Your tried and true Cook's illustrated Best recipes.Roasted carrots, p. 150 in TNBR, excellent.Broccoli Rabe, p. 142 in TNBR, Very good, and hubby loved it! Yew York Cheese Cake, p. 868 in TNBR, my first time making Cheese Cake, and I did it for my hubby's b-day a couple years ago since it is his favorite desert.
But with the rise of food bloggers and the ever-more-engrossing Instagram, the pendulum has swung back to home cooking, and publishers have heard the call. Cookbook authors are grappling with the age-old challenge of getting food on the table in newly intrepid ways, while a fresh burst of talented voices bring a spotlight on everything from Nigerian dried-shrimp stew to handmade Oreos, with barely a whisper from the chef crowd. And you know what? We're A-OK with that. Here are the cookbooks of fall 2017 that you'll want to bring home with you.
SOLVING DINNER. By Kathy Brennan and Caroline CampionThe authors of 2013's, a sharp collection of crowd-pleasing, fuss-free recipes, are back with a new book organized around what they call 'situational weeknight cooking.' That means Thai Beef Salad that's tagged 'Make-Ahead,' 'Extra-Fast,' and 'Staggered' (able to be served in stages), along with smart ideas like Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas ('Make-Ahead', 'One-Dish,' and 'Extra-Fast,' to boot). Along the way, Brennan and Campion side-step the temptation to pack their recipes with unnecessary ingredients, but stuff the book with hard-earned tips, like adding a bit of baking soda to creamy carrot soup to help the vegetables break down without straining. By Teighan GerardGrowing up in a family of nine, Gerard started feeding herself—and those around her—when she was barely in her teens, and she's still using those comfort-food skills in Half-Baked Harvest (named after her eponymous blog) with upgraded classics like Peanut Butter Crunch French Toast and Salted Treacle Butter Apple Pie. Despite what you might think from the title, this is no collection of plant-based or paleo dishes—instead, recipes veer from Braised Pork Tamale Burrito Bowls to Crispy Buffalo Quinoa Bites with no logic other than flat-out good taste. By Ella MillsUK-based food blogger (and budding restaurateur) Ella Mills has already published two bestselling vegetarian cookbooks, but they've only increased the appetite for her homespun-yet-aspirational cooking.
In her latest collection of recipes, she highlights mini-menus ('Comfort & Spice,' 'Summer Salads') that are doable for weeknights but still fancy enough when friends come round. Along with recipes like Pistachio-Apricot Quinoa and Spiced Potato Cakes with Garlicky Tomato Sauce, she also offers a refreshingly non-preachy approach to eating, with recipes that happen to be free of wheat—but free of diet dogma, too.BUY IT.
By Emma Chapman and Elsie LarsonChapman and Larson, the sister duo behind the wildly popular A Beautiful Mess DIY style blog, have created a cookbook that appeals to veggie-loving healthy eaters and their desire for indulgence, too. In their world, weekdays are for virtuous eating (which for them means no dairy or refined sugars), while weekends are all about proverbially treating yourself. Follow their plan, or just mix and match recipes like a rainbow of grain toasts with treats like banana-topped, syrup-drenched waffles for your own beautifully messy version of a meal plan.BUY IT. By Isa Chandra MoskowitzIn the vast desert between the old-school Moosewood cookbooks and modern-day plant-based bloggers, there was one undisputed queen of vegan cooking—and that was Ms. Veganomicon was her meatless masterpiece, a satisfyingly thick tome jam-packed with unabashedly flavorful, wide-ranging recipes. Now, a decade later, the book is getting a well-deserved reissue so new cooks can discover the book for themselves while die-hard fans replace their dog-eared copies.BUY IT: APPLIANCE COOKING, REINVENTED.
