In keeping with tradition I have another list of best cookbooks and food narratives for the food lovers on your holiday shopping list. Some choices reflect recent travels. Others are influenced by current events. All showcase the diversity of cuisines and cultures around the globe and in the U.S.

The list begins with cookbooks. You’ll find a short review of the standouts, followed by a few honorable mentions. After that it’s all about food writing. For past years’ best cookbooks reviews, check out Kitchen Kat’s Cookbook Reviews.

Best Cookbooks:

Feast: Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller (Random House, 2017)
Anderson and VanVeller traveled 37,000 kilometers/roughly 23,000 miles across Canada to collect recipes and stories about Canadian cuisine. The result of their journey is Feast. Part cookbook, part travel narrative, it features such Canadian specialties as Spicy Haddock and Snow Crab Cakes (Cape Breton Island), Beaton’s Mac & Cheese (NW Territories), Elk Burgers (Ontario) and Okanagan Cherry Buttermilk Chess Pie (Vancouver). Substitutions for exotic ingredients accompany each dish. This is a great gift for those wanting to expand their culinary offerings or simply learn more about our neighbors to the north.

Smörgasbord by Johanna Kindvall (Ten Speed Press, 2017)
For friends who like to entertain, give Smörgasbord: The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats. This illustrated cookbook shows how Scandinavians spruce up casual parties, picnics or a buffet table with a variety of easy yet tasty dishes. Among the Swedish classics are rustic rye bread, cardamom crisps, fresh cheese, Swedish meatballs and two of my faves, pickled herring and aquavit. Skål!

The Complete Milk Street by Christopher Kimball (Little, Brown and Co., 2018)
With two Milk Street books hitting stores in 2018, I struggled whether to include Milk Street Tuesday Nights, too. Ultimately, I went with the comprehensive The Complete Milk Street, which contains “every recipe from every episode of the popular TV show.” As you’d expect from the co-founder of the esteemed Cook’s Illustrated, Kimball’s book is detailed yet approachable and contains helpful tips and preparation times with every recipe. From simple pasta Cacio e Pepe and Brown Sugar Tart to the more complex Mexican Chicken Soup and Potato-and-Herb Focaccia The Complete Milk Street will be a welcomed gift for both the new and accomplished cook.

Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts by Mark Klebeck and Michael Klebeck (Chronicle, 2011)
Oodles of doughnut cookbooks exist. However, if you’ve ever enjoyed one of Seattle’s famed Top Pot Doughnuts, you’ll know why this is the one to get. Along with learning how to make and ice cake, yeast-raised and gluten-free doughnuts, you will master twists, bismarcks, fritters and baked doughnuts. Sour cream old fashioned and triple coconut cake are among the winners in my household.

My Lisbon by Nuno Mendes (Ten Speed Press, 2018)
Of the titles on this year’s cookbook list, My Lisbon is my favorite. Along with detailed recipes for Caldo Verde (kale soup with sausage and potatoes), Bacalhau com Broa (salt cod in a cornbread crust), Pastéis de Nata (custard tarts) and sundry other Portuguese dishes, Mendes’ book includes essays on Lisbon’s cafe culture, seafood, beach life and more. Sumptuous color and dramatic B&W photos make it a visual feast. You could easily give this to a traveler or admirer of Portugal as to a cook. It’s that beautiful and illuminating of a book. Don’t take my word for it. Check out My Lisbon and see why I’m so smitten with Mendes’ book.

The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes that Make America Great by Leyla Moushabeck (ed) (Interlink, 2018)
Living in a country founded and populated by immigrants, I fell hard for The Immigrant Cookbook. Each dish and accompanying story remind readers that the United States is a melting pot and that its blend of cultures–and cuisines–are what make the country special. Edited by Leyla Moushabeck, this cookbook features over 70 easy-to-follow recipes from first or second generation American chefs. It includes such familiar and new gems as Beef Noodle Soup and Turmeric Shrimp with Curry Leaves. Celebrate the rich diversity of the U.S. and give The Immigrant Cookbook to everyone on your list.

