It has been a great year for cookbooks

Back in August I did a review of my favorite cookbooks this far in 2022. While I continue to experiment with those cookbooks, I recently have purchased a lot of cookbooks this fall to check out and cook through. Honestly, I haven’t gotten to test a ton of recipes in these cookbooks. Between traveling, launching the subscription program and life in general, I haven’t experimented very much. I have read through them so I wanted to share my initial thoughts. It will be helpful if you are interested in purchasing them for yourself or as a gift for the upcoming holidays.

The Delmonico Way

The Delmonico Way is a cookbook by Max Tucci. One thing that I love about this cookbook is it is from the legendary restaurant in New York City and it feels very, well, New York. The photographs and stories about how things have been done for years is fascinating to me. Delmonico’s has been in existence for almost 200 years. Unfortunately, it is currently shut down due to the pandemic so the cookbook is a great way to get the experience. This cookbook is organized is by the type of dining which I love. Delmonico’s invented the power lunch, including their signature, wedge salad. Perhaps, a romantic dinner with a Ribeye Bordelaise and a Seafood Tower is more your speed. There is also a wonderful chapter on cocktails. If you want a taste of old New York, this cookbook is a dream come true.

Fun fact. The author, Max Tucci, was featured in the same issue of Entertain and Celebrate that I was so we have become instagram buddies. If you haven’t seen the Christmas issue, please check it out.

Via Carota

Continuing in the same vein of restaurant style cookbooks, Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village restaurant: an Italian cookbook has a lot to offer. It is 2022 Bon Appétit magazine’s Best Cookbook of the Year, so that’s saying something. The two James Beard award winning chefs, Jody Williams, and Rita Sodi pull back the curtains on their beloved Greenwich Village restaurant and we are lucky to have a seat at the table.

Included are the recipes for the restaurants signature Ensalata Verde, Potato Gnocchi, and one of my favorite things on the planet, Ricotta Cake. Their Cacio e Pepe lasagna is some thing I am planning on making this winter as it is comforting and filling at the same time.

Via Carata is known for its elegant Italian home cooking and I am excited to have this book on my shelf.

Tanya Holland’s California Soul

When I saw Tanya Holland was coming out with a cookbook, I pre-ordered it as soon as I could! I enjoyed watching Tanya way back on the tv show “The Chew” and enjoy her spirit and view on food. Tanya is the executive chef and owner of Brown Sugar kitchen in Oakland, CA, was on “Top Chef” and Food Network’s “Melting Pot”.

California Soul has been listed as one of the 10 Best Cookbooks of the year by San Francisco Chronicle, and one of the Best Cookbooks of the Year 2022 by Saveur.

Her recipes are broken down by season and definitely reflect Tanya’s innovative cuisine, which is rooted in her black, southern culture using local, sustainable seasonal ingredients.

I love how her cookbook has stories and photos from some of the food makers in her area. Her enthusiasm for her food is contagious. I can’t wait to dive deeper into this beautiful cookbook.

Delectable

Now, you know I am not a baker. I like sweets, but as a diabetic, I have to limit what I eat. That didn’t stop me from pre-ordering this cookbook! I could not wait to get my hands on Claudia Fleming‘s latest Delectable: Sweet and Savory Baking. Claudia is a legendary pastry chef from the famous Gramercy Tavern in New York City yet presents her recipes in an approachable manner for home cooks.

I really enjoyed her first cookbook, The Last Course, so I was excited to see what she shared in her latest addition.

Oh, I love a scone. I love rhubarb. So the fact that she combines these two things together was very exciting for me. I can’t wait to bake these! She also shares recipes for also savory pastries. I love a good savory tart or crostata. She has savory recipes like an Eggplant Caponata Tart, Chickpea Crackers, and Tomato Crostata. If you like to bake, this is the book for you. Not a big baker? This book is also for you!

Ottolenghi‘s Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things: Bold, Vegetable-Forward Recipes, plus Homemade Sauces, Condiments, and More to Build a Flavor – Packed Pantry

I believe everyone should have at least one Ottolenghi cookbook in their repertoire. The latest is Ottolenghi‘s Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things: Bold Vegetable-Forward Recipes plus Homemade Sauces, Condiments, and more to Build a Flavor–Packed Pantry. Now that’s a name!

NPR listed this as one of the best cookbooks of the year and I don’t disagree. “Extra Good Things…” is all about condiments, sauces, dressings, etc. It is all about those things that can elevate a meal from good to outstanding.

He takes recipes and then shows you how to feature them in other recipes, which I adore. Building blocks to me is the best way to learn how to cook. I honestly should do a review of all of his cookbooks (I believe I have all of them) because he is a legend. This cookbook did not disappoint.

Barefoot Contessa Go-To Dinners

I noticed that most of the cookbooks that came out the end of the year were restaurant based cookbooks which is understandable, right? The exception to this is the legendary Ina Garten. She released her latest cookbook, “Go-To Dinners“, in October.

In my world, Ina Garten can do no wrong. Heck, she’s one of the things that made being in the pandemic a tolerable with her huge martinis and roasting chickens for her dedicated husband, Jeffrey. 

I have been an Ina Garten fan since her first cookbook came out in 1999. I actually met Ina at a Williams Sonoma book signing in the early 2000s in Manchester CT. Waiting in line for two hours flew by and it was totally worth it. She, of course, was as lovely as you would imagine.

When my daughter left home, the cookbook staples that I made sure she had included numerous Barefoot Contessa classics. Now she fees her husband with many recipes from her collection of cookbook perfection.

Ina’s latest cookbook, Go-To Dinners is no exception to the Barefoot Contessa rule, which is basically making me want to cook everything in there, now.

One thing I love about Ina is she is a home cook and shares her love and joy for life through everything that she does. She shares her passion for sharing her love for not only the food she is making but her friends and of course, Jeffrey. Everyone needs a Jeffrey in their lives.

This cookbook was inspired by having to stay home during the pandemic. Wondering what she could make time after time that would always come out perfectly. Ina even has a couple of ideas for put together meals like a Ploughman’s lunch. She always has great recipes for cocktails, including the pink grapefruit Paloma, and she can find many ways to roast a chicken including chicken in a pot with orzo. I’m so glad that I have this cookbook to make my Barefoot Contessa collection complete.

Roundup

There you go. My favorite cookbooks for the second half of the year. Please check out my post on my favorites for the early part of 2022 for the full list.