Favorite Cookbooks and Recipe Sources

This year I wanted to incorporate more food and cooking posts, as that is what I am really into these days. Cooking is my therapy, my joy, and my creative outlet. I get excited trying new recipes, sourcing ingredients, getting a new kitchen gadget, experimenting, and honing my tastebuds. So I thought I would share some of the places I find inspiration when I get sick of my usual wheelhouse of recipes. 

(Also take note, that sometimes you have just got to order a pizza too. )

How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry

Diana Henry’s books are a literary and culinary delight. She is a beloved British food writer, winner of the James Beard award and has written 11 cookbooks. She is such a gifted writer, I devour her cookbooks as if I am reading a novel.

She transports you to a time, a mood, a feeling, along with her collection of delicious recipes. Her chapter, How to Eat a Peach, the book’s title, describes a summer in her early 20’s spent in Italy how she learned that Italian cooking is built on good, simple ingredients. She exemplifies this by describing how on a hot summer night, the local diners sitting at a neighborhood cafe, would pour cold bubbly moscato over sliced peaches. As they soaked, they would eat peaches and finish by drinking up the now- syrupy peach infused wine.

She could write about anything and I would read it.

Cook Beautiful by Athena Calderone

I love cooking seasonally, which is how Cook Beautiful is set up : Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. I love the stylings so I will flip through this when I need some inspo. I like the Corn Relish, Mustardy New Potatoes, Grilled Ribeye with Chimichurri Sauce. 

Gjelina : Cooking from Venice by Travis Scott

Gjelina is a local restaurant based in Venice CA, that I have had the priviledge of frequenting fairly regularly. I love seeing how the menu changes according to the season. I especially love the emphasis on vegetables and simple, but interesting and unique ingredients. I love their broccolini, wood-fired pizzas, and if you haven’t had their Butterscotch Pot de Creme, you haven’t lived! Luckily that recipe is in the book! 

Miscellaneous Sources

Bon Appetit | Probably my number one source for recipes is Bon Appetit. I love their website and their YouTube channel. They give great detailed instructions with little tips and tricks that are useful.  Whenever I need a recipe for something like “Spaghetti & Meatballs,” I always start my research here.

Alice Waters’s My Pantry | I love referencing Alice Water’s books because whether it is her almond milk recipe, granola, or saving the remnants of your red wine bottles to make red wine vinegar, she is the OG of farm to table.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Books | I like looking to Gwyneth’s books when I am trying to come up with some quick and easy dinner recipes. They also tend to have a healthy edge. I especially like her Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Chicken Pho, and and Thai Crabcakes.

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