11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

December 17 2015
Share 11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

The best gift I can possibly receive is a cookbook. A cookbook is the one thing I will never buy myself, and so when someone else takes the time to find me that cookbook I never knew I absolutely needed, well…prepare for a big hug and a lot of baked goods in return. Here are some of the best cookbooks on the market today—complete with my own personal recipe suggestions. Oh, and Mom, please consider this my official holiday wish list.

Plenty
by Yotam Ottolenghi

PLENTY has many things going for it. From the esteemed chef who brought you JERUSALEM, this vegetarian and Middle Eastern–focused cookbook will make it easy to forgo the meat at any meal. With its easy-to-follow recipes and page after page of stunning pictures, Yotam Ottolenghi proves that there are truly plenty of options for the home cook who is faced with large groups, holiday expectations, and varied palates.

Try this recipe first: Mushroom and Herb Polenta

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Plenty
Yotam Ottolenghi

PLENTY has many things going for it. From the esteemed chef who brought you JERUSALEM, this vegetarian and Middle Eastern–focused cookbook will make it easy to forgo the meat at any meal. With its easy-to-follow recipes and page after page of stunning pictures, Yotam Ottolenghi proves that there are truly plenty of options for the home cook who is faced with large groups, holiday expectations, and varied palates.

Try this recipe first: Mushroom and Herb Polenta

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

The 10 Books We Hope to Unwrap During the Holidays

By Off the Shelf Staff | December 19, 2017

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
The Breath of a Wok
by Grace Young

The beauty of THE BREATH OF A WOK lies in its laser focus. Rather than attempting to cover the entirety of Chinese cuisine, Young compiled her cookbook from favorite recipes utilizing an Asian staple—the wok. Because most recipes are sourced from relatives, and accompanied by a related story from the chef him/herself, THE BREATH OF A WOK has the intimacy of a memoir. You’ll feel like you are cooking alongside the authors as you turn each page.

Try this recipe first: Shrimp Dumplings Spring Moon

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Breath of a Wok
Grace Young

The beauty of THE BREATH OF A WOK lies in its laser focus. Rather than attempting to cover the entirety of Chinese cuisine, Young compiled her cookbook from favorite recipes utilizing an Asian staple—the wok. Because most recipes are sourced from relatives, and accompanied by a related story from the chef him/herself, THE BREATH OF A WOK has the intimacy of a memoir. You’ll feel like you are cooking alongside the authors as you turn each page.

Try this recipe first: Shrimp Dumplings Spring Moon

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
Flour
by Joanne Chang and Christie Matheson

As someone who went to school in Boston, I can tell you definitively that Boston has some of the best desserts around, including those from the bakery and café Flour. Recipes in this accessible, mouthwatering cookbook range from chocolate brioche to Milky Way tarts to lemon marshmallow meringue pie—just feed it to me now, please!—and are accompanied by tips like why unsalted butter is better in certain recipes.

Try this recipe first: Chunky Lola Cookies. Seriously. This one first.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Flour
Joanne Chang and Christie Matheson

When I moved into my own apartment, I inherited our family’s treasured flour jar. It’s an old pickle jar with a red tin twist-off lid and years and years of experience as a devoted flour house. Joanne Chang’s cookbook is full of recipes from her famous Boston bakery, and I can personally attest from baking it at least a dozen times that the banana bread is amazing (especially when you add chocolate chunks).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼- or ½-inch thick.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

7 Mouthwatering Books to Create Our Favorite Holiday Treat

By Amy Hendricks | November 29, 2016

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
Alice's Tea Cup
by Haley Fox and Lauren Fox

ALICE’S TEA CUP used to be the place to test out your afternoon-tea manners on Manhattan’s Upper West Side while being showered in confetti. While they still offer a fantastic tea service, they’ve since expanded to serve every meal of the day. This cookbook features the restaurant’s classic pumpkin scones and a selection of tea sandwiches, but it also offers recipes for main dishes, sides, and even clever Mar-Tea-Ni cocktails.

