One Good Dish


David Tanis - 2013
    Among the chapter titles there’s “Bread Makes a Meal,” which includes such alluring recipes as a ham and Gruyère bread pudding, spaghetti and bread crumbs, breaded eggplant cutlets, and David’s version of egg-in-a-hole. A chapter called “My Kind of Snack” includes quail eggs with flavored salt; speckled sushi rice with toasted nori; polenta pizza with crumbled sage; raw beet tartare; and mackerel rillettes. The recipes in “Vegetables to Envy” range from a South Indian dish of cabbage with black mustard seeds to French grandmother–style vegetables. “Strike While the Iron Is Hot” is all about searing and quick cooking in a cast-iron skillet. Another chapter highlights dishes you can eat from a bowl with a spoon. And so it goes, with one irrepressible chapter after another, one perfect food moment after another: this is a book with recipes to crave.

Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family


Christy Jordan - 2010
    “The recipes in Southern Plate made my mouth water!...This wonderful cookbook made me feel like I was reading something of my own.”—Paula Deen, author of Paula Deen’s Savannah Style “I’ve been testing these recipes in my own kitchen and every single one turns out to be better than anything my grandmother ever made.”—Dorothea Benton Frank, author of Return to Sullivans Island and Lowcountry Summer Christy Jordan, the creator of SouthernPlate.com, serves up a collection of delicious recipes for “classic comfort foods that makes everyone feel like family.” Featuring scrumptious dishes passed down for generations through Jordan’s family, Southern Plate highlights the very best in southern cooking—for fans of Paula Deen and Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

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.

Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate


Richard Blais - 2013
    This is accessible and fun, and includes the signature recipes, flavor combinations, and cooking techniques that have made him such a popular chef. A new way to make a dish is always on Richard Blais’s mind. He has a wildly creative approach—whether it’s adding coffee to his butter, which he serves with pancakes; incorporating the flavors of pastrami into mustard; making cannelloni out of squid; microwaving apple sauce for his pork chops; or cooking lamb shanks in root beer. In his debut cookbook, with equal degrees of enthusiasm and humor, he shares 125 delicious recipes that are full of surprise and flavor. Plus there are 25 variations to add more adventure to your cooking—such as making cheese foam for your burger or mashed sous vide peas to serve alongside your entrée. Dive into an exploration of your kitchen for both creativity and enjoyment. Now try this at home!

30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes


Rachael Ray - 2005
    After all, some days only chocolate or spaghetti will hit the spot.In Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Get Real Meals, the bestselling cookbook author and Food Network star serves up another helping of creative, hassle-free recipes that are ready to rock your tastebuds in less than thirty minutes. The latest addition to Rachael’s runaway hit series of 30-Minute Meals cookbooks is designed for cooks who want to look and feel great but long for the fun and the flavor that’s missing from their extreme low-carb meals. Why fill your shopping cart and your stomach with processed, low-carb cereals and breads that taste like cardboard when you can eat the foods you crave? Here, at last, are recipes for those who just cannot and will not live totally carb-free: Pasta dinners made mostly with proteins and vegetables and only a couple of ounces of pasta per servings, fresh Thai and Mexican lettuce wraps, take-out-style stir-frys, and tons of burger ideas—with and without the buns. And when you’ve just got to satisfy that sweet tooth, even nonbakers (like Rachael) will flip for Nutty Creamsicle Pie, Stuffed Roasted Strawberries, and other surprisingly easy dessert recipes.With more than 150 new dishes, plenty of time-saving tips, and a generous serving of Rachael's “you can do it” attitude, 30-Minute Get Real Meals proves you don’t have to go to extremes to eat healthy.Rachael Ray confesses that there’s pasta in her pantry, and she isn’t afraid to admit that chili is just an excuse to snack on corn chips. On the other hand, she also confesses that it’s more fun to shop for clothes when she’s eating fewer carbs. So what’s a carb-frustrated cook to do these days? Don’t go to extremes, says the force of nature behind Food Network’s 30-Minute Meals. Get real! With a little creativity and less than half an hour, now you can watch your carbs and eat them, too. Satisfy your carb-starved cravings and still mind that waistline with more than 150 healthy, delicious recipes—including Rachael’s first-ever section devoted just to desserts:•Snacks and Super-Supper Snacks•Burgers Gone Wild•Take a Dip: Fondues•Salads that Stack Up•That’s Souper•Well-Rounded Square Meals•Pasta: Come Home Again•Desserts? Yes, Desserts!

