When the cook in your life falls in love with a new cookbook, you can tell right away. She or he sits right down, shuts out the world and pores through it, savoring the text and recipes as if a kid (or adult, let’s face it) devouring the latest Harry Potter. A new cookbook, whether the latest by a beloved author or something entirely new, becomes a treasure. A journey into another world, another cuisine, or a visit with familiar dishes from childhood.
Standing in front of the cookbook shelves at the local bookseller, staring at the hundreds and hundreds of new titles that come out each year, is daunting. We know because they all show up here–or at least it seems so. To help with holiday gift-giving, we’ve sorted through many of them and come up with some favorites.
Bruce Aidells’s Complete Book of Pork
by Bruce Aidells
HarperCollins, $29.95
Bruce Aidells really knows his stuff. So when his book arrived, I got goose bumps. Not only does Aidells take a pig apart, cut by cut, so you can shop wisely, he also sup-plies master recipes, with variations, for all three meals and six types of cuts. I was particularly delighted by Part 4: Preserving Pork, in which Aidells explains the how-to’s for sausages, pates and terrines, bacon, salami and other cured cuts. Between the pork rillettes and the pork con-fit, it might be tough to find room in my fridge for the homemade brown sugar and sage breakfast patties. Something tells me I’ll figure out a solution.
–Robin Mather Jenkins
Pie
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by Ken Haedrich
Harvard Common Press, $24.95
Written with the presumption that many folks find pie making difficult, “Pie” assures us that we can learn how to do it, and do it well. The subtitle captures the allure: “300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie.” Here are pies ranging from a basic apple to chocolate s’mores pie with jubilee cherry sauce. The apple pie chapter alone is 53 pages with 25 recipes, if you count the Ritz mock apple pie. This is not just a pie cookbook, but an encyclopedia of everything pie. Recipes boast extensive head notes and “Recipe for success” footnotes full of tips. Anecdotes, histories and tidbits are sprinkled throughout like butter dotting a pie filling.
–Joe Gray
The Tex-Mex Cookbook
by Robb Walsh
Broadway Books, $17.95
In his books and in his restaurant reviews for the Houston Press, Robb Walsh has al-ways told the stories most people never get to hear. “The Tex-Mex Cookbook” lets him do just that with what he calls the “ugly duckling” of American regional cuisine.
Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that moniker, mind you. Walsh is too smart to turn this homey and sometimes homely example of fusion cooking into a graceful culinary swan, yet he does delight in skewering the so-called experts who have dismissed Tex-Mex cooking out of hand. Indeed, if there is one motivational force, or target, it would be the steely Diana Kennedy, the enormously influential British-born author whose cookbooks routinely trash the “mixed plates” served in the American Southwest. Indeed, Walsh thanks her for it, because “by convincing us that Tex-Mex wasn’t really Mexican food, she forced us to realize that it was something far more interesting: America’s oldest re-gional cuisine.”
Through stories, interviews and his own memories, Walsh brings alive the vibrant Tejano culture from the earliest days of the Spanish conquest to today’s Tex-Mex found ’round the world. Sprinkled liberally throughout are some marvelous archival photographs and 100 recipes that vividly underscore the appeal of Tex-Mex cooking.
–Bill Daley
Occasions to Savor
by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $40
Because I’m always pleased to come across a cookbook that stirs up more than recipes, I enjoyed spending time with “Occasions to Savor” from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Camille Cosby, a member of the 91-year-old African-American sorority that’s well-known for contributions to education and service, wrote the book’s forward. The 250 recipes are seasoned with a cultural slant. In a section de-voted to breads and breakfast foods, recipes for gingerbread waffles and corn cakes are nestled near a short biography of Osceola McCarthy Adams, whetting my appetite for a snack as well as for more information about the pioneering actress and director who married the first dean of Howard University Medical School. A timesaving peach cobbler recipe calling for canned peaches in sweetened syrup stirred into an inexpensive brand-name cake mix of debatable quality offered a reminder about democracy at work when a large group puts together a recipe collection. The old-school version turns up a few pages later, however, and the book has dozens of hand-me-down heirlooms such as the five-flavor poundcake contributed by Rita Simpkins-Smith from the Chicago alumnae chapter.
