Books for Cooks
January 10, 2008

The current crop of foodie books is so rich and diverse it's enough to give cooks a collective aneurysm. Still, it's a small price to pay for hours of rewarding reading, sure-fire inspiration, and a jacked appetite (without moving a muscle.) I recently conducted an exhaustive bookstore survey of as many volumes as possible before waving the white napkin in retreat to a nearby Italian eatery for garlicky mussels and white wine.

Best Books: Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food & Stories From Vermont by Melissa Pasanen & Rick Gencarelli was, by far, the best and freshest looking book on the loaded table. People cannot stop talking about their butternut squash soup recipe. COOK with Jamie by Jamie Oliver is the sexy chef's guide to making you a better cook. I want to make and eat everything in this book; to stave off a possible case of peptic shock I had to buy it. Best Food Writing of 2007, edited by Holly Hughes, offers some of the most entertaining and informative food stories I have ever devoured– a plethora of prandial delights.

Kinda Crazy: Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by Rory Freeman & Kim Barnouin is now a 2 book series and most certainly places us in Dr. Phil country. Former models banging the vegan drum, these gals pour a lot of pure food into their mouths, but the result is a super raunchy ranting of the worst possible potty–mouth variety. Thanks, Ladies, for a reminder than vegan does not necessarily equal wholesome.

Surprises: I wasn't prepared to like Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, in fact, I secretly hoped to hate it simply on principle: you don't lie to children (Santa a notable exception) especially when it comes to food. But the book is cleverly executed and offers several good ideas and lots of common sense. If I were a parent new to the business of family cooking, I'd buy it and learn from it. An all–around great book was Family Circle's Ultimate Recipe Collection for Busy Families. The book is a colorful spiral bound collection of quick and yummy recipes. Each page provides nutritional summaries for the health conscious, and 'quick tips' for the novice cook; this is an excellent reference book for every kitchen.   

Skip It: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian makes for a fresh looking doorstop, but that's about it. Throughout this mind-numbing tomb, nearly 1,000 pages with nary a picture, Bittman fails to excite the cook about anything, much less the miracle of fresh veggies. The only thing I got from this esoteric show–off was stretch marks.

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008