February 2020 – New Cookbook Review

I’ve been busy adding scores of new cookbook releases in our library. There are so many exciting titles coming to us this year. Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food, Yotam Ottolenghi’s Ottolenghi Flavour (Ottolenghi is touring this year with Samin Nosrat), Vivian Howard’s This Will Make It Taste Good, Jonathan Waxman’s The Barbuto Cookbook, Nigella Lawson’s Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes and Stories, Eric Ripert’s Vegetable Simple, Erin McDowell’s The Book on Pie, GBBO’s Kim-Joy’s Christmas with Kim-Joy, and Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss are just a few of the standouts in a year that seems to once again surpass the last. I won’t mention that I am already excited for a few books coming in 2021 including a book from Zoë François on cakes, a book on midwest entertaining from Amy Thielen, and a new book from Samin Nosrat entitled What to Cook (whoops, I just did). And I heard a rumor Claudia Fleming is working on a long-awaited sequel to The Last Course!

Our looking forward to 2020 cookbooks post will be continually updated and provides an outline of what the new year has in store for us cookbook lovers. Throughout the year, this post will continue to change with new additions, edits to titles and publication dates and more! 

Be sure to follow us on social media (buttons located on right lower sidebar on the home page). If you would like to order any of these titles, using our affiliate links (right beneath the social media buttons) or the BUY BOOK button on the book details page, will help to support EYB and our indexing efforts (as well as help us to include worldwide options in some promotions). Most of our titles are released in multiple regions and are available locally and through worldwide sellers such as the Book Depository that make global titles available to more members with free international shipping.

If there is an  available for a cookbook, look for the orange icon in the blurb. Clicking on that icon will take you directly to the preview. Also, please note that author events are indicated at the end of each paragraph where applicable. (Events).

United States

Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes by Joe Yonan shares recipes that bring a colorful mosaic of beans from Lady cream peas to red lentils to our table. Find out more about this book and enter our US giveaway that includes a grand prize of a Circulon Symmetry 5.5-Qt. Covered Straining Casserole in Merlot. Events

Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore by Darra Goldstein is an intriguing, thoughtful study of Russian cuisine and culture brought to us by an author who has been immersed in the field for nearly fifty years. Learn more about this cookbook and enter our US giveaway.  Events

See You on Sunday: A Cookbook for Family and Friends by Sam Sifton, New York Times writer and author, is designed with one purpose in mind – to bring more of us together for dinner. Filled with detailed instructions on cooking techniques, well-thought-out dinner recipes for any day of the week, and photographs, Sifton delivers a to-go resource for everyone’s kitchen. Look for a full promotion on this must-have book that will include a stunning  Smithey cast iron pot. Events.

Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry showcases 100 accessible recipes that result in delicious vegan meals from vegetables, grains, and legumes. Beautiful imagery is shared throughout this book that makes plant-based cooking not only exciting but also comforting and satisfying. Promotion coming soon. Events

Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Butter, Sugar, and Women’s Voices by Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford is more than a collection of recipes. This powerful book offers inspirational essays, reflections, poems, and interviews with well-known bakers and impassioned women and activists along with more than 50 cookie, cake, tart, bread, and pie recipes. Learn why I love this book in our giveaway promotion. Events 

Super Sourdough: The Foolproof Guide to Making World-Class Bread at Home by James Morton, GBBO finalist, talks the home baker through everything from starters, flours, and hydration, to kneading, shaping, rising, scoring and baking, explaining how to achieve the perfect crust and crumb. With more than 40 sourdough recipes including basic loaves and rolls, baguettes, bagels and buns, clear step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting tips and explanations of what works and why, this title is the new, accessible guidebook that bakers everywhere have been waiting for. The title was released in the UK in September of 2019 and arrives in the States this month. We will have a promotion up soon.

Simple Fruit: Seasonal Recipes for Baking, Poaching, Sautéing, and Roasting by Laurie Pfalzer shares fifty seasonal recipes highlighting the bounty of the fruit harvest. Ginger crème Anglaise, Peach mousse, and Raspberry and lemon balm shortcake are a few additional recipes besides those highlighted in our EYBD Preview.

Vibrant and Pure: Healthful Recipes for Bright, Nourishing Meals by Adeline Waugh delivers eighty brilliantly colorful and healthful recipes from the creator of the viral Instagram account Vibrant and Pure, which proves that wellness can be fun, easy, and flavorful. I haven’t seen this title but if it is as lovely as her Instagram feed, it’s a winner.