–Donna Pierce
Breath of a Wok
by Grace Young and Alan Richardson
Simon & Schuster, $35
“Breath of a Wok” is an eye-catcher that follows the quest of the authors to discover “wok hay,” the Cantonese term describing the elusive flavor of foods that have been properly stir-fried. We follow their search through Alan Richardson’s photographs and Grace Young’s text and through the recipes gathered from expert cooks across the U.S., China and Hong Kong. A combination of a how-to book, travelogue and memoir, “Breath of a Wok” will entice anyone with a love of Chinese cooking.
–Carol Mighton Haddix
Emeril’s Potluck: Comfort Food with a Kicked-Up Attitude
by Emeril Lagasse
William Morrow, $24.95
For every vocal fan of the Bam!-man, there’s an equally vocal foe–both groups largely amassed from his over-the-top television persona and lively (or circusy, depending whom you ask) show on Food Network. This love-hate yin-yang can obscure the fact that Emeril Lagasse’s books are so dependable, filled with accessible recipes that yield excellent results. His latest follows suit, this one tailored to feeding a crowd without compelling the host/cook to hire a live band and wildly wave her spatula and skillet while preparing them. (But, hey, don’t let us stop you.) Southwest cheesecake, a savory appetizer with Manchego and Parmesan, oven-poached salmon with pink grapefruit and tarragon sauce, and flourless chocolate cake with Kahlua are a few examples of recipes that can please your audience while acquainting you with a gentler, quieter Emeril. I don’t know about you, but that’s the one I prefer.
–Renee Enna
The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
The Countryman Press, $29.95
Cookie lovers, veterans or rookies, will adore this cookbook from the baking supply company in Vermont. It’s cheerfully authoritative, informative but never pedantic, and written by folks who clearly love the topic. Recipes lean toward homespun, not haute (these are cookies, after all) with careful instruction to guarantee good results. The three I made–brownies, chocolate chip-macadamia nut cookies and chocolate-walnut bar cookies–would have given me bragging rights at any bake sale or cookie exchange. In addition to offering dozens of recipes, the authors cover ingredients, tools, techniques and storage. This “Com-panion” will give you great cookies and improve your baking skills in the process.
–Renee Enna
I’m Just Here for More Food
by Alton Brown
Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $32.50
People who like Alton Brown, host of Food Network’s “Good Eats” program, really like him a lot. The guy inspires a cult-like following, and I’m an acolyte. His second book demystifies baking (with side trips into some dishes that aren’t baked, like ice cream). Not surprisingly, he organizes his books differently than any other baking book, breaking it into segments by process rather than by in-gredient. Thus, if you master the muffin method, you can make any of the 18 reci-pes in that section; if you conquer the creaming method, you’ll have an additional dozen recipes in your repertoire. Along the way, you’ll learn the why’s of what you’re doing, along with a lot of silly trivia and entertaining tangents. Brown’s first book, “I’m Just Here for the Food,” got praise from all quarters, and Bon Appetit magazine named him cooking teacher of the year.
–Robin Mather Jenkins
Kitchen Life
by Art Smith
Hyperion, $18.95
Since moving into a furnished apartment for a Disney World college internship, my son occasionally makes phone calls that take on a frantic tone. Away from his mom’s kitchen and college dorm cafeteria, he has found that meal preparation can be quite a challenge. “Do you have any idea how much groceries cost?” he asked one day. And on another: “How do I cook frozen chicken? And why did all the bananas turn black in the refrigerator?” Art Smith comes to the rescue with “Kitchen Life,” an easy-to-read handy reference for rookie cooks and anyone wanting to organize a kitchen routine around quick and healthful meals. Pan-try suggestions, cooking hints, money-saving tips and super-easy recipes are included in what I consider a gift with the best chance to keep on giving. Who knows? Maybe my son will surprise me with smoked turkey quesadillas from the book when he comes home to visit. Plus, part of the volume’s proceeds go to Smith’s non-profit Common Threads project, which teaches children to appreciate diversity through cooking and other creative endeavors.