From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart LivingIf the thought of Martha Stewart conjures up picture-perfect canapes and impossibly elaborate feasts, then you'll be shocked—and then flat-out delighted—by the fact that her test kitchen staff has been regularly churning out top-notch recipes for the humble slow cooker. Of course, you won't find onion-soup packets in these recipes. Instead, the book focuses on recipes that are already delicious when slow-cooked, like Summer Vegetable Tian and Chicken Tajine, officially eliminating any last traces of slow-cooker shame. And thoughtful attention to final touches, like finishing a Persian lamb stew with dill, pomegranate seeds, and pistachios, ensures your meals dazzle on the table as well as on the fork.BUY IT. By Melissa ClarkHot on the heels of her other 2017 cookbook, NY Times food columnist Melissa Clark is back with recipes for everyone's favorite bafflingly fast cooking device, the.
There may already be plenty of Instant Pot cookbooks on the market, but none of them were crafted by a cook with Clark's blend of approachable adventurousness—and her flat-out skill in the kitchen. Dishes like Japanese Beef Curry, Braised Roman-Style Lamb with Herbs & Peas, and Indian Butter Shrimp will give IP obsessives even more reason to adore the next-gen pressure cooker.
By Hugh AchesonFans of Acheson's nuanced Southern cooking at his Atlanta restaurants or in his last two cookbooks, and, might be surprised by his third book's focus. But his new slow cooker cookbook features plenty of just-fancy-enough recipes like Pot Roast with Charred Onion and Chickpea Salad, along with plenty of cheffy insight into the potential of the humble slow cooker, like the importance of searing fatty cuts of meat before simmering them, and how chiles can become way spicier the longer they cook.BUY IT: GLOBAL SNACKS. By Chetna MakanThanks to her last cookbook, we were already fans of Makan's approachable take on Indian cuisine. But although 'The Great British Bake-Off' contestant first won our hearts with her sweet recipes, her newest book tackles her first love: Indian street food. Chapters explore four main regional styles, from the tangy chilli chicken in Mumbai to spicy onion samosas from Chennai—only Makan's are wrapped in non-traditional phyllo dough to make them even easier to taste for yourself.BUY IT. By Wesley AvilaThese days, you can find everything from Korean bulgogi beef to sashimi served on a taco—but Avila, the owner of a wildly ambitious and Jonathan Gold–approved taco cart in Los Angeles, sticks to creations that are genuinely delicious rather than merely gimmicky. Full of renegade spirit and hard-won wisdom, Avila doesn't get hung up on the importance of making your own tortillas from scratch.
Instead he's all about focusing on deeply flavorful toppings, from creative but quasi-traditional shrimp and chorizo tacos with tomatillo salsa to crazy-tasty innovations like roasted pumpkin or braised beef tendon.BUY IT. By Andy Ricker with JJ GoodeIn America, drinking food means mini pretzels and Buffalo wings. But across Thailand, a bottle of Singha or a shot of whiskey is the perfect excuse to indulge in food that's way more spicy, salty, sour, and flat-out interesting. Ricker, the Portland-based chef who approaches Thai food with something approaching religious devotion, showcases an eye-opening assortment of recipes that are the perfect excuse to have a bunch of friends over for drinks, from crispy red-skinned peanuts stir-fried with lime leaf, garlic, and chiles to kai thawt (dry-fried Thai-spiced chicken wings).BUY IT: LEARNING TO COOK.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle by David TanisCooking seasonally may not be a ground-breaking concept, but it is a tricky one—deciding what to cook based on what looks good at the market only works if you have a roster of simple, accessible recipes for each ingredient at your fingertips. Luckily, that's exactly what the new book from NY Times food columnist (and author of the equally stellar cookbooks and ) delivers here. Wondering what to do with the wild mushrooms you just picked up? Saute them into a creamy tagliatelle pasta, glaze them with bok choy, or make a rich, satisfying mushroom ragout.
Bonus: A compact chapter of homey French desserts like Rustic Apple Tart round out the savory dishes nicely.BUY IT. By Alex GuarnaschelliYou won't find on-trend ingredients or innovative reinventions in the new book from chef and Food Network personality Alex Guarnaschelli—instead, she shares the recipes that have been her 'constant companion' through a lifetime of restaurant and home cooking. It's a quirky, comforting collection that aspires to be a Silver Palate for a new age, the kind of reliable resource you'd turn to again and again.
