Worldwide Best Cookbooks July – December 2019

On June 23th, I shared my Worldwide Best Cookbooks for the first half of 2019. Today’s list contains my choices for best cookbooks for books released in July – December 2019. As in past years, there were so many fantastic books to cull through including the re-release of The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern that it made it difficult. I whittled down the second half of this year as follows:

Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers by Nicole Rucker is a stunner, filled with dessert recipes that bakers will flip over. Learn more about this title in our promotion post.

Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman is a masterpiece devoted to bread. From sourdough to recipes using the leftover starter, the pioneer behind Bread Alone, who revolutionized American artisan bread baking, delivers 60 recipes inspired by bakers from around the world. Find out more in our promotion.

Lavash: The Bread That Launched 1,000 Meals, and Other Recipes From Armenia by Kate Leahy, Ara Zada and John Lee is a bible to the soft, thin unleavened flatbread. Everything one needs to know to make this global bread including recipes to accompany lavash are shared. The photographs are impressive from the bread itself to the people making it and those shown gathering together in celebration

Poilâne: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery by Apollonia Poilâne is a stunning book from the must-visit bakery in Paris lauded by the likes of Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. For the first time ever, the bakery is sharing detailed instructions so that bakers everywhere can reproduce its unique “hug-sized” sourdough loaves at home, as well as the bakery’s other much-loved breads and pastries.

The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think by Josh Niland is brilliant and is a class on seafood between two covers.

When Pies Fly: Portable Pastries from Empanadas to Strudels, Hand Pies to Knishes by Cathy Barrow, the author of the recent James Beard-nominated Pie Squared, is back with a book packed with portable pies. Find out more in our promotion.

Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipes by Joanne Chang is the James Beard award-winning pastry chefs most personal yet. The recipes start off with simpler options such as Lemon Sugar Cookies and build up to showstoppers like Passion Fruit Crepe Cake. The book also includes master lessons and essential techniques for making pastry cream, lemon curd, puff pastry, and more, all of which make this book a must-have for beginners and expert home bakers alike. Joanne’s books are definite keepers!

Cook Like a Local: Six Ingredients That Can Change How You Cook – and See the World by Chris Shepherd and Kaitlyn Goalen educates the reader in the wonder that can be found in fish sauce, chiles, soy, rice, spices and corn, This book will awaken your inner chef. With recipes for Vietnamese fajitas, Fried chicken tamales, and Lamburger helper, the authors encourage us to break free of our comfort boundaries and experience a world of flavor.

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.

Milk Street: The New Rules: Smart, Simple Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook by Christopher Kimball redefines 75 new rules that appear in more than 200 recipes that will simplify your time in the kitchen with improved results. For example, rule 21 covers creating creaminess without adding cream to a recipe: grating corn kernels release their pulp and starches to create the base of a rich sauce for Campanelle pasta with sweet corn, tomatoes, and basil. Every cook, new or experienced, will benefit from this book.

From Scratch: 10 Meals, 150 Recipes, and Dozens of Techniques You Will Use Over and Over by Michael Ruhlman is one of those titles that you will keep in the kitchen to refer to time and again. I did a flip-through of this cookbook on Instagram if you would like to take a look inside. Undoubtedly this volume will become a classic.

South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations by Sean Brock is the long-awaited follow up to the chef’s 2014 debut cookbook, Heritage, a New Times bestseller and James Beard award winner. With recipes that range from Fried bologna with pickled peach mustard, Spring lamb with rhubarb butter, Peanut butter chess pie with a chocolate cornmeal crust, Grapefruit creme Anglaise, to Watermelon molasses, Brock has triumphantly proven that lightning does indeed strike twice. 

365: A Year of Everyday Cooking and Baking by Meike Peters follows the success of Eat in My Kitchen, the author’s James Beard award-winning debut cookbook. Meike’s recipes and stunning photography fill this book that is organized monthly. Black forest pancakes, Potato tart with chevre and rosemary, and Spaghetti with pea pesto, roasted garlic, and fresh marjoram are just a few examples of the recipes here. Find out more in our promotion. 

