New book choices

You may not have seen so much as a single leaf turn, but fall is here in the cookbook world.   And what a fall it is shaping up to be!  There will be hundreds and hundreds of titles, as usual, but even a small selection will capture the breadth, depth, and grandiosity of what’s coming out in the next few months.  Famous chefs cook at home, veteran cook authors take on big subjects and–ahem–yours truly has a first book, too.

Late September

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, by Amy Travers

An all-round guide to the First Fruit, with recipes from sweet to savory and all points in between.

Odd Bits, by Jennifer McLagan –  Having given us Bones and Fat, contrarian McLagan moves on to territory at one remoter and more hip.

Ruhlman’s Twenty   – The Ratio guy turns his analytic eye to twenty essential kitchen techniques and ingredients.

The Professional Chef – For the student and the wanna-be, a glossy doorstop from Hyde Park.  1232 pages and definitely the hardcore way to go over your basics.

October

One Sweet Cookie, by Tracey Zabar – Favorite cookies from famous chefs–need I say more?

Essential Pepin, by Jacques Pépin – A-to-Z Jacques, from his début to the present.

Cook This Now, by Melissa Clark – Must-have weeknight recipes from the popular Times columnist

The Family Meal, by Ferran Adrià – That’s “family” as in “staff meal” not what Adrià eats at home.  Can’t wait to see what you can do with leftovers out of the sous-vide machine and the autoclave.

Food of Morocco, by Paula Wolfert – Big and definitive reckoning from the “queen of Mediterranean cooking”.

Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, – Hardly the first book from America’s Test Kitchen, but still looking like a definitive statement.

Food52 Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs – A first publication from the popular blog.

November

Home Cooking with Jean-Georges, by Jean-Georges Vongerichten – A peek at what a world-class fusion chef eats at home.  Do world-class chefs even eat at home?!

Art of French Baking, by Ginette Mathiot, edited by Clotilde Dusoulier – Claims the recipes are “authentic French pastry recipes” that are, nevertheless “simple and easy to make at home.” We shall see!

A Spoonful of Promises, by T. Susan Chang – Not a cookbook, friends! so much as a book of personal food stories.  But I hope you’ll have a look anyway.

Edible Brooklyn: The Cookbook – A first foray from  one of the hippest Edible Communities.

Rosie’s Bakery No Apologies Butter, Cream and Sugar Baking Book, by Judy Rosenberg, – A revision or re-issue, I think, but still!  The name says it all.

All about Roasting, by Molly Stevens – A much-anticipated follow-up to All About Braising.   It’s bound to be a keeper.

December

Not that many publishers have loaded up all their December release dates yet, but here are a couple of idiosyncratic selections that caught my eye:

A Miscellany of Garlic: From Paying Off Pyramids and Scaring Away Tigers to Inspiring Courage and Curing Hiccups, the Unusual Power Behind the World’s Most Humble Herb by Trina Clickner. Yeah, I fell for the title too.  Well played, small independent publisher!

Saraban:  A Chef’s journey through Persia, by Greg and Lucy Malouf – This is an Australian release, but I hope it gets bought in–say, by Chronicle, which did the Maloufs wonderful Turquoise.