...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
19.BRONTE AT HOME; baking from the Scandi Kitchen (Ryland Peters & Small, 2019, 176 pages, $19.95 USD hardbound) is a foodbook by Bronte Aurell, Danish author and TV chef, and restaurateur at ScandiKitchen Cafe in London UK. This is her seventh eponymous cookbook for Ryland Peters & Small. There are 70 recipes here, many from her earlier books. These are traditional recipes from Scandinavia. The themes of the ScandiKitchen centre around baking, and this is her home baking of comforting cakes and bakes. After introducing us to her pantry, the arrangement is by form: biscuits and cookies; buns; traybakes and no bakes; little fancy fika cakes; celebration cakes; breads and batters. Spices used include caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, ginger, saffron, orange peel. Grains are mostly oats and rye, with spelt and potato flour. Try custard tarts, blueberry stud muffins, honey cake, or hazelnut and mocha square. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, although this is inconsistent and conversion charts could have been useful. Quality/price rating: 87.
20.THE RED HOT CHILE COOKBOOK; fabulously fiery recipes for chile fans. Rev. ed. (Ryland, Peters and Small, 2012, 2019, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-788-1, $19.95 USD hard covers) is by Dan May, who began growing chiles in the North Pennines in 2005. He now has the world's most northerly chile farm, called Trees Can't Dance. He began producing chile sauces. Here he has about 70 preps loaded with heat at various Scoville unit levels. There's primer stuff on history, how to grow at home, how to identify the varieties, and their strength levels. It's all arranged by course, from apps to desserts (chile jam ice cream, chile pecan brownies) and drinks. Smoked peppers are also included, such as chipotle (five recipes). Each prep has a chile meter to indicate heat levels. At the back, there's a listing of both US and UK chile suppliers. Preparations have their ingredients listed, but mixed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements; there is no separate table of metric equivalents. Some interesting or unusual recipes: tropical fruit salad with chile and lime syrup; green chile bhajis; fruity African bean stew; roast pork chops with spicy lentils; Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers. Quality/Price Rating: 85.
21.GARLIC Rev. ed. (Ryland Peters & Small, 2016, 2019, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-78879-153-3, $19.95 USD hard covers)is by Jenny Linford, a UK freelance food writer and multiple cookbook author. It was originally published in 2016; this is the revised edition. Garlic adds immense flavour to dishes; some do not like it, but many do. It's a member of the lilies: leeks, onions, chives, and is used internationally. Here are over 65 preps that use garlic extensively as a main component, either for flavour or for textures. It is a full range, divided into areas from "mellow" through to "go wild", and including "comfort" and "fiery" along the way. There is also material about types and use, garlic festivals around the world (Gilroy comes to mind), medicinal and folklore use, and home cultivation. In general, preparations have their ingredients listed in both avoirdupois and metric measurements (with some inconsistency in treatment), but there is no table of metric equivalents. Some interesting or unusual recipes: kimchi pancake with black garlic crème fraiche; toast garlic herbed labneh; Spanish garlic soup; wild garlic cheese scones; tzatziki; ajo blanco. Quality/Price Rating: 85.
22.HOME BREW BEER (DK Publishing, 2013, 2019, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-8737-7, $22 US hard covers) is by Greg Hughes, co-owner of BrewUK, an online brewing website. He also organizes beer competitions. It is a fun book – anyone can make their own beer, from a simple kit or from an elaborate setup with friends. There are 100 recipes here from around the world, in different styles, with colour photos of techniques and the finished beers. The range includes lagers and ales, wheat beers, herb-spice-fruit beers, all with different levels of strength and concentration of flavours. I used to make beer for seven years, but had to switch to ciders for my weight problems. So it is a treat to revisit a basic home brew book. There is the usual DK treatment of pictures and graphs illustrating timelines, geography, ingredients and techniques. There are many
complications involving yeast treatment, hops, adjuncts, and even waters. A simple recipe is all you need to get started – the rest are for the big boys' club, which you can join after experience. The first rule is to never, ever use sucrose (table sugar) because the resulting brew will taste too apple-y. Of course, you may like that style, so do go ahead – it's a shandygaff. Equipment can be basic or extensive, but will always involve transfer hoses, air locks, and carboys. More than a third of the book covers all this material. The recipes are the remainder. Preparations have their ingredients listed
in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is also a table of metric equivalents. He has a glossary, a trouble-shooting FAQ, and some online forums for further help and assistance and recipes. Quality/Price Rating: 90.
