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Cover of My Mexican Kitchen. Author Eva Longoria is standing in her kitchen, looking off-screen and laughing. She has serving spoons in her hands, like she's getting ready to place some of the salad in the bowl on a plate. There is more food in plates and bowls around her.

Cookbooks for All

Written by alamancelibraries on . Posted in Book Reviews.

With holidays and get togethers coming up, why not “invite” someone else to your celebrations? Here are some cookbooks from ACPL that will be a wonderful addition to your menus.

Cover of My Mexican Kitchen. Author Eva Longoria is standing in her kitchen, looking off-screen and laughing. She has serving spoons in her hands, like she's getting ready to place some of the salad in the bowl on a plate. There is more food in plates and bowls around her.

My Mexican Kitchen by Eva Longoria was inspired by her time traveling in Mexico for her show Searching for Mexico and trying all the cuisines that Mexican cooking can offer! Such finds were pollo asado (page 167), shrimp aguachile (page 105), and classic buñuelos (page 187). Eva also plays with Mexican flavors, rediscovering her love of food and her culture, making it a full circle moment.

Cover of Joyfull. Author Radhi Devlukia-Shetty is sitting on her kitchen counter, wearing a blue vest and pants. She is holding a dish with vegetables and pasta like she's getting ready to eat it. There are vegetables in dishes on the counter to her right, and a kitchen with open shelves behind her.

For specifically plant-based dishes, try Radhi Devlukia-Shetty’s JoyFull where she presents a full Indian breakfast (pages 80-83) and her family’s masala chai (page 46), umm ali (page 276) an Egyptian bread pudding, and red lentil daal (page 123). Radhi just wanted to put forth a book that allowed those who read it and used the recipes given to transform their health through mindful habits and eating.

Cover of I Could Nosh. Photo of one of the dishes is on the cover - possibly a potato cake with smoked salmon, garnishes, and some kind of sour cream or cheese-based spread.

I Could Nosh by Jake Cohen is a collection of Jewish recipes that have been revamped to make it easier for every day convenience. There are recipes for kugel fries (page 98), a schmear smorgasbord (pages 54-59), and seasonal kashas (pages 176-185) among other tasty treats.

Cover of Every Day with Babs. Author Barbara Costello is standing in a white kitchen with open shelves behind her. She's wearing a white shirt and a blue floral apron, and has a pot of pasta with broccoli in her hands.

Famous TikToker, Barbara Costello, or Babs as her fans know her, wrote Every Day with Babs to give 101 family friendly dinners to easy access for your weekly meals. There are classic recipes like Bab’s famous chocolate chip cookies (pages 234-235), sheet pan snappy kielbasa with sauerkraut and potatoes (page 41), and Bab’s grandmother’s Greek chicken and potatoes (page 218). Bab’s takes her years as a mother, and now grandmother, to give more American twists on some recipes she grew up on and shares them with us with her cookbook.

Cover of Delicious Tonight. Author Nagi Maehashi is holding a dish from her cookbook, and her dog's nose is right beside the plate, ready to eat. She is smiling and offering the food to the reader.

Delicious Tonight is a cookbook by Nagi Maehashi with 150+ foolproof recipes to tackle on nights when you want something easy but delicious. Nagi has sections like “fastest meals” that includes things like halloumi burgers (page 66) and one-pan chorizo couscous (page 77). “Sunday suppers” that includes classics like slow-roasted lamb shoulder (page 251-253) and new options like Vietnamese pulled pork feast with options on how to serve it and what to serve with it (pages 282-289). And one whole section dedicated to Charlie, Nagi’s Chinese brown sauce to use in stir fires (pages 138-141 and other options in this section) and on porkchops (page 160).

Cover of The Way Home. Photo of author Kardea Brown, wearing a denim short and holding a basket full of vegetables.

Kardea Brown’s cookbook, The Way Home, is a celebration of food from the Sea Islands of South Carolina that are rooted in Gullah Geechee traditions and the base for Kardea’s Southern cooking. Such staples are Sea Island collard greens (page 52), red wine-braised oxtails (page 217), and Gullah gumbo (page 179). Some of her Southern classics have just the right amount of “oomph” to up your game if you’re feeling like you’re in a meal prepping rut!

Cover of Your Pasta Sucks A "Cookbook." Author Matteo Lane is in underwear and a red heart apron, leaning over a pot with a giant spoonful of pasta almost at his mouth. There are dishes on open shelves behind him.

Your Pasta Sucks: A “Cookbook” by Matteo Lane is the cookbook for those who kind of want a gossip session when making their pasta dishes. Matteo incorporates his humor alongside his limited (he says that himself!) culinary knowledge while sharing some family and learned recipes. Like the family meat sauce (pages 37-38), pasta alla Norma (pages 124-126),and Kate and Matteo’s Christmas raviolo (pages 69-70).

Kayleigh D. is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library.

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