December 2, 2013


Before we go any further, congratulations to Bernice, who won the cookie box!

There are so many fantastic books available this holiday season. Whether shopping for your family, or yourself, tis the season for new publications. Here are a few I highly recommend.

In the Charcuterie. Boetticher and Miller. Beautiful book with excellent instructions and impressive recipes.

Pati’s Mexican Kitchen. Pati Jinich. I reach for this book all the time and it never disappoints. Pati’s recipes are approachable, delicious and inventive. I’ve written about it in detail here.

The Heart of the Plate. Mollie Katzen. I adore this book. It’s full of sensational, flavorful vegetarian recipes. It’s really pretty, with Mollie’s marvelous illustrations interspersed with the photographs.

Vegetable Literacy. Deborah Madison. A completely novel way of organizing a cookbook, this ode to the vegetable is presented by botanical genus. My inner gardening nerd loves the thoughtful pairings of foods within botanical families. The recipes are inviting, delicious and make the vegetables shine. This is one of the most beautiful cookbooks I own.

The Glorious Vegetables of Italy. Domenica Marchetti. A book chock full of Italian vegetable love. The eggplant meatballs are amazing.

Charcuterie, the new edition! Michael Ruhlman. Everything you loved about the first edition, with a few Italian touches.

Duck, Duck, Goose. Hank Shaw. Get duck and goose into the regular rotation at your house. It’s so nice to see this sensible take on cooking these foods. You’ll love Hank’s warm and inviting tone and his easy to follow recipes.

Put ‘Em Up Fruit. Sherri Brooks Vinton. More from this fabulous preserver, this time it’s fruit in her sights and she tells you how to make the most of what’s in season.

Soup and Bread Cookbook. Beatrice Ojakangas. Soup. Bread. Really, do you need to know anything else?

One Good Dish. David Tanis. I just got this book and I can’t put it down. I already know I’m going to cook every single recipe in it. And the photography is breathtaking.

Homemade Summer and Homemade Winter. Yvette van Boven. Yvette does it all. Recipes, photography, whimsical styling. These are two spectacular books filled with ideas for preserving, entertaining and enjoying life.

Saving the Season. Kevin West. Tumble into this book, lovely recipes, reminiscences, literary passages and charming photographs, cook from it and tuck into your favorite chair to revel in the writing. Kevin’s put together a comprehensive look at home preserving, organizing it all by the season. His recipes are inviting, inventive and straightforward, all small batches, easy to manage.

finally… The Kinfolk Table. Just for gazing at the sheer beauty and perfection. This is one seriously aspirational book.

Oh, and did I mention? All of these books are available in my Amazon shop.

Have you read any great cookbooks lately? What’s on the top of your wish list? Leave me a comment before Friday, December 6. I will randomly select three winners – one will receive Heart of the Plate, another will receive Put ‘Em Up Fruit, and the other will receive Duck, Duck Goose. In plenty of time for gifting. Or keeping.

53 Responses to “books for gifting (or keeping) and more giveaways”

  1. mary

    I’ve been spending a lot of time with Pok Pok and Vietnamese Cooking by Charles Phan. I’m in love with Asian food these days.

    Reply
  2. Gary

    waiting to have my copy of “the Art of French Pastry” delivered. should be here on Dec 6. also been working my way thru Salumi. Lonza should be done this week:)

    Reply
  3. Lauren

    I’ve been immersed in “Saving the Season”, “Isa Does It!” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and “Ottolenghi”. I too love the Deborah Madison book as well. There’s so much inspiration out there for us veg cooks right now!

    Reply
  4. Daphne

    The last one was probably the Bean Harvest Cookbook. I grow dried beans in my garden and love to try new things with them.

    Reply
  5. Linda

    I’m perusing Ottolenghi’s new cookbook. Another favorite from last year is “Bean by Bean” by my buddy Crescent Dragonwagon.

    Reply
  6. Jenny

    I have two favorites this Christmas – Amy Thielen’s New Midwestern Table and Tammy Donroe Inman’s Wintersweet.

    Reply
  7. Liz Ehinger

    I decided I needed a Marcella Hazan cookbook based on your comments in the fall about her and her marvelous cooking.