The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors by Mandy Lee is the long-anticipated debut cookbook from the spectacular blogger behind Lady and Pups. I knew this book was going to be amazing but I had no idea that it would be mind-blowing. As soon as I opened the package it arrived in, I had to do a flip-through on Instagram which will give you some idea of its brilliance. Recipes for a showstopping dessert called Pandora’s box, Mochi challah bread stuffed with prosciutto and dates, Crispy whole-fried sandstorm chicken, Nutella focaccia di recco and Cruffins with salted yolk custard are just a few of the standouts.

Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen by Adeena Sussman is one of this month’s highlights. Sababa is Hebrew for basically “everything is awesome” (anyone who has seen the Lego movie will curse me for that earworm) and the title reflects the contents. 125 brilliant recipes bring Israeli kitchen staples such as tahini, sumac, silan (date syrup), harissa, za’atar to our table, while also presenting more exotic spices and ingredients. Find out more about this title in our promotion.

The Food of Sichuan by Fuchsia Dunlop is a new and updated edition of the author’s Land of Plenty with 200 recipes and stunning photographs. Almost twenty years after the publication of Land of Plenty, Fuchsia revisits the region where her own culinary journey began, adding more than 70 new recipes to the original repertoire and accompanying them with mouthwatering descriptions of the dazzling flavors and textures of Sichuanese cooking

Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories from Europe’s Grand Mountaintops by Meredith Erickson is part travel guide and part cookbook but 100% gorgeous. Need a recipe for Huckleberry dumplings, Salzburger Nockerl (a stunning soufflé) or a Tyrolean cake on a spit – it is here along with many soups, roasts and so much more.

Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking: From Everyday Meals to Celebration Cuisine by Emily “Maangchi” Kim contains the favorite dishes Maangchi has perfected over the years, from Korean barbecue and fried chicken to bulgogi and bibimbap. It explores topics not covered in other Korean cookbooks, from the vegan fare of Buddhist mountain temples to the inventive snacks of street vendors to the healthful, beautiful lunch boxes Korean mothers make for their kids. Maangchi has updated and improved the traditional dishes, without losing their authenticity.

American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta by Evan Funke, esteemed chef of L.A.’s Felix Trattoria, is a comprehensive guide to the best pasta in the world. Sharing classic techniques from his Emilia-Romagna training, Funke provides accessible instructions for making his award-winning sfoglia (sheet pasta) at home. With little more than flour, eggs, and a rolling pin, home cooks can recreate 15 classic pasta shapes, spanning simple pappardelle to perfect tortelloni.

Pasta Grannies: The Secret’s of Italy’s Best Home Cooks by Vicky Bennison is a work of brilliance. To find out more about this title, see our promotion.

Dinner at the Club: 100 Years of Stories and Recipes from South Philly’s Palizzi Social Club by Joseph Baldino and Adam Erace is filled with photographs and recipes from the members-only South Philly hot spot where “if the neon is on, we’re open”. Palizzi Social Club is 100 years old, but it was after chef Joey Baldino took over from his late uncle Ernie that business really exploded. The photos of the interior of the club harken back to the golden age of rat packers and the stories clue us into what it feels like to be a member. With recipes such as Parmigiano crespelle en brodo and an entire chapter devoted to the feast of the seven fishes, this book is gold.

Laurel: Modern American Flavors in Philadelphia by Nicholas Elmi, Top Chef winner, promises to be as engrossing and delicious as its restaurant namesake, a culinary stronghold in South Philly. The book is everything and more than I thought it would be with elegant offerings that I can’t wait to experience in my kitchen.

Gourmet Traveller Italian: Big Flavours, Classic Dishes: Our Favorite Recipes for Inspired Cooking by Australian Gourmet Traveller is absolutely stunning as one would expect from the publisher. I ordered this title as soon as I came across the listing. It just arrived this weekend and has me excited to draw inspiration from its pages.

