This summer, when we realized that this work-from-home arrangement wasn’t going anywhere, we turned our tool shed into an office for my husband and I took over his work from home space. (I had previously been working from our bedroom--which violates all the rules of productivity, making cat-naps all too tempting.) When I finally had a workspace of my own, my first order of business was to set up a cookbook bookshelf. As I pulled my cookbooks out of the dark kitchen cupboard, it felt like I was finally able to wholeheartedly embrace my love of cookbooks. After all, if I am going to be a cookbook author myself, I should be allowed to have a proper cookbook collection, right?
It’s no surprise that some of my favorite cookbooks of the last year of limited travel were set in exotic faraway places. I love being able to travel the world thanks to a good book. And it helps when there are recipes and stunning food pictures to enhance the imaginary journey.
My dad has a ritual of reserving the newest cookbook releases at the library. And my dream Sunday afternoon is stopping by my parent’s house and perusing his cookbook library haul. It’s a great way to stay current in this genre and preview a cookbook before buying.
I haven’t quite put my finger on how a cookbook goes from library-book-preview to part of my permanent collection. Many times I don’t always end up cooking a ton of recipes from my favorite cookbooks. Sometimes I like them for the photos, or stories, or inspiration or education. So, consider this a very subjective Best Of list, in no particular order.
What makes a cookbook a must-buy for you? What have been your favorite cookbooks this year? And what is on your wish list? Click the comment bubble below to share.
My Top 10 Cookbooks of 2020
Black Sea and Red Sands by Caroline Eden
I discovered Caroline Eden’s very distinct style of cookbooks this year and bought her two most recent books. They are heavy on the travel writing and light on recipes. It sounds like it would be disappointing, but the story behind each recipe makes them all the more special. She travels to places that are off the beaten path and her adventurousness is so understated that it feels like a trip I could go on someday. Even though, let’s be honest, I probably won’t be traveling to Uzbekistan anytime soon.
I had some quince on hand, so I made the Quince Uzbek Stew from Red Sands and it was slightly sour and sweet and salty and such a delicious combination of flavors that I immediately ran a quart over to my parents to try.
Jikoni by Ravinder Bhogal
There are animals in the photos! A turtle and chameleons and cats. This book is an all-around visual and culinary stunner that will make you smile. Ravinder’s personal stories interspersed between recipes are just as colorful as the book’s color palette. The recipes are a bit intimidating as the author comes from a restaurant background. This is the kind of book that I want someone else to cook from and then invite me over (hint hint). Someday, I’ll have to make a pilgrimage to Ravinder’s London restaurant.
Vegetable Kingdom by Bryant Terry
Whenever I pick up a cookbook, I always want to know about the person that wrote it. I immediately flip to the back to find a photo or author bio. I love how you get to know Bryant Terry. He talks about his children and family and it feels like his recipes reflect how he actually eats day to day. I completely forgot that it was a vegan book while reading it. He adds music pairings for recipes as well which adds to this book’s quirky delight.
Sababa by Adeena Sussman
I received this book as a Christmas present last year and it’s been one of those books that I’ve reached for often this year and found it very easy to cook from. It’s a great mix of aspirational and accessible recipes. I’ve made the Tahini Granola several times and usually end up eating half of it off the pan right out of the oven. It’s perfect on top of vanilla ice cream too with a drizzle of honey.
Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore by Darra Goldstein
Here’s another cookbook that takes me to an area of the world I most likely will never visit—Northern Russia. The travel writing is beautiful and Darra Goldstein has a been a student of Russian cuisine for more than 30 years and has 17 cookbooks! I found the grain recipes to be so interesting and challenged me to expand my idea of what grains could be used for. I’m eager to try all the unique recipes she has for rye flour.
Pasta Grannies by Vicky Bennison
I preordered this book as soon as it was available. It’s based on a project to preserve regional knowledge about pasta making throughout Italy for an English language audience. There is an accompanying YouTube channel. The book is simple and designed so beautifully with a red checkered edge. There’s a small book inside the cookbook that tells the stories of each of the grannies. It was such a delight factor.
Even though grandma’s cooking is often venerated, it’s rare to have a cookbook that celebrates women over a certain age. In fact, the author would not include grannies under a certain age! The photos are not highly stylized or posed but its simplicity is refreshing. I found myself tearing up a few times at the shots of the grannies cooking with their children and grandchildren.
It’s light on instruction so I found that I had to reference the YouTube videos to actually make the recipes.
Salt, Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat
I’ve been revisiting this classic from a few years ago. I’ve never paid much attention to how a recipe was written until writing my own cookbook. Samin’s recipes are so well written. They really stand out from the crowd with clear and precise instructions. I love that she doesn’t assume everyone knows how to “destem kale” or went to the Cordon Bleu. In this year of everyone learning how to cook, this book is great for brushing up on the basics.
I finally made the iconic buttermilk brined chicken. It was delicious and I could finally check it off my list of essential adulting skills.
Lateral Cooking by Niki Segnit
Niki Segnit’s Flavor Thesaurus is a cookbook-writing essential. It pairs ingredient and flavor combinations. It always helps me push through a creative block. So, I thought I’d give Lateral Cooking a try even though the title didn’t really pull me in. I’d say this book is a bit of a hidden gem. These days, I find cookbooks are light on the prose and heavy on the visuals. So, it always amazes me when someone can write about polenta for a whole page and make it so interesting! Niki Segnit is indeed a gifted food writer and I love learning from her style.
Mastering Baking by Marc Vetri and Claire Kopp McWilliams
This is a great one if you picked up sourdough baking this past year. It will help you take your bread craft a little bit deeper. It focuses on using stone milled and heritage grains which is rare for a bread book. It even has a recipe for White Sonora bread! It’s heavy on technique and bread science, so this isn’t a book for the causal baker. I love that they include so many photos of the process of shaping and kneading.
East by Meera Sodha
Can I be honest? I mainly bought this cookbook for the beautiful botanical cover. It turned out to be a solid cookbook as well. Featuring recipes from all over East Asia. This is another sneaky vegetarian cookbook. You completely forget that there is no meat in this book and many of the recipes have vegan options as well. The recipes do require a few speciality ingredients but I found the majority of the recipes to be very accessible and down to earth. I made the Leek and Chard Matarbak and it was a winner. Next up, the Salted Miso Brownies!
Cookbook Lover Essentials
Besides endless bookshelf space, here are my favorite cookbook companions.
This online tool is the justification all of us cookbook addicts have been waiting for. It’s an online database that allows you to search your own cookbook collection. Isn’t that genius! I find that my own cookbook collection usually has way better recipes than I can find online. But it’s impossible to remember them all.
A classier way of marking “recipes I want to make.” Once I discovered these beautiful metallic book darts, I ditched my messy sticky note method of marking up cookbooks. They turn cookbook reading into a lovely ritual.
*This newsletter does not contain any affiliate links (this is a link where I would receive a small kick-back from your purchase) or sponsored content of any kind. I figure if you want to support my work, you can always buy my flour or buy my book when it comes out.
I LOVE cookbooks. I'm a voracious reader, but also a minimalist when it comes to keeping books on the shelf-- with the big exception of cookbooks. I have more than will fit on my shelves, and I just keep adding them. Like your dad, I love to preview them first from the library, but sometimes I pre-order them, or buy without seeing them first, if I love the author or have heard a lot of good things. Now that I know the power of pre-ordering books I am doing that a lot more often to support writers!