Recipes + Cook Books

Included also are brief but enlightening notes on ingredients and techniques such as "On Pureeing Soups," which compares all approaches thoughtfully. Symbols indicate a recipe's potential to be made ahead or in less than 30 minutes (true of most), among other variables. With a beverage chapter and menu suggestions that are actually useful, the book will appeal to a wide audience, not only for its recipes but as a source of relaxed instruction. It's an exploration of culinary essentials from a true essentialist. --Arthur Boehm

When the Aleppian Jewish community migrated from the ancient city of Aleppo in historic Syria and settled in New York and Latin American cities in the early 20th century, it brought its rich cuisine and vibrant culture. Most Syrian recipes and traditions, however, were not written down and existed only in the minds of older generations. Poopa Dweck, a first generation Syrian–Jewish American, has devoted much of her life to preserving and celebrating her community's centuries–old legacy.

Dweck relates the history and culture of her community through its extraordinary cuisine, offering more than 180 exciting ethnic recipes with tantalizing photos and describing the unique customs that the Aleppian Jewish community observes during holidays and lifecycle events. Among the irresistible recipes are:

•Bazargan–Tangy Tamarind Bulgur Salad

•Shurbat Addes–Hearty Red Lentil Soup with Garlic and Coriander

•Kibbeh–Stuffed Syrian Meatballs with Ground Rice

•Samak b'Batata–Baked Middle Eastern Whole Fish with Potatoes

•Sambousak–Buttery Cheese–Filled Sesame Pastries

•Eras bi'Ajweh–Date–Filled Crescents

•Chai Na'na–Refreshing Mint Tea

Like mainstream Middle Eastern cuisines, Aleppian Jewish dishes are alive with flavor and healthful ingredients–featuring whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil–but with their own distinct cultural influences. In Aromas of Aleppo, cooks will discover the best of Poopa Dweck's recipes, which gracefully combine Mediterranean and Levantine influences, and range from small delights (or maza) to daily meals and regal holiday feasts–such as the twelve–course Passover seder.

One of New Orleans’s brightest culinary stars, Susan Spicer has been indulging Crescent City diners at her highly acclaimed restaurants, Bayona and Herbsaint, for years. Now, in her long-awaited cookbook, Spicer—an expert at knocking cuisine off its pedestal with a healthy dash of hot sauce, and at elevating comfort food to the level of the sublime—brings her signature dishes to the home cook’s table.

Crescent City Cooking includes all the recipes that have made Susan Spicer, and her restaurants, famous. Spicer marries traditional Southern cooking with culinary influences from around the world, and the result is New Orleans cooking with gusto and flair. Each of her familiar yet unique recipes is easy to make and wonderfully memorable.

Inside you’ll find :
• More than 170 recipes, ranging from traditional New Orleans dishes (Cornmeal-Crusted Crayfish Pies and Cajun-Spiced Pecans) to Susan’s very own twists on down-home cuisine (Smoked Duck Hash in Puff Pastry with Apple Cider Sauce; Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Cakes and Coriander Sauce) and, of course, a recipe for the best gumbo you’ve ever tasted

• Over 90 photographs by Times-Picayune photographer Chris Granger, which display the vibrant city of New Orleans as much as Spicer’s wonderfully offbeat yet classy way of presenting her dishes

• Instructions that make Spicer’s down-to-earth but extraordinarily creative recipes easy to prepare. Spicer, who cooks for two picky preteens and packs lunch every day for her husband, knows how precious time can be and understands just how much is enough

There is something else of New Orleans—its spirit—that imbues this book’s every useful tip and anecdote. The strong culinary traditions of New Orleans are revived in Crescent City Cooking, with recipes that are guaranteed to comfort and surprise. This is some of the best food you’ll ever taste, in what is certain to become the essential New Orleans cookbook.

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes., the first in a series of Andrews McMeel Publishing books by the trusted culinary authority Sur La Table, speaks to the love that cooks of all levels feel for their tools. Whether you're passionate about the gorgeous copper pot you just received as a gift, a rice cooker you have always wanted to try, or your grandmother's well-aged cast-iron skillet, award-winning author Marie Simmons provides inspiration to make the best use of your cookware along with delectable recipes to enhance the experience.

Since the 1972 opening of its flagship store in Seattle's Pike Place Market, Sur La Table has become the destination of choice for iconic chefs from Jacques Pepin and Martha Stewart to Mario Batali. A favorite of culinary connoisseurs and gadget gurus alike, Sur La Table sells the A-to-Z of kitchenware and prides itself on teaching how to properly buy, use, care for, and cook with your newfound kitchen additions.

Things Cooks Love presents more than 100 satisfying recipes along with 125 detailed descriptions of commonly used and more unusual kitchen implements. Simmons focuses on how to choose basic cookware, and then branches out to an international array of essentials for Asian, Mexican, French, Indian, Iberian, and Moroccan kitchens. Each recipe includes preparation and cooking times, serving portions, and implements necessary to prepare the dish. Alternative cookware is offered for kitchens that aren't stocked with the exact cookware or tools.

Unlike any other tool-focused book on the market, this book celebrates the deep connection between cooks and their treasured tools. Things Cooks Love is more than a reference tool or a cookbook--it is a cook's book.