Cookbooks – FoodWatcher

A Vegan, Cold Weather Soup That Packs Some Heat

Before Lindsay-Jean Hard joined the staff of Zingerman’s— the famed, Ann Arbor community of businesses that includes a deli, bakery, mail order company, and many more offshoots—she was Food52’s OG community editor. She created the Food52 Cookbook Club and Baking Club, sparked conversation in the comments and on the Hotline, and applied her background in urban planning and sustainability to Cooking With Scraps, a Food52 column focused on food waste that she turned into an IACP Award-nominated cookbook of the same name.

Knowing her affinity for making the most of every ingredient, it’s easy to trace the lineage of the Oh So A-Peeling Banana Bread in the new cookbook that she co-authored, Zingerman’s Bakehouse Celebrate Every Day: A Year’s Worth of Favorite Recipes for Festive Occasions, Big and Small, back to Lindsay-Jean. This riff on her Genius Banana Peel Cake is a personal favorite, she said, “in part, because it is a solid version of a classic that is ready for any tweak you want to throw at it. But also because I'm proud of the fact that I helped reduce food waste at the Bakehouse with a tweak to their original recipe—it now uses the whole banana, peel and all!”

To Bake Like a Scandinavian, Reach for the Cardamom

“The smell of freshly ground cardamom is strong and pungent, and it reminds me of eucalyptus or menthol,” said Nichole Accettola, whose new book, Scandinavian From Scratch: A Love Letter to the Baking of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, hit shelves this we…

“The smell of freshly ground cardamom is strong and pungent, and it reminds me of eucalyptus or menthol,” said Nichole Accettola, whose new book, Scandinavian From Scratch: A Love Letter to the Baking of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, hit shelves this week. Admittedly, it’s a difficult flavor to describe, defying easy categorization. Like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, cardamom is considered a “warming” spice—but, depending on who you talk to (and the variety of cardamom you’re tasting), it can just as easily be described as “peppery,” “smoky,” “citrusy,” “sweet,” “fresh,” “resinous,” or “floral.”

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With origins in South India and grown today in India, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania, the practice of using cardamom in cooking and medicine is not a new one. From the earliest recorded mention of the spice in Vedic texts from 3000 B.C. to its use as a perfume, aphrodisiac, and digestive aid in Ancient Greece and Rome, cardamom has, for the last thousand-or-so years, also maintained a stronghold in Scandinavia’s baking scene. “Historians trace its arrival in Scandinavia back to the Middle Ages, when the Moors settled in Spain and traders from the north got hold of the spice,” said Nichole. When used in baked goods, the spice “has a yellow citrusy (lemony-pomelo) pungency”—akin to lemon zest “but with even more depth in flavor.”

’These Are People You Should Know About’: a Q&A with Klancy Miller on Her Stunning Second Book

Food wasn’t always the path for Klancy Miller. But, after earning a diplôme de pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, it was an easy choice. Now, her work has been featured in New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food Network, Vogue, and more (including Food52!…

Food wasn't always the path for Klancy Miller. But, after earning a diplôme de pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, it was an easy choice. Now, her work has been featured in New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food Network, Vogue, and more (including Food52!). After her debut cookbook in 2016: Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking For Yourself, Klancy turned to self-publishing, where the concept of her magazine, For the Culture, was born.

Klancy's second, eponymous cookbook—a comprehensive anthology of 66 Black women and femmes in the modern food world—is a triumphant blend of food history, pop culture, wisdom, and recipes. For the Culture features interviews with industry leaders from Mashama Bailey to Carla Hall and, of course, a bunch of delicious recipes to go along with it.

The Latest ‘Genius’ Cookbook Looks Like Another Winner

Food52 founding editor, Kristin Miglore, has done it again. Last year, when we announced the publication of her latest cookbook—Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People—we knew it would be another winner. Her series of cook…

Food52 founding editor, Kristin Miglore, has done it again. Last year, when we announced the publication of her latest cookbook—Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People—we knew it would be another winner. Her series of cookbooks based upon her Genius recipe column has already notched one award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and last week, the organization showed her some love once again by making Simply Genius a finalist in the General category of the 2023 IACP Cookbook awards.

