Barilla’s “Book of Pasta” features classic and novel ways to prepare some of Italy’s favourite staple ingredients. (Phaidon Press photo)
All aboard with this season’s best cookbooks. They will excite you to eat when you travel. They will prepare you for a gourmet experience on your next trip. They will bring the corners of the world into your own kitchen. They will up your Santa smarts for foodie friends.
Cocktails in Paris
Savour the joy of Paris we all experienced during the Summer Olympics. There’s so much to love about the City of Light and this delightful little book is all about apéro hour and fashionable drinks for all seasons. Consider it the quintessential guide to mixology à la Française. Santé! (Smith Street Books, $26.95)
Eat NYC
Can you experience a city through its iconic dishes? You bet! Eat NYC is a perfect example. Yasmin Newman, food and travel writer, photographer, and TV presenter who travels regularly to the Big Apple combines with photographer Alan Benson to take you down the streets of New York. They enter its famous eateries and show you how to make the city’s quintessential dishes from bagels and brisket to cherry pie and cheesecake. (Smith Street Books, $60)
Ottolenghi Comfort
The recipes from acclaimed chef Yotam Ottolenghi bring spicy vegetarian dishes to your home. (Penguin Random House photo)
Yotam Ottolenghi fans will be delighted to learn that the famous London-based chef has, in his 11th cookbook, redefined comfort food. His veggie-forward, full-of-flavour dishes prove that pretty much any ingredient can be transformed into a plate (or bowl!) of pure comfort. (Penguin Random House, $45)
The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner
“Keep the love, ditch the labor” is what New York Times bestselling author Suzy Kardashev offers with 125 recipes for delicious Mediterranean Diet-inspired meals. While not always traditional, some recipes are her contemporary take on dishes from all over the Mediterranean, including Middle Eastern, North African, Greek, Italian, and Turkish. (Clarkson Potter, $48)
Le Sud – Recipes from Provence-Alps ad Côte d”azur
Can’t make it to the south of France this year? The next best thing could be a deep dive into Rebekah Peppler’s latest book. With delicious stories of the region, stunning photographs of food and the countryside, bright, mouth-watering recipes, you get a deeply personal exploration of the region. It’s yours to capture the essence — at home. (Chronicle Books, $53)
Classic German Cooking
Luisa Weiss, a Berlin-based food writer and creator of The Wednesday Chef blog offers up every day, traditional recipes of Germany and Austria. Sprinkled with personal stories and historical insights, the recipes include such time-honoured dishes such as Viennese Gulasch, Germknödel, and tangy Krautsalat. Comfort food exemplified. (Ten Speed Press, $48)
Crumbs — Cookies and Sweets from Around the World
Ever wanted to make perfect traditional cookies? “Crumbs” guides you how to do it right every time. (Phaidon Press photo)
Bake your way to the far corners of the world with this collection of 300 authentic and delicious cookie recipes from nearly 100 countries. Ben Mims, a gifted food writer, recipe developer with a self-confessed baking obsession has tested and perfected every recipe. Each one is accompanied with a fascinating story of its origins and notes on regional variations. (Phaidon, $64.95)
Persian Feasts
The cuisine of ancient Persia is one of the most sophisticated in the world. Leila Heller’s book brims with lush photos of 100 colourful, fragrant dishes, set on Middle Eastern design backgrounds. An array of sophisticated eats, including adaptations for North American cooks. It’s a celebration of an ancient culture with recipe names provided in English, Farsi, and Persian. Heralded as the most significant book written on Persian cuisine, it deserves a place on every food lover’s bookshelf. (Phaidon Press, $64.95)
Turkuaz Kitchen
Social media star and baker Betül Tunç, better known on Instagram as Turkuaz Kitchen, grew up in northeast Turkey. Her love affair with cooking in general and dough, in particular, began when she was eight years old when her mother gave her dough to play with. Since moving to the United States, she has shared her love of cooking on social media and now in her debut cookbook that features 85 recipes for sweet and savoury doughs. Her inspiration? Traditional Turkish dishes and her adventures abroad. (Ten Speed Press, $48)
A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook
Interspersed among 50 recipes and structured around the seven days of Kwanza, Jessica B. Harris, author of “High on the Hog”, shares proverbs, ceremonies, family projects, inspirational biographies, and blessings. A keepsake for families to cherish and record their traditions and recipes. (Simon and Schuster, $39.99)
The Book of Pasta
Family, friendship, home, joy, passion, and celebration all represent what pasta means to Italians. This collection from the test kitchen of the world-renowned company, Barilla, was created to share how much pasta is part of Italians’ everyday life and culture. Recipes range from beloved classics to contemporary creations. More than just a book of tasty recipes, it is a 345-page celebration of the history and the stories of the people who made pasta great. (Phaidon, $64.95)
