Blogger Cookbooks

Today, there are so many inspirational food blogs with stunning photography and tasty dishes to tempt us. Religiously, I would stalk my favorites but had to cut down because I was spending all my time reading about what they were cooking and not finding time to take care of my kitchen.  I try to frequent and follow as many as I can and it has become easier now that so many bloggers are friends – when they post a new recipe, I can check it out and share it if it is something I think my family and friends would love.

Like you, I enjoy books, and I am always thrilled when a blogger pubishes a cookbook. I love having the collection of recipes in my hands which is so much more comforting than a computer screen. Today, I’m going to share four of my favorite blogger cookbooks and will continue to write about others as there are so many wonderful books that need our attention.

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook by Deb Perelman is one book that everyone mentions  in The Cookbook Junkies group. Whenever there is a post about a gift idea, a book with beautiful photographs or just a book that works – this title is mentioned. Deb’s Smitten Kitchen blog is indexed for EYB members with over 1,000 recipes that can be added to your bookshelf with one simple click. Her book and blog reflects her witty charm and I find myself always walking away with something new and tempting to create. She won the 2013 IACP First Book Award: The Julia Child Award and many other fine distinctions for The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Her ricotta recipe is my go to as she ruined store bought for our family and the Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby is spectacular. Her crispy egg makes an appearance once a week in my house – splattering all surfaces and myself with angry spurts of butter (she recommends olive oil) but my son prefers butter. I have been stalking sites for news of her second book which hopefully is coming soon! 

Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie’s Kitchen by Jennifer Perillo is the blogger’s first cookbook. Jennie is the voice behind In Jennie’s Kitchen. I love this book for its no nonsense from the heart recipes. The chocolate cake in this book is to die for – I made it for my husband’s birthday right after I received the book – and it was a hit. Of course, the famous peanut butter pie on her blog which was a favorite of her husband’s is one of our favorite desserts as well. Jennie’s recipes work and her focus is on from scratch, good-for-you food made from wholesome ingredients.

Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque is another book from the top of my favorite’s list. Aimée writes the blog Simple Bites where her hope is to encourage the reader to prepare unprocessed, nourishing food and foster a desire to eat seasonally and locally. Her book follows that same path. The book contains over 100 recipes with glorious photographs with recipes such as Maple Pecan Butter Tarts, Spinach and Ricotta Pappardelle, Shrimp and Egg Fried Rice with Green Garlic and Radish Chive Butter. I am thrilled that Aimée has been working on a second title! 

Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day, Plus Butters, Sauces & Spreads by Donna Currie is a must have for the baker. There are recipes for breads, rolls, croissants, pizza dough, butters and even recipes for what we can do with leftover bread. Some of the standouts – sauerkraut rye, savory monkey bread, maple, bacon and onion loaf, stuffing bread with dried cranberries, blueberry and cream cheese buns with lemon zest, almond sweet bread, peanut butter bread with raspberry swirl, almond sweet bread and dozens more. Donna is the voice behind Cookistry and posts product reviews, great recipes and sometimes serves them up with a dose of sarcasm. She is the second best eye roller in Colorado (I am the first). I need to break my fear of bread here in the mountains and start baking from Donna’s book. I have read so many great things about the book from folks who tried the recipes – and I know they will work because Donna created them in Colorado.  I’m going to make the Buttermilk Rolls for Thanksgiving and conquer my fear. 

I hope you enjoy reading about a few of my favorite blogger books. If you decide to purchase any of these books, please use our Buy Book icon to help support our indexing efforts. I will be covering more as there are so many talented bloggers out there. What blogs do you follow and what are some of your favorite recipes from those sites?