Book Lists

2020 Cookbooks

Today, we are changing things up and instead of talking books, we are talking cookbooks. 

I love cooking almost as much as I like reading. Or maybe I like cooking more. Let’s just say I like both cooking and reading. When I can combine the two, it is even better. 

Our house is full of books. We have bookshelves in almost every room in our house. What you might not know though is that included in our book collection is my extensive cookbook collection. 

Some might not call it extensive, but I think my family might. My cookbook collection includes well over a hundred cookbooks. I actually stopped counting them because I don’t want to know how many I have…

My collection includes old cookbooks and new ones. I love vintage cookbooks. I also love cookbooks from my childhood. I like cookbooks from regions or towns. 

I also love a great church cookbook. Remember those? I wish churches and groups still put out cookbooks. Some of my favorite recipes come from old church cookbooks. I think online recipes have kind of taken over for church ladies cookbooks.

When I get a new cookbook, I read it like a book. Usually from cover to cover. I love to read the stories behind the recipes and the history behind the food. I also love learning about the science behind the food. 

Do you read cookbooks like books? I think it is the best way to use your cookbooks. 

Over the last two years, I have really limited my cookbook purchases. I have been trying to use the cookbooks that I have instead of buying more. 

But 2020 changed that. I was home more and being home more meant that I was cooking at home more. 

The last few months I have struggled with cooking, which is terrible to say since I run a food website, but cooking has felt like a chore recently instead of the fun I usually find it to be. 

I decided that buying a couple of new cookbooks was the best way to add more fun to my cooking. And since we have only eaten out a couple of times in 2020, I had plenty of room in my budget for some new cookbooks. 

Today, I am sharing the five cookbooks that I have bought over the last few months. If you have a cook in the family or know someone that loves to cook, these would all make great gifts. 

Cookbooks I Bought In 2020

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Salt Fat Acid Heat mastering the elements of good cooking was published in 2017. I have seen this one so many places. People love this cookbook. I love the science behind food and find it fascinating to learn the how’s and why’s behind food.

Some of my favorite recipes and cookbooks are Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and Alton Brown. Salt Fat Acid Heat reminds me of those cookbooks. This book is a resource that I will pick up over and over again. 

Soups, Stews, and Chilis

It is the time of year that is perfect for soups and chilis. Southern Living’s Soups, Stews, and Chilis comfort food in a bowl is a great way to add some new soups to your menu plan. 

Some of the recipes in this book are basic, but many of them are fun modern takes on classic soup recipes. 

The Southern Cookie Book

Yes, The Southern Cookie Book is another cookbook by Southern Living. I love Southern Living and have many of their cookbooks. The recipes almost always turn out, which cannot be said for all cookbooks. 

Several people in my family eat gluten free, and I love to adapt regular recipes to gluten free. When adapting recipes, I always try to start with a great recipe. This cookbook is filled with delicious looking cookbooks. I can’t wait to adapt some of them to gluten free. 

If you love cookies, need some holiday cookie recipe, or know someone that loves to bake cookies, this is a great book. 

Martha Stewart’s Cake Perfection

I have many of Martha’s cookbooks. I own her first cake cookbook, her cookie cookbook, her cupcake cookbook, her comfort foods cookbooks, and many others that are no longer published. 

When I heard that she had a new cake cookbook out, Martha Stewart’s Cake Perfection, I knew that I had to get it. My family eats gluten free, so all of these recipes will be adapted, but I knew from previous recipes that Martha’s recipe usually adapt great to gluten free. 

If you love to bake, I think you will enjoy this one. 

I have a fun challenge planned for 2021 over on my food website. It involves cookbooks so I will share more details soon. 

Modern Comfort Food

Modern Comfort Food was an impulse buy. I kept seeing it all over social media, and everyone was loving it. I think it is the first Ina Garten cookbook that I have bought. I might have bought one years ago, but if I did, I didn’t keep it. 

I saw many people share that they were loving cooking out of this cookbook during quarantine, so I had high hopes for it. 

It is a beautiful cookbook full of delicious looking recipes. I really enjoyed looking through this one, but Ina Garten’s view of comfort food is way different than mine. 

I knew the title says modern comfort food and that it wouldn’t be your normal old fashioned comfort food, but I didn’t realize it would be so modern. 

Ina Garten’s view of comfort food and the staples that she keeps in her kitchen is way different than mine. And I think it is way different than most people’s. 

I feel like this cookbook has a big disconnect to what the majority of American’s cook and eat. You may disagree with me on that, but to me, it seemed like a gourmet comfort foods cookbook instead of a you will want to cook this for dinner type of cookbook. 

For example, she considers brussels sprouts pizza, fresh pea salad with mint and manchego, and a lobster stew as comfort food. To me, those are more special occasion foods and not everyday comfort foods. 

I did love looking through this cookbook and have two recipes marked to try, so I am glad I bought it. It was a fun purchase. I think though this cookbook is more for the Ina Garten fan than for the everyday cook. 

What cookbooks did you buy in 2020?

I would love to hear what cookbooks you are enjoying right now. 

Love books about food and cooking? Check out my list of great food memoirs and books.