Essential Cookbooks for the Aspiring Chef - Part 2

Every aspiring chef needs a good cookbook library. And every library includes a smaller set of essential cookbooks that you simply can’t live without. Last week I shared four of my essential cookbooks and this week I’ll round out the list with the rest of my “top ten”.

I'm constantly on the prowl for new cookbooks that will help expand my repertoire and inspire me to create new and innovative recipes. My essential cookbooks include three from Ina Garten (a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa), as well as others that focus on grilling, soups, risotto, cast iron skillet recipes and gluten free dishes. Last week’s post included four of these cookbooks – here are the final six.

Click here to view last week's post

5. Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten. This cookbook has special meaning for me. Released in October 2020 as the third wave of COVID-19 infections was starting to surge, it provided a welcome change in the kitchen with an entirely new set of recipes focused on comfort food just as the seasons were changing and everyone was experiencing COVID fatigue. This cookbook is filled with comfort food that spans the seasons, from smashed hamburgers and steak fajitas to ultimate beef stew and cheesy chicken enchiladas to breakfast tacos and lobster BLTs. As usual, the recipes are user-friendly and delicious. This has been my most-used cookbook over the past year.

6. Weeknight Gluten Free by Kristine Kidd. Another great addition to any essential cookbook library is one that focuses on quick, weeknight dinners that can be made in an hour or less – this one fits that bill, but also includes only gluten free recipes which was an added bonus. My wife Laurie and I loved the creative take on traditional dishes for poultry, seafood, pork, beef, and vegetarian dinners. All the recipes are light and flavorful – some of our favorites include grilled chicken breast with salsa verde and white beans; noodles with pork, shitakes and green onions; and chicken cutlets and carrots with mint pesto.

7. Cook It in Cast Iron by America’s Test Kitchen. Laurie and I absolutely love America’s Test Kitchen which produces not only cooking shows, but also some of the best cooking magazines, a fantastic subscription-based on-line recipe repository, and a large set of tailored cookbooks focused on different cooking methods. Every chef needs at least one good cast iron skillet, and this cookbook explains in detail how to select, season & maintain, and use cast iron skillets to create everything from appetizers, one-dish dinners (my favorites!), eggs and breakfasts, and pizzas & burgers. I particularly like how this cookbook explains how they developed each recipe in detail along with “why it works”. It’s a great resource for all things cast iron skillet cooking-related!

8. What’s for Dinner by Curtis Stone. This cookbook is designed for people with busy lives who want to learn how to cook great food but not spend hours in the kitchen doing so. The book is organized around days of the week, one chapter for each, such as “Family Supper Sundays”, “One Pot Wednesdays”, and “Time Saving Tuesdays”. I found the recipes in this cookbook to be innovative with complex and intriguing flavors. They also spanned the range from quick and easy (most of those in the weeknight chapters) to more time-consuming and involved (like the “Dinner Party Saturdays” recipes). There’s something for everyone here and this one is well-suited for those who like a cookbook with variety.

9. Risotto by Pamela Sheldon Johns. This is one of a series of great Williams Sonoma cookbooks that focus on different categories of food or styles of cooking. Risotto is one of my favorite dishes to cook – there are an unlimited number of variations you can create from the basic risotto recipe, and I love the process of making risotto which requires a dedicated and focused 30-minute effort without any distractions. The book starts with simple recipes which are some of our favorites (four cheese risotto, risotto with wild mushrooms, and risotto with spinach) and then transitions to more complex versions that incorporate seafood, poultry and meat, and special risotto-based dishes such as arancini and desert risottos.

10. Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten. Rounding out my ten essential cookbooks is another by Ina Garten that focuses on recipes for everyday cooking that you would want to serve friends and family. Many of these recipes are on our regular “seasonal” rotation list, each of which we make several times a year – a few examples include lasagna with turkey sausage (fall); tequila lime chicken (summer); chicken stew with biscuits (winter); and tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad (spring). Again, every recipe here is fantastic and easy to make which makes it a cookbook I return to time and again for inspiration.

Pulling this list together was near impossible since I feel like I left out so many other cookbooks that could have easily made the cut. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on this essential cookbook list and what you would add to or delete from it!