Cookbooks are about recipes, that’s true. But each of the 19 cookbooks in my 2024 list focuses on an individual’s story. Tyler Florence’s 17th cookbook, American Grill, explores how he cooks now, when relaxing at his Marin home. Jersey Boy Tom Colicchio’s Why I Cook looks at his journey as a cook and the forces that shaped his life, encouraging him not only to cook professionally but to advocate for social justice. Sonoko Sakai’s considers flavor through the lens of her life’s experiences living around the world in Wafu Cooking. Each book poses a question to its readers: where have you been and where are you going?
Below are 19 cookbooks released in 2024 that inspire me and, I hope, you. Each is a journey, a trip to tantalize your taste buds and your intellect. My list is personal – I choose to focus on chefs based in the American West where I live, in New Jersey where I grew up, and others around the world whose cooking inspires me.
During the quieter season of winter, my wish is that you choose one or two to guide your senses and your kitchen and cooking spirit. May your journey be one of grace, deliciousness, and more than a little curiosity.
Cookbooks written by San Francisco Bay Area Authors
Convivir
By Rogelio Garcia
Garcia, a one-Michelin chef in charge of the kitchen at Auro, his restaurant at Four Seasons Napa Valley, intertwines Mexican cuisine with the story of California. His book, which opens with a primer on Masa (both corn and wheat), considers the importance of from-scratch preparation in Mexican cooking. Yet Chef recognizes that modern cooking requires some shortcuts – he provides guidance for working with store-bought masa or the technique to make your own. Additional chapters focus on Field, Sea, and Farm, with featured menus in each.
In the Milpa (field) section, the featured menu is a DACA Dinner, shining a light on the plight of “Dreamers” through Grilled Stone Fruit Salad with Mezcal Vinagrette, Pistachio-crusted Duck Breast with Black Cherry Mole and Pistachio Tortillas, Thumbelina Carrots al Pastor, and Café de Olla Ahogado, a twist on the Italian affogato al caffé. The stunning photography and the book’s heft lead me to call this a coffee table book, but I’ve already stained the cover while making Agridulce Chicken Wings (in Rancho chapter, p. 224), so there goes that.
The Bean Book
By Steve Sando
Beans have been around for thousands of years, at least 7,000 since the chickpea was first domesticated. But if you’re looking for a modern oracle of bean varietals and cookery, Napa’s Sando is your guy. At first a bean farmer and then an heirloom bean zealot, Sando helped turn beans from commodity to sought-after heirloom, a.k.a. a specialty ingredient to be treated with care.
His cookbook begins with a discussion of how to cook the perfect pot of beans with a Master Recipe for Pot Beans. There’s a 16-page primer on heirloom bean varieties. The rest of the book is dedicated to recipes for beans in every form imaginable, from Roasted Garlic, Squash, and Buckeye Bean Dip and Tlapeño Soup (Mexican chickpea and chicken soup) to Khoresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian herb, bean, and lamb stew) and Navy Bean Pie. Meat and sweet eaters, you see, can eat beans, too.
The Memory of Taste
By Tu David Phu
Phu’s American story, like mine, starts in war. His family emigrated from Phú Quốc, an island off Vietnam’s southwestern-most point. His Dad never spoke of the war. Nor did mine. Yet food was a powerful influence in their emigrant stories. Phu’s dad comes from a line of fishermen, so perhaps it is no surprise that many of the recipes in this book feature seafood and fish. As a child, Phu’s family ate whatever they could and Chef honors that history with recipes (Scorched Rice with Ginger and Green Onion Sauce, Tuna Bloodline Tartare) that fed the family even if they were “off cuts” or scraps.
When you are hungry, sustainability is built-in to your cooking approach. Like Phu’s mom, mine learned during The War to chew on chicken bones and skin, extracting every drop of the nutritious marrow and fat. His headnote for Ginger-braised Chicken made me laugh in solidarity. Where the first half of the book looks toward Vietnam, the second half of the book includes recipes Phu or his parents developed once they arrived in Oakland, California. You can taste the Top Chef contestant’s story on each page.
My Egypt
By Michael Mina
Have you been to a Michael Mina restaurant? There’s about 28 around the country, each with a distinct Mina style. In the Bay Area, I remember George Morrone’s foie gras with tuna, a shocker of a dish (at the time) that Mina helped launch while a line cook under Morrone’s guidance at San Francisco’s Aqua. Mina kept a version of the dish when the restaurant became his and tuna tartare remains a signature Mina dish.
