The Pittsburgh Writer As both a reader and home cook, I am always on the hunt for new cookbooks. Sometimes I find ones published within the last few years, and some I pick up were put out ten or more years ago.
Those published ten or more years ago don’t bother me at all, because sometimes you find recipes in them you recognize and will revisit all the time. That’s because those recipes have, indeed, withstood that test of, well, time!
For today’s blog post, I’m going to highlight several fall (and winter) cookbooks that are high on my wish list. Why haven’t I just bit the bullet and purchased them already? Budget, my friends. Budget. Here are five fall and winter cookbooks currently on my wish list.
I mean, c’mon guys. How can this one NOT be on my list? While I currently do not own any cookbooks from America’s Test Kitchen, I have watched their show for years (don’t even get me started on the whole Milk Street debacle).
With things changing in my life both health and diet-wise, I hope this cookbook will be able to help me not only plan better but eat better as well. Let’s face it – changing habits this time of year is dangerous business. All I wanna do the next month and a half is eat all the things I know I shouldn’t.
While the healthfulness of ATK’s recipes aren’t all on the same level, they do teach you how to cook more from scratch. And that’s what I really need practice with right about now!
Recipes are always, always about quality, not quantity. I don’t know if I truly need a cookbook with over 500 recipes, so this one just might be a good substitute for the America’s Test Kitchen one. I am forever on the hunt for new things to try.
As a single lady living alone, I find myself often stuck in a “food rut,” and I have several cookbooks I haven’t opened in years. This is due, mostly in part, to the fact that, well, many of them were published in the ’90s!
Don’t get me wrong – the classics are always a good way to go. But what if I don’t want a pot roast again? Or that same ol’ bowl of noodles with the overly salty sauce? That’s why I like the idea of a cookbook that features a star ingredient in many different forms. Pumpkin. And that’s why this one would be perfect for the season.
Okay y’all – you have to admit that the tagline for this particular cookbook is hilariously clever. “Gourd-geous?” Whomever thought that up should be really proud of it because I laughed more than I probably should’ve!
The upside to this cookbook is that squashes of all types are widely available this time of year. The downside? They might be a little harder to find come spring unless you grow them yourself.
As much as I love a stuffed or roasted acorn squash, I know I need to step up my game with that particular vegetable. I get bored with eating the same thing(s) over and over again. In fact, I just might roast up the squash I have tonight and just be done with it. Until I buy this cookbook.
This is another title that cracked me up a little more than it should’ve. But c’mon…how could it not?! You’re dead inside if it didn’t make you laugh at least a little bit.
What I appreciate about this cookbook is that it also includes recipes for the summer squashes, not just the fall/winter ones. I think that’s what makes this more well-rounded than the one listed above.
Heck I love a good zucchini recipe. Who doesn’t? Well, I think you’re weird if you hate zucchini. Might I suggest slicing it into half inch thick rounds, sprinkling it with olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese, and baking until golden? Great…now I want to run to the store for some out-of-season zucchini!
Finally, I love the idea of this one because it can cross all the end-of-year holidays without being specific to any single one. Okay, I may have just copied the cookbook’s byline, but it’s true.
I do have an aunt who’s really been into charcuterie boards lately (and yes, I needed the spell checker to help me out with “charcuterie”), so I like that this cookbook gives many more options than just cheese and lunch meats.
In fact, I might have to buy this after my next pay day so I can introduce this concept to the other side of my family. I live right next door to my grandmother’s house, so walking something like this over won’t be that big a production.
However, as we reach the end of today’s blog post, I realize I have a problem: I want to buy every single one of these cookbooks. How about you? Do you have a favorite cookbook you use all the time? Or are you always on the hunt for the next fun thing?
