Planet Barbecue!: 309 Recipes, 60 Countries


Steven Raichlen - 2010
    Setting out—again—on the barbecue trail four years ago, Steven Raichlen visited 60 countries—yes, 60 countries—and collected 309 of the tastiest, most tantalizing, easy-to-make, and guaranteed-to-wow recipes from every corner of the globe. Welcome to Planet Barbecue, the book that will take America’s passionate, obsessive, smoke-crazed live-fire cooks to the next level. Planet Barbecue, with full-color photographs throughout, is an unprecedented marriage of food and culture. Here, for example, is how the world does pork: in the Puerto Rican countryside cooks make Lechon Asado—stud a pork shoulder with garlic and oregano, baste it with annatto oil, and spit-roast it. From the Rhine-Palatine region of Germany comes Spiessbraten, thick pork steaks seasoned with nutmeg and grilled over a low, smoky fire. From Seoul, South Korea, Sam Gyeop Sal—grilled sliced pork belly. From Montevideo, Uruguay, Bandiola—butterflied pork loin stuffed with ham, cheese, bacon, and peppers. From Cape Town, South Africa, Sosaties—pork kebabs with dried apricots and curry. And so it goes for beef, fish, vegetables, shellfish—says Steven, "Everything tastes better grilled."In addition to the recipes the book showcases inventive ways to use the grill: Australia's Lamb on a Shovel, Bogota's Lomo al Trapo (Salt-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Grilled in Cloth), and from the Charantes region of France, Eclade de Moules—Mussels Grilled on Pine Needles. Do try this at home. What a planet—what a book.

I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking


Alton Brown - 2002
    Blending humor, wisdom, history, pop culture, science, and basic cooking knowledge, the host of Food Network's Good Eats presents a special edition of his innovative, instructional cooking guide that features various cooking techniques accompanied by a "master" recipe for each technique, and provides a vast array of food-related tips and advice.

Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease: 325 Inspiring Recipes from Award-Winning Chef Rozanne Gold


Rozanne Gold - 2010
    Now, after years of experimentation, she has come to this conclusion: Simplicity is the art of combining a few essential ingredients with a minimum of effort in order to create food that neither looks or tastes like a shortcut; food that is authentic enough to serve with pride and savor with pleasure.In Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease, Gold demonstrates this art to its fullest, manipulating the interplay of time, technique, and number of ingredients to create bold, sophisticated dishes bursting with global flavors. She offers an entire chapter of elegant 10-minute salads; delectable soups that take less than 5 minutes to prepare and others with such depth of flavor they taste like they've been simmering all day. Her opinionated take on roast chicken yields a peerlessly moist and tender bird without so much as a sprinkling of salt and pepper, while her recipe for pineapple flan transforms sugar, eggs, and bottled juice into a creamy and decadent taste of the tropics. From a 1-minute mustard sauce for her last-minute gravlax to a "Peking" pork shoulder that slow-roasts under a savory blanket of hoisin and scallions, these dishes are truly stunning in their ease of preparation, yet never sacrifice on flavor or presentation. Even Gold's procedures are revolutionary: All are conveyed in 140 words or less.With hundreds of signature recipes that you will return to time and again, Radically Simple provides both the tools and the inspiration to make memorable meals on a nightly basis and rediscover the satisfaction that comes from time well spent in the kitchen.

Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes


Jennifer McLagan - 2008
    When scientists theorized a link between saturated fat and heart disease, industry, media, and government joined forces to label fat a greasy killer, best avoided. But according to Jennifer McLagan, not only is our fat phobia overwrought, it also hasn’t benefited us in any way. Instead it has driven us into the arms of trans fats and refined carbohydrates, and fostered punitive, dreary attitudes toward food–that wellspring of life and pleasure. In Fat, McLagan sets out with equal parts passion, scholarship, and appetite to win us back to a healthy relationship with animal fats. She starts by defusing fat’s bad rap, both reminding us of what we already know–that fat is fundamental to the flavor of our food–and enlightening us with the many ways fat (yes, even animal fat) is indispensable to our health. Mostly, though, Fat is about pleasures–the satisfactions of handling good ingredients skillfully, learning the cultural associations of these primal foodstuffs, recollecting and creating personal memories of beloved dishes, and gratifying the palate and the soul with fat’s irreplaceable savor. Fat lavishes the reader with more than 100 recipes from simple to intricate, classic to contemporary, including:• Butter-Poached Scallops• Homemade Butter• Carnitas• Duck Confit• Sautéed Foie Gras with Gingered Vanilla Quince • Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Sage Butter• Steak and Kidney Pie• Lamb Fat and Spinach Chapati• Bacon Spice • Cookies• Salted Butter TartObserving that though we now know everything about olive oil, we may not know what to do with lard or bone marrow, McLagan offers extensive guidance on sourcing, rendering, flavoring, using, and storing animal fats, whether butter or bacon, schmaltz or suet. Stories, lore, quotations, and tips touching on fat’s place in the kitchen and in the larger culture round out this rich and unapologetic celebration of food at its very best.

The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook


Cook's Illustrated - 2001
    They want you to serve the best fried chicken and the fudgiest brownies, and they test recipes, equipment, and methods toward that goal on their PBS television show. This companion book to the show illustrates what can happen when cooking experts look under the hood and start to tinker productively with the most basic, everyday recipes.Each recipe starts out with a small introduction on what the cooks want to achieve, then details the various steps -- and missteps -- taken en route to developing the perfect recipe. Of course, the missteps are fun to read about, and the whole process has a food-science/science-fair aspect that is quite engrossing.With Home Fries, for example, the cooks wanted "cubes of potatoes that would be deep golden brown and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside." Fair enough. First they dabbled with different kinds of potatoes, then experimented with cooking methods, kinds of cuts, and cooking oils. Their final recipe uses Yukon Golds, diced and briefly parboiled, then drained and fried in a mixture of butter and oil (peanut or corn). This same exhaustive approach is applied to pizza, hamburgers, fajitas, spaghetti and meatballs, tuna fish sandwiches, margaritas, roast turkey, mashed potatoes, apple pie, and Key lime pie. When you think about it, there are plenty of ordinary dishes that often come out tasting, well, ordinary, so you really welcome experts taking a long look at them. Sometimes, though, you just want to tell them: Hey, guys, lighten up, it's just a grilled cheese sandwich. But, I have to say, their approach -- grated cheese; butter on the bread, not in the skillet; medium-low heat -- makes a really good grilled cheese sandwich!Interspersed through the thematic chapters (Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, pizza night) are very useful tests of kitchen equipment -- blenders, vegetable peelers, etc. -- and canned goods. I loved finding out that the $40 basic blender beat the $120 classic I've been eyeing, and all the fancy new zillion-speed blenders too.(Ginger Curwen)

The Moosewood Cookbook: Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca, New York


Mollie Katzen - 1977
    But times have changed, and knowledge about the foods we eat and their nutritional value has increased. So, after many inquiries and requests, the author has revised many of her recipes to be lighter and healthier. Illustrated.

Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook


Ina Garten - 2014
    Whether you’re hosting a party or simply making dinner on a hectic weeknight, Ina gives you lots of amazing recipes that taste just as good—or even better!—when they’re made in advance.In Make It Ahead, each recipe includes clear instructions for what you can do ahead of time, and how far in advance, so you can cook with confidence and eliminate last-minute surprises. Make a pitcher of Summer Rosé Sangria filled with red berries, let it chill overnight for the flavors to develop, and you have a delicious drink to offer your friends the minute they arrive. Simmer a pot of Wild Mushroom & Farro Soup, enjoy a bowl for lunch, and freeze the rest for a chilly evening. You can prep the kale, Brussels sprouts, and lemon vinaigrette for Winter Slaw ahead of time and simply toss them together before serving. Assemble French Chicken Pot Pies filled with artichokes and fresh tarragon a day in advance and then pop them in the oven half an hour before dinner. And for dessert, everyone needs the recipe for Ina’s Decadent (gluten-free!) Chocolate Cake topped with Make-Ahead Whipped Cream. Ina also includes recipes for the biggest cooking day of the year—Thanksgiving! Her Ultimate Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Gravy with Onions & Sage may just change your life.With beautiful photographs and hundreds of invaluable make-ahead tips, this is your new go-to guide for preparing meals that are stress-free yet filled with those fabulously satisfying flavors that you have come to expect from the Barefoot Contessa.