23.STARTING AND RUNNING A COFFEE SHOP (DK Books, 2019, 324 page, ISBN 978-1-4654-8379-9 $21.99 USD paperbound) is by Linda Formichelli and Melissa Villanueva. It was originally published in 2005 as "The Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Coffee Bar." It has now been upgraded (from bar to shop) with recent material and a second author (Melissa). In the business world 15 years is a long time. The publisher promises that you will brew success with proven strategies for every aspect of your espresso startup – which presumes that you only run an espresso coffee shop. There are a bunch of questions that need to be answered by the reader: are you a self-starter? Do you have money in the bank? Do you have your family's support? Plus the pros and cons of being your own boss. Melissa gives us a "day in the life", from opening to closing. Business plans are also discussed, as well as partnering and branding, and finding a good location that hasn't already been taken by the big boys. It is all fairly comprehensive, except that dealing with the landlord comes in on only 4 pages. Really? There's décor, equipment, layout and design, hiring a crew, baristas, what to sell, and the like. The appendices cover a glossary and forms, plus checklists and resources. There are even a few recipes. Quality/price rating: 87.
24.BISTRO: classic French comfort food (Rizzoli, 2015, 2018, 260 pages, ISBN 978-0-78933698-9 $19.98 USD hardbound) is by Alain Ducasse. It was originally published in French in 2015; this is the English translation. These are classic foods served at his restaurants Allard, Benoit, and Aux Lyonnais – all are older bisros but now managed by Ducasse. Preps are sourced as noted from one of the three. The arrangement is by course, with appetizers followed by mains (fish, organ meats, meats, poultry, game, veggies) and desserts and some basic preps, along with a glossary. Typical are civet of wild boar with chestnuts, porcini and crabapples; pheasant with cabbage and chestnuts; traditional calf's head with ravigot sauce; pate en croute; tournedos of beef; veal kidneys with Madeira sauce. Recipes are detailed, and accompanying wines (all French) are noted. Given its price and many photographs and provenance, the book is a bargain. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Indexes are by course and by restaurant. Quality/price rating: 90
25.THE SOUP BOOK: season by season (DK Books, 2009, 2019, 352 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-8613-4 $19.99 USD paperbound) has been edited by Sophie Grigson. It was originally published in the UK as "Soup". It's a good database of some 200 soups, arranged by season, with an opening chapter on techniques and a finishing chapter on bread. In between we have Spring (with soups based on asparagus, wild garlic, nettles), Summer (edamame, crab, beef, chicken, pork), Fall (pumpkin, pears, sweet potatoes, mussels, chicken) and Winter (kidney beans, parsnips, leeks, kale, duck, pheasant, smoked haddock). Each recipe has indications of service, prep times, cooking times, and freezer life (minus cream). Preps have been sourced as to author, and of course there is a comprehensive index. Contributors are advocates of organic growing (such as Alice Waters). Soup – easy enough to do! Proceeds from the book will support the work of the UK Soil Association, a non-profit that deals with sustainable and organic growing. The book could have been improved if it also used more metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 90.
