Cookbook Reviews

Give the Gift of Cookbooks

With the holidays right around the corner and Black Friday looming on the horizon I’m serving an assortment of new cookbooks in this week’s review. Whether shopping for the culinary novice or expert, you’ll find something for any and every cook here. However, if none match your gift recipient’s exact interests, check out my past suggestions under “Cookbooks.”

NIGELLA KITCHEN by Nigella Lawson (Hyperion, 2010)
I kicked off Tuesday’s cookbook treasures with Nigella Lawson’s first book. Now I’m celebrating her latest, “Nigella Kitchen.” Filled with the cleverness and wit that made “How to Eat” so enjoyable, “Nigella Kitchen” is likewise loaded with Lawson’s homey recipes. Take, for instance, the cheerfully named sunshine soup, date steak or jumbleberry jam. With roughly 190 dishes at their fingertips home cooks will consult this fun, approachable book for years to come.

SUBSTITUTING INGREDIENTS by Becky Sue Epstein (Source Books, 2010)
Ever get halfway through cooking a meal before you realize that you’ve run out of a crucial ingredient? Take heart. Thanks to Becky Sue Epstein’s “Substituting Ingredients,” you’ll know all the tricks for successful substitution. From splashing lime juice over strawberries to stand in for missing kiwis to replacing ground cloves with allspice, mace or nutmeg, “Substituting Ingredients” shares a wealth of useful culinary information. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer and the ideal book for any cook.

FORGOTTEN SKILLS OF COOKING by Darina Allen (Kyle Books, 2010)
Dubbed the ‘Julia Child of Ireland,’ Darina Allen offers over 700 wholesome recipes in her latest cookbook. While emphasizing seasonal cooking and “forgotten skills,” Allen leads readers of “Forgotten Skills of Cooking” through countless traditional techniques. She provides, among other things, sections on foraging for wild nuts, fruits and mushrooms, preparing fresh fish and game, smoking foods, and making jams, chutneys, butters and cordials. An invaluable tome, “Forgotten Skills of Cooking” will delight both serious foodies and cooks.

THE ESSENTIAL NEW YORK TIMES COOKBOOK by Amada Hesser (W.W. Norton & Co., 2010)
Few cooks could resist 150 years-worth of celebrated recipes from The New York Times. In Amanda Hesser’s compilation, “The Essential New York Times Cookbook,” that’s exactly what they’ll get — over 1,400 recipes from a century and a half of the venerated newspaper. Hesser packs this hefty book with fascinating histories, cooking tips, reader feedback and, of course, beloved recipes. Destined to become a classic, “The Essential New York Times Cookbook” is a wonderful gift for any cook or culinary history buff.

NOMA: TIME AND PLACE IN NORDIC CUISINE by Rene Redzepi (Phaidon Press, 2010)
Called “the most important cookbook of 2010” by the Wall Street Journal, Rene Redzepi’s “Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine” is unquestionably the most beautiful cookbook that I’ve seen in ages. Enhanced by 200 gorgeous color photographs of ingredients and finished dishes, the renowned Danish chef’s book showcases fresh, seasonal, sustainable cooking. With 90 modern Nordic recipes and several essays by and about Redzepi “Noma” will charm serious cooks and food lovers.

PLENTY by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, 2010)
Searching for a stunning and inspiring vegetarian cookbook? Yotam Ottolenghi‘s “Plenty” is the one to buy. The Israeli-British chef’s second book draws from his “New Vegetarian” column in The Guardian newspaper and features Mediterranean-inspired, vegetarian cuisine. With creative yet easy-to-follow recipes and vibrant photographs Ottolenghi breathes new life into vegetarian meals. An import from the UK, this book is available in the States through Amazon and specialty booksellers such as New York’s Kitchen Arts and Letters.

Filed under: Cookbook Reviews

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Based on the U.S. East Coast, I am a trained journalist, writer and photographer specializing in food, travel, STEM and education. My articles appear in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Standardization News, VegNews and See All This. I have written two nonfiction books, contributed to two other books and provided the photography for one. A world traveler, I have journeyed through 51 countries and six continents, collecting story ideas as I've roamed.