    Reply
  8. Teruska

    I have a really hard time picking what would be on the top of my wish list. I have been checking out Duck, Duck, Goose. Next to me now is Charcuterie, Food in Jars and Mac& Cheese.

    Reply
  9. Emily

    On my wish list is Saving the Season, definitely, and Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. I’m also dying for Marisa McClellan’s new book to come out.

    Reply
  10. Rosemeri

    One of the books on my wish list is Put An Egg On It by Lara Ferroni and a whole bunch of books on preserving the harvest. So many books, so little time.

    Reply
  11. Zora Margolis

    On the day that David Tanis participated in the Washington Post live online chat, I submitted a question to him and was awarded the book (_One Good Dish_) at the end of the hour! The photography is gorgeous, and I have made the wok-fried lamb with cumin, which was really good. And the Tunisian meatball recipe is a standout. But some of the recipes are just too simple. I mean, rub garlic on toasted bread and sprinkle with olive oil and salt? Really? A whole two page spread for that? I just finished reading Anya von Bremzen’s book _Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking_ which is brilliantly written memoir, up there with Ruth Reichl’s books in terms of having a unique, intelligent, and appealingly sardonic voice. The recipes at the end are superfluous. Her family’s story is fascinating, and I devoured the book in a couple of days.

    Reply
  12. sara

    Oooh, Heart of the Table is definitely at the top of my wishlist this year…it looks awesome and I love Mollie Katzen! I’m currently enjoying the new Nigel Slater cookbook…so fun! 🙂 We’ve tried a couple of recipes that have been awesome.

    Reply
  13. Winnie

    Thanks for the reminder that I need to get Homemade Summer and Homemade Winter. I have been wanting both of those forever!

    Reply
  14. Myra hirschberg

    I’ve read several of the books on your list, but fortunately none of the giveaways!(yet)

    Reply
  15. Annie Fenn

    Hi Cathy!

    Afield by Jesse Griffiths, Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, and anything by Marcella Hazan. And Duck, Duck, Goose is definitely up there–I have lots of wild birds in the freezer and need some new ideas!

    xoxo

    Reply
  16. Julia

    Waiting on the new Daniel Peterson cookbook, “Coi.” Can’t wait to encounter a mind that thought of roasting carrots on coffee beans.

    Reply
  17. gina

    I just ordered The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple, Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day

    Reply
  18. Cook In / Dine Out

    I’m glad you included Hank Shaw’s cookbook. I love reading his blog, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, even though I would rarely make anything he does, since his emphasis on game and foraged ingredients is miles away from my urban existence. Still, it’s great to see what he comes up with. Several commenters mentioned the Ottolenghi cookbooks, which reminds me to put one or both of them on my Amazon wishlist!

    Reply
  19. Mary-Denise Smith

    My current favorite cookbook is Pomegranates & Pine Nuts by Bethany Kehdy. Each thing I make opens entirely new avenues of taste and texture – I even cook rice differently now! I’m a rather timid “ethnic” cook, mostly from fear of botching things and having ten thumbs for the fussy stuff, but Beth’s book is hauling me out of my cave!

    Reply
  20. deb healing

    I did love Catch by Travis Lofland and Chef Jason Lofland. I think I’ve read it 3 times now.

    Reply
  21. Kimberli Loveman

    I’ve been re-reading & re-making recipes from On Rue Tatin Living by Susan Herrmann Loomis — she writes so creatively & the recipes are delicious & creative — especially for comfort food!

    Reply
  22. Erika

    One of the best cookbooks we own is Itallian Country Table by Lynne Rosetta Kasper. As for wish list, the are so many, but since I’ve gotten more into canning this year, I would say Put Em Up or Ripe by Nigel Slater. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
  23. Savannagal

    I’ve been trying to make more vegetarian dishes to encourage my hubby to eat less meat. On the other hand, I love both duck and goose. Unfortunately my ever shrinking paycheck doesn’t allow us to have them often.

    Reply
  24. Leslie D

    Been reviewing all my Flo Braker books as I embark on the cookie season. Eager to read David Tanis!

