The year's best cookbooks make the season's greatest gifts
By Leslie Brenner
[Editor’s note: This is Part I of our 2-part Cookbook Gift Guide. Here is Part II.
What an exciting season it is for cookbook lovers! Cooks Without Borders has reviewed a number of wonderful titles in recent weeks, including Budmo!, Kolkata and Masa — and we recently named our first-ever Cookbook of the Year: Via Carota.
Our favorite books published in 2022 cover culinary cultures from a wide swath of the world, and include volumes focused on cross-cultural cooking experiences, such as Chinese American, Korean American, pan-Mediterranean, African diasporan and California Puerto Rican.
We’re excited to present the year’s titles that most strongly captured our imagination — those that I’ve cooked from (perhaps reviewed) and already know are great, and others that I’ve pored through and marked myriad recipes that entice. We’ll work on getting as many of these books reviewed as possible in the coming year, and Part II of this roundup is coming soon!
One thing is certain: Among them you’ll find a cookbook gift for every kind of cook on your list.
The Woks of Life
We’re longtime fans of The Woks of Life — the Chinese and Chinese American cooking site from the wonderful Leung family. Sarah Leung, in fact, was our first-ever guest (two springs ago) on our Makers, Shakers and Mavens series, and we’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since.
The cookbook is as delightful as the site. We have a review coming soon; in the meantime, help yourself to a sample adapted recipe — a quick stir-fry of edamame, tofu and pickled mustard greens (a delicious, healthy, vegan respite between heavy holiday feasts!).
The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung, Clarkson Potter, $35
Tanya Holland’s California Soul
The new book from the host of ‘Tanya’s Kitchen Table’ and the podcast ‘Tanya’s Table’ features 75-plus recipes inspired by the Great Migration of African American families from the South to California. Organized by season, it’s filled with enticing dishes. We’ve tested two so far, with great results: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, and Braised Chicken Thighs with Barbecued White Beans and Scallions. They’re both listed in the “Fall” chapter, but delectable all year long. I really love the barbecue beans with the chicken.
Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West by Tanya Holland, ten speed press, $35
Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes
Know anyone who likes cakes but doesn’t want to fuss over them? This book from longtime Wall Street Journal columnist (and James Beard M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award recipient) Aleksandra Crapanzano is for them. Take a Gâteau Simple aux Noix — Simple Walnut Cake — for instance. Writes Crapanzano in the headnote: “Easily put together in ten minutes with nothing but pantry staples, it is one of those recipes that will save you a hundred times over.” Sold, right?! It took me a few more minutes than 10, but not many — and the cake’s a keeper. Meanwhile, here’s a recipe for a simple and delicious chestnut cake, which is perfect for the season. I’m also excited about a chapter on “Les Cakes Salés” — the savory cakes that are so chic in France these days.
Recipes include not one but six bûches de Noël (yule logs), and one Galette des Rois. Delightfully illustrated by Cassandra Montoriol.
Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes, by Aleksandra Crapanzo, illustrations by cassandra montoriol, scribner, $30.
Budmo!
Subtitled “Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen,” the debut cookbook from San Francisco-based chef, blogger and cooking instructor Anna Voloshyna is a winner. We reviewed it in October.
BUDMO!: RECIPES FROM A UKRAINIAN KITCHEN, BY ANNA VOLOSHYNA. RIZZOLI, $39.95.
Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico
Here’s another one I haven’t yet cooked from but can’t wait to dive into. Seeking to explore his Mexican roots, Austin, Texas-born author Rick Martínez flew to Mexico City in 2019, bought a car and ate his way through the country — visiting all 32 states and 156 cities. He asked every cook he met which of their own dishes they like best; his interpretation of 100 of them comprise the book. Martínez found himself along the way, and wound up buying a house in Mazatlán, which is where he now lives. All the food looks wonderful, and the writing is terrific. He’s host of the YouTube series Purébalo and the Food52 video series Sweet Heat, and co-hosts the Borderline Salty podcast.
Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico, by Rick Martínez, Photographs by Ren Fuller, Clarkson Potter, $35.
Via Carota
This book is so deliciously inspiring, we named it Cooks Without Borders 2022 Cookbook of the Year.
VIA CAROTA: A CELEBRATION OF SEASONAL COOKING FROM THE BELOVED GREENWICH VILLAGE RESTAURANT, BY JODY WILLIAMS AND RITA SODI WITH ANNA KOVEL, PHOTOGRAPHS BY GENTLY & HYERS, ALFRED A. KNOPF, $40.
My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef
“When a dish tells a story, it has a soul,” writes Kwame Onwuachi in the dedication (to his mother) of his second book; his first was the acclaimed memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef. The dishes in My America — inspired by the African diaspora and Onwauachi’s slice of it — look not just soulful, but insanely delicious. Raised in New York City, Onwauachi has lived in Nigeria, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. The San Francisco Chronicle called him “the most important chef in America,” he was a Food & Wine Best New Chef and a James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year. I’m dreaming of being snowed in with a full pantry to start exploring this one.
My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein, photographs by Clay Williams, Knopf, $35.
Kolkata: Recipes from the Heart of Bengal
Send Indian food-loving cooks on your list on a delicious journey to Kolkata — the city that was known under colonial rule as Calcutta — with Rinku Dutt’s enchanting debut book. We reviewed it in October.
KOLKATA: RECIPES FROM THE HEART OF BENGAL, BY RINKU DUTT, PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN JOYCE; 2022, SMITH STREET BOOKS, $35.
Until then, you might enjoy:
Browse at Cooks Without Borders CookShop
Browse at Cooks Without Borders Cookbook Shop