Kristen's book is in good company—Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things Bold and Milk Street: Cook What You Have are also finalists—and the IACP will announce the winners in late September. Even without this accolade, the book is a hit with our community members. “If I had to choose any of my hundred or more recipe books to take on a desert island,” writes one reviewer, Elizabeth B., “I would choose Genius [Recipes] and Genius Desserts and now Simply Genius. They are the best!” Congrats to Kristen!

How 3 Cookbook Authors Make Vegetables the Star of Every Meal

For New York Times columnist and cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon, vegetables are more than just a food group—they’re deeply personal. “My father worked the produce markets in Sydney, so…we were surrounded by fresh, seasonal produce,” she says. “Ther…

For New York Times columnist and cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon, vegetables are more than just a food group—they’re deeply personal. “My father worked the produce markets in Sydney, so…we were surrounded by fresh, seasonal produce,” she says. “There was a sense of abundance.” But after he passed away, when Hetty was 15, their family no longer had access to that same beautiful, seasonal produce. In that time, practicality, not seasonality, became the guiding principle for how they shopped and ate.

In her new cookbook, Tenderheart, which landed on shelves in May, Hetty puts her complex relationship to vegetables on display in recipes that reflect her flexible, deeply personal approach to cooking. Organized into chapters that each highlight a different vegetable, the book explores family recipes (like Mum’s Velvet Potatoes) alongside playful riffs on classics (see: Charred Broccoli Reuben Salad and Chocolate-Eggplant Brownies) and ultra-versatile weeknight meals (Soy-Butter Bok Choy Pasta and Cheesy Kale & Rice Cake Bake, to name just two).

How a Formula 1 Engineer Created One of the World’s Most Coveted Pastries

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As a young child growing up in Melbourne, Kate Reid spent many late ni…

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As a young child growing up in Melbourne, Kate Reid spent many late nights with her father watching auto racing. Fascinated by the speed and adrenaline of the sport, she knew from an early age that she was destined for a career in aerodynamics. However, she never imagined that dream would ultimately lead to her pursuing the slow, methodical craft of croissant-making.

Everything You Need to Know About Satay, According to Petty Pandean-Elliott

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When you think of “summer grilling,” you probably imagine hamburgers a…

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When you think of “summer grilling,” you probably imagine hamburgers and hotdogs, freshly shucked ears of corn, and maybe meaty slabs of fish or chicken coated in barbecue sauce. And while there’s nothing wrong with any of those dishes (we have plenty of recipes for them on our site!), this summer, I’ll be following author and chef Petty Pandean-Elliot’s lead and making satay.

Meet the Pasta Granny Behind the Crispiest, Cheesiest Arancini

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Pasta Grannies founder Vicky Bennison has made it her mission to docum…

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Pasta Grannies founder Vicky Bennison has made it her mission to document the recipes of Italy’s grandmas—and her latest book, Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking, showcases the type of regional home cooking these women do best. In honor of the newest publication, Vicky met up with a pasta granny named Giovanna Bellia La Marca, who taught her the ins and outs of making classic Sicilian arancini—aka, rice balls that are stuffed with cheese and other fillings before they’re fried to golden, melty perfection.

Our 3 Favorite Recipes From Alison Roman’s New Cookbook, ‘Sweet Enough’

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The arrival of spring means we’re on the cusp of sunnier days, lush gr…

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The arrival of spring means we’re on the cusp of sunnier days, lush green trees, and—most importantly—some of the year’s best produce. Here in the Northeast, April brings fiddleheads and ramps, followed by May’s rhubarb and June’s precious, bright red strawberries. In other parts of the country, spring means a bounty of apricots, cherries, Meyer lemons, and peas. Regardless of where you are, it’s time to incorporate the season’s produce into your cooking—and baking. Alison Roman’s new book, Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook, is full of recipes that allow us to do just that, no matter what’s popping up at the local farmers market.

Abi Balingit’s Ube Cheesecake Bars Are a Host’s Dream—Here’s Why

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Here at Food52, we love hosting. Whether it’s dinner parties, pizza ni…

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Here at Food52, we love hosting. Whether it’s dinner parties, pizza nights, or backyard barbecues, we’re obsessed with sharing good food—and good times—with friends and loved ones. But let’s be honest: Not everyone has the space to host a huge soirée. I certainly don’t, and whenever I decide to cook dinner for friends in my two-room apartment (okay, three if you count the bathroom), making the most of my limited space is of the utmost importance.