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This year many of us are cooking at home more than ever so it’s a good thing there’s a stellar lineup of new cookbooks – some pushed forward from their spring release dates – to inspire and motivate us through all those breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
100 Cookies: the Baking Book for Every Kitchen, with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More
Sarah Kieffer (Chronicle)
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Who doesn’t love a book dedicated to cookies? Vanilla Bean Blog baker Sarah Kieffer compiled an irresistible array of brownies, blondies, bars, all manner of shaped and fancy cookies, and of course an entire chapter of her famous pan-banging cookies – those thin, chewy, puddle-like drop cookies made with a higher ratio of butter and sugar to flour, with more dramatically rippled edges resulting from banging the cookie sheet against the oven rack mid-bake.
Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors For All Day, Every Day
Eden Grinshpan (Penguin Canada)
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Eden Grinshpan, a chef and the current host of Top Chef Canada, draws on years of culinary travel and her Israeli roots to bring a collection of phenomenally bold, playful, and beautifully photographed dishes to the table. Each page is a stunner, full of crispy-saucy-spicy layers of texture and flavour. With a pantry guide and bright, fiery condiments designed to bring any dish to life, it’s as much a visual feast as a gustatory one.
Dinner, Uncomplicated: Fixing A Delicious Meal Every Night Of The Week
Claire Tansey (Page Two Books)
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Claire Tansey has become known as the nation’s mealtime mastermind when it comes to the eternal question, what’s for dinner? Her latest tackles common crises: ten minutes to get a meal on the table? Everyone’s home late and hangry? Nothing inspiring in the pantry? With 90 recipes and six mini-master classes, she takes the pressure off and helps build that everyday culinary confidence so many of us need.
Home Style Cookery
Matty Matheson (Harry N. Abrams)
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Famed chef and YouTube food hero Matty Matheson is back with a (timely) collection of recipes geared toward cooking at home – from pantry staples to party tricks, with dishes like Molasses Bread in an Apple Juice Can, a nod to his maritime roots, and the kinds of big, bold roasts, pastas, curries and bakes we have come to expect. Like the best home cooking, his food inspires stories and conversation, which in true Matty style, comes peppered with plenty of f-bombs.
The Bite Me Balance Cookbook: Wholesome Daily Eats & Delectable Occasional Treats
Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat (Appetite by Random House)
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This is the fourth cookbook released by two sisters who always seem to be having fun in the kitchen – it’s a compilation of all their learning over the past decade, they say, devoted to helping set other families up for day-to-day success with easy, accessible recipes.
Jenna Rae Cakes & Sweet Treats
Ashley Kosowan and Jenna Hutchinson (Penguin)
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The first cookbook released by the twin sisters who own Jenna Rae Cakes in Winnipeg, this collection of party-worthy cakes, squares, cookie sandwiches, macarons and other sweets aren’t over-the-top in terms of complexity, but look as if they were designed with Instagram in mind.
Hawksworth: the Cookbook
David Hawksworth with chef Stéphanie Noël and Jacob Richler (Appetite by Random House, Oct. 13)
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Hawksworth is a well-known name in Canadian food; the refined, trendsetting Vancouver restaurant has won multiple awards since it opened almost a decade ago, and Chef David Hawksworth has been a well-respected industry leader for even longer. In his first cookbook, Hawksworth shares recipes for exquisite dishes that challenge readers to recreate his West Coast-inspired fine-dining experience at home.
Oh She Glows for Dinner: Nourishing Plant-Based Meals to Keep You Glowing
Angela Liddon (Penguin Canada, Oct. 13)
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The latest in Liddon’s ridiculously popular Oh She Glows series tackles dinner with meal plans and recipe lists, suggested pantry staples, a guide to kitchen tools, and tips to help get the most out of your edible plants.
The Art & Science of Foodpairing
Peter Coucquyt, Bernard Lahousse and Johan Langenbick (Firefly Books, Oct. 15)
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Compiled by a chef, bio-engineer and entrepreneur who teamed up and consulted with chefs, cooking schools and other culinary creatives, this massive guidebook maps out 10,000 flavour pairings, laid out with taste wheels and colour keys. It also covers flavour and aroma profiles – eighty per cent of our taste experiences are processed through our nose – addressing classic and unusual combinations, and taking a deep dive into the science behind the flavour of common ingredients, from peaches to chorizo to whisky.
Cooking Meat
Peter Sanagan (Appetite by Random House, Oct. 20)
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A carnivore’s guide to everything there is to know about meat, written by a chef-turned-butcher – this book goes beyond various cuts to address issues of sustainability and responsible farming, and explains what labels actually mean. On top of the 120 recipes, there are step-by-step carving and butchery techniques, how-tos for stuffing your own sausages, cooking the perfect steak, making your own bacon, and – the No. 1 question a butchers are asked – roasting the perfect chicken.
Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand
Nuit Regular (Penguin Canada, Oct. 20)
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Growing up in northern Thailand, Nuit Regular learned to cook by her mother’s side. Kiin means “eat” in Thai; her collection of essays, stories and photography is both cookbook and travelogue, a solid resource as well as a deliciously dreamy escape at a time when travelling isn’t the option it once was.
Milk, Spice and Curry Leaves: Sri Lankan Recipes from the Heart of Hill Country
Ruwanmali Samarakoon-Amunugama (Touchwood, Oct. 20)
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In one of the first Sri Lankan cookbooks to be published in North America, first-generation Canadian Ruwanmali Samarakoon-Amunugama showcases the three pillars of Sri Lankan cuisine: coconut milk, rice and spice, inviting home cooks to cook some of the dishes she learned from her mother and grandmother. With gorgeous photos and hand-drawn illustrations, Milk, Spice and Curry Leaves chronicles ingredients like goraka, pandanus leaves, tamarind and jackfruit, and walks the home cook through the methods behind two foundational Sri Lankan curry powders.
Baking Day With Anna Olson: Recipes To Bake Together: 120 Sweet And Savory Recipes To Bake With Family and Friends
Anna Olson (Appetite by Random House, Oct. 26)
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Pastry chef Anna Olson’s 11th cookbook was inspired by fans who shared stories of their special weekend baking days – she dedicates it to those who consider that time spent baking with family and friends an occasion in itself. (Of course, this year, baking day has come to mean every day of the week.) There’s even a breakfast section, because dedicated baking days should start with a solid meal – and pancakes and waffles needn’t be excluded just because they aren’t baked in the oven.
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Bob Blumer (Penguin Random House, Oct. 27)
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Toaster-driving gastronaut and eight-time Guinness World Record holder (peeling onions, making pizzas, flipping pancakes) Bob Blumer is known for hosting Food Network’s Surreal Gourmet and Glutton for Punishment; his seventh book offers tips, techniques and strategies to help home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen – it’s a crash course in becoming a better, bolder cook.
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