Thirty cookbooks to help keep you sane.
Recipe collections bring solace and engagement in pandemic
When stay-at-home orders went into effect in Houston and across the country, stoves and ovens lit up everywhere. Perhaps they were already well-worn, perhaps they hadn’t been used in a while, or perhaps this was their very first time in action. Cooking at home is now a necessity, but for many of us, it has also brought solace. To fuel this pandemic pastime, we compiled some of our favorite cookbooks — old and new and for every mood — as well plenty of recipes from their pages. They can be cooked during quarantine or whenever we find ourselves on the other side.
Cookbooks may also help in other ways. Penguin Random House will publish “Family Meal” as an e-book, a collection of more than 40 recipes from food stars such as Samin Nosrat, Alison Roman, Kwame Onwuachi, Dan Barber and Bobby Flay. All of the proceeds will go to the Restaurant Workers’ COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. The e-book will be available May 5.
In the meantime, here are our cookbook recommendations.
ESSENTIALS
“French Provincial Cooking” and “Italian Food” By Elizabeth David (Penguin Classics, 1999; first published in 1962 and 1954, respectively)
For soups, I pore through David’s old Penguin paperbacks from the ’60s and ’70s for inspiration. She cooks and writes recipes in a loose, template fashion that suits my own cooking so well. I’ve been making her minestrone variants forever. — Alison Cook
“Pasta Fresca”
By Evan Kleiman and Viana La Place (William Morrow, 1988)
This classic has so many simple, easy ideas that I can bounce off depending on what I’ve got on hand. I love the authors’ first collaboration, “Cucina Fresca” (1985), for the same reasons; it’s great for quick and easy vegetable salads and small plates. The goat cheese marinated in olive oil and herbs has been a standby for me for decades, and it works with mozzarella and other cheeses, too. — A.C.
“Nothing Fancy” By Alison Roman (Clarkson Potter, 2019)
The New York Times columnist, she of viral recipes #thestew and #thecookies, can friggin’ cook. Her recipes typically have most elements I crave: citrus, crunchy-crispy bits, celery, briny things, loads of fresh herbs, cheese and a touch of heat. The best part? Resulting flavors and textures are complex, instructions are not. — Jody
Schmal
“Now & Again” By Julia Turshen (Chronicle Books, 2018)
In her introduction, Turshen admits this book was meant to be entirely about leftovers (called “It’s Me Again”). She decided instead to tell home cooks what to make in the first place, but her initial concept is peppered throughout: The “It’s Me Again” pages give suggestions for how to easily repurpose surplus food. Yesterday’s tortilla soup is today’s spicy pozole, and don’t sleep on the “seven things to do with” section in the back. — Emma Balter
“Salt Fat Acid Heat” By Samin Nosrat (Simon & Schuster, 2017)
I recently rediscovered Nosrat’s cooking know-how through her new podcast, Home Cooking. It made me pick up “Salt Fat Acid Heat” again. Though there are recipes in the latter half, it’s not so much a cookbook as it is a book that will teach you how to cook … pretty much anything, no recipe needed. — E.B.
FOR THOSE WHO BOUGHT FLOUR IN BULK
“Bianco: Pizza, Pasta and Other Food I Like” By Chris Bianco (HarperCollins, 2017)
The Phoenix-based chef is easily the best pizzaiolo in America. And yes, you
can make amazing pizza crust at home. The key to his basic, but nuanced, recipes for dough and tomato sauce? It’s all about the ingredients. — J.S.
HEALTHFUL COOKING
“The Pancake Cookbook”
By Myra Waldo (Bantam Books, 1963)
For some reason, I am finding pancakes supremely comforting right now, and this little book — it’s so old the price on the cover is 50 cents! — has so many variations to play with. It’s really fun. —
A.C.