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking


Michael Ruhlman - 2009
    Why spend time sorting through the millions of cookie recipes available in books, magazines, and on the Internet? Isn’t it easier just to remember 1-2-3? That’s the ratio of ingredients that always make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want—chocolate, lemon and orange zest, nuts, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite additions. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture. Ratios are the starting point from which a thousand variations begin. Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor. Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes. As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists, Michael Ruhlman blasts through the surplus of information and delivers this innovative, straightforward book that cuts to the core of cooking. Ratio provides one of the greatest kitchen lessons there is—and it makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

Endless Summer Cookbook


Katie Lee - 2015
    As Chef Bobby Flay can attest, “the recipes are as mouthwatering as they look.”           For Katie, cooking isn't just about the food. It’s about the whole experience: the atmosphere, the stories that each ingredient tells, and, of course, the people who share the meal. Katie’s vision of a complete entertaining experience continues with Endless Summer Cookbook—where the cooking reflects the distinctive flavors of her home in the Hamptons.                                                                      From photography to design to the recipes themselves, Endless Summer Cookbook evokes the delicious flavors of the best season of the cook’s year. Included are salad Niçoise, peach blueberry cobbler, figs wrapped in prosciutto, a pizza thrown onto the grill, steak tacos served with avocado and fresh cilantro, and much, much more. Katie also offers ideas for wine pairing and easy entertaining. Endless Summer Cookbook—with its stunning photography and fresh, easy recipes—brings to mind the ultimate summer fantasy of lazy, luxurious days at the beach.

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.

Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day


Leanne Brown - 2011
    government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program informally known as food stamps? The answer is surprisingly well: Broiled Tilapia with Lime, Spicy Pulled Pork, Green Chile and Cheddar Quesadillas, Vegetable Jambalaya, Beet and Chickpea Salad—even desserts like Coconut Chocolate Cookies and Peach Coffee Cake. In addition to creating nutritious recipes that maximize every ingredient and use economical cooking methods, Ms. Brown gives tips on shopping; on creating pantry basics; on mastering certain staples—pizza dough, flour tortillas—and saucy extras that make everything taste better, like spice oil and tzatziki; and how to make fundamentally smart, healthful food choices.Download a free PDF copy at http://www.leannebrown.ca/cookbooks

How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food


Mark Bittman - 1998
    Just as important, How to Cook Everything takes a relaxed, straightforward approach to cooking, so you can enjoy yourself in the kitchen and still achieve outstanding results.

Everyday Barbecue: At Home with America's Favorite Pitmaster


Myron Mixon - 2013
    Don’t mess it up.”  As the winningest man in barbecue, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and a judge on the hit show BBQ Pitmasters on Discovery’s Destination America, Myron Mixon knows more about smoking meat than any man alive. And now he’s on a mission to prove to home cooks everywhere that they can make great barbecue any day of the week—in the comfort of their own backyard or kitchen, no matter their skill level. Across the country at competitions and in his Pride & Joy Bar-B-Que restaurants, Mixon has proven that no other pitmaster’s food can touch his when he’s behind a smoker. But he doesn’t need fancy equipment to do it: He can cook delicious barbecue with any grill, smoker, or oven, even on the busiest weeknight, and you’ll be able to, too, with the nearly 150 recipes in Everyday Barbecue. Armed with Mixon’s advice and tips, you’ll discover that barbecue isn’t just for the Fourth of July and Labor Day; it’s for any day you feel like cooking it. So fire up your grill and get ready to cook incredible barbecue favorites such as Ribs the Easy Way, Myron’s Dr Pepper Can Chicken, and The King Rib sandwich and adventurous backyard fare like Pork Belly Sliders and Barbecue-Fried Baby Backs, plus leftover inspirations, delectable deserts, and even some drunken recipes!In Everyday Barbecue, you will find some seriously finger-lickin’ good barbecue recipes, including:  • The Essentials: Turning any backyard grill into a smoker—Brisket the Easy Way, Ribs the Easy Way, The Only Barbecue Sauce You Need• Burgers and Sandwiches: Classic Hickory Smoked Barbecue Burger, The King Rib, Barbecue Pork Belly Sliders, Brisket Cheesesteaks, Barbecued Veggie Sandwiches• Smoked and Grilled: Perfect Grilled Rib Eyes, Whole Roasted Turkey with Bourbon Gravy, Myron’s Dr Pepper Can Chicken• Barbecue-Fried: Yes, first you smoke it, then you fry it—Baby Backs, Chicken Lollipops, Cap’n Crunch Chicken Tenders• Swimmers: Finger-Lickin’ Barbecue Shrimp-and-Cheese Grits, Smoky Catfish Tacos• Drunken Recipes: Bourbon Brown Sugar Chicken, Whiskey Grilled Shrimp• Barbecue Brunch: Pitmaster’s Smoked Eggs Benedict with Pulled Pork Cakes, Backyard Bacon• Plus, Salads and Sides, delectable Desserts, and Leftover inspirations! Baby Back Mac and Cheese, Tinga-Style Barbecue Tacos, Chocolate Cake on the Grill, and Grilled Skillet Apple Pie   Loaded with nearly 150 recipes and mouthwatering photographs throughout, Everyday Barbecue serves up barbecue’s greatest hits (and more) in a fast, efficient way that you’ve never seen before.Praise for Everyday Barbecue   “Mixon does an admirable job of showing grillers, smokers, and barbecuers how they can turn labor and time-intensive grilling and barbecue projects into weekday meals with a minimum of fuss in this to-the-point collection of 150 smoke-centered recipes. . . . It’s his ingenious use of leftovers that will make readers take notice as he offers suggestions for mountains of leftover brisket, pulled pork, or chicken. This approach—rather than a multitude of variations on ribs, pulled pork and a bevy of sauces—sets the book apart and make it a keeper.”—Publishers Weekly

