2019's Top Five Giftable Cookbooks

We’re coming onto the beginning of a new era, ladies and gentlemen. 2020 is upon us, and that means that I should be preparing a ranking of this year’s cookbooks of the month. Unfortunately, this last half of the year was so hard financially and emotionally that we once more did not hit a total twelve cookbooks. So, to fill the void, I present to you the top five cookbooks from my two years of Cookbook of the Month to give you some last minute gift ideas for the home cook in your life. These are in no particular order.

The title for each book functions as a hyperlink to the Amazon page for the book in case you really need that last minute gift RIGHT NOW!

For the Budding Baker: Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish

I cannot overstate my praises for FWSY even two years down the road. I was always curious about bread baking, and this book makes it easy for the homecook to understand and accomplish. The great undertaking of the project feels more manageable in the hands of Ken Forkish, and he gives you options depending on how adventurous you’re feeling in your baking.

There is a minor equipment barrier that you may also want to address for your budding baker when you gift this cookbook, such as proofing baskets and a dutch oven for baking the bread. Be sneaky in the kitchen and see what you’re giftee needs.



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For the Southern Devotee: Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee

I regularly return to Smoke and Pickles for my pickling adventures, but that’s not all Edward Lee provides for his readers. His view of the south is a refreshing one, influenced heavily by his Korean upbringing to bring new life and flavor to old expectations. Adobo fried chicken and waffles is one of my husband’s favorite meals of all time, and it’s courtesy of Edward Lee.

With the advent of Amazon, ingredient barriers are much less of a problem. If you have a home cook in your life with a soft spot for southern food, introduce them to Edward Lee.

For Everyone: Dining In by Alison Roman

I swear to god, any person who cooks at home could use a copy of Alison Roman’s first solo cookbook. Several of my regular rotation recipes come from the pages of Dining In, and the writing of the book itself is comfortable and easy to read. There is something in here for everyone, from deep project recipes to easy dinners.

Alison Roman cooks with home in mind, and sometimes, these cookbook writers simply don’t do that. The books can be about their restaurants more than cooking at home, and what your friends and family deserve is a book for cooking at home. This is that book.

For the Experimenter: Lucky Peach by Peter Meehan (and the Editors of Lucky Peach Magazine, RIP)

If you have an adventurous home cook in your life looking for ways to spice up their nightly cooking routine, Lucky Peach may be the cookbook for them. This book includes recipes from the short run of the magazine of the same name, largely involving recipes influenced by Eastern Asia. Very few of them are completely traditional, so I hesitate to call them strictly ‘Asian food’. That categorization wouldn’t be fair anyhow.

Slow cooker Pho, Chicken Adobo, Lamb sandwiches, dumplings… There are recipes both familiar and unfamiliar within the pages to challenge your home cook with new flavors and techniques going into the new year.

For the Vegetarian and Veggie-Curious: Indian-ish by Priya Krishna

Almost this entire cookbook is vegetarian, which makes it great for any family members that have chosen to forgo meat in their lives, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones you should consider when you look at Indian-ish. The above mentioned experimenter may also enjoy the Indian-American fusion that occurs in recipes from Priya’s life, like naan bread pizzas and saag feta.

Her writing is accessible and relatable, and the slight Americanizations made to traditional recipes allow the book to be easier for the home cook than some other iconic Indian cookbooks. There are many side dish recipes within these hallowed pages that recur on the table for dinner here at Eating Normal.

Did I mention Priya is a wonderful member of Bon Appetit Magazine? Some of her recipes from Indian-ish are available to watch through their youtube channel if you need it right from the horse’s mouth to understand how special these meals can be.


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