Whole Story

We like to eat and cook around here! We also love cookbooks. I asked my co-workers which cookbook they’d most like to receive this holiday season. 

Here’s a list worth checking twice:

• Kate L. and Natanya both hope that Santa brings John Besh's My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking. Natanya was enthralled by Besh’s first cookbook, My New Orleans, and appreciates Besh for his southern charm, family-inspired recipes and unrelenting commitment to his community. According to Kate, “This latest cookbook from my favorite New Orleans chef frames up what I’m about: a busy mom from Louisiana who is passionate about serving up delicious, fresh, home-cooked meals. Besh emphasizes seasonal and local produce and conveys simple strategies to get tasty meals on the table any night of the week.”

• Scott would like to tear open the hand-printed giftwrap on The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell.  Full ofpersonal stories, recipes designed tohighlight heirloom vegetables and fruits and practical tips like “how to wash leeks,” the cookbook also provides blank spaces on each recipe page for the cook to write his own notes.Printed on heavy stock paper and designed to be passed down for generations, the book includes stunning blank recipe cards for family favorites.

• Elizabeth wants to find Sheri Castle's The New Southern Garden Cookbook under her tree, being as she’s homesick for Carolina butter beans, tomato pie and ham biscuits. Elizabeth shares that Castle's blendof storytelling and kitchen wisdom brings the recipes to life and will encourage any home chef to crack open that CSA box and get cooking.

• Jennifer would be psyched if the Sugarplum Fairy waved her wand and made Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swansonmagically appear. A cookbook full of tasty, delicious recipes that just happen to be good for you isn't too good to be true. Jennifer gushes, “It's no secret that the blogger behind ‘101 Cookbooks’ writes books as stylish and informative as her website.”

• Kate R. would love to be gifted The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook by Kim O’Donnel to add to her cookbook collection. Kate assures us that the book is oriented toward anyone (not justmeat lovers)interested in creative vegetarian recipes. Chickpea Crab Cakes and Jig-inducing Falafel Burgers are just a few of the tempting recipes Kate can’t wait to try.

• Rebecca would like to find Hellbent for Cooking by Annick Giroux on her doorstep this season. According to a reliable source, the dishes are as legendary as the bands that provided them. Nothing warms a cool winter evening like the heat generated by the favorite recipes of Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and Uriah Heep, not to mention Norway’s infamous black metal chefs Mayhem and Gorgoroth.

I hope the reviews above spark some ideas for your own gift giving. Which cookbook would you most like to gift or receive this holiday season?