'Antojitos: Festive and Flavorful Mexican Small Plates'
by Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy with Mary Goodbody
Photography by Lucy Schaeffer Ten Speed Press -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Antojitos, as Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy explain in their book of the same name, are small bites sometimes eaten as appetizers in Mexican cuisine and sometime just downed as a street snack to satisfy between-meals hunger pangs.
The owners of New York City's La Palapa have written a book that covers all manner of these spicy snacks -- from empanadas and tacos to ceviches and mole. Along the way, they give brief stories about the dishes as well as menus perfect for any fiesta, and colorful pages filled with images of Loteria cards and stock Mexican art that add a whimsical touch to the cookbook.
See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.
'Long Nights and Log Fires: Warming Comfort Food for Family and Friends'
Commissioning Editor Julia Charles
Photography by Ryland Peters & Small Ryland Peters & Small -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
"When the cold wind blows and the snow piles up outside, where better to be than at the heart of a warm kitchen, enjoying the aromas of good home cooking wafting from the oven?" ponders the intro to the supremely satisfying "Long Nights and Log Fires" cookbook.
Crafting a comprehensive repertoire to all things comfort food, the gratifying collection dishes up everything from "soups and snacks," "sides and salads" to "one-pot wonders," "bakes and desserts" and even heart-warming drinks, including Mocha Maple Coffee and Mexican Chocolate with Vanilla Cream. Using a bevy of autumnal ingredients -- relying on fresh produce, flavorful herbs and spices and a comforting dairy element -- this cookbook features everything sweet, spicy and savory to satisfy palates on cold nights.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'Savory Baking: Warm and Inspiring Recipes for Crisp, Crumbly, Flaky Pastries'
by Mary Cech
Photography by Noel Barnhurst Chronicle Books -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Baking doesn't have to be a sweet thing, as Mary Cech proves in her new cookbook "Savory Baking." The veteran pastry chef turns traditional pastries upside down with recipes for seafood strudel, Yukon gold brown betty and caprese-salad-filled profiteroles in this mouthwatering book.
You don't have to throw out everything you know about baking to feel at home in Cech's kitchen. Instead, you'll use your skills to whip up creative twists to the classics.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'Top Chef - The Quickfire Cookbook'
by Emily Miller with foreword by Padma Lakshmi Chronicle Books -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
It's Padma's world. The rest of us just cook in it -- just mostly without a gigantic LED countdown clock, a dozen cleaver-wielding competitors jockeying for prep space and a mandate to make haute nibbles from the contents of a 7-Eleven's snack aisle. But if that's what cremes your brulee and you haven't the tats, 'tude and temerity to audition for competitive reality TV, you can live vicariously through this book.
'A Beautiful Bowl of Soup: The Best Vegetarian Recipes'
by Paulette Mitchell
Photos by William Meppem Chronicle Books-- 2004 Buy it on Amazon
A good bowl of soup is a wondrous thing, providing a warmth and satisfaction that only well-executed comfort food can supply. And "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup: The Best Vegetarian Recipes" does just that, dishing up a variety of recipes for slurps that are endlessly appealing on both visual and taste levels.
Carnivores, fret not: With soups this flavorful you won't be missing anything. These are soups for all occasions, from a refreshing Chunky Gazpacho for lazy summer suppers, to a Cream of Tomato Soup with Puff Pastry Crowns to end a long, cold day, or even the light Gingered Pear Soup to conclude a rich meal. And, perhaps more notable yet, each and every one boasts flavors so strong and textures so rich that the soups can serve as full meals on their own.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'New American Table'
by Marcus Samuelsson Wiley - 2009 Buy it on Amazon
The youngest chef ever to receive two three-star ratings from the New York Times, Marcus Samuelsson is known for his diversified cuisine. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden by adoptive parents, Samuelsson -- drawing on his own unique upbringing -- has created an homage to the cultural origins of American cooking.
Samuelsson shares more than 300 recipes in his half-cookbook, half-travelogue that showcases the ethnic influences on American cuisine, from Pickled Herring Hot Dogs to down-home Boiled Peanuts; Jerk-Spiced Catfish with Green Papaya Salad to Latkes with Apple-Horseradish Sauce. It's quickly apparent his take on American cuisine isn't the stereotypical apple pie and bacon cheeseburger.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals'
by Jamie Oliver Hyperion -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
The revolution will not be supersized. Jamie Oliver is a man on a mission to reclaim traditional home cooking from the fast and processed food purveyors of the world via simple, inexpensive, appealing recipes.