Try this recipe first: Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
Alice's Tea Cup
Haley Fox and Lauren Fox

ALICE’S TEA CUP used to be the place to test out your afternoon-tea manners on Manhattan’s Upper West Side while being showered in confetti. While they still offer a fantastic tea service, they’ve since expanded to serve every meal of the day. This cookbook features the restaurant’s classic pumpkin scones and a selection of tea sandwiches, but it also offers recipes for main dishes, sides, and even clever Mar-Tea-Ni cocktails.

Try this recipe first: Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

The Joy of Cookbooks: 11 Cookbooks We Can’t Live Without

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 30, 2015

Close
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
by Ina Garten

Ina Garten can do no wrong in my eyes. And with her cookbook FOOLPROOF, she’s making sure you can do no wrong in your kitchen. I salivate over recipes for Spanish Pea Soup, Lobster Corn Fritters, and Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream. For those of you thinking these sound insanely complicated, fear not: the Barefoot Contessa is there helping you each simple step of the way, and the stunning photos will entice you to get to the finish line. The finish line…where there’s cake.

Try this recipe first: Salmon with Melting Cherry Tomatoes

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
Ina Garten

Ina Garten can do no wrong in my eyes. And with her cookbook FOOLPROOF, she’s making sure you can do no wrong in your kitchen. I salivate over recipes for Spanish Pea Soup, Lobster Corn Fritters, and Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream. For those of you thinking these sound insanely complicated, fear not: the Barefoot Contessa is there helping you each simple step of the way, and the stunning photos will entice you to get to the finish line. The finish line…where there’s cake.

Try this recipe first: Salmon with Melting Cherry Tomatoes

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

The Joy of Cookbooks: 11 Cookbooks We Can’t Live Without

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 30, 2015

Close
Modern Jewish Cooking
by Leah Koenig

With 175 recipes showcasing handmade, seasonal, vegetable-forward dishes, MODERN JEWISH COOKING simultaneously pays homage to tradition and updates recipes to reflect how we eat today. From sweet to savory and with regional influences from Central Europe to North Africa, this cookbook is perfect for High Holidays, Sunday brunch, and regular weeknight dinners.

Try this recipe first: Chicken with Fennel and Onions

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
Modern Jewish Cooking
Leah Koenig

With 175 recipes showcasing handmade, seasonal, vegetable-forward dishes, MODERN JEWISH COOKING simultaneously pays homage to tradition and updates recipes to reflect how we eat today. From sweet to savory and with regional influences from Central Europe to North Africa, this cookbook is perfect for High Holidays, Sunday brunch, and regular weeknight dinners.

Try this recipe first: Chicken with Fennel and Onions

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
It's All Good
by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen

Gwyneth Paltrow is not the first celebrity to rave about a diet, but she is one of the first to write a cookbook extolling the virtues of her diet. After a doctor prescribed a restrictive diet to recharge her system—eliminating dairy, eggs, sugar, fish, wheat, meat, soy, alcohol, and processed foods—she and food writer Julia Turshen created and collected 185 delicious recipes that nourish the body and the soul.

Try this recipe first: Sweet Potato & Five-Spice Muffins

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
It's All Good
Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen

Gwyneth Paltrow is not the first celebrity to rave about a diet, but she is one of the first to write a cookbook extolling the virtues of her diet. After a doctor prescribed a restrictive diet to recharge her system—eliminating dairy, eggs, sugar, fish, wheat, meat, soy, alcohol, and processed foods—she and food writer Julia Turshen created and collected 185 delicious recipes that nourish the body and the soul.

Try this recipe first: Sweet Potato & Five-Spice Muffins

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
Nick Malgieri's Pastry
by Nick Malgieri

If you buy frozen pie dough but want to learn how to make it yourself, or if you’ve always wanted to make bread, Nick Malgieri’s PASTRY is for you. He explains—in elaborate detail—each recipe in such a way that you feel like a disciple. These recipes will produce desserts so delicious that your friends and family will ask, “Where did you get this cake? I must go to that bakery tomorrow!”