Sour: More Than Mere Taste: The Magical Element That Transforms Your Cooking by Mark Diacono sets out to demystify the sour world, tells the story of what makes things sour, and offers recipes that maximize the transformative power of this amazing taste. 

Food Artisans of Japan by Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a stunner from the respected expert on Japanese cuisine. In her latest book, she digs deep into Japan’s rich food landscape with 120 recipes from seven compelling Japanese chefs and two dozen stories of food artisans.

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African-American Cooking by Toni Tipton Martin is a celebration of two hundred years of African-American cooking. The author’s vast research is shared in the stories and recipes developed by the black professional culinary class from butlers to ranch hands to classically trained chefs. Toni is a story-teller and Jubilee is a treasure to read and to cook from as every page brings more knowledge, history, and great food.

Just George: Recipes, Stories and a Whole Lot of Love by George Calombaris is the ultimate book for delicious home cooking and impressive entertaining. This title is full of the Australian top chef’s very best recipes, stories and a whole lot of love. I have all of the author’s titles and have to order this one!

From the Oven to the Table: Simple Dishes That Look After Themselves by Diana Henry is a can’t miss by the incomparable Ms. Henry. Find out more about this book in our promotion.

Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter by Nigel Slater is for those who want easy recipes for eating more vegetable dishes throughout the week. There are also suggestions for changing up each recipe. This title is the companion to Greenfeast: Spring, Summer, and shares 110 recipes to nourish us through autumn and winter.

Felidia: Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant by Lidia Bastianich is the beloved Italian chef’s first restaurant cookbook. This title was written with the restaurant’s executive chef Fortunato Nicotra and Lidia’s daughter Tanya and shares dishes from across the restaurant’s forty-year history. Along with gorgeous photos, recipes include the famous Eggplant flan with tomato coulis that reworks pasta alla Norma; Almond and chocolate tart and signature cocktails. Find out more about this title in our promotion.

The Pig: Tales and Recipes from the Kitchen Garden and Beyond by Robin Hutson is not a cookbook about pork. The Pig is a collection of restaurants in the UK where the kitchen garden inspires the menu. Here you will find a seasonal approach to delicious recipes, how-to-guides, lists, panels, tips, and stories all blanketed with beautiful photography and illustrations.

The New Orleans Kitchen: Classic Recipes and Modern Techniques for an Unrivaled Cuisine by Justin Devillier and Jamie Feldmar details the fundamentals of the city’s cuisine from proper roux-making to time-honored recipes such as Shrimp and grits. In this stunningly photographed title, the James Beard award-winning chef, Devillier, shares far more than the classics. Recipes designed to stretch the imagination include Crawfish pierogi, Hazelnut spaetzle with butternut squash and maple syrup, Cornbread financiers with sea salt ice cream and S’mores tarts.

Weeknight Baking: 75 Time-Saving Recipes to Make Any Night of the Week by Michelle Lopez, author of the blog, Hummingbird High, wants to make baking more approachable and not something saved for weekend marathon bakes. Michelle covers it all with variations on recipes, how to grind your own spices and so much more. Find out more in our promotion.

The Gaijin Cookbook: Japanese Recipes from a Chef, Father, Eater, and Lifelong Outsider by Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying is the second title from the author of Ivan Ramen. Orkin has always considered himself a gaijin (guy-jin), a Japanese term that means “outsider.” He has been hopelessly in love with the food of Japan since he was a teenager on Long Island. Here he shares approachable recipes for every occasion, including weeknights with picky kids, boozy weekends, and celebrations.

Leaf: Lettuce, Greens, Herbs, Weeds: 120 Recipes that Celebrate Varied, Versatile Leaves by Catherine Phipps is an impressive collection of recipes. Find out more in our promotion.

TULUM: Modern Turkish Cuisine by Coskun Uysal takes traditional, usually Anatolian, recipes and gives them contemporary twists using modern techniques. A truly stunning book brings Turkish cuisine to today’s cooks.

Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland by Shauna Sever is a love letter to the baking culture of the north-central region of the US. These recipes are influenced and drawn from the immigrants who settled there. Find out more about this title in our promotion post.