26.HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING; simple recipes for great food. Third ed. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019, 951 pages, ISBN 978-1-328-54543-59, $37 USD hard covers) is by Mark Bittman, PBS host of a similarly named show and the weekly New York Times writer called "The Minimalist". He is mainly responsible for simplifying the cooking process; some others would say "dumbing down". This book was originally published in 1998 (updated in 2008), and since then he has been a dynamo in the word and kitchen factories with such books as "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian", a book on the basics, a quick and easy book, and books associated with his PBS and other television shows. But this book is the motherbook (2 million copies sold by 2008, and both IACP and Beard awards winner). It first appeared in 1998, with 2000 recipes, and this is its second revision as a "twentieth anniversary edition". There was a tenth anniversary edition in 2008. He begins "Much has changed…since 1998…" And so his book has expanded to include more international and spicy preps. Gone is the attempt at recreating haute cuisine at home: this is wholesome everyday cooking. These are the recipes that people cook every day at home on every continent and region. Many recipes here can be made ahead or prepared in under 30 minutes. He has plenty of cook notes and sidebars for explanations of techniques and unusual ingredients. There is material from some of other books. He has instructional drawings, but his stress is that many techniques are the same the world over, such as pies, food wrapped in pastry, soups. The main differences are in the seasonings and the local ingredients. The book has also been reorganized, to include new symbols for fast, make-ahead, and vegetarian recipes. He opens each chapter with an "Essential Recipes" section. He has more detail in chapters on vegetables and fruits, grains and beans. There are newer charts and illustrations. There are lists such as "22 Picnic-Perfect Salads". Recipes use avoirdupois weights and measures but there are conversion charts. There's a section on menus, complete with page references, and his top choices for make-ahead, essential, fast, and vegetarian recipes (about 100 each). The price of the book has gone up in 10 years – by two bucks. Other changes include new recipes and new features. Information has been updated, and photos are in colour. It is unbeatable for the price. Quality/Price Rating: 92.
27.TARTINE; a classic revisited (Chronicle Books, 2019, 328 pages, ISBN 978-1-4531-7873-8 $40 USD hardbound) is by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, co-founders of Tartine in San Francisco. It opened in 2002, and this book was originally published in 2006 with 224 pages (and $5 cheaper). Liz does the pastries, Chad does the breads. They are both Beard winners and they have both authored other baking books with the word Tartine in the title. The book was an instant classic, and now it is been updated and revised, with 68 all-new recipes and 55 updated "faves". Modern flavours and ingredients are here: matcha, einkorn, teff, rye, buckwheat. Variations include natural sweeteners such as coconut sugar and maple syrup, More than two dozen recipes are gluten-free. Gentil + Hyers did the photography this time around. The arrangement is traditional, with breakfast (and their popular Tartine morning buns of croissant dough and cinnamon pinwheels), tarts and pies, cakes, cookies, pastries, holiday treats, and the basics.
The book could have been improved if it also used more metric in the recipes as equivalent to American volume measurements, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Scaling is used but "tsp" and "Tbsp" remain unscaled. Quality/price rating: 91.
28.DINING AT DUSK; evening eats – tapas, antipasti, mezze, ceviche and aperitifs from around the world (Whitecap, 2018, 2019, 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-77050-338-0 $34.95 CAD papercovers) is by Stevan Paul. It was originally published in Vienna in 2018, and then translated to English by Murdoch books. This is a co-publication. The range covers today's cuisine for the twilight time: comfort foods and relaxation. The preps are simple and easy to prepare, and )in addition to the subtitle indications) include the Italian cicchetti, Mexican tacos, Japanese yakitori, and items from Samoa, Australia, India, Morocco, Brazil – wherever good food is to be found. It is all arranged by country with background data. From China, expect wonton soup or spring onion pancakes; from Denamrk, a herring platter; from Hungary, sauerkraut puff pastry pockets; from Turkey, imam bayildi (of course); from Austria, the Heuriger platter; roll mops from Germany; Swiss raclette; Swedish smorgasbord; even haggis meatballs from the UK...A great idea for a cookbook. For the most part, preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois and matching metric measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 90
29.THE FLEXITARIAN COOKBOOK; adaptable recipes for part-time vegetarians and vegans (Ryland Peters & Small, 2019, 144 pages ISBN 978-1-78879-146-5 $19.95 USD hardbound) is a publisher's book based on prior recipes that RPS have published. Julia Charles is the compiler; recipe credits (all sourced) come from Ross Dobson, Mat Follas, Liz Franlin, Vicky Jones, Jenny Linford and seven others. The Introduction tells you how to do it, especially for dinner with mixed philosophies, and then the arrangement is by course such as breakfast/brunch, snacks, salads, sides, soups, stews, pasta, sheet pans, and others. Expect such dishes as Mexican tortilla wraps of black-eyed beans, or pink pancakes with goat's cheese, or halloumi and veggie kebabs, or veggie jambalaya, curried veggie paneer, cheese beetroot and feta risotto, even pan-fried salmon Caesar salad. Try the awesome Syrian eggplant and chickpea ragout. The book could have been improved if it also used more metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 88.
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