I was not surprised, then, to see Mina dress hummus with foie gras or his mom’s ta’ameya with tuna in his roots-focused cookbook. The chef who came up learning French technique via California Cuisine, carries that approach to this tome. Middle Eastern Waldorf is tweaked with smoked dukkah and poppy seeds; Seasoned with chile and ginger, Sizzling Prawns are left whole, as are Roasted Squab. You’ll need a good pair of kitchen shears, among other tools to execute to Mina style. But the family-style recipes start with Welcome Drinks and run through Desserts, an approach that matches Mina’s always-on Egyptian hospitality.
Chinese Enough
By: Kristina Cho
Raised in Ohio by Hong Kong immigrants, Cho moved to San Francisco as an adult, finding in the city a kinship with the Chinese-American community. Like many immigrant cooks, Cho claims no authenticity, just a wish to further explore what Chinese American food really is. The Best With Rice chapter includes recipes prepared within the time it takes for a pot of rice to cook, while other chapters involve dishes best made by a team.
I’m already lining up the ingredients to make Orange Pepper Popcorn Chicken and Shrimpy Ketchup Fried Rice, dishes that make easy work of dinner during Sunday Night Football. I don’t know if I can ever line up the hands needed to make Cho Family Dumplings and will have to swap out the butternut squash when I make Coconut Short Ribs with Creamy Butternut Squash. This book feels very much like my family eata now – Asian flavors with a distinctly West Coast vibe.
Aebleskiver: A New Take on Traditional Danish Pancakes
By Pim Pauline Overgaard
San Francisco-based Overgaard admits she is not a chef. In fact, she is the Head Textile Designer at San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma. After a cousin was diagnosed with celiac disease, she developed the Scandelicious brand, creating gluten-free breakfast mixes. Things took a cookbook turn from there, focusing on the round, doughnut-adjacent, bread-adjacent treats known best in Denmark.
Overgaard’s book is not gluten-free but it opens up aebleskiver avenues you may not have seen before. The wheatfull classic recipe starts things off, followed by vegan, paleo, keto, yeast and gluten-free aebleskiver variations. From there, the sky is the limit. The book is roughly divided into Sweet (Fig and Pistachio, Coffee Crumble) and Savory (Garlic Prosciutto, Bamboo Rice) sections. Overgaard provides a chart for creating your own mix of flavorings and fillings, plus a few accompaniments.
I sense it would be wise to purchase the Aebleskiver pan from Williams-Sonoma, too….
American Grill
By Tyler Florence
Have you been to Miller & Lux? Nestled into San Francisco’s Chase Center, it is Florence’s modern steakhouse, a place where the Caesar salad is as well-regarded as any of the steaks. That even-handed approach is a Florence hallmark. As at Miller & Lux, the grill is the hub around which parties – and good eating – happen.
Florence is not a purist – a primer on igniting, maintaining and using your grill, no matter if it’s gas or charcoal – starts things off. Flavors are American, that is, globally-inspired. This week’s Beef Kofta with grilled Eggplant and Pineapple, Ham, and Jalapeño Pizza and next week’s Reverse-Seared Pollo Asado and Smoked Prime Rib are all possible. There’s a section for using the grill as an oven (mostly to make desserts) and a whole bunch of rubs, oils and sides. There’s quite a few vegetarian recipes, too.
Florence is an equal opportunity griller. He just wants you out there, doing your thing, creating delicious food and finding your happy place.
The Curated Board
By Bebe Black Carminito
With the subtitle “inspired platters & spreads for any occasion,” this book is a reminder that not every meal needs to be cooked. With a little spirit, any meal can be served from a board. Stefan (a.k.a. hubs), who loves to serve food on boards, already lives this lifestyle. But he never thought to do it for breakfast. Carminito, who lives in San Francisco, suggests a weekend brunch board of Waffles, Berries and Bubbles with a recipes for waffles (Cinnamon Oat) and accompaniments of Berry-Vanilla Compote and Raspberry Mimosas.
