak for themselves. Describing herself as a 'country cook'; Maggie cooks from the heart and is passionate about instilling in others the same confidence - to use recipes as a starting point , and be guided by instinct and personal taste. This superbly bound tome is essential for anyone with an appreciation of the pleasures of sourcing, cooking and sharing food.

Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producer


Gianaclis Caldwell - 2012
    There are an increasing number of books on the market about making cheese, but none approaches the intricacies of cheesemaking science alongside considerations for preparing each type of cheese variety in as much detail as Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking.Indeed, this book fills a big hole in the market. Beginner guides leave you wanting more content and explanation of process, while recipe-based cookbooks often fail to dig deeper into the science, and therefore don't allow for a truly intuitive cheesemaker to develop. Acclaimed cheesemaker Gianaclis Caldwell has written the book she wishes existed when she was starting out. Every serious home-scale artisan cheesemaker--even those just beginning to experiment--will want this book as their bible to take them from their first quick mozzarella to a French mimolette, and ultimately to designing their own unique cheeses.This comprehensive and user-friendly guide thoroughly explains the art and science that allow milk to be transformed into epicurean masterpieces. Caldwell offers a deep look at the history, science, culture, and art of making artisan cheese on a small scale, and includes detailed information on equipment and setting up a home-scale operation. A large part of the book includes extensive process-based recipes dictating not only the hard numbers, but also the concepts behind each style of cheese and everything you want to know about affinage (aging) and using oils, brushes, waxes, infusions, and other creative aging and flavoring techniques. Also included are beautiful photographs, profiles of other cheesemakers, and in-depth appendices for quick reference in the preparation and aging room. Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking will also prove an invaluable resource for those with, or thinking of starting, a small-scale creamery.Let Gianaclis Caldwell be your mentor, guide, and cheering section as you follow the pathway to a mastery of cheesemaking. For the avid home hobbyist to the serious commercial artisan, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking is an irreplaceable resource.

The Four Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop


Emily Elsen - 2013
    Melissa and Emily Elsen, the twenty-something sisters who are proprietors of the wildly popular Brooklyn pie shop and cafe Four & Twenty Blackbirds, have put together a pie-baking book that's anything but humble. This stunning collection features more than 60 delectable pie recipes organized by season, with unique and mouthwatering creations such as Salted Caramel Apple, Green Chili Chocolate, Black Currant Lemon Chiffon, and Salty Honey. There is also a detailed and informative techniques section. Lavishly designed, Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book contains 90 full-color photographs by Gentl & Hyers, two of the most sought-after food photographers working today. With its new and creative recipes, this may not be you mother's cookbook, but it's sure to be one that every baker from novice to pro will turn to again and again.