The Best Cookbooks of 2011. So far...

[LJHdineSRQ]

What are your favorite cookbooks that have been released so far this year? I think 2011 has been a pretty descent year for new releases. Some ones that rise to the top of my 2011 list are:

The Sriracha Cookbook, Randy Clemons

Grilled Cheese, Please, Laura Werlin

The Buster Holmes Restaurant Cookbook, Buster Holmes

The Big Texas Steakhouse Cookbook, Helen Thompson and Janice Shay

Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi, Yotam Ottolenghi

Those are some of the early winners for me. What about you?

I'm going to write a post for the website.

Any book suggestions?

[Jenni]

Plenty wasn't released this year...I bought it for my Dad's birthday last year!

But, you know, carry on!

[LJHdineSRQ]

Good call! I just saw it when it reprinted this Spring. Thanks!

[Jenni]

I don't suppose it matters - for what it's worth, it's a decent book!

[Corinna]

Plenty wasn't released this year...I bought it for my Dad's birthday last year!

But, you know, carry on!

I believe it was just released in the US at the end of March.

[Jenni]

^^^

Fair enough, fair enough.

[Chris Hennes]

In my opinion, you're going to have a hard time beating Modernist Cuisine.

[lesliec]

What Chris said. Anything else is going to have to be truly extraordinary to tempt me to buy it this year, now MC is here.

[Chris Amirault]

The Sriracha Cookbook, Randy Clemons

Grilled Cheese, Please, Laura Werlin

The Buster Holmes Restaurant Cookbook, Buster Holmes

The Big Texas Steakhouse Cookbook, Helen Thompson and Janice Shay

Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi, Yotam Ottolenghi

What are the merits of those? To me, most seem... um... awful.

[LJHdineSRQ]

Well, granted none of those are as groundbreaking or hefty as Modernist Cuisine. But, awful... well.

Who doesn't love a book dedicated solely to one humble condiment, yes, Sriracha?

I can't get enough of grilled cheese sandwiches (just ask my cardiologist), so that makes my cut.

Even the stuffiest of New Orleans Chefs have a soft spot for Buster Holmes.

Texas=Steaks (I'm not from there, but, that's what I hear).

There may not be another Mastering The Art of French Cooking in that list, but, all have some worth in the kitchen.

What's your top cookbook of 2011 so far? Anything other than what's been discussed.

Edited April 18, 2011 by LJHdineSRQ (log)

[Jenni]

Seriously, you guys think that Modernist Cuisine is or is going to be the only decent cookbook this year? I'm sure it's a fantastic book, but it doesn't cover all areas of cooking the world over, and it certainly won't be the only excellent cookbook this year. For instance, it's not going to give you any information on making authentic regional foods from places in say Thailand, or Mexico or India, etc. And it doesn't have a recipe for everything. Plus, you can never have too many cookbooks. Fact.

[miketerry]

Until MC turns up (today hopefully) ideas in food is probably the best cookbook ive bought this year,and i have to thank a chef who is a member on here and works not to far away from myself for recommending it.

[mkayahara]

While it doesn't count as "2011 so far," my next most-anticipated book this year is Paula Wolfert's The Food of Morocco. I've been in love with Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco for years now, and the thought of an updated, expanded and modernized version has me thoroughly excited.

[LJHdineSRQ]

I agree Mike. I forgot about Ideas in Food. I made this pretty great Mac and Cheese out that book. I love that fact that it's divided into two parts, Home & Pro.

Edited April 18, 2011 by LJHdineSRQ (log)

[toolprincess]

I am really enjoying

Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson

[BadRabbit]

Seriously, you guys think that Modernist Cuisine is or is going to be the only decent cookbook this year? I'm sure it's a fantastic book, but it doesn't cover all areas of cooking the world over, and it certainly won't be the only excellent cookbook this year. For instance, it's not going to give you any information on making authentic regional foods from places in say Thailand, or Mexico or India, etc. And it doesn't have a recipe for everything. Plus, you can never have too many cookbooks. Fact.

I was assuming that everyone who bought Modernist Cuisine now had no more money to buy other cookbooks this year.

Edited April 18, 2011 by BadRabbit (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Agreed on Ideas in Food: it's terrific -- and the only other cookbook I've bought worth recommending this year for the aforementioned reasons!

[mkayahara]

Ditto on Ideas in Food, but it was released in 2010.

