Narrative-rich cookbook recommendations
January 11, 2016 11:29 AM Subscribe
I love the conversational tone and narrative-richness of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks. Please recommend more books similar to hers.
Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries. It's pretty much just a beautifully written, seasonally inspired accounting of what he made for dinner every day for a year, with recipes and some pictures.
posted by Diablevert at 11:36 AM on January 11, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Diablevert at 11:36 AM on January 11, 2016 [7 favorites]
Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings by Edward Espe Brown if you're of a certain West coast spiritual bent.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:37 AM on January 11, 2016
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:37 AM on January 11, 2016
The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon.
posted by Bruce H. at 11:47 AM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Bruce H. at 11:47 AM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Always and forever Nigel Slater. Any of his cookbooks are just wonderfully conversational. (I love how any of his Jerusalem artichoke recipes are frank about the fact they will make you fart.)
posted by Kitteh at 11:53 AM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 11:53 AM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Most things by Rick Bayless hit this note for me - you MUST LOVE MEXICAN FOOD, though (which I do, so no worries for me!).
posted by ersatzkat at 12:01 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ersatzkat at 12:01 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking as well as Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking.
posted by whoiam at 12:15 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by whoiam at 12:15 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Seconding Nigel Slater!
posted by rainbowbrite at 12:24 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 12:24 PM on January 11, 2016
Beautiful pictures, delicious recipes & lovely anecdotes:
Béatrice Peltre's La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life
posted by Laura in Canada at 12:25 PM on January 11, 2016
Béatrice Peltre's La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life
posted by Laura in Canada at 12:25 PM on January 11, 2016
Check out The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper.
posted by shortyJBot at 1:17 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by shortyJBot at 1:17 PM on January 11, 2016
The Mission Chinese cookbook is two parts Danny Bowien telling the story of how Mission Chinese Food started and grew in SF and NYC, and one part recipes from the restaurants.
posted by Itaxpica at 1:19 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by Itaxpica at 1:19 PM on January 11, 2016
M. F. K. Fisher, particularly "How to Cook a Wolf."
The 21st Century reincarnation of that particular book would be Tamar Adler's "An Everlasting Meal."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:28 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
The 21st Century reincarnation of that particular book would be Tamar Adler's "An Everlasting Meal."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:28 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Ruth Reichl's My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life and yes, Nigel Slater!
posted by sarajane at 1:37 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sarajane at 1:37 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Milk Bar Life by Christina Tosi has a lot of stories and pictures and explanations, but it has more of a trashy-foodie-hipster vibe than I imagine the Nigella Book would. Definitely a conversational tone, but a different conversationalist. It focuses on "day off" recipes that are very simple and use supermarket ingredients, and how those recipes fit in Tosi's life.
I'd also suggest Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, which I just got and made a few recipes from. It has a lot of chatty chapters on leisure and coffee in Sweden, and the history the culture's emphasis on coffee/snack breaks (interspersed with the recipes, in a slightly-narrative way).
Maybe The Man Who Ate Everything is more of a book of essays that has recipes than a cookbook, but it's a good read and has recipes I was excited to try in each chapter.
The Secrets of Baking also has some of this vibe for me. It's written by a pastry chef (Sherry Yard, from Spago) and attempts to be a comprehensive book about baking (rather than more of a lifestyle-type book with recipes), but it's organized around "Master Recipes" and how basic techniques work within different baked goods. Due to this organization, each section has an explanation of how the master recipe is related to each of the others in the category, with stories of how Yard perfected her techniques and learned more about that recipe type.
posted by sometamegazelle at 1:39 PM on January 11, 2016
I'd also suggest Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, which I just got and made a few recipes from. It has a lot of chatty chapters on leisure and coffee in Sweden, and the history the culture's emphasis on coffee/snack breaks (interspersed with the recipes, in a slightly-narrative way).
Maybe The Man Who Ate Everything is more of a book of essays that has recipes than a cookbook, but it's a good read and has recipes I was excited to try in each chapter.
The Secrets of Baking also has some of this vibe for me. It's written by a pastry chef (Sherry Yard, from Spago) and attempts to be a comprehensive book about baking (rather than more of a lifestyle-type book with recipes), but it's organized around "Master Recipes" and how basic techniques work within different baked goods. Due to this organization, each section has an explanation of how the master recipe is related to each of the others in the category, with stories of how Yard perfected her techniques and learned more about that recipe type.
posted by sometamegazelle at 1:39 PM on January 11, 2016
Elizabeth David more or less invented the genre. I'll also recommend Simon Hopkinson.
