What’s Cooking? Whatever you Want, Thanks to Your Library

The internet has changed how we get information, and almost anybody with internet access has likely turned to websites, blogs, and YouTube for recipe ideas. But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of the death of the cookbook have been greatly exaggerated. While very few people now cook with a food-splattered and stained copy of “Joy of Cooking” at our elbow, many of us still enjoy perusing cookbooks for ideas and inspiration before firing up the stovetop or putting on our trusty apron. Cookbooks are increasingly written and published to match a specific theme or cuisine. Here is a sampling of some recent titles coming to your local library.

With experience at publications such as “Ladies’ Home Journal” and “Martha Stewart Living,” author and recipe developer Tara Bench is an established name in food publishing. Her latest book, “Delicious Gatherings: Recipes to Celebrate Together,” is written with informal gatherings in mind. It’s an attractive volume with a reasonably limited number of options in each category so you’re not overwhelmed with options. The full-page pictures will whet your appetite, and most of the recipes are relatively simple and won’t send you on a quest for multiple esoteric ingredients. The variations on classic dishes and comfort foods aren’t overly reinvented or complicated. The emphasis is on taking the familiar and making it fresher and more contemporary. Some cookbooks focus so much on the challenge of cooking they forget that somebody has to enjoy eating the end product—Tara Bench never forgets that if you offer your guests pot roast, they should have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

The Instant Pot has revolutionized how many people prepare meals, but as a relatively new cooking method, cookbooks are still catching up to the many different eating habits the Instant Pot can conceivably accommodate. Author Richa Hingle—“Vegan Richa” to online fans—focuses on vegan options for Instant Pot users in “Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Cookbook.” The title says it all—this browsable volume features 150 recipes for Instant Pot users who want to experiment with vegan cuisine or for vegans who have felt left out in the early years of the Instant Pot phenomenon. In a world where many cookbooks try to be all things to all readers, this is one cookbook that’s refreshingly targeted to a specific audience.

Chef and cookbook author Gaby Dalkin has a new book out with a refreshing focus on easy recipes for busy families. “What’s Gaby Cooking: Take It Easy” is a short, visually appealing cookbook with a manageable number of recipes for multiple meal situations—anything from family breakfast to an adult dinner party. The emphasis is on shorter cook times, manageable prep work, and ingredient requirements. This is a great way to get ideas for anything from yummy waffles to a tasty meatloaf.

Celebrity chef and social media star John Kanell is interested in updating traditions and the food we associate with seasonal meals. “Preppy Kitchen: Recipes for Seasonal Dishes and Simple Pleasures” brings a wide range of meals from different traditions, holidays, and seasons into a thematically organized and browsing-friendly format. The food here is a bit more labor-intensive and high-end than many of the other titles featured in this article but based on the pictures, the results look worth the extra trouble.

Finally, fans of the long-running “America’s Test Kitchen” TV show will be delighted to know that they can find every recipe ever featured on the show in “The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, 2001–2023.” The title says it all—this book is neither brief nor topically focused, but it is complete. If you once saw a recipe on the show and haven’t been able to find it since, this book has it and–between the table of contents and the index–you’ll be able to find it.

Stop by your library, pick up a cookbook, and start expanding your culinary horizons today!

Written by Kirk Johnson, PWPL Materials Services Division