Cookbooks & Food Writing

Punyaratabandhu’s grilling recipes for seafood, meat and vegetables cooked over charcoal is fantastic. With Filipino Roasted Pork Belly Rolls to Malaysian-Style Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken Wings to Chicken Satay with Coriander and Cinnamon and beyond, these recipes showcase the vibrant flavors of Asian-style barbecue that will definitely tempt you to move beyond burgers. 

This gorgeous book about the food, ingredients, and people of Palestine, is by the coauthors of Yotam Ottolenghi’s bestsellers Jerusalem, Ottolenghi (Sami Tamimi), and Ottolenghi Simple (Tara Wigley). It is a mouthwatering collection of over 120 recipes, from breakfast to dessert, that feature bright and bold flavors and spices like sumac and za’atar. “A cookbook should make you dream, it should invite you to an expanding table, and, more important, it should make you drop everything and head straight to the kitchen. This book does all that.” — Naz Deravian, author of Bottom of the Pot

What can I say? I love this queer Chicano chef and this cookbook! Castillo’s fun and delicious recipes are presented alongside stories of his life and family, making the book a joy to cook from. I also appreciated how easy the recipes were to use and how patiently Castillo explains how to do things. If you’ve never cooked Mexican food, this is the perfect primer, and if you’re looking for some playful variations on these flavors, you’re in for a real treat. 

This ambitious book is the perfect starting place for anyone who is curious about spirits south of the border. Each section deals with a different source: agave, sugarcane, and grape. Mix gives the history behind these delicious drinks as well as information on the ethics of buying them, and doesn’t shy away from the less savory aspects of the drinks. While most of her cocktails match her status as world-class bartender, there are a few (hello, caipirinha) that are a simple and elegant, the perfect introduction to these amazing spirits. ¡Salud!

This compact book is packed with super delicious vegetarian options for the grill. Charred will take you beyond familiar skewered vegetables, with options like Jerk-Spiced Plantains, Moroccan-Spiced Eggplant and Tomato, and Barbecued Carrot with Ricotta and Toasted Pecans. Even the burgers—including Herby Falafel Burgers with Hummus—are exciting! I especially like the inclusion of fritters and polenta cakes, which I had never thought about grilling (on a griddle pan). We are going to wear this book out this summer!

This cookbook is the perfect addition to any Italian food lover or vegetarian’s culinary bookshelf. With gorgeous photos, user-friendly formatting, and recipes that somehow manage to be both elegant and easy to make, The Vegetarian Silver Spoon contains everything you could ask of a cookbook. Great for vegetarian and vegan chefs as well as anyone looking to try their hand at the perfect contorno (vegetable side dish). 

What is the difference between jams, marmalades, preserves, and butters? Oh, you’re going to learn and you’re going to love it! And how about shrubs? Have you ever sipped a shrub? Not the bush kind, but a fruit syrup, preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a refreshing beverage. It Starts with Fruit will quell all of your fears about canning and inspire you to preserve everything you see at the farmers’ market. The photography and illustrations are beautiful and the stories that accompany each recipe will make it seem like you’re preserving more than just food.

This is quickly becoming another favorite cookbook of mine. If a cookbook can be considered a page-turner, this is one that I couldn’t put down. Kim’s story of his immigration unfolds, from his first taste memories in South Korea through his life growing up in London and New York to the opening of his Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, Danji, which would receive a Michelin star, the first ever in the world for a Korean restaurant. This book is truly inspiring and I can’t wait to begin my own Korean food cooking journey.

Best-selling author Bill Buford (Heat) moves his life from New York to Lyon, the insular French city preoccupied with all things culinary, to learn how to cook French food, and to see what drives French cooks to abuse themselves and others in pursuit of culinary excellence. The answers lie in the traditional pig slaughter he attends, the great chefs he meets, his neighborhood baker, and le rigeur of Michelin-starred restaurants, something untranslatable, deeply ingrained in the history and tradition of Lyon and France, and found only on the plate.

I tore through this absolutely engaging memoir by Dominique Crenn, whose highly acclaimed San Francisco restaurant, Atelier Crenn, is the recipient of three Michelin stars. Charming, talented, personable, and determined, Crenn found her way in the food world despite the lack of female chefs in chauvinistic France where she grew up. She yearned for America, where she believed anything was possible (except for a decent sandwich). When I started this book, I thought that I might not connect with the world of fine cuisine, but I ended up being mesmerized by Crenn’s descriptions of creating, plating, and serving her food, which engage all of the senses. Not only that, but a great deal of Rebel Chef deals with her family, identity, sexuality, and search for home. This memoir is as tender, bold, sweet, and gracious as the chef herself.