As this year comes to a
close, it’s time to offer up my list of the five best cookbooks published in
2011. Frankly, complying this list was pretty easy—as cookbooks go, 2011
offered a lot to like. The only difficulty I had was deciding whether to include
new editions of previously published works. I decided to leave these books out
(with no slight intended to Paula Wolfert’s The
Food of Morocco and Carol Field’s The
Italian Baker). So I present, in alphabetical order, the five best cookbooks
of 2011.
The Art of Eating Cookbook: Essential Recipes From
the First 25 Years by Edward Behr.
University of California Press.
Bocca Cookbook by Jacob Kenedy. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Heston Blumenthal at home by Heston Blumenthal. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Mission Street Food – Recipes and Ideas from an
Improbable Restaurant by Anthony
Myint and Karen Leibowitz. McSweeney’s Publishing.
The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton with Matt Molina and Carolynn Carreño.
Alfred A. Knopf.
Why these titles?
I have subscribed to Edward Behr’s The Art of Eating, for almost its entire run. (My collection begins
with Issue No. 2.) His cookbook features some of the best recipes from his excellent
journal. These recipes speak to his interest in traditional food whether
Italian, French, North African or American. Behr includes recipes for Caponata
(Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant); Fomage de Tête (Headcheese); Asparagus Soup;
Zucchini Pudding; Gâteaux de Foies de Volaille (Chicken Liver “Cakes”); and
Stewed Rhubarb with Honey. The Art of
Eating Cookbook is an outstanding collection of classic, time-tested dishes
often overlooked in mainstream cookbooks.
Jacob Kenedy’s Bocca
Cookbook captures what I love about Italian cooking: traditional, simple,
ingredient-driven dishes. Although he “confesses” that the recipes in Bocca may not be completely authentic,
I’m hard pressed to find any offering that doesn’t ring true. Kenedy’s pasta
section shines. (This should be no surprise; he co-authored the outstanding The Geometry of Pasta.) I particularly
like his lucid explanation on how to make fresh orecchiette. (Check back in 2012 for more on Kenedy’s technique.)
Heston Blumenthal’s latest cookbook further evidences his
well-deserved stature as one of the top chefs and teachers of our age. Heston Blumenthal at home fits neatly
between his Family Food, which
features comforting home fare, and The
Fat Duck Cookbook, which covers the magnificently creative and complex food
served at his Michelin three star restaurant. Heston Blumenthal at home presents
recipes to create sophisticated yet comforting dishes. My favorites include his
Prawn Cocktail; Onion Soup; Lamb Steaks with Tapenade; and Strawberry Sundae
(also with a tapenade, in this case a sweet one containing black olives and
Laphroaig whiskey). And speaking of whiskey, don’t miss his Whiskey Sour recipe.
Heston Blumenthal at home is destined
to become a classic.
Mission
Street Food probably ranks as the most enjoyable, fun yet
instructive 2011 offering. Instead of repeating my praise, you can read more
about Anthony Myint’s and Karen
Leibowitz’s wonderful book here.
Last, and by no means
least, is Silverton, Molina and Carreño’s The Mozza Cookbook. This work shares a lot of the qualities that
make Kenedy’s Bocca Cookbook so
appealing: fresh, direct and exciting Italian food. In its Primi section Matt Molina shares essential pasta making tips that
he has acquired over time. These tips along with the book’s pasta dough recipes
make The Mozza Cookbook a valuable
resource for anyone interested in learning more about creating fresh pasta at
home.
Let’s hope that 2012 offers as many quality cookbooks as 2011. If
you decide to add any of the above books to your collection, consider buying
your copy from a friendly, independent bookseller such as Omnivore Books on Food
in San Francisco on Cesar Chavez Street at Church.