The book kicks off with a rah-rah manifesto that dovetails with Oliver's televised travelingroadshows geared toward getting the least healthy eaters in the UK and the USA to back out of the drive-thru and drive home healthier eating habits, centered around the debatably lost art of home cooking. He presents a compelling argument with solid, satisfying building-block recipes and oddly heartstring-plucking photo profiles of plain ol' folks cooking at home.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook'
Recipes by Tarek Malouk and the Hummingbird Bakers
Photographs by Peter Cassidy
Rylan Peters & Small -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Once a journalist, London-based writer Tarek Malouk forsook his career to indulge his love of American desserts. As visions of cupcakes, pies and brownies pranced in his head, he enrolled in baking classes in New York and returned to London, eager to open a restaurant to showcase his cherished treats.
Though one might typically be hard-pressed to picture a hard-nosed journalist convert to cooking and create such a loving, warm cookbook, Malouk successfully conveys his love and appreciation for the range of American desserts in "The Hummingbird Cookbook."
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'My New Orleans - The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes from My Hometown'
By John Besh
Photographs by Ditte Isager Andrews McMeel -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Chef John Besh's magnum opus on the food of his hometown could easily be mistaken for a coffee table-style photography book edited by someone with one heck of a food fetish. That'd be only partially correct.
Besh celebrates and contextualizes New Orleans cuisine within a reverent, passionate travelogue and memoir based around the ingredients and food rituals of a full year in the Big Easy. In this 374-page volume, the chef, restaurateur (including August, Lüke, Besh Steak, Domenica, La Provence and the upcoming the American Sector at the National WWII Museum), "Next Iron Chef" contender, former Marine and father of four weaves an intimate, illustrated narrative of a life lived deliciously in one of the world's most important food cities.
Through touching vignettes from his childhood, emergence into chefhood and post-Katrina rebuilding efforts, as well as informative sidebars about key Creole and Cajun ingredients and paens to his favorite food haunts, Besh stokes and slakes a multitude of hungers for lovers of this city on the mend.
It's also one hell of a cookbook.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'The Yellow Door: Our Story, Our Recipes'
By Simon Dougan
Photographs by Cliona O'Flaherty Blackstaff Press -- 2008 Buy it on Amazon
After four years in London, "hungry young chef" Simon Dougan returned to his hometown of Gilford, Northern Ireland, and took what he considered a temporary position at pub-fare restaurant Sarah's Moon. At a time when local cuisine prized prawn cocktails as "one of the smartest dishes on any menu," and boiled eggs were a regular staple, Dougan preceded the gastropubs of today, seeking to serve more polished dishes, with an emphasis on heightened flavors, fresh ingredients and a cooked-to-order standard.
"The one thing we always remembered was only to use the freshest and best ingredients," Dougan writes. "This is still at the core of the business, and just as important now as it ever was." This notably warm cookbook imparts Dougan's heartfelt approach to refined home cooking with a fabulous collection of recipes.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts'
by Pichet Ong and Genevieve Ko
Photographs by Pate Eng
William Morrow -- 2007 Buy it on Amazon
Pichet Ong is a self-taught pastry chef whose talent landed him in some of the world's most esteemed kitchens, including Jean Georges.
In his first cookbook, "The Sweet Spot," Ong and co-writer Genevieve Ko explore the world of Asian desserts, many of which Ong says are slight tweaks on Western sweets.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'Cooking the Cowboy Way: Recipes Inspired by Campfires, Chuck Wagons, and Ranch Kitchens'
By Grady Spears with June Naylor
Photos by David Manning
Andrews McMeel Universal -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Saddle up, hit the trail and light that campfire. In "Cooking the Cowboy Way," Grady Spears lassos hearty recipes from cowboy cooks and ranchers who know what cow folks really want to eat after a long day on the ranch. (And it's not ceviche, as "Top Chef Vegas" contestants quickly learned).
Spears is a native Texan who owns Grady's Restaurant in Fort Worth -- a true cowboy-turned-chef known for creating authentic frontier food and bringing the spirit of the cowboy to the masses.
'Sips and Apps: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Cocktails and Appetizers' By Kathy Casey Photos by Angie Norwood Browne Chronicle Books -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Kathy Casey isn't a mixologist, she's a "bar chef" -- a trained chef with mad cocktail skills. In "Sips and Apps," she ventures off the well-trod path of standard cocktail guides to explore cocktails with such seductive names as Black Feather and Clear Conscience.
But it's her appetizers that are sure to offer a new trick or two for your next cocktail soiree.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
'Live, Love, Eat! The Best of Wolfgang Puck' By Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. -- 2002 Buy it on Amazon
With an accent thicker than anything a knife can penetrate, a bevy of successful restaurants and a line of signature canned soups and frozen pizzas, hearty Austrian celebrity chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck has made quite an impact on modern cooking in the U.S. Having studied cooking in France before becoming executive chef at the esteemed Los Angeles eatery Ma Maison, he's commended for the rise of California cuisine, inspired by refined French cooking techniques and flavors.
WIth a philosophy of "Live, Love, Eat!," chef Puck imparts his passion for fresh and flavorful cuisine in his recipe collection, "Live, Love Eat! The Best of Wolfgang Puck."
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