[OliverB]

I'm not sure MC fits into this thread all that well. Is it a cook book? I think it's so much more, an illustrated history and encyclopedia of a lot of things, with recipes to illustrate the text. Calling them cookbook doesn't do them (or cookbooks) justice IMO. They are a category all by themselves, nothing like it was ever before and probably never will be again.

Just a thought? Comparing MC with any "normal" cookbook is really not possible.

[Chris Hennes]

Seriously, you guys think that Modernist Cuisine is or is going to be the only decent cookbook this year?

That's not what I said at all: I said it was going to be hard to beat, not that all the other cookbooks were going to be crap. But I stand by my assertion that the game is pretty much up for "best cookbook of 2011."

[Jenni]

Seriously, you guys think that Modernist Cuisine is or is going to be the only decent cookbook this year?

That's not what I said at all: I said it was going to be hard to beat, not that all the other cookbooks were going to be crap. But I stand by my assertion that the game is pretty much up for "best cookbook of 2011."

Meh. I don't think it is easily compared with books that aim to give totally different information, for example a book aimed at explaining traditional methods and food culture. Both books could be amazing in their own category, and it would be hard to rank them because they cover such different subjects.

[OliverB]

one also has to keep in mind that MC is a very unusual project with a lot of financial backing that I doubt any cookbook ever had or will have again. Add a custom built kitchen and a lot of specialists (not only kitchen), it's really much more of a text book. Actually, as a cook book in the more usual sense, I'd say it's too long winded, way too big, too expensive and not focused enough on cooking

To me it's in a class all by itself, a very unique art and science project. It's like comparing a super sports car like a Koenigsegg with a 5 series BMW or a Mercedes.

Yes, all have wheels and drive, but one is a piece of art, the other is a good mass produced car.

Of course, all these "best" lists are always a bit of nonsensical, as it's really a personal thing. One man's treasure....

As for cookbooks of 2011, I was surprised to find that I don't have any yet, all my most recent acquisitions are copyright 2010, so they don't count. That includes Ideas in Food by the way.

[Dave the Cook]

Meh. I don't think it is easily compared with books that aim to give totally different information, for example a book aimed at explaining traditional methods and food culture. Both books could be amazing in their own category, and it would be hard to rank them because they cover such different subjects.

Modernist Cuisine devotes a lot of space (scattered throughout the book, as well as in a dedicated 125-page chapter) to explaining the fundamentals of things like roasting, boiling, steaming, frying and braising, all the way through practical applications like pot roast, barbecue, roasted chicken and the like. If those aren't traditional, I don't know what is.

[cbread]

Interesting question, "What's a cookbook?". As for Modernist Cuisine ? If "cookbook" is taken in an inclusive sense, sure, Modernist Cuisine is a cookbook, and will be hard to surpass for 2011. If one defines "cookbook" as something very much like what we usually see when we look at a cookbook, primarily a collections of recipes and some additional connected text, then Modernist Cuisine might be something slightly other. I'm not sure it is a good idea to narrow a thread like this by excluding one or another book from discussion.

But in the next breath, it's clear to me at least that MC is not a good fit to the category of cookbooks as we usually see them - an ordinary collection of recipes. Modernist Cuisine feels to me more like a sort of meta-cookbook - an almost encyclopedic overview on recent modernist trends, tools, and techniques. Yes, it does happen to have a great numbers of recipes, but I don't think of them as the main thrust of the book. It is more of a "how to", and a "why" book than a recipe collection. But to me it is still a cookbook.

Modernist Cuisine and Ideas in food are my two. Modernist Cuisine for enormous educational and reference value. Ideas in Food for packing tremendous punch in a modestly sized package. I will be greatly surprised (and pleased) if any further book comes along this year to influence me as much as these two.

[Jenni]

Meh. I don't think it is easily compared with books that aim to give totally different information, for example a book aimed at explaining traditional methods and food culture. Both books could be amazing in their own category, and it would be hard to rank them because they cover such different subjects.

Modernist Cuisine devotes a lot of space (scattered throughout the book, as well as in a dedicated 125-page chapter) to explaining the fundamentals of things like roasting, boiling, steaming, frying and braising, all the way through practical applications like pot roast, barbecue, roasted chicken and the like. If those aren't traditional, I don't know what is.

I mean like traditional cultural food practices, such as regional Indian cookery, or rural Thai food, authentic Mexican, regional Chinese, etc. I'm not criticising Modern Cuisine - by all accounts it's amazing. I'm just saying that there are also other books that are extremely good and cover different subject areas.