Abrams Books/Knopf/Ten Speed Press
As we gear up for the holidays and an intense hosting season, it may be worth adding some fresh cookbooks to your repertoire. Thankfully, this fall has been bountiful when it comes to new releases. From Top Chef contestants and winners to some of the country’s most recognizable culinary names, chefs have been hard at work preparing books to get you excited about being in the kitchen. Whether you’re looking for accessible baking projects or hands-on spreads, the following cookbooks have it all.
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“Dac Biet”
Image Credit: Knopf Nini Nguyen is perhaps best known for her two turns on Top Chef, including a season of All-Stars. Now Nguyen has turned her skills into Dac Biet, a cookbook that emphasizes her New Orleans and Vietnamese roots. The phrase “dac biet” translates loosely to something special, luxurious, or over-the-top in English, but Nguyen emphasizes that that doesn’t mean spending more money or time in the kitchen. Rather, she uses it to add an unexpected flavor to a recipe or to highlight an uncommon cut of meat. Find that in recipes such as soy-sauce chicken with sticky rice, sticky fried shrimp banh mi, and ground meat with lemongrass.
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“Southern Get-Togethers”
Image Credit: Chronicle Books If you’re aiming to bring some southern hospitality to your next gathering, Kelsey Barnard Clark has got you covered with her latest cookbook. Southern Get-Togethers is a one-stop shop for party planning, whether you’re hosting a casual brunch or a formal French feast. Barnard Clark, who catered her first wedding at 15 and has been hosting ever since, includes tips for building a beautiful tablescape, arranging flowers, and more pre-party essentials. Then she offers more than 100 recipes for all sorts of parties: smoked brisket for game day, steak and twice-baked potatoes for a BYO steak night, and paella plus flan de leche for a paella night, among others.
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“Sunlight & Breadcrumbs”
Image Credit: Abrams Books One of Seattle’s most renowned chefs and restaurateurs, Renee Erickson is also an artist. With a B.F.A. from the University of Washington, Erickson is using her latest cookbook, Sunlight & Breadcrumbs, to combine that training with her prowess in the culinary realm. The tome uses her own paintings and photographs alongside recipes that highlight the creative process that takes place in the kitchen, too. The dishes are meant to be approachable, and the writing encourages home cooks to trust their own impulses. Use Erickson’s recipes for roast chicken with anchovy, ginger, and crème fraiche; winter wedge with cabbage, stilton, and dates; and grilled lamb with Aleppo pepper, whipped tahini, and nectarines as a starting point.
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“Bodega Bakes”
Image Credit: Union Square & Co. Fall is a great time to focus your kitchen efforts on baking, and Paola Velez knows that better than most. The James Beard–nominated pastry chef’s debut cookbook, Bodega Bakes, is meant to be accessible to bakers of all levels, containing dozens of recipes for both those with a sweet tooth and those who lean savory. Raised partly in the Dominican Republic, Velez’s recipes for treats like tres leches cake and guava and cheese pastelitos are nods to the country’s traditional desserts. Plantain sticky buns and mango-and-brown-butter blondies, meanwhile, are twists on American classics. Bodega Bakes has a little of everything, from cookies to pies to flan to freezer desserts.
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“Life’s Sweetest Moments”
Image Credit: Harvest As the inventor of the Cronut, Dominique Ansel knows a thing or two about pastries. And while that specific treat might be a bit complicated for home baking, Ansel’s latest cookbook shares kitchen-friendly desserts for all of our big—and small—occasions. Life’s Sweetest Moments pairs each recipe with a specific happening: For a new job, you might make Nutella milkbread, while a proposal may lend itself to hot chocolate with pink Champagne marshmallows. Along the way, Ansel shares stories about his loved ones and regular patrons at his bakeries. Just remember: You don’t need a big reason to dig in. You can simply whip up and enjoy an Ansel recipe just because you want to.
