The Best Cookbooks of the Century So Far

If you are looking for some cooking inspiration this weekend, look no further than these books curated by the Dineread review team.

“The River Cottage Cookbook,” by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (2001)

Changing one’s relationship with food “involves no sacrifice, no hardship or discomfort,” Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall writes, in his poetic ode to the hands-on, homestead-ish life. His prescription is simple: get in there and do it yourself—grow your food, meet your meat, learn the colors and patterns of the landscape around you through all its seasons. Years before “farm to table” was a buzzword, Fearnley-Whittingstall urged readers to move away from industrial food systems and reacquaint themselves with lo-fi self-sufficiency. The idea that pastoral practices can be pleasurable instead of burdensome is old news for the many home cooks today who know how to spot ramps in the wild and whip up D.I.Y. ricotta. But “The River Cottage Cookbook” ’s ideas (and straightforward, elegant recipes) remain striking reminders that what we eat isn’t just food on a plate but part of a thrilling natural cycle, our human lives brushing up against countless others, plant and animal alike.

“The Zuni Café Cookbook,” by Judy Rodgers (2002)

Since its introduction, in the late nineteen-eighties, the roast chicken served at San Francisco’s Zuni Café has earned a reputation as the best roast chicken in the world—crisp-skinned, impossibly juicy, served atop a salad of torn bread and bitter greens whose tart vinaigrette blends with the fatty, golden drippings. That recipe alone would land this book on any list of the great and essential, but the rest of the volume has magic, as well. Judy Rodgers got her culinary footing in France, living for a year with the family of the chef Jean Troisgros, and in Berkeley, where she cooked at Chez Panisse, and this five-hundred-page manifesto draws on those threads of experience (and others). The result is a remarkable collection of emphatic culinary opinions, several hundred of which are disguised as recipes: the merits of some soft cheeses over others, the precise way to dress a salad, the non-negotiable importance of salting raw beef and fowl a day or more before it’s cooked. The book’s magnificent opening chapter, “What to Think About Before You Start, & While You Are Cooking,” lays out the philosophical blueprint for every New American and California-casual cookbook that followed.

“Baking: From My Home to Yours,” by Dorie Greenspan (2006)

It’s true, unfortunately, that the art of baking is more rigid and exacting than that of stovetop cooking. The whims of a search-engine algorithm won’t cut it if you want your biscuits perfectly fluffy, your cakes precisely lofty yet moist, and your cookies angelic; a baker, more than any other cook, needs a recipe writer she can truly trust. To my mind, there is none more reliable than Dorie Greenspan; a lapsed academic who found her calling in cakes and pastries and built a career writing uncommonly precise road maps for replicating her success. With her as a guide, there is no room for self-destructive improvisation: her stylish, rigorous, cheerful recipes work because she tells her reader exactly how to make them work, anticipating our errors and our questions, building contingencies, alternatives, and solutions right into the text, and manifesting soothing flexibility. (If the ganache at the bottom of a layered pudding spills up the sides of the cup, “it’s pretty; if it doesn't, the chocolate will be a surprise.”) And if you only have one Greenspan book, it should be this one, a masterwork spanning breakfast to midnight snacks—not to mention her famous World Peace Cookies.

For more great cooking reads and eBooks, check out Dineread.

The best cookbooks for kids

These books will inspire children to get into the kitchen and cook, all curated by the Dineread review team.

Mollie Katzen’s “The Moosewood Cookbook”

Ms. Katzen’s goal was to empower young children to take the lead in the kitchen with limited guidance from adults. Throughout her three books, wholesome recipes with creative names like Salad People, Polka Dot Rice, and Tiny Tacos share the pages with more sophisticated numbers, like cucumber soup, focaccia and mango-honey lassi. Each recipe is accompanied by simple, colorful step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for even the youngest cooks to follow along.

Amanda Grant’s “The Silver Spoon for Children: Favorite Italian Recipes”

This cookbook features more than 40 traditional recipes like risotto and minestrone, all adapted from “The Silver Spoon,” a cookbook that appears in many Italian home kitchens. The book is written for children ages nine and up and is filled with “grown-up food” that children can cook (mostly) by themselves.

