The Best Cookbooks for Gifting
A list that brings the joy
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When it comes to cookbooks, I never know which kind of person I want to be: The streamlined one, with a few key cookbooks from which I get exactly what I need, or the romantic, with stacks of all different sorts of cookbooks scattered around sort of everywhere. (Can you tell? I am the latter, but strive to be the former.)
The reason I have so many, though, is because good ones keep coming out: I looked through a lot of them over the last few months, and I’m never not amazed by what talented cooks can think up. Here are some of my favorites; it’s a wide variety, and you should be able to find something for almost every type of cook.
There’s been a lot of buzz around Meera Sodha’s East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Beijing, and rightfully so. “This is food I’ve created in my kitchen based on a very personal journey and an adventure,” Sodha writes in the introduction. “And this is how I like to cook for my family and friends, and for myself. It is the food I’ve come to love — and I hope you love it too.” Let me tell you: I do. I made the Honey, Soy, and Ginger Braised Tofu (above) and will absolutely be making it again. I’m also excited to cook the Peanut Butter and Broccolini Pad Thai, Chickpea Flour Fries with Chile Sauce, and Onigiri Stuffed with Walnut Miso (which looks way less complicated than I would have imagined!).
Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings is a delightful, pretty book that packs a real punch. I made the Powdered Donut Cake (pictured above) for Thanksgiving, and let me tell you, it’s as good as it sounds — no frying involved. All the recipes in this book are one bowl and no fuss, which is exactly what I want right now. Some others to try: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake, Whole-Grain Strawberry Cake, and Grapefruit White Chocolate Cake.
Eat Something: A Wise Sons Cookbook for Jews Who Like Food and Food Lovers Who Like Jews (Evan Bloom and Rachel Levin) is kind of like the cookbook version of “Wet Hot American Summer.” It’s nostalgia at its best, and an awesome compendium of Jewish recipes, with…
