The pandemic really threw a wrench into cookbook publishing. Things got weird for a while there, but then such a wonderful flood of books came out that we expanded our coverage to accommodate it all. This year, the momentum shows no signs of letting up.
First, congratulations to two of our 2023 favorites, The World Central Kitchen Cookbook and Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here for picking up two of the top James Beard awards! The magic continues this year, and the range is as wide as ever. We’re seeing books that help us expand on the basics, figure out what to do when we encounter a mystery vegetable, and learn pasta sauces from a dude who’s so into cooking them that he has even invented and marketed new pasta shapes. Like last year’s Made in Taiwan by Clarissa Wei, travelogue cookbooks continue to knock our socks off in 2024.
In fact, I’m hoping we’re starting to see a sort of quiet, yet profound progression in cookbooks. There’s the whole Instagram and influencer side, which sometimes lacks depth but really brings it with great photography and good vibes. We’re also seeing high-end chefs team up with skilled cookbook writers to wondrous effect. The best of the lot tell stories with words and photos and have high-quality recipes to match and they’re starting to make traditional cookbooks and some cookbook publishers as a whole look fusty and staid and … I love it.
Read on to get our take on what’s the freshest. We’ve tested every one.
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Photograph: William Morrow
Big Dip Energy: 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond
by Alyse Whitney
It’s always a neat feeling for cookbook aficionados to find something truly new. Some books speak to your soul or your practicality, some drive you crazy. Still others wrap you in a warm cocoon, whether or not you ever cook a thing from them. Never, though, have I imagined an author and a group of her friends getting face-meltingly high, coming up with a bonkers idea for a concept album of a cookbook about dips, then, miraculously, selling the idea and executing at a high level.
Grab a chip, friends, it’s time for some dip. You will likely be stopped cold by the art here, a tilt-shift-esque extravaganza of kitschy-fun props and dips galore, all wrangled by a team of six stylists who had to be doing it for the love. There is, for example, a two-page summer-grilling-themed photo featuring miniature figurines lounging in the outdoors around a giant ceramic hamburger, arm-in-arm squeeze bottles of ketchup and mustard, a pool with a plastic piano and “chopped cheese (burger) queso” dip in a “burger and all the fixings” themed plate/bowl combo, all on a checkerboard of white tile and possibly real grass.
Pun lovers, rejoice! Whitney goes so deep on dip vocabulary that eventually you’ll succumb and become a—brace yourself!—“dipficionado.” Her “freak-a-leek beer cheese dip” is the dipification of her friend Erin McDowell’s cheddar-ale soup, which can be served hot or cold. Chez Joe, I made the chilled version, adding a bit of horseradish for kick. When you’re ready to go wild, throw a head of romaine into the food processor, the first step on your way to Caesar salad dip, an extra-fun cousin of green goddess dressing.
Many of Whitney’s other recipes are as over-the-top as the Caesar, but along with being a big dip person, Whitney is clearly a food person, with credits that include stints with magazines and TV shows. Her energy and skill will rub off on you. Go ahead and dare yourself. It’ll be diplicious.
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Photograph: William Morrow
Anything’s Pastable
by Dan Pashman
Speaking of puns, here’s one right on the cover right above author Dan Pashman’s name and the words “pasta shape inventor.” Who knew that this was still a thing? This became even more impressive when I found boxes of his pasta at my local grocery store. “Cascatelli” is Italian for waterfalls, and these pasta inventions resemble giant ruffly commas. Pashman, the host of The Sporkful podcast, says the idea came from combining two of his favorite existing shapes, mafalde and bucatini, which make the cascatelli particularly good at holding onto slurpable sauces.
Instead of packing Pastable with his favorite versions of classic sauces like ragu and bolognese, he and a team of recipe developers came up with new and notably non-Italian sauces to serve with your choice of pasta styles. My wife Elisabeth and I latched onto cavatelli with roasted artichokes and preserved lemon, a sort of earthy-acidic flavor bonanza with an air of sophistication brought from lemon, capers, parsley, pecorino Romano, and garlic. Pappardelle with arugula is a dish with what Pashman refers to as a “high chunk factor” and is a nice way to get some greens in with your gluten. Simplicity reigns supreme here and we zhuzhed ours up with some chili crisp, though something funky, like guanciale or feta would be welcome to the party.
Speaking of chili crisp, I am excited to try the cover dish, “cacio e Pepe e chili crisp,” which also features Sichuan peppercorns and pecorino Romano on frilly ribbons of mafalde pasta. After that, I’m trying the linguine with miso clam sauce. Pashman and his well-credited (yay!) team have deftly taken what could have been a book full of weird ideas and made something wonderful. Grab your spork and get ready to twirl.