Off the shelf: Cookbooks M-Z

More books to read and cook from

Hello! Hello!

What made me think that if I looked back and wrote about some of the books I’ve been reading and cooking from over the past year or so that it would give me a head start on Cookbooktober, the unofficial start of the new season? Whatever it was, it didn’t work. The new books – and there are so many great ones – are piling up already!

I’ll do my best to keep up and to tell you about the good books as I get them, and I hope you’ll do the same.

• What books have you been using and loving?

• What recipes have you been turning to with joy?

• What cookbooks are you looking forward to this season?

Let all of us know by leaving a comment here or on my Facebook page.

And now, to finish the alphabet, a few more very personal choices (I've only been writing about books that are on my kitchen shelves in Connecticut), arranged alphabetically by author.

A TABLE, Recipes for Cooking + Eating the French Way, by Rebekah Peppler. Rebekah is an American in Paris and her book is an exceedingly personal take on how she hosts her friends at her own table. But you need neither a table in Paris nor a bunch of people around it to find pleasure in Rebekah’s food. The dishes are simple, but flavorful, the look appealing – Rebekah is a food stylist and Joann Pai is a very talented photographer – and the variety of recipes is far ranging. She divides the book into three sections: BEFORE: pre-dinner drinks + snacks; DURING: supper + sides; and AFTER: (sweet) snacks + post-dinner drinks. But no one will stop you from mixing and matching. At least no one’s stopped me … so far. I’m happy to have Socca (a before) with Greens with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette (a during) and call it supper.

CHEESE, WINE, AND BREAD, Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France, by Katie Quinn. Don’t let those Instagram images of Katie living la dolce vita in Italy fool you into thinking the woman is just there for the glam. Behind those tinted glasses there’s a curious student obsessed with everything that has to do with fermentation and the making of bread, cheese and wine. Her book, not a cookbook, but a book you can cook from, is a serious – and delightful – deep dive into her adventures with cheese in England (I loved reading about her time as a cheesemonger at the legendary Neal’s Yard Dairy in London); wine in Italy; and bread in France. It’s not, as Katie says, an encyclopedia. Instead, it’s a joyous exploration of three pillars of sustenance and pleasure. And there are recipes – maybe you know people, I was one of them, who made the Cheddar Brownies – and wonderful illustrations by Jessie Kanelos Weiner.

PIE CAMP, The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want, by Kate McDermott. For years, Kate McDermott gave baking classes in her Washington State home, which she dubbed Pie Cottage, the sweetest schoolhouse ever. We got a taste of Kate’s lessons in her first book, THE ART OF THE PIE. Here she takes us a little further into PieLand, teaching a dozen master mix-and-match recipes and providing enough variations and inspirations for bakers to make pies at the drop of an apple.

THE BOOK ON PIE, Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies, by Erin Jeanne McDowell. If you’ve ever watched Erin on a NYTimes Cooking video, seen her on Food 52’s Bake It Up a Notch or caught a class of hers on Food Network Kitchen, then I’m guessing you’re already an acolyte. She’s a compelling teacher and, because she’s such a good teacher, a compelling writer as well. She’s a professional who understands home bakers and she’s on our side. I love that her recipes give you choices – pick a crust, pick a finish, change a filling; and good instructions for making things ahead and then storing what you’ve made. I love the images by Mark Weinberg – in fact, I was so in love with them that Mark and I ended up working together on BAKING WITH DORIE.

TO ASIA WITH LOVE, Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories from the Heart, by Hetty McKinnon. As soon as you see the words, “Sheet Pan Chow Mein,” don’t you want to make it? Or “Miso Oats with Egg and Avocado” or “Wontons and Noodles in Ginger-Turmeric Broth”? I want everything that Hetty makes. I want it because of the recipes’ names, the stories that come with them and because of the simple, elegant images that Hetty took with a Nikon camera she inherited from her father. About the photographs, Hetty writes, “All the photos were taken at my home in Brooklyn …The forks, knives and spoons are all my own … The mess in the kitchen is also real, and the hands are those of my children, who are always in the real-time act of eating when the photo is taken – they are never waiting for me to perfect the frame.” With food this good, who could wait? Oh, the recipes are vegetarian, but that’s a by-the-way.