“The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook”
By Jim Lahey with Maya Joseph (Norton, 2017)
With rustic baking all the rage during our coronavirus quarantine, it’s good to remember this encouraging cookbook dedicated to the pleasures of sourdough starter-breads. With his first “My Bread” cookbook, Lahey changed the world with his no-knead bread primer. “Sullivan Street” pushes the home baker into new yeasty directions. — Greg
Morago
“Bread Toast Crumbs”
By Alexandra Stafford (Clarkson Potter, 2017)
My mom recommended this book. It’s perfect for novice/lazy bread-bakers — based on one rustic, no-knead bread-loaf recipe, and from there jumps into other recipes in which you can use whatever additional ingredients you have on hand. — J.S.
“It’s All Easy”
By Gwyneth Paltrow (Grand Central Publishing, 2016)
Hear me out: Sometimes you need easy but also healthful-ish. Paltrow’s recipes are surprisingly delicious. Try the Cauliflower and Kimchi “Fried” Rice, or turkey meatloaf, or miso turnips, and tell me I’m wrong. — J.S.
“Saladish” By Ilene Rosen with Donna Gelb (Artisan Books, 2018)
I furiously cooked through this cookbook all spring and summer of last year. At times, the recipes are a little involved, but I’ve always come out at the end of it wondering by what stroke of genius Rosen thought to put these flavors and textures together. The various dressings and sauces in the recipes can also be made on their own for other uses. The allium couscous will also return to my rotation now that we’ve entered spring. —
E.B.
“Eat Your Vegetables” By Arthur Potts Dawson (Mitchell Beazley, 2012)
A wide variety of farm-fresh vegetable dishes spanning more than 300 pages. Love that some of the recipes have only a few ingredients but make a big impact, such as a simple salad of buttered peas, lettuce, red pepper and mint. —
J.S.
ARMCHAIR TRAVEL
“Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories”
By Naz Deravian (Flatiron Books, 2018)
I’m a newbie when it comes to cooking Persian food, but this book has me craving tahdig twice a week. With drool-worthy images that leap off the page, and recipes that aren’t too labor intensive and don’t require unattainable ingredients, I’m smitten. — J.S.
“Hey There, Dumpling!”
By Kenny Lao and Genevieve Ko (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2015)
A couple of years ago, I spent New Year’s Eve with one dear friend. I wanted a fun cooking project, so we chose to conquer the folds of the humble dumpling, using Lao and Ko’s book. The illustrations by Sebit Min guide even the least dexterous cook to master several different dumpling shapes. Our pork and chive potstickers tasted and looked great. “Hey There, Dumpling!” also includes dozens of recipes for noodles, salads, soups and more. — E.B.
“Piatti”
By Stacy Adimando (Chronicle Books, 2019)
Adimando’s southern Italian heritage inspired her first solo cookbook. She builds on the traditional antipasti and expands the genre to create recipes that prove Italian cuisine’s main tenet: that just a few simple ingredients are needed to make high-quality produce and meats shine. I’ve made her seared mushrooms with dried currants, radishes and kale dish more times than I can remember. —
E.B.
“Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen”
By Adeena Sussman (Avery Publishing, 2019)
In Hebrew, “sababa” means “everything is awesome.” Indeed, Sussman’s bright, flavorful Israeli recipes are easy to execute and emphasize fresh produce. I can think of few things better than a homemade hummus or green shakshuka to transport me somewhere outside my four walls right now. — E.B.
“The Austin Cookbook”
By Paula Forbes (Abrams, 2018)
Austin writer Forbes offers classic, unfussy recipes from popular restaurants around her hometown — yes, that means brisket, breakfast tacos and Bob Armstrong dip — as well as shows her own considerable know-how. — J.S.
AROUND TEXAS
“Cook Like a Local”
By Chris Shepherd and Kaitlyn Goalen (Clarkson Potter, 2019)
Shepherd’s shtick is championing Houston’s vibrant and diverse food scene. His first cookbook serves as a kind of codification of his philosophy. Through six core ingredient categories — fish sauce, chiles, soy, rice, spices and corn — he brings us in the kitchens of the immigrant cooks who make the city’s culinary patchwork what it is, through stories, explainers and, of course, delicious recipes. — E.B.
