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What We're Cooking,
Eating and Enjoying

2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbooks


What's for Dessert by Claire Saffitz



Claire Saffitz is a freelance recipe developer and video host. Previously, she was Senior Food Editor at Bon Appétit magazine, where she worked for five years in the test kitchen. She is currently the host of the series Gourmet Makes on the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, where she uses her classical pastry knowledge to reverse engineer popular snack foods and candy.


Claire was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and now lives in New York City. She graduated with honors from Harvard University in 2009, studied classic French cuisine and pastry at École Grégoire Ferrandi in Paris in 2012, and completed her Masters degree in History at McGill University in 2014, where she focused on culinary History in the Early Modern Era.


Her first cookbook, Dessert Person, published by Clarkson Potter, debuts in October 2020. Dessert Person is a celebration of baking and pastry and all things sweet. But to Claire, being a self-described "dessert person" is also an attitude; it’s about embracing cooking and eating as fundamental sources of pleasure. This book empowers reluctant home bakers to bake with more confidence and approach food with greater joy, because anyone can be a dessert person -- even people who think they’re not.



Jew-ish by Jake Cohen



When you think of Jewish food, a few classics come to mind: chicken soup with matzo balls, challah, maybe a babka if you’re feeling adventurous. But as food writer and nice Jewish boy Jake Cohen demonstrates in this stunning debut cookbook, Jewish food can be so much more. In Jew-ish, he reinvents the food of his Ashkenazi heritage and draws inspiration from his husband’s Persian-Iraqi traditions to offer recipes that are modern, fresh, and enticing for a whole new generation of readers. Imagine the components of an everything bagel wrapped into a flaky galette and latkes dyed vibrant yellow with saffron for a Persian spin on the potato pancake, plus best-ever hybrid desserts like Macaroon Brownies and Pumpkin Spice Babka! From elevated, yet approachable classics like Jake’s Perfect Challah, Roasted Tomato Brisket, Short Rib Cholent, and Iraqi Beet Kubbeh Soup to innovative creations like Cacio e Pepe Rugelach, Sabich Bagel Sandwiches, and Matzo Tiramisu, Jew-ish is a brilliant collection of delicious recipes, but it’s also much more than that. As Jake reconciles ancient traditions with our modern times, his recipes become a celebration of a rich and vibrant history, a love story of blending cultures, and an invitation to gather around the table and create new memories with family, friends, and loved ones.




Black Food by Bryant Terry



A beautiful, rich, and groundbreaking book exploring Black foodways within America and around the world, curated by food activist and author of Vegetable Kingdom Bryant Terry.


NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TIME OUT AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - "Mouthwatering, visually stunning, and intoxicating, Black Foodtells a global story of creativity, endurance, and imagination that was sustained in the face of dispersal, displacement, and oppression."--Imani Perry, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University


In this stunning and deeply heartfelt tribute to Black culinary ingenuity, Bryant Terry captures the broad and divergent voices of the African Diaspora through the prism of food. With contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaires from around the globe, the book moves through chapters exploring parts of the Black experience, from Homeland to Migration, Spirituality to Black Future, offering delicious recipes, moving essays, and arresting artwork.


As much a joyful celebration of Black culture as a cookbook, Black Food explores the interweaving of food, experience, and community through original poetry and essays, including Jollofing with Toni Morrison by Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Queer Intelligence by Zoe Adjonyoh, The Spiritual Ecology of Black Food by Leah Penniman, and Foodsteps in Motion by Michael W. Twitty. The recipes are similarly expansive and generous, including sentimental favorites and fresh takes such as Crispy Cassava Skillet Cakes from Yewande Komolafe, Okra & Shrimp Purloo from BJ Dennis, Jerk Chicken Ramen from Suzanne Barr, Avocado and Mango Salad with Spicy Pickled Carrot and Rof Dressing from Pierre Thiam, and Sweet Potato Pie from Jenné Claiborne. Visually stunning artwork from such notables as Black Panther Party creative director Emory Douglas and artist Sarina Mantle are woven throughout, and the book includes a signature musical playlist curated by Bryant.


With arresting artwork and innovative design, Black Food is a visual and spiritual feast that will satisfy any soul.




Japanese Art of the Cocktail by Masahiro Urushido



The first cocktail book from the award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido of Katana Kitten in New York City, on the craft of Japanese cocktail making


Katana Kitten, one of the world’s most prominent and acclaimed Japanese cocktail bars, was opened in 2018 by highly-respected and award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido. Just one year later, the bar won 2019 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New American Cocktail Bar. Before Katana Kitten, Urushido honed his craft over several years behind the bar of award-winning eatery Saxon+Parole. In The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, Urushido shares his immense knowledge of Japanese cocktails with eighty recipes that best exemplify Japan’s contribution to the cocktail scene, both from his own bar and from Japanese mixologists worldwide. Urushido delves into what exactly constitutes the Japanese approach to cocktails, and demystifies the techniques that have been handed down over generations, all captured in stunning photography.




