Our Favorite Cookbooks (to Gift) of 2014
Searching for the perfect cookbook for the avid home cook in your life? Forget style-over-substance. Instead, gift the year’s releases that are already getting a serious workout in our own kitchens.
Amazon1/12A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus by Renee Erickson
“I don’t know who I’m inviting to my next dinner party, but I know what I’m cooking. Erickson’s book has an Ina Garten–like blend of effortlessness and luxuriousness that makes you believe that king salmon with walnut tarator will practically cook itself. But then, with her forgiving guidelines and clear descriptions…it basically does.” —Julia Kramer, associate restaurant editor
Gift it with: Erickson’s back-pocket flavor trick: Scalia salt-packed anchovies ($27; chefshop.com).
Amazon2/12Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton
“Hamilton not only wants you to cook like a pro line cook, she wants you to think like one too. Her funny, personal kitchen notebook brings her beloved East Village restaurant to life. I’ve learned how to ‘pick up’ that brunch carbonara that I prepped ahead, and I was scolded not to leave fingerprints while plating. You may wonder, Do I need to make a whole quart of, say, brown butter vinaigrette at a time? After reading this book, yes.” —Christine Muhlke, executive editor
Gift it with: The pro tool kit. Sharpie, masking tape, and a stack of plastic quart containers.
Meiko Takechi Arquillos3/12The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
“This update on the comprehensive, hardworking 1997 classic—packed with new recipes and revised ingredient info—is the answer to what to do with the produce in your CSA box or those unfamiliar grains you’ve been gearing up to try.” —Liesel Davis, recipe editor
Gift it with: Classic Microplane ($13; us.microplane.com), for citrus, garlic, and more.
Amazon4/12The Meat Hook Meat Book by Tom Mylan
“When I first dove into this, I thought, Does the world really need another book about meat by some Brooklyn beardos? Turns out it does. Mylan strikes a perfect balance between thorough—and thoughtful—info on butchery, deliriously delicious recipes (Duck-Fat Potato Poutine!), and hilarious accounts of dude debauchery.” —Amiel Stanek, assistant to the editor in chief
Gift it with: Victorinox 5" Rosewood boning knife ($39; cutleryandmore.com), so your butcher-to-be can start breaking down primals at home.
Amazon5/12Lunch at the Shop by Peter Miller
“At his eponymous bookstore in Seattle, Peter Miller and his colleagues prepare and sit down to lunch together daily, a practice he writes about so compellingly in this manifesto-cum-cookbook, it’ll make you drop your turkey wrap on the spot. Many of the recipes are very simple—like the apple, almond butter, and Fromager d’Affinois sandwich I now sometimes pack for work—but they still feel sophisticated.” —Meryl Rothstein, senior editor
Gift it with: Waterproof waxed canvas lunch bag ($48; kaufmann-mercantile.com), for a lunch carrier as chic as its contents.
Meiko Takechi Arquillos6/12Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold
“What Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking was for chefs, Dave Arnold’s Liquid Intelligence will be for bartenders: a geeky, science-driven game-changer that explores the whys and hows of cocktails. Make sure to get an invitation to your giftee’s next cocktail party.” —Andrew Knowlton, restaurant and drinks editor
Gift it with: A Japanese-style jigger ($9; cocktailkingdom.com); those cocktails won’t measure themselves.
Amazon7/12Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan
“It’s the holidays, so you should be baking. Which is why I plan on giving this to all the bakers in my life. Dorie Greenspan is the reassuring guide you need to tackle all the delicious French desserts you know (but have never made) and several you don’t. Since everything in this book is entertaining-worthy or giftable, I’ll be making gems like buckwheat and chocolate sablés all month long.” —Claire Saffitz, associate food editor
Gift it with: A piping bag and pastry tips (Ateco 14-Piece Cake Decorating Set, $20; surlatable.com), for those cream puffs and macarons.
Amazon8/12Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell
“Chez Panisse chef Cal Peternell wrote this chatty cookbook as a primer for his sons and covers everything from toast to special salads, egg essentials, and classic braises—even some desserts. I let my boys select recipes to try from the photos, then relay Peternell’s smart straight-talk advice while we cook together.” —Carla Lalli Music, food director
Gift it with: An indestructible mortar and pestle (Mason Cash medium mortar and pestle, $18; amazon.com).
Amazon9/12The Vibrant Table by Anya Kassof
"It's not often that a collection of recipes this healthy is this enticing. Currently dog-eared recipes include: Cacao Buckwheat Granola, Roasted Plum Ice Cream, and Everything Halva. It’ll make a great gift for my vegan yoga buddies, or, if you don’t have those, open-minded omnivores ready for a little raw adventure." —Dawn Perry, digital food editor
Gift it with: Cacao nibs, so they can make that granola on the spot.
Amazon10/12Ovenly by Agatha Kulaga & Erin Patinkin
"The Ovenly cookbook sparks something that no baking cookbook has sparked in me in ages: It's gotten me excited to try new recipes! I'm obsessed with the Pistachio Cardamom Cupcakes, and I don't even like cupcakes." —Rochelle Bilow, associate web editor
Gift it with: A tapered wood rolling pin (French rolling pin, $85; Food52.com) that's as pretty as the confections it will make.
11/12Flour + Water by Thomas McNaughton
"Here chef Thomas McNaughton reveals the pasta recipes from his white-hot San Francisco restaurant flour + water. McNaughton's pasta-making technique bucks the conventional wisdom of using flour everywhere (especially when rolling it out). Instead he treats the pasta like a pseudo-Play-Doh, keeping flour away from the dough whenever possible. It is terrifying at first. But give in and you'll be making crazy good artisanal pasta in no time." —Raphael Brion, editor, bonappetit.com
Gift it with: The pasta roller attachment for Kitchenaid stand mixers (Kitchenaid Pasta Roller Attachment, $189.00; amazon.com)
Amazon12/12Plus Our Top Coffee-Table Tomes of 2014...
Relæ by Christian F. Puglisi
Eating with the Chefs by Per-Anders Jörgensen
Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef by Massimo Bottura