Cookbooks Emerge As Top Picks For 2012
Posted: February 13, 2013
By The Book
Two cookbooks released last year have made it to pretty much everyone’s “Best of 2012” list, and were favorites for holiday giving.
Both were written by food bloggers, and contribute many new recipes to online favorites, hoping to satisfy those who want their recipes in print form, as well as those looking for something new.
It’s a hard balance, but I see by customer comments that many of the cookbooks’ reviewers and buyers are loyal readers of the blogs, so evidently people want their cooking instructions in both forms.
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook” comes from popular home cook Deb Perelman, whose blog by the same name has won many awards. She’s a favorite of mine, too — her style is warm, and she approaches cooking with great courage and joy.
She takes a different path than authors promising easy and fast meals (although she has a few) and, instead, looks forward to her time in the kitchen tackling intimidating projects, wading through mountains of recipes to find the best and invariably putting her own stamp on them. Her writing is enthusiastic and her photos perfect.
I wouldn’t recommend this cookbook for beginners; her directions are organized and easy to follow, but her projects are ambitious. Though a highly-motivated beginner would love her work, and might also be inspired to read her blog, which chronicles Perelman’s failures and near misses, as well as her successes.
Perelman is a young woman with a toddler, writing from an apartment with a small kitchen. Desserts dominate her blog and are largely featured in her cookbook. She focuses on natural ingredients, and the food she makes tends to be high-calorie — and delicious.
Her blog is also a treat, with well-organized recipes, wonderful photos and well-written commentary. Find it at smittenkitchen.com.
Another refreshing new book comes to us from Michael Natkin, creator of the popular site Herbivoracious.com. None other than the Washington Post said this of Herbivoracious:
“If we had to choose one book to cook from in 2012, this would be it.”
Natkin collects 150 fresh and inventive recipes. Like the recipes on the blog, they’re distinguished for bright flavors and gorgeous presentation, documented with plenty of photos in the print cookbook. His appeal is to vegetarians who expect great flavors, as well as to meat eaters wanting to increase their vegetable consumption.
I haven’t tried cooking from his book yet, although I often find something for dinner from Natkin’s blog.
For example, there’s Caribbean Lentil-Stuffed Flatbread and Sicilian Spaghetti with Pan-Roasted Cauliflower for main courses, as well as many salads, soups, small plates and desserts.
Along with the recipes, you may find some good advice on making meatless meals that are pleasing as well as nutritious, lots of examples of vegan and gluten-free dishes and good information on spices and other seasonings.
Theresa Curry blogs about food, health and gardens at www.gma85.com.
Both were written by food bloggers, and contribute many new recipes to online favorites, hoping to satisfy those who want their recipes in print form, as well as those looking for something new.
It’s a hard balance, but I see by customer comments that many of the cookbooks’ reviewers and buyers are loyal readers of the blogs, so evidently people want their cooking instructions in both forms.
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook” comes from popular home cook Deb Perelman, whose blog by the same name has won many awards. She’s a favorite of mine, too — her style is warm, and she approaches cooking with great courage and joy.
She takes a different path than authors promising easy and fast meals (although she has a few) and, instead, looks forward to her time in the kitchen tackling intimidating projects, wading through mountains of recipes to find the best and invariably putting her own stamp on them. Her writing is enthusiastic and her photos perfect.
I wouldn’t recommend this cookbook for beginners; her directions are organized and easy to follow, but her projects are ambitious. Though a highly-motivated beginner would love her work, and might also be inspired to read her blog, which chronicles Perelman’s failures and near misses, as well as her successes.
Perelman is a young woman with a toddler, writing from an apartment with a small kitchen. Desserts dominate her blog and are largely featured in her cookbook. She focuses on natural ingredients, and the food she makes tends to be high-calorie — and delicious.
Her blog is also a treat, with well-organized recipes, wonderful photos and well-written commentary. Find it at smittenkitchen.com.
Another refreshing new book comes to us from Michael Natkin, creator of the popular site Herbivoracious.com. None other than the Washington Post said this of Herbivoracious:
“If we had to choose one book to cook from in 2012, this would be it.”
Natkin collects 150 fresh and inventive recipes. Like the recipes on the blog, they’re distinguished for bright flavors and gorgeous presentation, documented with plenty of photos in the print cookbook. His appeal is to vegetarians who expect great flavors, as well as to meat eaters wanting to increase their vegetable consumption.
I haven’t tried cooking from his book yet, although I often find something for dinner from Natkin’s blog.
For example, there’s Caribbean Lentil-Stuffed Flatbread and Sicilian Spaghetti with Pan-Roasted Cauliflower for main courses, as well as many salads, soups, small plates and desserts.
Along with the recipes, you may find some good advice on making meatless meals that are pleasing as well as nutritious, lots of examples of vegan and gluten-free dishes and good information on spices and other seasonings.
Theresa Curry blogs about food, health and gardens at www.gma85.com.