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:11 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:11 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient By Michael Ruhlman.
posted by tenderman kingsaver at 5:06 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by tenderman kingsaver at 5:06 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've really enjoyed Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison. It is organized in a way I haven't seen elsewhere and has really helped me think of ways to substitute or expand on recipes that are almost never disasters, but also leads you around her garden throughout the year in a way that is neither holier-than-thou or predictable. Also, as an omnivore the recipes and stories give me ideas for meals that don't depend on meat but also go just fine with it if I want to add some, unlike a lot of vegetarian recipes which feel incompatible.
posted by Mizu at 5:49 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by Mizu at 5:49 PM on January 11, 2016
Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. Cannot recommend highly enough. Lots and lots of recipes and techniques, but read almost like short stories.
posted by primate moon at 6:45 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by primate moon at 6:45 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
David Lebovitz's "The Sweet Life in Paris," a memoir with recipes more than a cookbook.
posted by Joleta at 7:39 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Joleta at 7:39 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
I love Alford and Duguid's travel narrative cookbooks.
posted by bluebelle at 8:57 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by bluebelle at 8:57 PM on January 11, 2016
Wanda Frolov's Katish
Samuel Chamberlain's Clementine in the Kitchen
Helen Gurley Brown's Single Girls Cookbook
posted by brujita at 10:58 PM on January 11, 2016
Samuel Chamberlain's Clementine in the Kitchen
Helen Gurley Brown's Single Girls Cookbook
posted by brujita at 10:58 PM on January 11, 2016
Anissa Helou's Levant is wonderful - amazing middle-eastern recipes interspersed with stories and vivid memories of her childhood and family in Lebanon and Syria and her travels around the region.
(and nth-ing Nigel Slater, who is always delightful)
posted by parm at 1:57 AM on January 12, 2016
(and nth-ing Nigel Slater, who is always delightful)
posted by parm at 1:57 AM on January 12, 2016
Richard Olney, Lulu's Provencal Table. Lots of stories and recipes from his French friends who run a winery and restaurant. Sometimes a bit too chummy/chatty, but the food is pretty amazing.
Yamuna Devi, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Yamuna Devi is an American convert to Vaishnava Hinduism, and learned to cook while traveling with her guru. The book doesn't proselytize, but does mention that Vaishnavas are prohibited from eating certain foods such as garlic and mushrooms, so you won't find those things in the recipes. You will find nearly 800 pages of just about everything else in the vegetable world.
Claudia Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Full of anecdotes and stories from her extensive research into contemporary and historic cookery. Roden is an Egyptian-born Jew who currently lives in the UK.
George Greenstein, Secrets of a Jewish Baker. He used to run a bakery, and oy, does he have stories. And recipes.
posted by Weftage at 7:49 AM on January 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yamuna Devi, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Yamuna Devi is an American convert to Vaishnava Hinduism, and learned to cook while traveling with her guru. The book doesn't proselytize, but does mention that Vaishnavas are prohibited from eating certain foods such as garlic and mushrooms, so you won't find those things in the recipes. You will find nearly 800 pages of just about everything else in the vegetable world.
Claudia Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Full of anecdotes and stories from her extensive research into contemporary and historic cookery. Roden is an Egyptian-born Jew who currently lives in the UK.
George Greenstein, Secrets of a Jewish Baker. He used to run a bakery, and oy, does he have stories. And recipes.
posted by Weftage at 7:49 AM on January 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
A classic, with mainly classic French recipes: The Alice B Toklas Cookbook.
posted by goo at 11:44 AM on January 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by goo at 11:44 AM on January 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Great question. I've ordered and received books from this list and they are all super-inspiring
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on January 15, 2016
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on January 15, 2016
Late to the party, but seconding Claudia Roden. The Book of Jewish Food
is absolutely lovely, learned, historical and enthralling.
posted by glasseyes at 5:53 AM on January 23, 2016
is absolutely lovely, learned, historical and enthralling.
posted by glasseyes at 5:53 AM on January 23, 2016
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posted by homodachi at 11:36 AM on January 11, 2016 [4 favorites]