All times of day are given the board treatment – the Midday Grazing section includes a Ukranian Budmo Board with recipes for Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs and Mushroom and Green Lentil Paté; Sweets for the Sweet includes the Enormous Cookie Plate with recipes for Chocolate Chip Biscotti and Cherry Almond Oat Bars. And so it goes with Midday Grazing, Happy Hour, and Anytime Snacks. Carminito also offers suggestions for creating stylish platters and tools for making things beautiful.
Cookbooks written by California Authors
Wafu Cooking
By Sonoko Sakai
Sakai has lived – and cooked – in many places around the world but now calls Los Angeles home. Her fifth book, Wafu Cooking, or Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style, is a Japanese flavor-forward cookbook with a harmonious global frame. French Onion Soup looks traditional until you realize it is topped with mochi toast blended with Gruyere. Pumpkin Crumble Muffins include two doses of Sonoko Curry Powder, the recipe for which Sakai provides later in the book.
Except for panko instead of Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, Sakai’s meatloaf recipe reads the same as my mom’s. And that’s the point: None of Sakai’s recipes feel out of reach. Some, like recipes for miso and ramen, will take hours or days. Others, like Mochi Waffles with Black Sesame Butter, Crispy Asparagus Tempura or Mentaiko Spaghetti can be pulled together in minutes. I’m ready to toss aside my classic apple pie recipe and make Miso Apple Pie instead. Yum.
AfriCali
By: Kiano Moju
Born and raised in Oakland by a Kenyan mom and a Nigerian dad, Moju now runs Jikoni Studios, her production company that specializes in food & kitchen content, in Los Angeles. While the flavors skew African, the food is approachable. All you need is a visit to a farmers market for some beautiful produce and a willingness to experiment.
Kale and Egusi soup calls for a paste made from crushed melon seeds but if you can’t find it, pumpkin seeds are an able stand-in. If you can’t find the tiny pili pili (or pir piri) pepper, substitute serrano or Fresno in Pineapple Margaritas, Beef Fry with Green Beans and Garlic Butter Shrimp. Moju dips frequently into the Ethiopian flavor cannon, seasoning ghee with cardamom and oregano and utilizing berbere seasoning in Pork Tacos, Berburger Pasta, and other dishes. India’s influence is also felt in recipes for Chapati and Dirty Chai Tiramisu.
The multi-culti approach feels right for most cookbooks released in America these days. I’ll take it a step further. AfriCal is a fresh example of how California cooks now.
The California Farm Table Cookbook
By Lori Rice
I’ve never met Lori Rice (she lives on the Central Coast) but I bet she spends as much time in farmers’ markets as I do. In her third cookbook, Rice waxes poetic about the produce, seafood and other agricultural products California is known for. Her book, studded with stories of California’s growers and makers, is as much a love letter to their efforts as it is a cookbook. I’m already thinking about spring so I can try her white wine Dijon sauce with Steamed Globe Artichokes. Preserving purple cauliflower’s vibrant color by baking it is my new goal for making Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Smoked Almond Garlic Crumble. And I love that there is a recipe for Simple Garlic Soup and an “Italianized” way to use Indian eggplant in Stuffed Indian Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto.
Rice sourced stories from farmers up and downstate, includes recipes for beef, mutton and halibut cheeks, NorCal’s oysters and SoCal’s uni. Other than sugar, I don’t think there’s an ingredient in this cookbook that doesn’t come from one of the state’s farms. Eat local? You bet!
Cookbooks written by Authors Around the American West
30 Breads to Bake Before You Die
By Allyson Reedy
This is the second cookbook from Denver-based food writer Reedy. The first, 50 Things to Bake Before You Die, published in 2022. Clearly, the gal likes her carbs. A compilation of breads made mostly with wheat flour – baguette, focaccia, pretzels, sweet potato biscuits and the like – this book appears to have sprung from the confines of early Covid days, when the world turned to yeast and flour.
Recipes are sourced from chefs and cooks around the county and Reedy nabbed some big names, including Transylvanian Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Zingerman’s Bakehouse (Ann Arbor, MI), Sweet Potato Biscuits from chef Tanya Holland (Oakland, CA) and Dominique Ansel’s Croissant recipe (New York, NY and Las Vegas, NV), among others.
Homemade-ish
By Lauren McDuffie
Lauren McDuffie, who lives near Portland, OR and blogs as My Kitchen Little, is a passionate home cook. Her cookbook promises no recipe requires more than 20 minutes-ish of hands-on time, no fancy gadgets or cookware, and no fussy ingredients. As I looked closely at each recipe, I thought first of my brother, who worked full-time as a single parent while raising his son. He had a skillet and a baking sheet but no patience for recipes. Then I thought of my college self, with a crock pot and a microwave as my basic means of heating food.
