Introducing the Cookbooks of August 2023!
Fall cookbook season is off to a sneaky summer start.
Howdy cookbook fans!
And welcome to your August cookbook preview! August is unofficially the start of fall cookbook season (regardless of what temperature my watch says it is outside)(no I am not done complaining about the heat)(it’s 96°F, actually, not terrible). And especially towards the end of the month, we start getting some of the bigger titles we’ll get all year. Chetna Makan! Amy Thielen! Slow Food USA! Two Magpies Bakery! Critical Role, whatever that is! Chili crisp! Vegan donuts! Matt Adlard! Moro! Elizabeth DAVID!!!!
I am already late on this so we’re just gonna get into it! FALL COOKBOOK SEASON STARTS NOW NERDS. Here are your August new releases, enjoy. (As ever, if this cuts off in your email, click the headline above to read it on the website.)
The Stained Page News August 2023 Cookbook Preview
London-raised food writer Rukmini Iyer travels with her parents from her mom’s birthplace of Kolkata to her dad’s birthplace of Chennai by train, collecting dishes and recipes along the way. The title India Express is meant to have two meanings: one being the train that provided the inspiration for the book, and the other the fact that these are simple recipes that are accessible to home cooks. Countryman, August 8.
Ex-GBBOer Chetna Makan has two types of books, near as I can tell: one is in the vein of her first book, The Cardamom Trail, which is a deep dive into baking with Indian ingredients and flavors. The second is more like Chetna’s 30 Minute Indian, crowd-pleasers that are maybe not as intensive. Her new book, Chetna’s Indian Feasts, seems like a hybrid to me? A deep dive into Indian feasting, with recipes that emphasize easy entertaining. Hamlyn, August 14.
Are you into the following types of foods: bone broths, cultured dairy, ferments, sprouted grains, sourdough breads, and other ingredients made the “old fashioned” way? The Modern Pioneer Cookbook by YouTuber Mary Bryant Shrader (945k followers) may be the book for you! DK, August 15.
The Olive Oil Enthusiast is by Skyler Mapes and Giuseppe Morisani, the folks behind Exau Olive Oil, a brand I literally just heard of. (Am I behind on my DTC food brands? I guess that’s fine.) Anyhoo, I like the cover a lot! The inside of the book has a super fun illustrated design, too. Recipes for apps, pastas, sauces, desserts, and more that showcase the flavor of olive oil. Ten Speed, August 15.
Cookbook author Trine Hahnemann specializes in Scandinavian cooking, and her latest book, Simply Scandinavian, seeks to, well, simplify the cuisine for home cooks. 80 recipes that use only a “handful” of ingredients, from way up north. Quadrille, August 15.
From Slow Food USA, The Ark of Taste is a pretty cool concept that I feel like we used to see more of in the 1970s and 1980s, as we tried to kind of feel out what “American food” was (see: Betty Fussell’s I Hear American Cooking). The book looks at “our nation's food heritage,” sharing stories and recipes about ingredients like Carolina Gold rice, Wellfleet oysters, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Tupelo honey, the Moon and Stars watermelon, Black Republican cherries, Candy Roaster squash, and more. Written by Giselle Kennedy Lord and David S. Shields. Voracious, August 22.
American-in-Paris Amanda Bankert prepares vegan treats from both the American and French cannon at her Paris bakery Boneshaker (this name…?), and now shares their recipes in Voilà Vegan. Recipes include Banana Tarte Tatin French Toast, Pumpkin Cake Donuts, Salted Caramel & Roasted Peanut Brownies, Crêpes Suzette and Raspberry-Chocolate Macarons. Avery, August 22.
The copy for Amanda Powell’s Cookie School describes it as “the schoolwide cheat sheet of cookie recipes,” and offers “foundational methods in easy-to-understand steps.” Expect solid, accessible versions of traditional cookies more than inventive riffs here. Page Street, August 22.
Baker Rebecca Bishop runs a small chain of bakeries in Suffolk, England called Two Magpies Bakery, and now she has written a cookbook of the same name! Sweet and savory baking here, including breads, pizza, cakes, sweet treats, and more. Headline, August 22.
Lord Honey is the first cookbook from Food Network person Jason Smith, who specializes in Southern food with a “country bling” twist. Recipes include “'Nanners Foster Waffles,” “'Lasses-Glazed Carrots,” and “Sweet Tea and Bourbon Fried Chicken.” (Scare quotes because, well.) Carla Hall wrote in the foreword though, so the recipes are probably pretty good! Pelican, August 28.
Explore the foods of the Jews of Rome with Jewish foods expert (and SPN reader, hi Leah!!) Leah Koenig in Portico. Calling the cuisine that came out of 300 years of Rome’s Jewish Ghetto “uniquely beguiling,” Koenig offers history and recipes for “Stracotto di Manzo (a wine-braised beef stew), Pizza Ebraica (fruit-and-nut-studded bar cookies), and, of course, Carciofi alla Giudia, the quintessential Jewish-style fried artichokes.” (I am physically incapable of not ordering those artichokes if I see them on a menu.) Norton, August 29.
I remain a little confused about what exactly Critical Role, the group that inspired the cookbook Exquisite Exandria, is, so I will quote what my friend Amy told me when the book deal was announced: “"Basically it’s a DnD group that .... performs? And has gotten HUGE.” Hooray! Written by Liz Marsham, with recipes by Jesse Szewczyk, Susan Vu (having edited Susan’s recipes, I can tell you they are rock solid), and Amanda Yee. Random House Worlds, August 29.