Indeed, Guarnaschelli even dares to tweak the beloved Chicken Marbella, swapping out the capers for a generous dose of Dijon. More classics, gently spruced up, fill the rest of the book: New England clam chowder gets a dose of Spanish chorizo, a dash of Worcestershire, and a sprinkle of dill, while fresh ginger and nutty parsnips liven up a moist carrot cake. Along the way, quirky chapters ('The Onion Family', 'Italian-American Cookies') paint a picture of a cook who follows her own sense of taste. By Gail Simmons with Mindy FoxMost people know Gail Simmons from her longtime gig as one of the judges on Top Chef, but behind the tough-minded critic lies an avid home cook—and a born teacher. Along with food writer (and frequent Epi contributor) Mindy Fox, she's crafted a super-approachable slew of recipes that have surprise insights tucked away. Simmons caramelizes bananas in butter before adding oatmeal and simmering until creamy; seasons her schnitzel with za'atar; and bakes blueberries into her lemon bars, and from now on, I will too.BUY IT: ALL ABOUT CENTRAL ASIA. By Olia HerculesOpen one of Olia Hercules' books, and you don't just skim through recipes—you immerse yourself in the places they came from.
Her first book, transported me to one of her homelands, Ukraine, and in her second book, she brings you to the Caucasus, a region between Europe and Asia that's been largely ignored by cookbook authors. With sensitivity and insight, Hercules explores a range of tangled, often troubled, and always delicious cultures, from Georgia and Azerbaijan to Armenia (where much of Hercules' family is from) and Uzbekistan. Unexpected flavors find their way into familiar dishes, like tarragon in peach salad, dried marigold petals in the stuffed eggplant, while festive dishes like plov (pilaf) with pumpkin, chestnut, and walnut are experiences all their own. Throughout, photographs of heart-stopping beauty and vivid snapshots of home cooks make this an unforgettable journey.BUY IT.
By Bonnie Frumkin Morales with Deena PrichepA few years ago, Frumkin Morales and her husband opened their rowdy, revelatory Russian restaurant in Portland, OR, and smashed all the tired cliches about Russian cooking. Now, they've gathered their recipes into a cookbook that manages to include tips on putting together an overstuffed table of appetizers, infusing vodka, folding pelmeni dumplings, and a visual guide to Russian supermarket candy. Try their recipe for crispy-skinned, garlic-drenched game hen tabaka and you'll never mistake real Russian food for bland again.BUY IT: GREAT READS. By Emily Kaiser ThelinInitially self-published following a successful Kickstarter campaign, this hybrid biography-cookbook is now being reissued by a major publisher—so if you haven't already picked up a copy to read through and cook from, now's the time. Legendary cookbook author Paula Wolfert, working with food writer Emily Thelin, embarked on an inspiring project to set down her most important recipes and memories as Wolfert struggles with the Alzeimer's disease that will eventually rob her of them. The resulting volume is, well, the title says it all.BUY IT.
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By Vincent PriceSure, could scare the bejeesus out of you with that silky, insidious voice, but the talents of the Hollywood star and Fright Night staple didn't stop there. Nope, he was a ridiculously talented home cook and an intrepid gourmand as well, and this reissue of one of his most beloved books proves it. Inviting readers to travel 'around the world, using your cooker instead of a jet-plane,' he shares recipes for Moroccan Tajine and Dutch Fish Fillets Noord Zee, along with plenty of priceless (!!) bits of anecdote and trivia, making this book ideal for the bedside as well as the kitchen. By Yemesi Aribisala'Nigerians don't talk about their food,' writes Aribisala, in this engrossing series of essays. 'I think perhaps it is a way of keeping that which is sacrosanct just so by not tainting it with words.' But on the contrary, Longthroat Memoirs illuminates the food that over 180 million Nigerians eat every day: Endless varieties of pepper soups, countless ways of fermenting locust beans, the very best blood-red palm oil harvested just after the heavy rains. Woven into the food is an unvarnished but evocative look at the profound role food plays in Nigerian culture: Fodder for marriage, misunderstandings, rapture, and deep shame.
