Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Cookbook Gift Guide for the Holidays

I highly recommend Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart's Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking.  This newly released gem of a cookbook is packed full of traditional, modern, and sophisticated southern cuisine.  With a little over 700 pages, this is more of a tome than a cookbook.  This book reminds me of Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table or maybe even Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything.  It's very comprehensive and really celebrates southern cooking at it's finest.  You will not find loads of overly rich butter-laden recipes in this book.  Think of this cookbook as a fresh take on southern cooking with a modern, almost up-scale, classy touch.  Unfortunately this cookbook doesn't have too many pictures, but I honestly don't mind.  I don't think you will either.

For the baker in your life, The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook  will charm you with it's whimsical retro design and gorgeous baked goods (both savory and sweet).  This is one of those books that you simply page through again and again because it's so very pretty.

Okay, Joy The Baker Cookbook.  Need I say more?  I fell in love with this book when I was invited to be a part of the Joy the Baker Cook-off.  Joy's blog is so much fun and her cookbook reflects her upbeat personality.  I've made so many recipes from this book and they've all been a hit, but Joy's Chocolate Fudge Brownie with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is incredible.  Worth the price of the book alone.  I'm buying a copy of this book for a friend of mine. 



Ina Garten.  When she writes a cookbook, you buy it!  Especially when the title of said cookbook is Foolproof.  Ina has a knack for writing recipes that turn out well every single time.  Foolproof  has the same gorgeous layout as Ina's other cookbooks and it's easy to fall in love with this book.  Best of all, the recipes seem very impressive while being easy and quick. 


My cast iron skillet is probably my favorite kitchen tool.  I love the versatility of being able to go from the stovetop, to the oven, to the table.  Of course, it helps that everything looks gorgeous when served in cast iron.  It's no surprise then that The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook  is also a favorite of mine.  This cookbook is full of gorgeous cast iron cookware and great recipes (many of them time-saving one-pot recipes). 


I'm a huge fan of Giada De Laurentiis.  I have all of her cookbooks, but Weeknights with Giada is probably my favorite Giada cookbook.  As my children get older, I have less and less time in the kitchen.  This is somewhat of a go-to cookbook for me.  I can always find something quick and easy that my kids will like.  This cookbook is great for people who are looking for something delicious without spending hours in the kitchen.   

And finally, Muy Bueno.   I have a soft spot for this book.  I really do.  It's written by three generations of women and it just screams family, love, and tradition.  I love the recipes in this book, but I love the stories even more.  This would be a great book for any food lover. 

These are my favorite cookbooks that have been published this year, however I'd really love to know which ones you liked the best.  What are some of your favorite cookbooks that came out this year?

9 comments:

  1. I don't use my cast iron skillet nearly enough, are there a good number of recipes for the skillet or would the book be better suited for a person with a number of cast iron items?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there, there is a collection of book links going down at Carole's Chatter. This time we are collecting links to posts about your very most favourite cookbooks. Here is the link Your Favourite Cook Books Please do pop by and link in – maybe this nice post? Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have two of these (Joy and Muy Bueno) and now I"m thinking I need the others!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great idea for a post, Kim. I may get the Mastering the Art for my mom. Hard for me to answer your question since I'm always a year or two behind. Ha!

    Muy Beuno is one I loved too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post. I have my eye on Ina Garten's book. They have it at Costco so...maybe next time I go. Hope you are well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm totally agreeing with you on The Back in The Day cookbook and Joy the Baker. I love these 2 books. I now want the rest of them too. lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great summary of cookbooks, kim! I wis Santa would bring one of each! I've been such a good girl this year! ;-) Hope you're enjoying Christmas this year with your little ones!

    ReplyDelete

  8. Wow this was the cutest thing I have ever read on any blog.Keep on sharing such good stuffs.I also like to read about birthday return gifts .

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! At the moment I am having a huge problem with spam so I've had to add comment moderation and close off comments to anonymous users. I apologize for the trouble and hope to return my comments to normal shortly.