Below we list our nine favorite cookbooks of 2018 that prove to hold the best recipes while sitting pretty.
Whether you are an at-home-chef or someone who likes to experiment in the kitchen from time to time, no kitchen is complete without a beautiful display of visually appealing cookbooks. With the array of cookbooks on the bookstore shelves (or Amazon.com), it can be challenging to pick out the most visually appealing yet purposeful recipe text that fits your lifestyle and your decor.
1. Jerusalem
By Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Category: Regional and Ethnic Cooking
Explore the flavors of Jerusalem with a collection of 120 recipes that take you on a journey through Ottolenghi and Tamimi’s home cities. The book presents a selection from the Arab east side to the Jewish west offering a collection of unique cross-cultural perspectives. With vivid photos of beautiful vegetarian dishes and mouth-watering sweet treats, you will want to show off this book and host a night that explores the incredible cuisine of Jerusalem.
2. Skinnytaste
By Gina Homolka
Category: Healthy Eating
This cookbook offers the perfect combination of meals that take all day preparation in a crockpot with meals that take 30 minutes or less. Perfect for the at-home-chef who may feel like they don’t have enough time in the day to prepare a delicious, healthy meal, Skinnytaste provides easy, tasty, and convenient, healthy recipes everybody will love. Homoka’s goal is to help you get an easy homemade healthy meal on the table every night, and with this book, she makes it possible!
3. Plenty
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Category: Vegetarian
The same author of Jerusalem, Plenty offers an essential collection of 120 vegetarian recipes with exquisite flavors and fresh combinations that will please every pallet. Offering a variety of options when it comes to vegetables, Ottolenghi pulled inspiration from his education at Cordon Bleu, his Mediterranean background, and his love for fresh ingredients. The book contains a seasonal and innovative approach that will take everybody by storm whether they are a vegetarian or not. And with a vibrant photo of every recipe, the visually stunning book should be a staple on your shelf!
4. Momofuku
By David Chang and Peter Meehan
Category: Regional and Ethnic Cooking
Synonymous with the award-winning restaurants of the same name located in New York City, Toronto, and Sydney, Momofuku offers an array of recipes filled with bold Asian flavors. Utilizing only the best ingredients, Chef David Chang revolutionized cooking in America with his mastery of the ramen noodle and his passion for pork. If you have ever dined or wanted to eat at his famous restaurant, this is a must read for you, or for anyone who enjoys food!
5. Magnolia Table
By Joanna Gaines
Category: Southwestern Cooking
A renown interior designer, Joanna Gaines is applying her love for celebrating family and friendship to your dining table. With recipes inspired by classic comfort foods and Gaines hometown, the book features 125 classics from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to small plates, snacks, and desserts. Each recipe features her love for her garden incorporating homegrown, seasonal produce offering a beautifully curated selection of delicious eats the whole family will love accompanied by personal stories and bright photos that make this interior designer an excellent addition to your cookbook collection.
6. Tartine All Day: Modern Recipes for the Home Cook
By Elisabeth Prueitt
Category: Gluten-Free
A gluten-free friendly cookbook, Tartine All Day provides indulgent recipes from the co-founder of the James Beard Award-winning bakery, Tartine. With mouth-watering imagery of 200 diverse comfort cuisines that range from savory to sweet, this book is an excellent addition to your collection and perfect for the home cook that is short on time.
7. Night + Market: Delicious Thai Food to Facilitate Drinking and Having-Fun Amongst Friends
By: Kris Yenbamroong
Category: Thai
If you love Thai food and are unsure how to make it yourself, this book is for you. A party induced read with vibrant photography to match, Night + Market is modeled after the famous Thai restaurants in Los Angeles with the same philosophy of having a good time while enjoying delicious fare. Highlighting spicy, sharp Thai Party food, each recipe is broken down to maximize flavor while keeping it quick and easy so you can enjoy your cocktail.
8. Lagom
By: Seffi Knowles-Dellner
Catagory: Swedish
Lagom means just the right amount, balanced, harmonious. That’s the philosophy behind the fresh take on Swedish eating in Lagom. This cookbook offers purposeful insight into how the Swedes eat and cook with recipes modeled after the seasons, different occasions, times of day, and of course, your appetite for delicious fare. Be prepared to embrace food that is good for your body and soul with hassle-free meals that satisfy without sacrificing flavor or health.
9. One Bottle Cocktail
By Maggie Hoffman
Category: Cocktails
We had to add a cocktail book on here because who doesn’t love entertaining with a fresh take on your favorite drinks! Made for using a single spirit, The One-Bottle cocktail incorporates fancy drinking while keeping it simple. Organized by your spirit of choice, each chapter offers fresh ingredients and artistic cocktail creations that will wow a crowd (or yourself). There’s a cocktail in here for everyone and combined with the beautiful imagery, this text offers the perfect companion to your recipe bookshelf!