Native foods historian Lois Ellen Frank and chef Walter Whitewater (Diné (Navajo) Nation) have teamed up on Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky, an exploration of the foods Native Americans have contributed to the world. Organized around 8 vital ingredients—corn, beans, squash, chile, tomato, potato, vanilla, and cacao—the book offers 100 plant-based, modern recipes while exploring the history of this culinary tradition. Hachette Go.
I just got a copy of Amy Thielen’s Company yesterday! Aside from the gorgeous cover (a painting by artist Holly Coulis), the book offers a bunch of menus for various-sized groups, but more importantly tips, tricks, techniques, and strategizes for hosting that won’t drive you bonkers. I have to assume this book was a hell of a lot of fun to write. I loved Amy’s first book, The New Midwestern Table, and can’t wait to cook out of this one. Norton, August 29.
Do you love chili crisp? Of course you do. And there are 50 recipes for what to do with the stuff from James Park in Chili Crisp. Chronicle, August 29.
In Kugel & Collards, South Carolinians Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey explore the rich and evolving tradition of Southern Jewish food. 80 recipes from 70 contributors include “Jewish staples like kreplach dumplings and stuffed cabbage as well as adaptations of southern favorites such as peach cobbler, plus modern fusions like grits and lox casserole.” University of South Carolina Press, August 29.
Another ex-GBBOer, Jürgen Krauss hails from the Black Forest region of Germany and bakes all the German treats you could want in The German Baking Book. (My grandmother was from Germany so… I want a lot of them.) Weldon Owen, August 29.
Bri McKoy’s The Cook’s Book is a guide to the basics, designed to boost confidence in beginner chefs. Lots of recipes but also techniques and strategies. Revell, August 29.
Do you have some picky eaters on your hands? Color, Taste, Texture by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt explores how to adjust the three factors in the title to suit a variety of tastes, with an eye towards less stressful mealtimes. Avery, August 29.
Instagrammer Matt Adlard (942k followers) has written Bake It Better, a guide to helping “home chefs advance from intermediate-level to master baker.” It’s a pretty cool concept IMO? Each recipe has a “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” version, so a tier 1 brioche becomes tier 2 cinnamon rolls, or tier 1 chocolate chunk brownies become tier 2 triple chocolate brownie fingers. Alpha, August 29.
I just love this cover. How many cookbooks have a giant chonk of a tractor on the cover?! Anyway for whatever reason I have a massive soft spot for Canadian regional cookbooks, and Prairie, by Globe & Mail restaurant critic Dan Clapson and food writer Twyla Campbell, is exactly that. Appetite, August 29.
I was JUST bemoaning the fact that more Americans don’t know about Moro, the fantastic 2003 book from London chefs Sam and Sam Clark, but now you have a chance to FIX IT with Moro Easy. Southern Spain and Northern African flavors, made easy, I guess! Ebury, August 29.
And to round out the list, two rereleases, a thing I don’t normally cover. First up: 1980’s European Peasant Cookery by Elisabeth Luard, with 500 recipes (!) for what the title says. The publisher’s copy says this rerelease has been 20 years in the making?! Maybe they mean the original book. Grub Street, August 31.
Finally, The Elizabeth David Collection, a collection of 4 booklets by the celebrated food writer, published in hardcover in a slip case for the first time: The Baking of an English Loaf, Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments, English Potted Meats and Fish Pastes, and Syllabubs and Fruit Fools. Grub Street: August 31.
More Books I’m Excited About…
Mexican by Lori Horton. New Holland, August 7.
The Homestead-to-Table Cookbook by Georgia Verozza. Ten Peaks Press, August 8.
How to Eat Chocolate by Sarah Ford. Skittledog, August 8.
Recipes from Venice by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi. Hardie Grant, August 8.
Recipes from Andalusia by José Pizarro. Hardie Grant, August 8.
Super Easy Air Fryer Recipes by Lelia Castello. Hardie Grant Books, August 8.
The Unofficial Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! Cookbook by Thea James and Isabel Minunni. Media Lab Books, August 15.
How to Fix the Perfect Cocktail by Adam Elan-Elmegirab. Dog n Bone, August 15.
Simple Family Feasts by Jeremy Pang. Hamlyn, August 15.
Slice! 30 Fabulous Pizza Recipes by Thom Elliott and James Elliott. Quadrille, August 15.
Hearty Cast-Iron and Skillet Cooking by Anne Schaeffer. Fox Chapel, August 15.
Falafel by Dunja Gulin. Ryland, Peters & Small, August 15.
Happiness in a Mug Cake by Katie Calder. Hardie Grant, August 15.
Dinnertime SOS by Amy Palanjian. Rodale, August 22.
Recipes for Murder by Karen Pierce. Countryman, August 22.
Mastering Fermentation by Keith Sarasin. Cider Mill Press, August 29.
Easy Vegan by Sue Quinn. Chartwell, August 29.
The Unofficial Wednesday Cookbook by Iphigenia Jones. Ulysses, August 29.
I haven't given Luisa Weiss's Classic German Baking enough love yet, but i think I'll be adding Jürgen's book to my shelf too.