With two boys at home due to ship off to college in a few years, we’ve been working to get some meals under their belts so they can cook for themselves when the time comes. With that in mind, this Christmas, the whole family will be receiving cookbooks.
My noodle-loving younger son will have “Let’s Make Ramen: A Comic Book Cookbook” by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan under the tree. Part cookbook/part graphic novel, it contains 40+ recipes that include
weeknight bowls and weekend stocks, as well as a history of ramen and Japanese culinary traditions.
For my older son, I had a hard time choosing between “Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes to Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings” by James Park, because of his recent addiction to the condiment, and “Meat Pies: An Emerging American Craft” by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman, because of how much we love meat pies as an easy-to-carry snack to school and practice for a teenage boy with an insatiable appetite. So obviously I got both. (What are the perks of owning a bookstore if not this?)
For my husband, who cooks with such heart, I couldn’t pass up “The Farm Table” by Julius Roberts. It’s a beautiful book full of gorgeous food photography, as well as shots of the English countryside, and farm-to-table recipes that encourage local sourcing and seasonal cooking. Roberts also includes short essays about his philosophy of cooking. He’s worth a follow on Instagram.
It was a good year in general for cookbooks, so I had a lot to choose from. Here are some of the better books that I passed up. Food blogger favorite Tieghan Gerard has a new bestseller in “Half Baked Harvest Quick and Cozy.” The idea here was food to make when you’re short on time but still want big flavor. I’ve had a number of customers in the Book Shop comment on what a good title it is: everyone wants cozy right now and this cookbook has 120 recipes for comfort food.
British culinary star Yotam Ottolenghi also brings comfort food to his new cookbook, “Ottolenghi Comfort.” Ottolenghi — and co-authors Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller, and Tara Wigley — share 100 recipes, along with childhood memories and travel adventures, with food, friends, and family, the common connections.
Quick, weeknight cooking is the focus of a few popular cookbooks this season. “Easy Weeknight Dinners: 100 Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals for Busy People Who Still Want Something Good to Eat” by Emily Weinstein presents recipes taken from the New York Times Cooking section and promises that many of them can be made in as little as 10 minutes. (I promise you it would take me longer, but okay.) “What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities” by Julia Turshen introduces a new approach to everyday cooking by teaching the alchemy of a meal — or, in other words, how to turn the boring ingredients in your pantry and fridge into exciting dishes. Jenny Rosenstrach’s “The Weekday Vegetarians” has been one of our bestselling vegetarian cookbooks, and now she returns with “The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple,” with recipes that are even easier and quicker than in her previous cookbook.
When it comes to baking, there’s no one I trust more than the King Arthur Baking Company. Its new cookbook “The King Arthur Company Big Book of Bread” has 125 recipes for all types of bread, yeasted and naturally leavened, and all types of bakers, novice to advanced. The book also includes QR codes to how-to videos. I’ve been enjoying baking out of “Milk Street Bakes: A Baking Book with 200 Sweet and Savory Recipes” by Christopher Kimball, which has a more global outlook. At the height of apple season, I went looking for ideas and found recipes for Greek, German, and French apple cakes. (I defaulted to my favorite old apple pie recipe, but you see my point.) I’m intrigued by “The Elements of Baking: Making any recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan,” which lays out the science behind baking so bakers can adapt any recipe to fit their dietary needs or lifestyle.
I know so many of us find our recipes online these days, but I still think there’s nothing like a stained page in a cookbook to show how much we like a certain recipe, or penciled-in notes to remind ourselves we like things just so. I hope we find many new favorite dishes to share with family and friends amidst the pages of our new books. And is it a selfish present to give to an immediate family member?
You bet it is, and I don’t feel a morsel of guilt about it.
Hannah Harlow is owner of The Book Shop, an independent bookstore in Beverly Farms. Harlow writes semi-regular recommendations for our readers. See more of what she recommends reading at thecricket.com.