–Donna Pierce
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
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by Molly Stevens
Norton, $35
I’m a sucker for slow cooking. Oh sure, sautes and stir-fries have their place. But a long-cooked dish from the oven will win me over every time. That’s why I hungrily paged through Molly Stevens’ book when it arrived in the mail. From the beautiful photography to the mouthwatering recipes, the book nudges me back to the kitchen. I want to try the Moroccan chicken with green olives and preserved lemons, the Vietnamese braised scallops and the duck ragu with bucatini pasta. I’ve already enjoyed the delicious braised fennel with thyme and black olives and the intriguing and tender pork pot roast with apricots, cardamom and ginger. And Stevens is so helpful: Once you read the introduction, you will know all of the in’s and out’s of braising–and why braised foods taste so good.
–Carol Mighton Haddix
Marcella Says …
by Marcella Hazan
HarperCollins, $29.95
Marcella Hazan has had a lot to say in her three decades of teaching and writing about Italian cooking. With “Marcella Says…,” which the 80-year-old maestra terms her last, Hazan has more stories for us, for that is how she describes her book: telling stories through recipes. “I haven’t stopped cooking yet,” she writes, going on to justify the book–as if fans needed such a thing–with this: “I have some delicious new stories to tell you.” She offers us a lengthy discussion of what she calls “Master Class”–topics essential to the “way of Italian cooking.” She also speaks in asides inserted into recipes, at the point where she thinks they will do the most good. Labeled “Marcella Says,” they explain the why of a step or technique in a conversational tone. But mostly, she speaks through her recipes, where she captures true Italian flavor and technique and entices us to try the risotto with butternut squash, leeks and clams or a chicken thigh pasta sauce with herbs, tomatoes and white wine. As long as she’s still cooking we’re still listening.
–Joe Gray
Fast Food My Way
by Jacques Pepin
Houghton Mifflin, $30
Jacques Pepin’s 23rd book is an opportunity to appreciate anew all that an experienced master chef like Pepin can offer the home cook. Especially valuable is the opening chapter, “More Ideas for Quick Dishes,” which offers doable ideas without mucking it up with teaspoons and cupfuls and other details.
Typical is this “recipe” for cheese crostini: “To make them, I arrange leftover slices of baguette on an oiled cooking sheet and top with plum tomato slices, Gruyere, a dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper. I bake them in a hot oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until nicely browned, sprinkle them with a little chopped cilantro or parsley, and serve.” What more do you really need, right?
Yet, Pepin has no problem holding our proverbial hand when needed. He is a master teacher who can explain the magic of cooking in clear, vivid terms we can all understand.
Pepin’s definition of fast food is nourishing, flavorful food executed simply. All these recipes use readily available ingredients and range from humble beans to lobster. The dishes have an elegant simplicity any home cook can aspire to–and attain.
–Bill Daley
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Not to be forgotten
Here is a list of favorites that were reviewed earlier this year in Good Eating. If they’re not in stock at your local book-store, you can order them; all were found via online booksellers too.
The Big Book of Backyard Cooking, by Betty Rosbottom (Chronicle, $19.95)
A Celebration of Herbs: Recipes from The Huntington Herb Garden (Huntington Library Press, $29.95)
Chocolate American Style, by Lora Brody (Clarkson Potter, $35)
Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour, by Peter Berley with Melissa Clark (Regan Books, $34.95)
The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl (Houghton Mifflin, $40)
Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes, by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness (Clarkson Potter, $32.50)
John Ash: Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher, by John Ash (Clarkson Potter, $37.50)
The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking, by Susanna Hoffman (Workman, $19.95)
Pizza Art: The Most Delicious Pieces of Art You Have Ever Eaten!, by Karin
Niedermeier (The Globe Pequot Press, $12.95)
The Provence Cookbook, by Patricia Wells (HarperCollins $29.95)
Quick and Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes, by Nancie McDermott (Chronicle, $18.95)
Roma: Authentic Recipes from In and Around the Eternal City, by Julia della Croce (Chronicle, $19.95)
Schott’s Food & Drink Miscellany, by Ben Schott (Bloomsbury, $14.95)
Wok Every Day, by Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van Vynckt (Chronicle; $24.95)