It’s always a good time to restock your stash of cookbooks, and the beginning of 2023 has presented us with a bounty of great titles to choose from. Whether you’re looking for approachable guides to grilling or baking, or slightly more advanced recipes for spice- or veggie-forward dishes, there’s something for you in this year’s new releases. The eight titles below will have you beelining for the kitchen—or the backyard—as soon as possible.
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Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook
Image Credit: Abrams Back in 2016, Josh Ku and Trigg Brown launched a Kickstarter in the hopes of raising enough money to open their Brooklyn spot Win Son. Since receiving more than $30,000 via that campaign, the Taiwanese restaurant and bakery has become one of the hottest spots in New York City. Now home cooks can try their hand at making Win Son’s fare, thanks to the duo’s first cookbook, written alongside Cathy Erway. Recipes range from standbys like fried pork chops with basil to the bakery’s more modern bacon, egg, and cheese milk bun, a Taiwanese take on the N.Y.C. classic.
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Food of the Italian Islands
Image Credit: Ed Anderson courtesy of “Food of the Italian Islands” (Parla Publishing) If your knowledge of the Italian islands begins and ends with the second season of The White Lotus, Katie Parla is here to help you out. The author, television host, culinary guide, and more has chosen that region’s food to spotlight in her most recent cookbook, Food of the Italian Islands. From pastas like spaghetti alla bottarga to simple seafood like grilled whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs, Parla walks you through the cuisine of Sicily, Sardinia, the Venetian lagoon, and lesser-known isles. You’ll be booking your own White Lotus getaway in no time (hopefully without all the death and drama).
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Southern Cooking, Global Flavors
Image Credit: Rizzoli Kenny Gilbert has been one of Oprah Winfrey’s personal chefs for almost a decade, so you know he’s doing something right. Now, with his first cookbook, we can all enjoy some of the dishes he’s whipped up for the queen of daytime TV. In Southern Cooking, Global Flavors, Gilbert takes iconic Southern meals and presents twists on them using ingredients from all over the world. In the “Fried Chicken and Biscuits” section, for example, you’ll find a recipe for Gilbert’s signature Flavor Bomb fried-chicken sandwich alongside those for Korean- and Italian-influenced versions, among others. We bet you’ll be as big a fan of Gilbert’s cooking as Oprah is.
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Vegetable Revelations
Image Credit: Harper Wave If you’re trying to work through your CSA, or you simply enjoy eating a veg-forward diet, let Steven Satterfield guide your cooking. In Vegetable Revelations, the Atlanta-based chef is highlighting veggies in all their forms, throwing kale into French toast and using okra as the base for “ribs” made on the grill. While vegetarians and vegans will find loads of dishes suited to their preferences, Satterfield has also thrown in a few meat, poultry, and seafood recipes where produce is still the star: A slow-cooked lamb and rutabaga stew is ideal in the colder months, while a melon and shrimp salad screams summer. And don’t forget dessert, like a rhubarb-almond cream pie, to finish everything off.
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Ikoyi: A Journey Through Bold Heat With Recipes
Image Credit: Phaidon London’s Ikoyi has been bestowed the honor of two Michelin stars and been called one of the best restaurants in the world. The recent cookbook by its chef, Jeremy Chan, lives up to that pedigree, presenting special recipes that are anything but your everyday go-tos. The restaurant describes its cuisine as “spice-based,” focused on “British micro-seasonality” with flavors that lean West African. But Ikoyi really can’t be put into a box—and neither can its cookbook. Chan will have you buying calf brain, turbot head, and a rib of beef aged for eight weeks. You better be adept in your kitchen to enjoy his cuisine at home, or maybe you’ll simply delight in Chan’s personal writing and the beautiful photographs throughout the book.
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Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling
Image Credit: Abrams Books Many people are familiar with carne asada, the grilled meat you find in tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes. But an asada itself is a whole lifestyle. Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral are here to walk you through everything you need for a full-blown Mexican cookout, from the snacks to the salsas to the drinks to the meat. After outlining asada culture and all the necessities you need to host your own, the two provide recipes for the components of a successful gathering. There’s the requisite guacamole and beans (black, pinto, refried, and more), but also homemade tortillas and more than a dozen different salsas. Meats range from classic carne asada to lamb barbacoa, pork chops, and chicken, and there’s even a handful of grilled seafood dishes thrown in for good measure.
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Franklin Smoke
Image Credit: Ten Speed Press As we head into summer, let Aaron Franklin teach you how to fire up the grill, smoker, or fire pit. The legendary pitmaster has teamed up with the food writer Jordan Mackay to create a tome dedicated to the art of live-fire grilling and smoking. Franklin Smoke spends a good chunk of its pages detailing the various components that go into outdoor cooking, including the types of appliances and woods you can use and how fire and smoke can enhance your food. Along with all the technical details that’ll make you a more confident backyard chef, Franklin shares recipes for dishes such as fire-pit côte de boeuf, oysters with shallot-chive butter, and smoked duck. Be warned: His “Ultimate Brisket” recipe spans 15 pages.
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More Than Cake
Image Credit: Artisan The name of Natasha Pickowicz’s debut cookbook is quite literal: The James Beard–nominated pastry chef is providing recipes that go beyond your typical cake—although there are still fun, funky cakes like olive oil cake with crispy capers and black sesame, cream cheese, and pineapple layer cake. Baking is so much more than that, though. While some people may be intimidated by the preciseness that goes into baking, Pickowicz is an able guide for even beginners, walking you through snacks like pizza crackers, fruity bakes like a sunchoke and apricot tart, and savory, yeasted treats like buttered cucumber sliders. Even if you don’t consider yourself a cake person—or a dessert person at all—there’s something for you here.