Seductions of Rice


Jeffrey Alford - 1998
    Along the way, they experienced firsthand dozens of varieties of rice, offering unimaginable subtleties of taste, as well as a staggering array of foods to accompany them, all providing a simple way to get flavor and variety on the table.Seductions of Rice is the glorious result: two hundred easy-to-prepare dishes from the world's great rice cuisines, illuminated by stories, insights, and more than two hundred photographs of people, places, and wonderful food. Cherished dishes--Chinese stir-frys, Spanish paellas, Japanese sushi, Indian thorans, Thai salads, Turkish pilafs, Italian risottos--are shared not just as recipes, but as time-honored traditions.Seductions of Rice will change the way we eat, the way we prepare and appreciate our food. It's as easy as putting a pot of rice on to cook!

Tartine


Elisabeth Prueitt - 2006
    Acclaimed pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and master baker Chad Robertson share their secrets, fabulous recipes, and expertise to create a truly priceless collection of culinary delights."One peek into Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson's sensational cookbook whisks you into their popular Tartine Bakery and reveals everything you need to know to create their superb recipes in your own home." –Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet MiniaturesIt's no wonder there are lines out the door of the acclaimed Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Tartine has been written up in every magazine worth its sugar and spice. Here, the bakers' art is transformed into easy-to-follow recipes for the home kitchen. The only thing hard about this cookbook is deciding which recipe to try first.Features easy-to-follow recipes meant to be made in your home kitchen. There's a little something here for breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, hors d'oeuvres and, of course, a whole lot for dessert.Includes practical advice in the form of handy Kitchen Notes, that convey the authors' know-how.Gorgeous photographs are spread throughout to create a truly delicious and inspiring party cookbook.Makes a delectable gift for any dessert lover or aspiring pastry chef.Pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt's work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on the television program Martha Stewart Living. France Ruffenach is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work has appeared in magazines and cookbooks including Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, and Bon Appétit magazines, and in Cupcakes, Everyday Celebrations, and Ros.

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook


America's Test Kitchen - 2005
    This instant classic belongs on the shelf of every home cook. Publisher's Weekly called it "a foolproof, go-to resource for everyday cooking." The new edition is bound on five rings, shrink-wrapped, and durably packaged.

Alinea


Grant Achatz - 2008
    ALINEA showcases Achatz's cuisine with more than 100 dishes (totaling 600 recipes) and 600 photographs presented in a deluxe volume. Three feature pieces frame the book: Michael Ruhlman considers Alinea's role in the global dining scene, Jeffrey Steingarten offers his distinctive take on dining at the restaurant, and Mark McClusky explores the role of technology in the Alinea kitchen. Buyers of the book will receive access to a website featuring video demonstrations, interviews, and an online forum that allows readers to interact with Achatz and his team. "Achatz is something new on the national culinary landscape: a chef as ambitious as Thomas Keller who wants to make his mark not with perfection but with constant innovation . . . Get close enough to sit down and allow yourself to be teased, challenged, and coddled by Achatz's version of this kind of cooking, and you can have one of the most enjoyable culinary adventures of your life." --Corby Kummer, senior editor of Atlantic Monthly"Someone new has entered the arena. His name is Grant Achatz, and he is redefining the American restaurant once again for an entirely new generation . . . Alinea is in perpetual motion; having eaten here once, you can't wait to come back, to see what Achatz will come up with next." --GourmetReviews & AwardsJames Beard Foundation Cookbook Award Finalist: Cooking from a professional Point of View Category  James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award! "Even if your kitchen isn't equipped with a paint-stripping heat gun, thermocirculator, or refractometer, and you're only vaguely aware that chefs use siphons and foams in contemporary cooking, you can enjoy this daring cookbook from Grant Achatz of the Chicago restaurant Alinea.. . . While the recipes can hardly become part of your everday cooking, this book is far too interesting to be left on the coffee table. As you read, a question emerges: Is Alinea's food art? . . . I go a little further, describing Achatz with a word that he would probably never use to describe himself: avant-garde, as it defined art movements at the beginning of the last century--planned, self-concious, and structured attempts to provoke and shake the status quo. Just as with those artists, the results are not necessarily as interesting as the intentions and concepts behind them. In this sense, this volume constitutes a full-blown although not threatening manifesto."—Art of Eating