Try this recipe first: Olive Oil Dough (for beginners) and Vienna Apple Strudel (for experienced bakers)

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo
Nick Malgieri's Pastry
Nick Malgieri

If you buy frozen pie dough but want to learn how to make it yourself, or if you’ve always wanted to make bread, Nick Malgieri’s PASTRY is for you. He explains—in elaborate detail—each recipe in such a way that you feel like a disciple. These recipes will produce desserts so delicious that your friends and family will ask, “Where did you get this cake? I must go to that bakery tomorrow!”

Try this recipe first: Olive Oil Dough (for beginners) and Vienna Apple Strudel (for experienced bakers)

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
Vegetable Literacy
by Deborah Madison

Deborah Madison has long been at the vanguard of the vegetarian cooking movement. Now she explains how you can substitute vegetables, edible flowers, and herbs from the same family for even more variety. VEGETABLE LITERACY has more than 300 recipes for the very plants in our backyards—or at our local farmers markets.

Try this recipe first: Ivory Carrot Soup

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
Vegetable Literacy
Deborah Madison

Deborah Madison has long been at the vanguard of the vegetarian cooking movement. Now she explains how you can substitute vegetables, edible flowers, and herbs from the same family for even more variety. VEGETABLE LITERACY has more than 300 recipes for the very plants in our backyards—or at our local farmers markets.

Try this recipe first: Ivory Carrot Soup

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
by Marcella Hazan

French cuisine has Julia Child, Israeli cuisine has Yotam Ottolenghi, and Italian cuisine has Marcella Hazan, whose ESSENTIALS OF CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING is one of those cooking bibles that stands the test of time. Hazan doesn’t insist on complex recipes or heavy dishes, but instead prefers to dictate the kind of cuisine residents of Florence would recognize on a daily basis, balanced and succulent. Lemon Chicken (fresh and light for your summer needs), Osso Buco, and the best Minestrone alla Romagnola you may ever taste. These 500 recipes will make you think you’ve died and gone to Roma.

Try this recipe first: Sausage Risotto

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Marcella Hazan

French cuisine has Julia Child, Israeli cuisine has Yotam Ottolenghi, and Italian cuisine has Marcella Hazan, whose ESSENTIALS OF CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING is one of those cooking bibles that stands the test of time. Hazan doesn’t insist on complex recipes or heavy dishes, but instead prefers to dictate the kind of cuisine residents of Florence would recognize on a daily basis, balanced and succulent. Lemon Chicken (fresh and light for your summer needs), Osso Buco, and the best Minestrone alla Romagnola you may ever taste. These 500 recipes will make you think you’ve died and gone to Roma.

Try this recipe first: Sausage Risotto

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close
The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book
by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen

You can’t have holidays without pie. Well...you can, but you don’t want to. Melissa and Emily Elsen, twentysomething sisters and proprietors of the celebrated Brooklyn pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds, share their unique, mouthwatering recipes organized by season. With stunning photos and truly decadent recipes from two girls who were raised raising dough, you might start extolling the virtues of breakfast pie, lunch pie, snack pie...

Try this recipe first: Rosemary Honey Shoofly Pie

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book
Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen

You can’t have holidays without pie. Well...you can, but you don’t want to. Melissa and Emily Elsen, twentysomething sisters and proprietors of the celebrated Brooklyn pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds, share their unique, mouthwatering recipes organized by season. With stunning photos and truly decadent recipes from two girls who were raised raising dough, you might start extolling the virtues of breakfast pie, lunch pie, snack pie...

Try this recipe first: Rosemary Honey Shoofly Pie

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

Happy Pi Day! 13 Sweet Books for Mathletes and Pie Lovers

By Sarah Jane Abbott | March 14, 2017

11 Mouth Watering Cookbooks to Give—or Receive—This Holiday Season

By Leora Bernstein | December 17, 2015

Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.