DESSERT PERSON, Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence, by Claire Saffitz. Claire knows baking. Claire knows teaching. And Claire can write. These three things would make having her book on your shelf a must. But there’s more. Claire’s desserts are just the kind you want to make and share. They are simple – I’m a sucker for simple – and beautiful in their simplicity. And even when they look or seem classic, there’s something that goes pop: a clever technique; an unexpected ingredient; a combination you wouldn’t have thought of but are delighted that Claire did. Dessert Person is just as excellent as you want it to be.

NEW YORK TIMES COOKING, NO-RECIPE RECIPES, by Sam Sifton. You might ask if a collection of recipes that don’t have recipes can be a cookbook – the answer is a definitive YES! Sam Sifton, the founder of the site so many of us turn to daily, NYT Cooking, sends out a newsletter 5 – count’em – times a week (the newsletter is free, although there is a subscription fee to access most of the recipes). Sam’s letters are filled with links I always follow – for recipes, of course, but also for music and book recommendations and stories – and, on Wednesdays, his no-recipe recipes. They’re loose instructions for creating dishes from ingredients that you don’t have to measure or time precisely. (I took inspiration from him for my corn-and-scallop dish, which was a kind of no-recipe recipe.) Sam collected 100 of these improv dishes for this book. Each has a great photo, an intro, a list of ingredients (no measurements, but you don’t need them) and instructions that are more Sam-in-the-kitchen-with-you than traditional how-to. A book to cook from, for sure, and one that will make you a more confident cook, too.

THE APPLE LOVER'S COOKBOOK, Revised and Updated, by Amy Traverso. Amy is your spirit guide to the kingdom of apples. She can trace the family tree of heirloom varieties and tell you the precise birthdays of newborns, like the Cosmic Crisp, which recently caught the attention of bakers. Amy is the face –and soul – of all things food for Yankee Magazine and the co-host of the delightful PBS series, Weekends with Yankee. She’s a really good writer, a natural cook and a woman who could take a bag of apples and turn them into a dinner to remember. There are, just as you’d expect, bushels of recipes for sweets – pies and crisps and cobblers and breakfast treats (I went straight for the Vermont Apple Cider Donuts) – but the big surprise is the number of recipes Amy has for soups and salads, main courses from duck to fish, vegetables, sides and even cocktails. We may think of apples most now, as fall approaches, but don’t tuck this book away as the cold months roll in – Amy’s got apple goodness for all seasons.

SIMPLY JULIA, 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food, by Julia Turshen. In her introduction, Julia says, “I loved making this book. It’s all about healthy comfort food and it explores and celebrates the many definitions of ‘healthy’ and ‘comfort’.” This is not a diet book. This is not a dos and don’ts book. But it is a celebration, a journal of a true and daily home cook, a recipe collector and a recipe sharer. And someone who has a lot to say about food and life and how to make both better. I love the way the book is organized with chapters like, “Eleven Weeknight Go-Tos,” “Eleven Vegan One-Pot Meals for Everyone,” “Eleven Memorable Sweets,” or “Ten Noshes + a Drink,” which makes eleven! Most of all, I love Julia’s thoughts – essays on so much – and her lists, especially, “Seven Meaningful Conversation Prompts.” This is a very personal cookbook written by a person you’ll want to spend time with.

FLAVORS OF THE SUN, The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients, by Christine Sahadi Whelan. If, like so many of us, you were seduced by Yotam Ottolenghi’s food and stocked your pantry with the herbs, spices, condiments, syrups and elixirs of the Middle East, you’ll be particularly happy to have this excellent book. Although it comes from Brooklyn’s beloved 100-year-old specialty shop, Sahadi's, the book’s advice and recipes stretch far beyond the store. With this book at hand, you’ll never run out of ways to use aromatic blends like harissa (who’d have thought to blend it into mac and cheese!), berbere, ras el hanout, za’atar and so many others. Some of the recipes are traditional, some twists on tradtions (like Brooklyn Nachos made with pita) and many completely original, like Green Scallop Ceviche with Zhug. It’s a book that blends bold and subtle with ease.

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