Let’s get this out of the way right up front: Eating Behind Bars, which we’re featuring on our podcast soon, is obviously is not a cookbook, but it would win “most interesting food book of the year” for me.
And now for the cookbooks.
We—Kate, Kathleen, and I—have been fans of the League of Kitchens since its inception in 2014, and The League of Kitchens Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods, and Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World (technically from late ’24), is a definite winner. (Here’s a Q&A Kate did with Lisa Kyung Gross, the founder.) None of the dishes in this presentation of global recipes by indigenous home cooks are cheffy, but all of them are things you’ll want to make.
I often dislike Phaidon books, because they can seem overly comprehensive but make no sense, as if they were written by AI. I’m not saying that they are, but they can seem that way. There are major exceptions, however, and Ben Mims’s Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World is a major one. It’s honestly the only cookie cookbook you will ever need and then some, filled with standards and surprises, all (as far as I can tell) just great. Cookie addicts should probably stay away from this one—it’s tempting as hell.
I have cooked with Sonoko Sakai, author of Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style, and here she’s created a book that’s truly of her style: real Japanese home cooking. Most Japanese cookbooks are a challenge; the ingredients are uncommon, the directions confusing. (I learned all of this the hard way.) This one is different—it’s a useful book for the home cook.
Austin Bush may not be Thai by birth, but he’s made a career out of Thai food and he’s good at it. The Food of Southern Thailand is for explorers and people who like to dig deep into lesser-known (by most Americans) cuisines, and I’ve found it rewarding. Just don’t expect a basic Thai cookbook here.
Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America is the name of Sean Sherman’s new book; he isn’t called the Sioux Chef (ha-ha) for nothing: Sean, who is of Indigenous rootstock, knows and lives Indigenous North American cooking. He grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, learning Oglala Lakota food, but has since studied the cooking of other indigenous people, as well. This is both a collection of traditional recipes and an exploration of the use of indigenous ingredients, and Sean is a master of both. Highly interesting, and highly recommended.
Finally, a book for insane people. Take some of those drugs that slow you down, sit in a chair, and think about whether you want to make ramen from absolute scratch, while contemplating Homemade Ramen, by Sho Spaeth, a self-described ‘ramen pedant.’ There’s a reason I didn’t get asked to blurb this book: I wouldn’t cook from it unless I a) had the ingredients at hand, and b) was in the kind of prison where they give you a kitchen. It isn’t for me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t admire it: It’s fantastic. If you or someone you know likes serious project cooking: Do it.
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