The Chew: What's for Dinner?: Over 100 Mouthwatering Recipes to Make Your Weeknights Easy and Your Weekends Sensational


The Chew - 2013
    

Jerusalem: A Cookbook


Yotam Ottolenghi - 2012
    Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year: Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. In this book they explore the vibrant cuisine of their home city together, and present an authentic collection of recipes that reflects the city's melting pot of Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Christian and Armenian communities. From their unique cross-cultural perspectives, Ottolenghi and Tamimi share 120 authentic recipes: from soups (Frikkeh, Chicken with Kneidelach), to meat and fish (Chicken with Cardamom Rice; Sharmula Bream with Rose Petals), to vegetables and salads (Chargrilled Squash with Labneh and Pickled Walnut Salsa), pulses and grains (Beetroot and SaffronRice); and cakes and desserts (Fig and Arak Trifle; Clementine and Almond Cake). Their cookbook is illustrated with 130 full-colour photographs, showcasing their sumptuous dishes in the dazzling setting of Jerusalem city. Ottolenghi and Tamimi have five bustling restaurants in London, UK. Ottolenghi is one of the most respected chefs in the world; his latest cookbook, Plenty, was a New York Times bestseller and one of the most lauded cookbooks of 2011. Jerusalem is his most personal, original and beautiful cookbook yet.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread


Peter Reinhart - 2001
    Never one to be content with yesterday’s baking triumph, however, Peter continues to refine his recipes and techniques in his never-ending quest for extraordinary bread.In The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter shares his latest bread breakthroughs, arising from his study in several of France’s famed boulangeries and the always-enlightening time spent in the culinary academy kitchen with his students. Peer over Peter’s shoulder as he learns from Paris’s most esteemed bakers, like Lionel Poilâne and Phillippe Gosselin, whose pain à l’ancienne has revolutionized the art of baguette making. Then stand alongside his students in the kitchen as Peter teaches the classic twelve stages of building bread, his clear instructions accompanied by over 100 step-by-step photographs.You’ll put newfound knowledge into practice with 50 new master formulas for such classic breads as rustic ciabatta, hearty pain de campagne, old-school New York bagels, and the book’s Holy Grail–Peter’s version of the famed pain à l’ancienne. En route, Peter distills hard science, advanced techniques, and food history into a remarkably accessible and engaging resource that is as rich and multitextured as the loaves you’ll turn out. This is original food writing at its most captivating, teaching at its most inspired and inspiring–and the rewards are some of the best breads under the sun.

Chinese Takeaway Cookbook: From Chop Suey to Sweet 'n' Sour, Over 70 Recipes to Re-create Your Favourites


Kwoklyn Wan - 2019
    Kwoklyn is a third-generation Chinese chef: BBC (British-Born Chinese). He's also the brother of TV celebrity Gok Wan and both boys grew up working in their family's Cantonese Restaurant in Leicester in the 1970s.  He has spent years perfecting recipes for Chinese dishes that taste like the ones from your local takeaway kitchen or restaurant. The book features 70 classic dishes, everything from sweet and sour chicken to char siu, prawn toast to chop suey, egg-fried rice to crispy seaweed – and most of them can be on the table in 20 minutes or less. Cook up a storm at home with Kwoklyn's fabulous take on food from the takeaway.