Deanna Cook’s “Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!)” and “Baking Class: 50 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Bake!”

These two books offer recipes for a wide range of ages and abilities. Spiral-bound, with glossy, easy-to-clean covers, these cookbooks are bright and colorful, with recipes that range in difficulty from very easy (mug cake, salad dressing) to more complicated (crepes, spring rolls). They are perfect for children who want a thorough introduction to the kitchen, including basic rules for safety, vocabulary, setting the table and — you’re going to love this, parents — cleaning up. They are written for children ages 8 to 12, but again, younger ones will find something for them here, too.

For more great cooking reads and eBooks, check out Dineread.

eBooks That Will Improve Your Cooking

Cook eBooks teach readers how to make delicious meals. They come with beautiful pictures and recipes of a variety of finger-licking foods. Here are some of the eBooks that make you a fantastic cook.

Irma S. Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking

The Joy of Cooking is one of the popular cookbooks in the U.S. The book has been in print since 1936, selling over 18 million copies. This means that the recipes in the book have been improved to suit today's cooks.

Nourish Me Home -Cortney burns

The book was initially published on April 21, 2020, and has about 110 recipes within the six of its chapters. Cortney being curios and creative writer has made this eBook interesting to readers to enjoy trying her recipes.

The Whole Fish Cookbook -Josh Niland

This is one of the best-selling eBooks that has changed the way many people view fish. Like the best chef, Josh Niland has impressively put down into words how he makes delicious fish in different recipes. With this eBook, you won't be cooking salmon the same old boring way.

Mastering the Art of French cooking

Julia Child is the eye-opener on how to make different types of French foods. Before the existence of this eBook, people had to go to restaurants whenever they wanted to enjoy French dishes. However, the author has made it possible for people to cook French food at home.

To access cook eBooks that will help you prepare different types of foods, visit Dineread.com.

Casseroles: The Ultimate Comfort Food

Named after the deep pans they’re traditionally cooked and served in, casseroles are nothing short of the best comfort food around. But while the tuna noodle casserole may be a time honored tradition, there’s no reason to stop there, and any number of casseroles that are well worth trying. Here are a few casserole ideas for the next time you’re craving some comfort.

Baked ziti. The combination of ziti pasta, pasta sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan, makes this baked ziti feel much like a lasagna only without all the intricate layering work that can be some time consuming. A perfect alternative for when you’re seeking comfort on a time crunch.

Tater tot casserole. Oh yes, you can use everyone’s favorite alternative to the french fry, combined with ground beef, celery, onion, condensed soup, and a whole lot of cheese to make a deliciously decadent casserole that’s sure to please any palate. There’s some debate as to whether ketchup is a suitable condiment to eat with the delightful dish, but we’ll leave that up to you.

Onion and rice casserole. With an unexpectedly rich flavor from such a seemingly simple dish, onion and rice casserole can make for the perfect vegetarian comfort food, and best of all it’s not a lot of work. It can also be made ahead and keeps for a long time in the fridge.

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In Praise of Slow (The Slow Cooker, That is)

It may seem like a bit of a paradox, we live busy lives that by all accounts are fast paced, how can something called a slow cooker make our lives any easier? Well, yes, the appliances are aptly named as a slow cooker is just that: Slow. But oh what a wonderful world of possibilities they open up. Here are three reason why a slow cooker is perfect for your busy life.

Set it and forget it. Not many of us remember Ron Popeil’s infomercial for his "Showtime Rotisserie," but the phrase lives on in kitchens throughout the globe thanks to slow cookers. It really is that simple, you set your meal to start cooking in the morning, forget about it as you go about your day, and when you get home? Bam! A piping hot home cooked meal ready to serve.

Batch cooking for your busy week. Batch cooking is one of the many perks of the usually amply sized slow cooker. Rather than slave over the stove to cook a single meal you can spend the same amount of time on prep and have meals for the rest of the week. Pretty much a no brainer.

Batch prepping is a thing too. If you’re willing to devote a day to chopping, why not prepare several batch meals in advance? Ingredients can be stored in a ziplock in the freezer and pretty much cooked from frozen in most cases. Just imagine, a month’s worth of food prepared in a single day!

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