MAY
The Cardamom TrailBy Chetna Makan
Lose your mind over The Great British Baking Show last fall (along with the rest of the country)? Here's a cookbook for you, by Chetna Makan, a semi-finalist on the fifth season of the show.
The Cardamom Trail mixes British and Indian baking techniques, so you get both traditional western pastries infused with Indian flavors, as well as her Indian favorites. According to the publisher, recipes include things like "puff pastry bites filled with fenugreek paneer; a swirly bread rolled with citrusy coriander, mint and green mango chutney; or a steamed strawberry pudding flavored with cinnamon." Count me in.
Mitchell Beazley: May 3
Project SmokeBy Steven Raichlen
Cookbook author Steven Raichlen is the host of several PBS grilling and barbecue shows, and this is the cookbook companion to his show Project Smoke. With over 100 recipes, this is a good resource for folks who have a bit of experience under their belts but want to expand their grilling and barbecue repertoire.
If you're looking to go deep on technique, see Meathead Goldwyn's book—Raichlen's book is better for when you want new ideas, not to drown in theory.
Storey: May 10
Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and GrillingBy Meathead Goldwyn with Greg Blonder
I have long bemoaned the lack of good barbecue cookbooks available, but there's good reason they're so rare: writing about barbecue is hard. Everyone has different equipment and different skill levels, and besides, barbecue is something that's easier to show than to tell.
But Goldwyn and Blonder have really come up with a great book here, full of barbecue myth-busting, scientific explanations, and, oh yeah, great recipes. An excellent user manual for your smoker (and your grill!), whether it's brand new or has seen many summers.
Rux Martin: May 10
The Nordic KitchenBy Claus Meyer
There have been a lot of Nordic cookbooks in the past few years, but many of them are restaurant cookbooks, full of intricate techniques and hard-to-find ingredients. Here, though, Claus Meyer—who, yes, is one of the cofounders of world-famous restaurant Noma—turns his attention to home cooking.
Subtitled "One Year of Family Cooking," this cookbook is divided into seasonal chapters. Meyer, who recently moved to New York City, brings his flair for Nordic flavor to US home kitchens with recipes like "creamy root vegetable soup with crispy bacon, braised pork cheeks with beer and plum vinegar, pan-fried mullet with cucumber and peas in dill butter, and rhubarb cake."
Mitchell Beazley: May 17
Cooking With LoulaBy Alexandra Stratou
What do you think of when you think of Greek food? Street food, maybe, or luxurious seafood eaten by a rocky beach? Alexandra Stratou is looking to change all that with her new cookbook Cooking with Loula, in which she explores the foods she grew up with through the eyes of her family's elderly cook.
Cooking with Loula started as a Kickstarter cookbook called Cooking to Share. It did so well—raised over $40,000, then sold out its limited release—that Artisan bought the book. If that's not a vote of confidence for a cookbook, I'm not sure what is.
Artisan: May 3
Ruhlman's How to Saute: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook by Michael Ruhlman
Num Pang: Bold Recipes from New York City's Favorite Sandwich Shop by Ratha Chaupoly
Dried & True: The Magic of Your Dehydrator in 80 Delicious Recipes and Inspiring Techniques by Sara Dickerman
The Kitchen Shelf by Rosie Reynolds and Eve O'Sullivan
Two If By Sea: Delicious Sustainable Seafood by Barton Seaver
JUNE
Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of TikiBy Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate
There's something about summer that just screams tiki. Like if you just put on your swimsuit and drink something made with rum, you're automatically on vacation. Thankfully, this summer you've got some expert guidance to guide you on your path to tiki bliss: Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate of San Francisco's famed Smuggler's Cove.
The book walks readers through the history of tiki, as well as 100 recipes for cocktails. Not sure where to start with rum? There's a beginners' guide. There are also party tips, garnishing guides, and much more. In other words, all you need are some paper umbrellas and your summer is made.
Ten Speed: June 7
A Super Upsetting Cookbook About SandwichesBy Tyler Kord
I'm gonna be honest: I have no idea what this book will be about, other than sandwiches. I know it has one of the best titles I've ever seen on a cookbook. I know Tyler Kord is a New York City chef, namely at the No. 7 restaurant and No. 7 Sub shops.
And...that's about it.
The publishers' copy describes it thusly: "Careless ruminations on sandwich philosophy, love, self-loathing, Lil' Wayne, getting drunk in the shower, Tom Cruise, food ethics, and what it's like having the names of two different women tattooed on your body. Most of these ruminations also happen to be truly excellent recipes." Okay! Sold.