Chefs Eat Melts Too by Darren Purchase (Hardie Grant, 2018)
Know someone who loves grilled cheese, BLTs and other hot sandwiches? Pick up a copy of Chefs Eat Melts Too. Here chef Darren Purchase amps up the hot sandwich menu with such savory repasts as Toasted Baguette with Scrambled Egg and Harissa, Glazed Ham, Mustard, Grilled Pineapple and Cheddar Melt, and Curried Crayfish Roll with Mango Chutney. Sweet sandwiches get equal billing with recipes for White Chocolate and Strawberry Toast, Apple and Blackberry Jaffle and the Explosive Raspberry Melt. It’s a fun, flavorful look at the hot sandwich and how to make this mainstay even more delicious.

Honorable Mention:

Genius Desserts by Food52 – 100 classic dessert recipes from the renowned food blog Food52
Fish Market by Kathy Hunt – It’s the five-year anniversary of the seafood cookbook by yours truly. Fish Market features 48 fish and shellfish plus seafood-friendly sides with selecting, cleaning and cooking tips
Andina by Martin Morales – Classic and contemporary South American recipes from renowned Peruvian chef and restaurant owner Martin Morales
The German Cookbook by Alfons Schuhbeck – A comprehensive collection of recipes (500!) on German cuisine
Season: Big Flavor, Beautiful Food by Nik Sharma – Indian fusion cooking by food blogger Nik Sharma

Food Writing:

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury, 2000)
Kitchen Confidential came out the same year that I started graduate journalism school and was the best book of food writing that I’d encounter for many years. Honest, intelligent and acerbic, Bourdain blew open the doors of restaurant kitchens and exposed the wild, funny and outrageous sides of the food industry. Never again will I go to a buffet or order fish on Monday without thinking of him. Kitchen Confidential is a fabulous choice for memoir fans, food lovers, restaurant workers and anyone who enjoys engaging writing. For those who also like to travel or travel vicariously, I will suggest Bourdain’s second nonfiction book, A Cook’s Tour.

More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin (Harper Perennial, 2014)
An accomplished writer and home cook, Laurie Colwin shares the pleasures and pains of cooking in her essay collection More Home Cooking. Through such humorous and helpful pieces as “Desserts That Quiver,” “Jet Lag and How to Feed It” and “The Beet Goes On” she entertains and educates readers about hosting holiday meals, cooking for children and other culinary anxiety inducing events. Most essays contain at least one recipe. All have a plethora of useful tips, making More Home Cooking a lovely book for either the reader or cook.

Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll by Andrew Friedman (Ecco, 2018)
Here Friedman details that magical period in the restaurant industry, from the 1970s through 1980s, where cooking became a respected profession, chefs started achieving rock star status and restaurants became the place to see, be seen and make bold statements about food, politics and cooking. Friedman interviewed over 200 food professionals for Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll and his thoroughness is evident throughout the book. He includes stories about such culinary luminaries as Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio, Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl and Paul Prudhomme. For those who love food, food histories or trailblazers this is their book.

Herring: A Global History by Kathy Hunt (Reaktion, 2017)
Recently translated into Japanese, Herring: A Global History makes it to my holiday list again. Shameless promotion? Of course, but I’m still proud of the research, writing and photography that went into this nonfiction book. Herring looks at the historical, economic, political, cultural and culinary impact of this small, omega-3-rich fish. Filled with historical facts, quirky tales, over 50 color photos and 15 recipes, it’s perfect for the curious reader, food lover and nature or history buff.

Smell Detectives by Melanie A. Kiechle (University of Washington Press, 2017)
I’ve snuck this environmental history book onto the list because what we grow and manufacture greatly impacts the air we breathe. Plus, smell influences taste and whether we like or try a new food. Smell Detectives begins with a 2005 event when the scent of maple syrup wafted over New York City, puzzling residents and officials. From here readers travel back in time, to 19th century urban America and the stockyards, factories, battlefields and settlements that flavored the air and era. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, Smell Detectives will fascinate a variety of readers.