Fun Cookbooks for Fall Food Lovers
It's cookbook season! Like crisp sweet apples and hefty pumpkins, a new crop of books comes out in the fall, just in time for hunkering down at home as the days get colder.
A fabulous guide to cooking with the seasons is Canal House Cooks Every Day, the new book by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, both former food editors who now write, photograph, and publish their own cookbook series out of their shared studio near the Delaware River in NJ. The idea for the book stemmed from the lunches they would make as a break to their workday. While most of us who work outside the home won't be able to do the same, the recipes are incredibly appealing and many of them are simple enough to whip up on a weeknight after a day at work. The October chapter's Sausage & Clam Stew (only 6 ingredients!), is a perfect example.
Related: Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes
In cooler weather, I make soup to provide something warm, nourishing, and, often, comforting to my family. The Soup Sisters Cookbook caught my eye with its charmingly hand-sketched how-to illustrations and simple recipes, but the real draw for me: Proceeds from the book go toward the charitable work done by the Soup Sisters - a warming comforting idea if ever there was one. The Calgary-based organization makes soup for shelters servicing women and children in need, and the concept has taken off throughout Canada. The recipes, also arranged seasonally (Summer Corn Chowder is on my short list), are submitted by some of the 5500 volunteers, plus a slew of celebrity chefs.
Related: Favorite Fall Recipes
While not a cookbook, The One Minute Wine Master by Master Sommelier Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan takes a fun approach to figuring out just what type of wines will please your palate, based on your answers to a one minute quiz - and who doesn't love quizzes? (Sample question: What type of gum do you prefer?) Your answers place you in one of 4 categories-Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall-which are then used to help pinpoint what type of wines you're likely to prefer. Winter wines, for example, are heavier, richer, fuller-bodied wines. Down to earth descriptions of wines, and stress-free strategies for choosing them are among the other topics covered. Simonetti-Bryan doesn't claim her system is foolproof, but it sure is fun!
These are just a few of the books that I'm excited about, but there are so many more worth clearing space for on your kitchen counter. Grab a few and you'll be ready to face whatever the winter will bring.
Do you have a favorite fall cookbook? Let me know in the comments!
-By Catherine Lo
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