The Kitchen Without Borders by The Eat Offbeat Chefs



Written by refugees who are now chefs in the Eat Offbeat kitchen, this cookbook brings the culinary traditions of fourteen chefs from around the world including Syria, Iran, Eritrea, and Venezuela. The chefs share the food of their homelands, through more than 70 heirloom recipes that Eat Offbeat customers may already know and love, such as our hand-shaped Potato Kibbeh, Momos stuffed with paneer, spinach, and Nepali spices. Sri Lankan curry dhal with coconut cabbage and Venezuelan carne mechada.

More than a celebration of delicious foods from around the world, this recipe collection—with its intimate chef profiles and photographic portraits—allows our chefs to share their cherished cuisines, in their own words.


In Bibi's Kitchen by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen



Grandmothers from eight eastern African countries welcome you into their kitchens to share flavorful recipes and stories of family, love, and tradition in this transporting cookbook-meets-travelogue.


“Their food is alive with the flavors of mangoes, cinnamon, dates, and plantains and rich with the history of the continent that had been a culinary unknown for much too long.”—Jessica B. Harris, food historian, journalist, and public speaker.


Cooking at Home by David Chang and Priya Krishna



David Chang came up as a chef in kitchens where you had to do everything the hard way. But his mother, one of the best cooks he knows, never cooked like that. Nor did food writer Priya Krishna’s mom. So Dave and Priya set out to think through the smartest, fastest, least meticulous, most delicious, absolutely imperfect ways to cook.


From figuring out the best ways to use frozen vegetables to learning when to ditch recipes and just taste and adjust your way to a terrific meal no matter what, this is Dave’s guide to substituting, adapting, shortcutting, and sandbagging—like parcooking chicken in a microwave before blasting it with flavor in a four-minute stir-fry or a ten-minute stew.




Foodheim by Eric Wareheim and Emily Timberlake



Director and actor Eric Wareheim might be known for his comedy, but his passion for food and drink is no joke. For the last fifteen years he has been traveling the world in search of the best bites and sips, learning from top chefs and wine professionals along the way. His devotion to beautiful natural wine, the freshest seafood crudos, and perfectly cooked rib-eyes is legit. And now he wants to share with you everything he’s learned on this epic food journey.


In Foodheim, Wareheim takes readers deep into his foodscape with chapters on topics like circle foods (burgers, tacos), grandma foods (pasta, meatballs), and juicy foods (steak, ribs). Alongside recipes for Chicken Parm with Nonna Sauce, Personal Pan Pep Pep, and Crudite Extreme with Dill Dippers, you will discover which eight cocktail recipes you should know by heart, how to saber a bottle of bubbly, and what you need to do to achieve handmade pasta perfection at home.


Written with award-winning cookbook editor Emily Timberlake and featuring eye-popping photographs and art chronicling Wareheim’s evolution as a drinker, how to baby your pizza dough into pie perfection, and more, Foodheimis the ultimate book for anyone who lives to eat.


The Meat Cookbook by Nichola Fletcher



A meat feast awaits! Become an expert on buying, preparing and cooking meat.


From discovering why cuts matter to learning how to recognize top-quality meat, this is your one-stop, practical guide. It contains everything you’ve ever wanted to know about meat.


Whether you want to learn how to slow-cook for maximum flavor or create the perfect Sunday roast, this cookbook has all the answers for meat lovers eager to try working with different meats and cuts. Get the best from your meat with step-by-step preparation and cooking techniques, and learn key home butchery skills, like needling, frenching, rolling and tying.


Sparkling Wine for Modern Times by Zachary Sussman



Sparkling Wine for Modern Times considers sparkling wine traditions and offerings from around the world. This approachable book explores our perpetual fascination with sparkling wine and places each regional expression within the wider wine zeitgeist—from the radical grower revolution reshaping the highly conservative area of Champagne to Prosecco’s overnight transformation into a multi-million-dollar brand to the retro appeal of natural wine’s cult-hit pétillantnaturel to the next generation of “real wines” from Lambrusco, and beyond.


Slip into your cookbook gift: a gift card to take a private cooking class



The perfect addition to any cookbook gift is the experience of a private cooking class with an expert Chef. Your foodie can choose to take a class to learn how to master a dish from their new cookbook or choose any of the seasonal menus offered at Fēst Cooking. Your favorite foodie will be able to ask their Chef instructor questions, learn Chef quality tips and tricks and will perfectly master the dish of their choosing.

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