My current self, a mom of two teenage boys, envisions cooking from this book with said boys. For what teenage boy would not like Chorizo and Black Bean Chili or Red Curry Mac and Cheese? Pre-shredded cheese, rotisserie chicken, potatoes from the hot bar at the supermarket, and many other ingredients are McDuffie’s shortcuts to hearty family meals with some flavorful twists that are a big step up from TikTok influencer recipes (which never work).
I see this book as a pathway to get kids in the kitchen.
Alpenglow
By Hillary Munro
Based in Jackson, WY, new author Munro takes her inspiration from mountain living, where the color of the sky can transform your mood and your day. Part cookbook, part manifesto for living well in the Mountain West, chapters are divided by season with gatherings inspired by the outdoors and what bodies crave in the season. For a winter gathering to make wreaths, Munro offers a classic Swiss Fondue; for a spring riverside lunch, Radish and Butter Crostini and Mini Citrus Bundt Cakes.
Hand-made gifts, like finishing salt with citrus zest or spiced crab apple butter, are sprinkled throughout the book. If intimate, personalized parties are your thing, this book is for you. The photography is beautiful, too.
The Unofficial Elf Cookbook
By Jackie Alpers
Alper’s cookbooks, such as her Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook, which I reviewed earlier in 2024, find inspiration in mass media. And what better inspo than Jon Favreau’s 2003 movie, Elf? It’s a holiday film chock-full with the spirit of Christmas, plus plenty of love and acceptance.
In Alper’s cookbook, dishes are playful, pulled directly from what the characters eat or meals fit for elves and humans. Buddy’s Breakfast Spaghetti is dotted with colorful candies, just as Buddy, the Will Ferrell character, would like. The Kringle 3000, a.k.a hot dogs dressed to resemble the movie’s sleigh, call for little more than hot water to boil the wieners. Elsewhere, there is Mail Room Coffee and Not-For-Reindeer Maple Syrup-Glazed Carrots. There are other, nutrition-bearing recipes, too, like Breakfast Baguette Bake with eggs, bacon and herbs, and Empire Steak Building.
If the spirit of Christmas is how you like to cook around the winter holidays, this book is for you.
Cookbooks written by Authors from Elsewhere
Why I Cook
By Tom Colicchio
Are you familiar with chef Tom Colicchio? You can watch him on Top Chef or listen to his podcast Citizen Chef or follow his efforts advocating for social justice in his 2013 documentary A Place at the Table. He is also a Jersey Boy, which is how he got onto my list. Ok, ok, he knows how to cook, too, but it’s my list and anyone from Jersey with a new release cookbook gets to have a place here.
Tom is from Elizabeth, about 25 miles south of where I grew up in Tenafly. In between us is Anthony Bourdain’s hometown of Leonia. (A collection of food-forward folks from just west of the Hudson River.) Colicchio’s book tells the story of him as a cook, beginning with his entrée into the world of cooking via his family and the Quilted Giraffe restaurant, all the way through the Gramercy Tavern dust-up with Danny Meyer, through to his current stages of personal growth following #metoo and marriage counseling with his second wife.
Recipes, divided into Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, are family-style. I can imagine making The Dish That Launched a Thousand Brussels Sprouts as much as I can Spring Chicken Meatballs. Headnotes are ample, as are Colicchio’s stories. His voice is so clear, you can almost hear him critiquing his own dish with “needs more salt.”
Amrikan
By Khushbu Shah
A New Yorker from Michigan by way of her parents’ Gujarat hometown, Shah opens her book about cooking in the Indian diaspora lamenting that Indian food “remains misunderstood and relatively niche in the United States.” I live in a town with three Indian restaurants and about seven miles from the closest Indian supermarket. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Indian diaspora is well-represented. I can easily find amchur (dried green mango powder), Kashmiri red chile powder, and fenugreek seeds. If you can’t, may I recommend checking out Oakland’s Diaspora Co? They’ve got all the chiles, masalas, jaggery and anything else Shah calls for in her cookbook. Indian food is niche? Not so much where I live.