One Pot Feeds All: 100 New One-Dish Recipes from Roasts to Desserts by Darina Allen was released in the UK in September of 2019. This month marks the book’s US release. Darina delivers 100 dishes that can be cooked in a pot, tray or pan comprising lighter meals, such as soups, baked eggs, and frittatas or hearty dishes like stews, tagines, and curries, plus desserts.

Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls is filled with classic Southern recipes and twists on old favorites. Complete with anecdotes of the legendary chef’s childhood in the Low Country and examinations of Southern musical tradition, this is a book to cherish. Events

The Smoke Shop’s Backyard BBQ: Eat, Drink, and Party Like a Pitmaster by Andy Husbands and William Salazar is the latest from the well-known barbecue team. Start things off right with a variety of meats, then a selection of their favorite sides, drinks, and desserts and you are ready for a party. Baked macaroni and cheese with bacon and asparagus, Sagamore rye and peach clafouti, and Brown sugar ham with pretzel buns are just a sampling of the unexpected in this tempting book.

Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals by Lukas Volger offers a radically new, uncomplicated, and creative approach to cooking that allows you to use what you already have on hand to make great meals you didn’t think were possible. While it is a vegetarian cookbook as none of the recipes include meat, Volger’s approach transcends categories. His methods aren’t about subscribing to a specific dietary regimen; they are about simply recognizing and embracing the way people cook and eat today. Creating weekly meal plans based on intricate recipes sounds good, but it can be difficult to execute. Having a well-stocked pantry paired with a choose-you-own adventure guide to creating simple yet inventive meals is more practical for your average home cook.

Just the Good Stuff: 100+ Guilt-Free Recipes to Satisfy All of Your Cravings by Rachel Mansfield shares 100+ recipes that prove you can make healthy choices without sacrificing the meals, snacks, and sweets you love with plenty of gluten-free, paleo, and plant-based options.

The Secret Garden Cookbook, Newly Revised Edition: Inspiring Recipes from the Magical World of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden by Amy Cotler is the only cookbook that celebrates the delicious and comforting foods that play such an important role in the novel and its world. This is a revised edition of the 1999 original.

Baking Gold: How to Bake (Almost) Everything with 3 Doughs, 2 Batters, and 1 Magic Mix by Jami Curl is a treasure. The author shares a smarter, easier, and more fun way to bake by turning just three doughs, two batters, and one magic mix into more than sixty different cookies, cakes, buns, brownies, and tarts! The book is filled with vibrant photographs and tempting desserts. Candy Is Magic: Real Ingredients, Modern Recipes is Jami Curl’s first title.

Dessert by Roger van Damme delivers new and innovative desserts from one of the world’s best pastry chefs. Lavishly illustrated, with step-by-step photography and detailed instructions for preparing more than 50 marvelous desserts. With an international flair, this book takes us from Belgium to Barcelona, Paris, and beyond. This title is being published in the US and Belgium.

You’re Invited: Classic, Elegant Entertaining by Stephanie Booth Shafran shares her secrets for planning and giving brilliantly executed parties at home. Taking at-home entertaining to an entirely new level, the sophisticated L.A. hostess who was recently named by the Salonniere as one of the top hostesses in Los Angeles has a gift for celebration. From the table settings to the decor to the color-coordinated menus, every party she hosts showcases a myriad of inspired elements. In her first book, she shows readers how to set the stage for eight parties, from an elegant housewarming in her Jeffrey Bilhuber-decorated home to a classic California pool party to a festive Christmas brunch.

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Other titles of interest:

• Gluten-Free, Vegan Cooking in Your Instant Pot®: 65 Delicious Whole Food Recipes for a Plant-Based Diet by Kathy Hester
• Wait, That’s Vegan?!: Plant-Based Meatballs, Burgers, Steaks and Other Dishes You Thought You’d Never Eat Again! by Lisa Dawn Angerame
• Five Ingredient Vegan: 100 Simple, Fast, Modern Recipes by Katy Beskow is being published in the US this month and was originally published in the UK in November 2019.

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CANADA

The Brain Boosting Diet: Feed Your Memory by Norene Gilletz and Edward Wein Ph.D. is packed with over 150 recipes provided by well-respected cookbook author Norene Gilletz who unfortunately passed away on February 23, 2020. Each recipe includes insightful commentary on each one from Dr. Edward Wein, a leading biochemical specialist. This title is a full-color health cookbook loaded with solid health and nutritional advice for people with memory loss, possible dementia, and even Alzheimer’s Disease.

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UK

The Vegetarian Kitchen: Essential Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Prue and Peta Leith delivers one hundred delicious, heartwarming vegetarian recipes from the founder of Leiths School of Food and Wine, chef and Bake Off judge – and her niece who is the former patisserie chef at The Ivy and lifelong vegetarian.