FOR THE READER
“Franklin Barbecue”
By Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mckay (Ten Speed Press, 2015)
The first serious Texas barbecue cookbook from barbecue’s first international superstar remains a glorious inspiration for all those backyard warriors who chase smoked-meat nirvana. — G.M.
“Indian-ish”
By Priya Krishna (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)
“Indian-ish,” as its name suggests, is not an Indian cookbook but rather a showcase of what one Indian family living in Dallas cooks and eats. The mostly vegetarian recipes come with fun and voicy commentary from Krishna, who will also teach you invaluable essentials, such as chhonk, the process of tempering spices in oil. I have permanent bookmarks on her dal and the roasted aloo gobhi (potatoes and cauliflower). — E.B
“Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes”
By Adán Medrano (Texas Tech University Press, 2014)
For a local cookbook that speaks to Houston, I really like this one. Serious comfort food that I need on a regular basis. Plus I admire Medrano’s depth of research and thinking on a topic dear to my heart. — A.C.
“With Gratitude, Johnny Carrabba”
By Johnny Carrabba (Carrabba’s Family of Restaurants, 2016)
The founder of the Carrabba’s chain, who operates the original on Kirby along with new ventures Mia’s Table and Grace’s, produced a gorgeous cookbook to celebrate his restaurant’s 30th anniversary. The recipes here are delicious, approachable — now fans can make Carrabba’s house salad and Chicken Bryan at home. — J.S.
“Jubilee”
By Toni Tipton-Martin (Clarkson Potter, 2019)
You should cook from “Jubilee.” But you should also read it cover to cover. Tipton-Martin aims to broaden people’s perceptions of African-American cuisine by reclaiming it as a manifestation of black achievement, freeing it from the confines of “poverty, survival, and soul food,” she writes in her introduction. Tipton-Martin studied hundreds of cookbooks to synthesize the vast canon of black cooking. — E.B.
“COD”
By Mark Kulansky (Walker Publishing, 1997)
Kurlansky launched a series of single-subject food books (including milk, salt and oysters) with this groundbreaking exploration of codfish’s role in human history. From the Vikings to New England fishermen, codlandia is parsed in fascinating, scholarly detail. His new book, “Salmon,” published in March, is an environmental manifesto that takes up where “Cod” left off. — G.M.
NEW COOKBOOKS
“The Batch Lady”
By Suzanne Mulholland (William Morrow, 2020)
Although the coronavirus has allowed for a more leisurely acquaintance with the kitchen, saving time in meal prep and production — especially for busy families — will never go out of style. The gist here is economical, big-batch cooking that yields multiple meals. Music to a home cook’s ears. — G.M.
“Milk Street Fast and Slow”
By Christopher Kimball (Little, Brown and Company, 2020)
Instant Pot cookbooks are ubiquitous, so it would take a truly inspired cookbook to set the bar higher for that countertop gadget that has taken the world by storm. Leave it to the Milk Street creator to take a bold new step with sophisticated recipes for both fast and slow modes. —
G.M.
“Mosquito Supper Club”
By Melissa Martin (Artisan Books, 2020)
It’s heartening that Martin — a Louisianan who grew up “with leftover gumbo in the fridge and an oil rig drilling just outside my window” — is preserving a beloved culture whose food is prized. Recipes, including seven types of gumbo, tell an evocative story of the Cajun way of life. —
G.M.
“La Vida Verde: Plant-Based Mexican Cooking With Authentic Flavor”
By Jocelyn Ramirez (Page Street Publishing, 2020)
If you’re among those who believes lard and braised meats equal Mexican authenticity, “La Vida” will change your mind about the delicious possibilities of meatless cuisine. These are recipes the author grew up making alongside her abuelita — queso fresco, tortillas, jackfruit carnitas tacos, mushrooms in green mole and tortilla soup with cream. And salsa, salsa, salsa. — G.M.