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home


Jeni Britton Bauer - 2011
    Unique flavors, prepared from top-quality ingredients combined with minimally processed milk from grass-fed cows, transformed Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a small artisanal scoopery in Columbus, Ohio, into a nationally acclaimed (and beloved) brand.Now with her debut cookbook, Jeni Britton Bauer is on a mission to help foodies create perfect ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets—ones that are every bit as perfect as hers—in their own kitchens. Frustrated by icy and crumbly homemade ice cream, Bauer invested in a $59 ice cream maker and proceeded to test and retest recipes until she devised a formula to make creamy, sturdy, lickable ice cream at home. Her recipe for a milk-based American-style ice cream contains no eggs, which allows her amazing flavor combinations to shine. Filled with irresistible color photographs, this cone-tastic book contains 100 of Jeni’s signature recipes—from her Goat Cheese with Roasted Cherries to her Salty Caramel to her Bourbon with Toasted Buttered Pecans. Fans of easy-to-prepare desserts with star quality will scoop this book up. How cool is that?

The Cake Bible


Rose Levy Beranbaum - 1988
    As a writer for food magazines, women's magazines, and newspapers, including The New York Times, Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark is her ability to reduce the most complex techniques to easy-to-follow recipes. Rose makes baking a joy. This is the definitive work on cakes by the country's top cake baker.The Cake Bible shows how to:Mix a buttery, tender layer cake in under five minutes with perfect results every timeMake the most fabulous chocolate cake you ever imagined with just three ingredientsFind recipes for every major type of cake, from pancakes to four-tiered wedding cakesMake cakes with less sugar but maximum flavor and textureMake many low- to no- cholesterol, low-saturated-fat recipes

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life


Ruth Reichl - 2015
    No one was more stunned by this unexpected turn of events than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future. As she struggled to process what had seemed unthinkable, Reichl turned to the one place that had always provided sanctuary. “I did what I always do when I’m confused, lonely, or frightened,” she writes. “I disappeared into the kitchen.”My Kitchen Year follows the change of seasons—and Reichl’s emotions—as she slowly heals through the simple pleasures of cooking. While working 24/7, Reichl would “throw quick meals together” for her family and friends. Now she has the time to rediscover what cooking meant to her. Imagine kale, leaves dark and inviting, sautéed with chiles and garlic; summer peaches baked into a simple cobbler; fresh oysters chilling in a box of snow; plump chickens and earthy mushrooms, fricasseed with cream. Over the course of this challenging year, each dish Reichl prepares becomes a kind of stepping stone to finding joy again in ordinary things. The 136 recipes collected here represent a life’s passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; a decadent grilled cheese sandwich that accompanies a rare sighting in the woods around her home; a rhubarb sundae that signals the arrival of spring. Here, too, is Reichl’s enlivening dialogue with her Twitter followers, who become her culinary supporters and lively confidants. Part cookbook, part memoir, part paean to the household gods, My Kitchen Year may be Ruth Reichl’s most stirring book yet—one that reveals a refreshingly vulnerable side of the world's most famous food editor as she shares treasured recipes to be returned to again and again and again.

Down Home with the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook


Patrick Neely - 2009
    It has also won them millions of viewers on the Food Network. Simply put, the Neelys are all about good food and good times. In this, their eagerly awaited debut cookbook, the Neelys share the delicious food they have been cooking up for years both at home and in their restaurants.Pat and Gina hail from families with a boundless love of cooking and bedrock traditions of sharing meals. At the Neelys’, mealtime is family time, and that means no stinting on “the sauce.” Indeed, that’s one of the Neely secrets: the liberal application of barbeque sauce to almost anything—spaghetti, nachos, salad, you name it. Of course, there are other secrets as well, and you will find them all in the pages of Down Home with the Neelys, along with more than 120 mouthwatering recipes.Here are the tried-and-true southern recipes that have been passed down from one Neely generation to the next, including many of their signature dishes, such as Barbeque Deviled Eggs, Florida Coast Pickled Shrimp, Pat’s Wings of Fire, Gina’s Collard Greens, Grandma Jean’s Potato Salad, Nana’s Southern Gumbo, Memphis-sized Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Slaw, Get Yo’ Man Chicken, and Sock-It-to-Me Cake. Certainly, no self-respecting southerner would dream of offering a meal to a guest without a proper drink, so Pat and Gina have included some of their favorite libations here, too.The Neelys work, laugh, love, and play harder than any family you’ll ever meet. Their love for good food is infectious, and in Down Home with the Neelys, they bring their heavenly inspired cooking down to earth for all to share.