There are eight shopping days until Christmas, and if you are in a pinch for ideas on what to get friends and family this year, I suggest a new cookbook for the ones who enjoy puttering around in the kitchen. I love cookbooks, and I have way too many, but I always seem to be able to find room for one more. The cookbooks suggested below are the ones I keep handy in the kitchen because I use them so much. They are all available on Amazon, but many can be found at your favorite local bookstore as well.
Baking Book by Cook’s Illustrated
I love to give this one as a wedding gift along with a baking pan and silicone baking mats. It’s a great reference guide for anything you can think of that you want to bake. Everything I’ve made from this book has been delicious, particularly the blueberry scones. I’ve looked high and low for a good scone recipe, and I found the best one here.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
I’ve had this book for many years and have gifted it several times. It has good recipes in it—my black-eyed peas recipe is in here—but it’s most useful as a reference guide for vegetables. Did you find something cool at the farmer’s market but have no idea what to do with it? This book will help figure that out. It’s vegetarian, but I usually use chicken stock in place of the vegetable stock in recipes, and they turn out well.
Moosewood Restaurant Favorites by the Moosewood Collective
This is an excellent vegetarian cookbook if you are into that sort of thing. It’s also an excellent cookbook if you aren’t into that sort of thing. Everything I’ve made from this book has been wonderful. The gazpacho is really good, and I often keep a pitcher of it in the refrigerator to snack on. The corn chowder is delicious, and I always un-vegetarian it by topping it with bacon. I also enjoy making and eating the Cowboy Cookies.
Master of the Grill by America’s Test Kitchen
I’ve learned a lot about grilling from this book. The recipes are really good, but this book is all about learning the techniques of grilling. It has instructions for grilling with gas as well as charcoal in each recipe.
Pasta Revolution by America’s Test Kitchen
This is my go-to weeknight dinner cookbook and has been for years. Every member of the Jacobs clan has liked everything I’ve cooked from it, and when the kids were home, I made something from this book at least once a week. It has recipes for pretty much every pasta and sauce you can imagine. I highly recommend it.
Perennials: A Southern Celebration of Food and Flavors by the Junior League of Gainesville, Georgia
I got this cookbook as a wedding gift, and I had to replace the one I got as a gift because I wore it out using it so much. This is an excellent example of the Junior League cookbook genre, and it just so happens to be the one from my hometown.
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Guide by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack
This is a great reference guide about wine. It was one of the first books I bought when I was learning about different types of wine. It’s got great information about wine growing regions and the characteristics of the wines they produce. I use it now to decide on wine and food pairings, and it has been a great resource for that.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita by Tim Federle
I bought this one because it made me laugh. Each drink in this cocktail recipe book is named after a famous novel. Portrait of the Artist as a Drunk Man, The Island of Dr. Merlot, The Handmaid’s Ale, The Hitchhikers Mudslide to the Galaxy, and of course, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita are just a few of the offerings. If you, or someone you love, has a boozy book club—my last book club leaned more Wine Mom—this is a great gift idea. It’s the sequel to the first book of literary cocktails, Tequila Mockingbird, so you do have the option of giving both!
I hope all of you are having a fun and festive holiday season with your friends and family. We certainly are. The kids are home from college, and we are heading to the happiest place on earth—Walt Disney World—to celebrate the season. We already have our dinner reservations made and are planning to eat like kings and queens. I wish all of you much health and happiness as we close out this year. Merry Christmas, y’all!
Until next time,
Karla
Yum! I also love Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Some of my favorites are from this one. Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
I would add Family Style by Ina Garten and my new favorite, Always Delicious by Marion Grasby. Have a wonderful trip to one of my favorites!