Books Focusing on Cookies, Tips on Creating the Best Parties and Charts on Herbs and Spices Are Among the Reasons These Books Made the List of The Best Cookbooks of 2024
To write a list of “Best Cookbooks of 2024” is a task that should ideally involve reading every cookbook put out in 2024, an almost impossible feat, but I did my best to pour through a selection of titles. I was drawn to books whose pages were full of something a bit different from the rest of the stack. Perhaps they have a unique approach to planning meals or cooking methods, or cover a topic, an ingredient or a region with a twist. I have also curated a list of Essential Canadian Cookbooks from 2024 and the one that will help you Expand Your Cooking Repertoire With Unique Cookbooks From 2024, both on Vita Magazine. Some worthy titles are included there, which I’ve omitted from this list that would be here but for redundancy.
Big Book of Bread – King Arthur Baking Company
King Arthur knows baking, and this collection of instructions and recipes is a must for anyone who wants to get more serious about bread. Read through “Essentials Intro,” and you’ll be reminded to refine your steps; the section on hydration is invaluable; that concept was the most challenging part for me to understand when I first started with sourdough. The book dives deep into Flatbreads, everything from Focaccia to Scallion Pancakes, Pan Loaves, including Milk Bread, Sourdough, Hearth Breads, Buns, Bagels and Rolls (you’ll love the Cacio E Pepe Rolls), and then goes on to some Fancy Breads like Stollen. The gorgeous photography includes step-by-step photos; you’ll even find QR codes for videos like the one on shaping Pretzels. This is a book to sit with for a while and admire, but before long, you’ll be jumping up to try something new; I’m preparing for the Olive and Feta Pogaca rosebud roles.
What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities Hardcover – Julia Turshen
This book will change how you think about combining ingredients into delicious dishes. As you cook through it, you’ll learn solid building blocks of what goes with what. Each section has a featured theme – Salads & Sandwiches, Vegetables, Soups, Stews and Braies, Rice, Grains and Pasta, Main Dishes and Baked Goods, and is further divided into subcategories with charts and recipes. Let’s take veggies; Turshen walks you through the stovetop, roasted and stuffed with a chart for each recipe with the fat & flavour you’ll need, the vegetable, the liquid to steam it in, and something fresh to finish it. Once you’ve mastered a couple of her suggestions, your mind will reel with your versions. My favourite section is braising, specifically, the Braised Pork with Apricots and Green Olives to serve polenta.
Anything’s Pastable – Dan Pashman
I’m a podcast fanatic and mainly listen to those focusing on food. I was intrigued when I heard Dan Pashman, the author of this Pasta cookbook, on Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Podcast, speaking about Cascatelli, a new pasta shape he invented. The research that went into this shape was rigorous, and the pasta went viral and was named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of the Year. Pashman hosts a podcast, Sporkful, which I immediately began listening to; he’s witty and thinks well outside the box.
After inventing the pasta, the sauce logically came next, as Pashman was bored seeing the usuals, so he set out to “revolutionize people’s conceptions of pasta sauce.” The book is, therefore, full of enhancements of familiar traditional dishes and less-known Italian pasta with twists. Recipes include Linguine with Miso Clam Sauce, Kimchi Carbonara, Cavatelli with Roasted Artichokes, and some fun items, such as a Pasta Pizza with the crust fused with fettuccine. So many “Pastablities” are covered.
Zoe Bakes Cookies – Zoe Francois
Any level of baker will learn from this cookbook; it’s an excellent source that will make you a cookie expert. The book charmingly begins with an introduction that details Francois’ journey becoming a passionate baker, as she shares some of her family tales, then dives into helpful chapters on ingredients and equipment and into a “Cookie Academy” that will help you plan your baking correctly. Don’t skip right to the recipes, or you will be doing yourself a massive disfavour. Once you’ve done your reading, go to the recipes, which are divided into sections on healthy cookies, holiday cookies, Jewish favourites, worldly cookies, chocolate chip obsession, and Midwestern cookies. We’ve got big plans to include Soft Oatmeal Cookies, Maple Coconut Bars, and Hazelnut chocolate madeleines in our bakery repertoire. Once you’ve mastered cookies, you can dive into her previous cookbook, Zoe Bakes Cakes and be sure to check out her YouTube Channel.
Better Cooking – Alice Zaslavsky
This vegetable-forward cookbook is as far from conventional as you’ll want to carve out an afternoon to pour over it, although you could just grab it and dive into a recipe. The recipes come with “Bonus Bits”, which include tips, substitutions, shortcuts and riffs, as well as a skill spotlight, such a roasting fruit for savories alongside the dish of Blistered Grape & Feta Pasta. Once you cook each recipe, you will learn some solid skills that will be translated elsewhere. Chapters include – Slapdash: Bits and Bobs Tossed Together, On Autopilot: East Weeknight Meals, Making the Most of It: Leftover Tricks, Loosen Your Shoulders: Weekend Projects and Entertaining and Seriously Good Sweeties: Delicious Sweets. My next kitchen project will be the Gnudi rudey with hazelnut brown butter, as I focus on the spotlight on browning and caramelizing.
Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi (Author), Helen Goh
Restaurateur and Cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi is known for bringing vegetables to the forefront and introducing many ingredients that were once labelled exotic. He created a phenomenon known as “The Ottolenghi effect”, with his multi-cultural recipes full of colour and flavour. You won’t need advanced technical skills to cook from his newest book, but they’re far from simple in flavour. The photography is gorgeous; you’ll want to eat many dishes as they jump from the page. There is also the bonus of stories about Ottolenghi’s childhood and his travelling adventures and celebrations of food. Try the Cheesy Bread Soup with Savoy Cabbage, Creamy Eggplant Caesar Dip or Bohemian Fish Pie.
Zaytinaya – Jose Andres
Before Jose Andres opened Zaytinaya, his restaurant in Washinton, DC, he travelled the Mediterranean, specifically Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, diving into their culinary traditions. I have many Mediterranean cookbooks, but this book excited me with Andres creative adaptation of classic dishes along with his stories that accompany the recipes. These dishes are all very shareable, and isn’t that what dining should be about? The Greek Oyster, or Shrimp Saganaki will tempt you, or take your time braising the Lamb with Creamy Eggplant, a Turkish dish. The section on Breads and Phyllo includes a recipe called “One Dough Three Ways,” which could become a staple in your repertoire, as it makes pita, pide, a Turkish pizza and lahmacun, a Mushroom Flatbread inspired by a market in Istanbul.
Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More – Kristina Cho
The author of the delightful baking book Mooncakes and Milk Bread now tackles the savoury side of cooking with this collection of recipes that aren’t traditionally Chinese but have those Cantonese flavours, even when cooked with California Ingredients. Cho now considers herself and her cooking “Chinese Enough”, after diving deeper into her culture through food. There’s a good guide to what to stock up on and then a novel division of recipes into chapters such as what’s “What’s Best with Rice” (I’m voting for the Miso Pork Meatballs) and one called “You’ll Always Have Noodles,” adding a Creamy Tomato Udon into the mix. She’s crafted an excellent vegetable section, a section on taking food outside, one on banquets, and then she’s got side dishes and fruit desserts. Cho tells family stories along the way; reading and cooking from this book is a treat.
What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking – Caroline Chambers
Even though I have many cookbooks, magazines, and thousands of Pinterest recipes saved, I still don’t know what to cook for dinner many nights, and often don’t feel like cooking. Through this guide, Caroline Chambers cheers you on and gives you tips on what ingredients to keep on hand and what you can swap out when you don’t have something and then divides the chapters up into how many minutes you’ll need to produce the meal – 15, 30, 45, 1 hour and “a little bit longer”. There are a couple of desserts; I love the Caramelized Peach Snickerdoodle Cobbler and some greens such as the Greatest Kale Salad. If you’ve got 15 minutes, you could whip up a Coconut Curry Ramen & Veggie Noodles Soup, 45 minutes will get you Harissa Roasted Veggies with Whipped Feta, and if you have a little bit longer, she’s got Short Ribs with Fresh Corn Polenta that I do feel like cooking. You’ll want to check her out on Substack – https://whattocook.substack.com/, where she has over 180,000 subscribers, and get to know more about Caroline on Cherry Bomb Radio, a must-listen for any year, https://cherrybombe.com/blogs/radio-cherry-bombe/caroline-chambers.
Big Night Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties Katherine Lewin
Katherine Lewin likes a good party and is so devoted to the notion that she owns a dinner party shop. Her goal is to help make people’s meals at home feel special, and you will certainly up your entertaining game with this book, which is full of tips and tricks to make dinners memorable. The section on Dinner & Party Essentials is full of pantry suggestions, kitchen tools, and bar necessities, and don’t miss the notes on hosting rules Lewin lives by! There are then Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter party suggestions, with over 80 recipes for everything from snacks to desserts and drinks. The Spring section has themes such as “Sunday is for Tacos” and also includes a hosting timeline run-through; in the Summer, you might try her “Italian Vacation Without Leaving Your Home” with Amaro Spritzes and Clam and Corn Pasta or tackle the “Steakhouse Date for Two” in the Winter, where you’ll also want to review her notes on a perfect martini, amaro and vintage glassware. Big Night Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties is full of joy and fun.
Easy Wins – Anna Jones
I love that this book centers around 12 ingredients and immediately lays out the “Golden rules for easy wins,” you should pay particular attention to her tips on seasoning. Books like this one that educate while solving the dilemma of what to eat are particularly useful, and extra points for the very clear instructions are divided into sections within the recipe. The 125 vegetarian recipes focus on lemons, olive oil, tahini, garlic, capers and more. There are pages on flavour, and Jones expertly describes why you might taste what you do. There is also an excellent section on herbs and spices that you’ll want to sit down and study. The Creamy Double Garlic, and Broccoli Rigatoni, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae will seduce you.