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“Soups, Salads, Sandwiches”
Image Credit: Ten Speed Press In The Bear, Matty Matheson’s character may be surrounded by the world of fine dining, but the chef’s latest cookbook drills down into more casual fare. In fact, Matheson’s guide focuses on just three categories: soups, salads, and sandwiches. Those groups are quite expansive, though. Soups encompasses everything from crab congee to creamy sausage soup with rapini and tortellini, while salads range from macaroni and tuna salad to roasted shallot salad with sherry vinegar and rye breadcrumbs. As for sandwiches, you can whip up a French dip, an Italian combo, or banana bread French toast with fried egg, peameal bacon, and maple syrup. The title may be simple; the food is anything but.
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“My Egypt”
Image Credit: Voracious Michael Mina is a powerhouse in the American culinary scene, with dozens of restaurants throughout the United States. But until now he hasn’t quite delved into his Egyptian roots and the country’s cuisine. In My Egypt, Mina rectifies that, sharing recipes inspired by five years of travel to Egypt, infused with his California approach to cooking. Starters and vegetables encompass smoky baba ghanoush and halloumi and watermelon salad, and mains include lemon saffron couscous and feta-brined chicken with mint and green onions. Finish off with desserts such as labne frozen yogurt and rice pudding with figs. Here, Mina’s personal journey is one that we all get to enjoy.
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“The Four Horsemen”
Image Credit: Abrams Books A decade after opening, the Four Horsemen may still be one of the hardest tables to get in New York City. Thankfully, you can now make some of the Michelin-starred restaurant’s dishes at home, with the release of its debut cookbook. Following an intro from the restaurant’s cofounder (and LCD Soundsystem frontman) James Murphy, dive into chef Nick Curtola’s recipes for casual yet impressive dishes like fusilli with slow-roasted beef ragu, mussels with stewed leeks and garlicky broth on toast, and flourless chocolate cake with zabaglione. Pair your meal with some natural wine—which the restaurant is also well known for—and it’ll almost seem like you’re in the cozy Brooklyn space.
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“In the Catbird Seat”
Image Credit: Turner Earlier this year, Nashville’s the Catbird Seat released a limited-edition coffee-table cookbook that sold out quickly. Because of that high demand, the restaurant is now putting out a trade version of the same tome, which pays homage to chef Brian Baxter’s time at the lauded restaurant. Here, he brings readers into the Catbird Seat, including how he planned the menus and how he steered the restaurant through the pandemic. Of course, you’ll find recipes for the food he has cooked up, too: There’s “redneck sushi” with crispy grits, swordfish ham, and fermented tomato from the summer of 2020 and barbecued spiny lobster with fermented pineapple and burnt fresno chilies from fall of the same year. If you ate at the Catbird Seat while Baxter was the chef, it’s a way to relive that moment. And if not, you can transport yourself back in time and feel as if you had that experience anyway.
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“Bake Club”
Image Credit: Knopf During the pandemic, Christina Tosi—the mastermind behind Milk Bar—started Bake Club as a way to bring some joy into people’s kitchens. Now she has translated that into her latest cookbook, which aims to be accessible to home bakers of all skill levels with whatever ingredients and implements they have on hand. Whether you’re baking for breakfast (croissants, English muffins), whipping up a cake (peaches and cream upside-down cake), or experimenting with desserts (glazed pumpkin pie bars, frosted gingersnaps), Tosi encourages you to make modifications and follow your instincts. Of course, it’s never a bad idea to follow hers as well.
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“Sun-Kissed Cooking”
Image Credit: Harper For her first cookbook, the Top Chef winner Brooke Williamson is turning to the garden. As the subtitle makes clear, Sun-Kissed Cooking puts vegetables at the front and center of every recipe. Organized by ingredient, the chapters range from spring artichokes and asparagus to summer tomatoes to winter squash. And while vegetarians will find dozens of recipes to suit their palate, omnivores aren’t left out: Williamson has incorporated proteins in dishes like corn and salt cod chowder. Plus, there are even cocktails, such as watermelon-hibiscus rum punch. Williamson is here to prove that, yes, vegetables can be fun.