Clarkson Potter: June 14
Brooklyn Rustic: Simple Food for Sophisticated Palates by Bryan Calvert
Let's Make Pizza!: A Pizza Cookbook to Bring the Whole Family Together by Kathryn Kellinger
Back to the Kitchen by Freddie Prinze, Jr.
JULY
Ingredienti: Marcella's Guide to the MarketBy Marcella Hazan and Victor Hazan
The godmother of Italian cuisine in America may have died in 2013, but she has a new book out this summer. Ingredienti is taken from Marcella Hazan's notebooks, and translated by her husband and longtime collaborator Victor. It covers the whys and whats of shopping for Italian ingredients.
Which, if I'm being perfectly honest, isn't really something the world needs another book about. We have plenty of words on how to select in-season produce, and what pasta goes best with which sauce. But one last chance to hear from the master herself, three years after her death? That I can get behind.
Scribner: July 12
Modern Potluck: Beautiful Food to ShareBy Kristin Donnelly
Forget mom's pasta salad and your uncle's famous pimento cheese. Isn't it time to share dishes that represent how people cook today, full of vibrant seasonal vegetables and punchy flavors?
Modern Potluck promises to ramp up your shared dish game, and help you navigate the often knotty world of dietary restrictions. So if you need to wow your gluten-free, allergy-ridden, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan cousin and make your meat-happy carnivore brother-in-law happy with the same dish, this is the book for you.
Clarkson Potter: July 26
My Halal KitchenBy Yvonne Maffei
My Halal Kitchen is (as one might expect) a Halal food blog by Chicagoan Yvonne Maffei. It is massively popular: Maffei has over a million followers on Facebook and a devoted following.
Her first cookbook focuses not just on the Islamic cuisines of the world, but on...pretty much everything that can be made Halal. American comfort food? Check. Mexican? Check. Chipotle-style burrito bowls and chocolate banana smoothies and cheeseburgers? Check, check, check. Maffei's specialty seems to be making dishes Muslims thought were out of reach Halal—think "Coq Without the Vin." No wonder she's popular.
Agate Surrey: July 12
Fast and Easy Five-Ingredient Recipes: A Cookbook for Busy People by Philia Kelnhofer
Mammissima: Family Cooking from a Modern Italian Mamma by Elisabetta Minervini
The Taste of Egypt: Home Cooking from the Middle East by Dyna Eldaief
Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff
AUGUST
Victuals: An Appalachian Journey with RecipesBy Ronni Lundy
Southern food has blown up over the past decade or so, but the regional variations are vast and often under-explored. Which is why I was so excited to see an Appalachian cookbook in this summer's crop, and one written by acclaimed journalist Ronni Lundy, at that.
Each chapter of Victuals focuses on a tentpole of Appalachian cuisine; an ingredient or a tradition. Essays on each, along with 80 recipes, tell the story of this diverse mountain cuisine through the words of one of its biggest champions.
Clarkson Potter: August 30
All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of ChinaBy Carolyn Phillips
Writing a Chinese cookbook is notoriously difficult, because there isn't just one Chinese cuisine: there are dozens. So what the world has is great Sichuan cookbooks and great Hunanese cookbooks and great Cantonese cookbooks, but very few tomes that cover the entire region.
Carolyn Phillips is taking a stab at it: her publishers claim All Under Heaven will be the first English-language cookbook that covers the 35 cuisines of China. This book is a monster, with 300 recipes. And if they all work (and work well), this has the makings of an all-time classic.
Ten Speed: August 30
Dandelion and Quince: Exploring the Wide World of Unusual Vegetables, Fruits, and HerbsBy Michelle McKenzie
Want to expand your ingredient vocabulary? Unsure what to do with the random produce you get in your CSA? Or looking to liven up your tried-and-true recipes?
Michelle McKenzie explores the world of "uncommon" vegetables, including nettles, fava leaves, kumquats, and the titular dandelions and quinces. The book includes 150 recipes, as well as guidance on just what the heck to do with these things once you've got them home from the store. Your kitchen is about to get weird.
Roost: August 2
Lark: Cooking Wild in the Northwest by John Sundstrom
Bubbe and Me in the Kitchen: A Kosher Cookbook of Beloved Recipes and Modern Twists by Miri Rotkovitz
Fermenting: Recipes & Preparation by Daphne Lambert
Fall Baking: Southern Harvest Favorites by Brooke Michael Bell
Big Dips: Cheese, Salsa, Pesto, Hummus by James Bradford