    Reply
  25. Lisa Daniels

    I am lusting for Ottolenghi’s new cookbook! I’ve made several recipes that I found online and they were spectacular — eggplant appetizer with garlic yoghurt sauce and pomegranates and chicken with hazelnuts, rosewater, honey and saffron.

    Reply
  26. mo

    My two favorite ‘cookbooks’ are “Flavor Bible” and ‘Culinary Artistry’. I find the more I cook with in-season ingredients recipes are simply guides. FB and CA round out my food and inspire me.

    Reply
  27. Lisa Lyon

    My husband and I have recently become vegetarians and I would love to add Mollie Katzen’s new book “The Heart of the Plate” to my cookbook collection! I am also eager to look at “Isa Does It”.

    Reply
  28. beth

    top of my wishlist is smitten kitchen – love deb’s recipes from her site, and would love to try out more. best new cookbooks this year are all the canning/pickling/dehydrating books we’ve added to our shelves – if i had to pick one, it would be the pickled pantry by andrea chesman, which i adore for having a recipe for branston pickle.

    Reply
  29. Denise

    I’m getting in the spirit of the season with Gingerbread by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn.

    Reply
  30. keapdx

    The Ottolenghi books — any of them. The flavors are exotic, yet comfortable. The photography induces drooling (hurray for heavyweight paper). Great books to inspire new ways of thinking about flavors.

    Reply
  31. Christy

    Being a cookbook addict, I think the only thing I read are cookbooks and literary pieces about food/cooking/travel – this year favorites have been Vegetable Literacy, Little Paris Kitchen, Canal House Cooks Everyday – and Living Coastal (its perfect for the SoCal lifestyle)

    Reply
  32. Patti

    I’m so sad. We recently moved from the Boston area to middle TN. Unfortunately, my new library pales in comparison to my old one in MA, where I use to borrow stacks of many of the latest cookbooks, many mentioned in the comments. I treated myself very recently to Saving the Seasons, Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey, Cultured Food for Life and Fermented Foods for Health. Except for the library thing, we love TN.

    Reply
  33. barbara sacks singer

    I’ve been making a lot of quinoa lately to cut down on our rice, pasta and couscous consumption. So I just got “The Vegetarian’s Complete Quinoa Cookbook” from Costco. It’s surprisingly good!

    Reply
  34. Cheryl

    I’m relatively new to the cooking scene due to medical issues and commonly refer to myself as “moron in the kitchen”. I dived whole hog into canning for Xmas gifts and would love to own “Saving the Season”, I like the recipes and his many asides regardless of whether they are tips or stories. I am also eagerly awating the new Marisa McClellan book. Some of the old ones I would like to own are Flour and Flour, Too. The Artisan Market was interesting although way above my palate.

    Reply
  35. Niss

    I last read Ree Drummond’s (aka The Pioneer Woman) latest cookbook–A Year of Holidays. I really enjoy her.

    Reply
  36. Paula

    My favorite cookbooks of late are Jerusalem, Pati’s Mexican Kitchen, Vegetable Literacy, and Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian. On my wish list: The A.O.C. Cookbook, Manresa, In the Charcuterie, The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, Heart of the Plate, and Gramercy Tavern Cookbook.

    Reply
  37. AntoniaJames

    Rather late to the party (congrats to the winner!), but I would like to mention one book that is not brand new, but which I discovered this summer and used about a dozen times: The Preservation Kitchen by Michelin-starred chef, Paul Virant. His aigre-douxs and pickles in particular are all excellent, as is his pumpkin butter (butternut squash roasted with spices and butter . . . not shelf stable, but it freezes beautifully); it’s like concentrated, really good pumpkin pie filling. I recommend it on not-too-sweet scones. The last third of the book consists of recipes from his restaurant that incorporate the various preserves he makes during the growing seasons. His success comes from always using excellent vinegar (white wine, red wine and champagne, mostly); also, he uses wines of all kinds, including sherry, in so many things he preserves. ;o)

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Hi Cheryl! Erika, Annie and Diana won the book giveaways. I announced it on my Facebook page (Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen)

      Reply
      • Cheryl

        Thank You Cathy,
        My computer is so old that I cannot access Facebook without the browser locking up. Someday….

        Reply

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