Which makes it all the easier to get started cooking Amrikan food. For newbies, may I suggest one of the pizzas? Shah offers a classic dough, which requires little more than yeast, flour and cumin seeds. It can be used as a base for cheesey pies made with paneer or mozzarella. From there, branch out into Masala Corn Pizza and Green Chutney Pizza. And just like that, Indian food is a part of your repertoire.
A Taste of the World
By Rowena Scherer
Former Wall Streeter Scherer left the finance world to launch eat2explore, a company dedicated to creating cooking kits for children of all ages to cook and discover cuisines from around the world. Chapters are broken down by region of the world – Explore Africa, Explore Asia, and the like – and recipes consider special diets (dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free) as well as vegetarian and vegan items. Each recipe is organized by preparation steps and provides a picture of each step as well as the recommended minimum age of any kitchen helpers.
Fun facts, which Scherer calls out as “Did You Know…” dot the pages of each region and recipe names are provided in English and the native language. Roast Chicken with Vegetables is subtitled Poulet Rôti in the French section while Meatballs with Sumac Yogurt Sauce is subtitled Kafta in Lebanon’s pages. Desserts are not included but Scherer does offer baking kits on her website.
This is the only kids cookbook on my list.
Latin-ish
By Marisel Salazar
Third-culture kid Salazar has spent some time sorting out the living, breathing cultures of people who came to the United States from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of the Americas. Now living in New York City, Salazar’s recipe collection breaks down this broad diaspora into regional flavors: Tex-Mex, Cal-Mex, Southwestern, Alta California, Floribbean, Latino Southern, and NYC Latino. These last three are new distinctions to me but it makes sense and I’m glad someone had the chutzpah to draw a few lines in the foodie sands.
If you’ve never heard of these distinctions before, no matter. Dominican Spaghetti made with adobo, sazón, and salami, Collard Greens Empanadas, and Los Angeles Street Dogs with refried beans and salsa verde can all be rolled up under the Latin-ish umbrella. Chapters are traditionally arranged – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Desserts, etc. – and within each will be something familiar (fried ice cream, margarita) and something uniquely of its American place (San Antonio Puffy Tacos, Arkansas Delta Tamales). What a joyful place Latin-ish is!
The Chinese Way
By Betty Liu
The first thing I noticed about Liu’s cookbook was the illustrations. Drawn by Justine Wong, they add a playful spirit to each chapter, a reminder to not take cooking too seriously. Like me, Liu went to college in St. Louis. Unlike me, she grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Boston. I appreciated the intro graphic on common chopping techniques. The subhead of her latest cookbook, “Classic Techniques, Fresh Flavors,” explains her approach: traditional recipes have their place. From here, launch into something new.
Chapters are organized by cooking technique – Steam, Fry, Infuse, Pickle, etc. Sausage and Cauliflower Chow Mein utilizes butter and Italian sausage, a multi-culti take on traditional chow mein. Certain recipes, like Dōng Pō Ròu, a red-cooked pork belly dish, Pickled Long Beans, and Hot and Sour Cold Noodles, carry a “Foundational” header, indicating a traditionally prepared dish.
While these may feel confining, the rest of the chapter’s recipes are more free-flowing and open for interpretation.
Dac Biet
By Nini Nguyen
Adding a little something special or luxurious, as the Vietnamese word dǎc biêt suggests, is a chef’s gift. Nguyen, who prefers the more modern interpretation of “thoughtfulness” or “finesse,” leans into making her dishes interesting and engaging. Passionate about her home state of Louisiana, Nguyen creates Nuoc Mam sauce with cane syrup and Southeast Asian Jambalaya with equal parts fish sauce and Creole seasoning. Recipes can get pretty detailed. In the Bánh Cuôn section, three versions are offered – Grandma’s (Traditional), Nini’s (Happy Medium), and the Modern Way, Part 1 and 2.
You will make a trip to the Asian market for Madras curry, crab paste, and makrut lime leaves and the farmers market for quail eggs and Vietnamese squash. Nguyen, a multiple Top Chef contestant and chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York, loves to dig into the details. ‘Cuz that’s where the dǎc biêt is hiding in plain sight.
Books requested but not yet reviewed include:
- Kismet by L.A.-based Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson
- Sun-Kissed Cooking by L.A.-based Brooke Williamson
- Classic German Cooking by Berlin-based Luisa Weiss
I received sample copies of each book reviewed above.