Grow Fruit & Vegetables in Pots: Planting Advice & Recipes from Great Dixter by Aaron Bertelsen provides clear, practical information on growing fruit and vegetables in containers, whether that be a window box or a terracotta pot on a balcony. Aaron Bertelsen of the acclaimed English garden at Great Dixter will guide you through what to grow, which pots to use, give personal tips on varieties to choose, and advice on cultivation and care. Featuring more than 50 delicious recipes, Bertelsen shows that lack of space is no barrier to growing what you want to eat, and proves that harvesting and cooking food you have grown yourself is a total pleasure, with dishes that showcase a few perfectly chosen – and personally grown – ingredients. Please remember EYB members receive 30% off Phaidon titles when using the link provided.

The Irish Cookbook by JP McMahon captures Ireland’s unique culinary origins and varied influences. Irish food is the summation of what the land and sea give; the book’s 480 home-cooking recipes celebrate the range and quality of Ireland’s bounty, from oysters and seaweed on its west coast to beef and lamb from its lush green pastures, to produce and forage from throughout the island. Presenting best-loved traditional dishes together with many lesser-known gems, this book vividly evokes the warmth, hospitality and culinary spirit of the Emerald Isle. EYB members receive 30% off Phaidon titles when using the link provided. 

Japanese in 7: Delicious Japanese Recipes in 7 Ingredients or Fewer by Kimiko Barber is a lovely cookbook that makes Japanese cuisine approachable with fresh and healthy ingredients.

Dinner’s in the Bag: 60 Easy Oven Recipes All Wrapped Up by Louise Kenney includes 60 tasty recipes all cookable in foil, baking parchment or oven-proof plastic and silicone bags. Everything from healthy weekday suppers, including Sesame pork with spring vegetables and Mussels with fennel and white wine, through to delicious veggie dishes, such as Leeks in romesco sauce and, of course, delectable desserts like Roasted rhubarb with vanilla, orange and cinnamon and Pineapple en papillote with honey, thyme, and rum.  

Tin Can Magic: Easy, Delicious Recipes Using Pantry Staples by Jessica Dennison is full of easy, delicious recipes using pantry staples. After the success of her first book Salad Feasts, the author was told again and again that the most-cooked recipes in the book were the ones where readers already had the main ingredient sitting in their kitchen. Working in a tiny cafe kitchen with limited shelf and fridge space, Jessica understands the importance of having a capsule-wardrobe style pantry of cheap, familiar canned items that can be tweaked every week to create an interesting, seasonal menu. This book is an answer to this – focusing on easy meal solutions based around what readers might already have to hand, with smart ideas for adding flavor, freshness, and contrast. 

Other titles of interest include:

• Eat Your Greens! by Anette Dieng and Ingela Persson
• Rebel Recipes: Maximum Flavour, Minimum Fuss: The Ultimate in Vegan Food by Niki Webster
• Making Bread at Home: Over 50 Recipes from Around the World to Bake and Share by Jane Mason
• Artisan Home Baking: Wholesome and Delicious Recipes for Cakes and Other Bakes by Julian Day
• 30 Easy Ways to Join the Food Revolution: A Sustainable Cookbook by Ollie Hunter
• The National Trust Book of Puddings: 50 Irresistibly Nostalgic Sweet Treats and Comforting Classics by Regula Ysewijn
• Fakeaways: Healthy, Budget-Friendly Takeaways for Everyday Home Cooking by Dale Pinnock

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AU

Monday Morning Cooking Club: Now for Something Sweet by Monday Morning Cooking Club is being published in Australia this month and will come to the UK in April and the US in November. I have had the pleasure of reviewing the electronic version and it is a stunner! I am trying to find some bookstore online to order a copy because I cannot wait until November! Viennese Isjla biscuits, Apple and jam oil cake, and Russian honey cake are a small sampling of the many recipes you will find here along with beautiful illustrations and stunning photography. The ladies of the Monday Morning Cooking Club never disappoint! Events

Easy Keto Dinners: 60+ Simple Keto Meals for Any Night of the Week by Pete Evans makes it simple to follow a ketogenic diet, with 60+ quick and easy keto dinners for every night of the week. With an easy-to-understand explanation of how and why to go keto and more than 60 family-friendly recipes, it has never been easier to go keto. Whether you are just starting out on a ketogenic diet or looking to add more delicious keto dinners to your menu, you will love these super simple recipes that taste amazing and will help you reap the many benefits of ketosis.