It almost reads like, but through the prism of food.BUY IT. By Julia TurshenThe stated purpose of most cookbooks is to help us feed ourselves better, easier, and/or more interesting food. But this pocket-sized volume from food writer Julia Turshen has a higher purpose: feeding your community. 'Cooking shows us over and over again that we can make things happen, with just our hands,' Turshen writes, and readers who might feel paralyzed and hopeless about the state of our nation will find comfort—and galvanizing action steps—in these pages. Eclectic, often vegan recipes, from Somali-style pasta to Tandoori Roast Cauliflower, are easy to scale up for a crowd and designed for portability.
And thanks to a range of accessible essays on political involvement and social justice from some of Turshen's inspiring friends, food lovers who want to effect change will find easy ways to make a real difference. Bonus: All proceeds from the book will be donated to the ACLU.BUY IT: Amazing Baking.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle by Stella ParksIn the foreword to this delightful collection of American desserts, describes Parks as 'the result of a biological accident where a lab technician dropped Betty Crocker, Ernie the Keebler Elf, Mr. Wizard, and Fannie Farmer's DNA samples into an incubator and out emerged a living, breathing pastry goddess.' And this goddess works miracles both with classic American desserts like Butterscotch Blondies (with brown butter, white chocolate, and malted milk powder to bump up the flavor) and better-than-store-bought versions of classic treats (her homemade Hostess-Style Cupcakes feature an irresistible marshmallow-y creme filling made from real ingredients). Bonus: As you bake your way through the book, you'll learn about the history of Heath Toffee and ice-cream saloons, too.BUY IT. By Jim Lahey with Maya JosephAmericans first fell in love with baker Jim Lahey's (featured in a New York Times article by Mark Bittman), so it's no wonder that bread was the focus of Lahey's first book,. His follow-up, featured recipes from his acclaimed New York pizzeria, Co.
But The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook, named after Lahey's acclaimed bakery, might be his most personal and complete book yet. He shares his secrets for developing even more flavor in his loaves with a super-accessible sourdough starter. He offers a taste of the 'baker's food' that Lahey serves at: That means trays of his Roman-style pizza, topped with capicola salami and fermented chile peppers and 'post-modern' chicken sandwiches with avocado and kimchi. And of course, not-too-sweet treats in the Italian style, like apple bread pudding and orange and olive oil cake, are given their due. By Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen GohOttolenghi may have built his reputation on vibrant, in books like and, but he started his career as a pastry chef, and his new book of desserts is a sweet homecoming. Just like his savory recipes focused on vegetables, sweets like Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs are mostly fruit-focused, while Ottolenghi's skill with exotic spice is deployed deliciously in recipes like Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut, and Rosewater.BUY IT.
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By Amy Emberling and Frank CarolloAnybody who has ever ordered a tin of —or a jar of, or a pound of rare —from the website of Ann Arbor's legendary Zingerman's has also probably thrown in one of the deli's or Ginger Jump-Up Cookies. For those recipes alone, this is a crucial addition to any baker's bookshelf. Perhaps less expected (but just as worthy) are the recipes for Detroit-style pizza, vanilla-glazed crullers, spice-packed New Deli (see what they did there?) coffeecake, and the solid business advice (yes, business advice) that fills the rest of these pages.BUY IT. By Linda LomelinoIf you're a pie-baking obsessive looking for the next essential volume for your collection, Lomelino's Pies is a no-brainer. Packed with moody photography, impeccable food styling, and innovative ideas, the newest book from food writer and blogger will have you scrambling to find your rolling pin. On every page, tasty creativity abounds: a crust infused with chilled cubes of brown butter; a pistachio crumble topping for a plum pie, and a banana cream pie that's packed with peanuts, caramel and rum.BUY IT.
By Erin Jeanne McDowellUnderstand the logic behind the recipe, and you can do more than just bake it—you can fearlessly tweak it to suit your own taste. That's the theme behind Food52 columnist McDowell's first cookbook, an approachable collection of treats filled with smart insights, like adding cream cheese to sandwich cookie dough to make it easier to work with (and tastier to eat). First on my list to tackle? The Caramel Corn Layer Cake. And the Grapefruit Meringue Pie.
Oh, and the Chocolate-Glazed 'Shmallow Grahams, of course.BUY IT.