Rainy day cookbooks
I've got them. You've got them. Pretty much anybody with over 100 cookbooks has a couple. That's right - those books that we set aside for a rainy day, or a day when the kids have a field trip, or when we've already…
Susie
Pick a region, pick a diet, pick a subject...
While attending to the (never-ending) task of culling and organizing the cookbook library today, it struck me that publishing output in a number of categories is shifting. There seem to be fewer big-ticket restaurant…
August 2013 cookbook roundup
Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona…
What's hot in Manhattan
Actually, everything's hot in New York this week. It's in the upper 80's, and as usual the steaming sidewalks, midtown traffic, and ever-present faint smell of garbage makes it feel even hotter. Nevertheless, business…
Can you really bake a doughnut?
It's the end of summer, really, that makes you think you might even contemplate making doughnuts. The weather's getting just a little cooler. Your days of leisure are coming to an end. You think to yourself, "I might -…
Recipe keepers, journals, and diaries
It's the peaceful, slow part of the year. Let's step away from cookbooks for just a moment and look at an often-overlooked corner of the recipe market. Did you know that there's a whole niche of publishing devoted to…
What's your number?
Is it 5? 6? 8? 10? This summer's cookbooks are having a silent contest for the hearts of cooks who subscribe to the "quick and easy" school of cooking. How many ingredients do we want to see in a recipe? Salt and pepper…
July 2013 cookbook roundup
Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona…
Food-forward picture books
A while ago, I did a feature on literary cookbooks for kids. It wasn't that long ago, but in the months seen I've been seeing a special kind of book that doesn't even pretend to be a cookbook, really - the picture book…
Coastal features
Summer's a slow time in cookbook publishing, but I notice one category of books has kept up a steady, diligent trickle: seafood books. This isn't totally surprising, since summer's the time for beachgoers and weekend…
Sugar & spice & everything nice
Because I enjoy asking for trouble, I thought I'd share a question which arose in my mind the other day, when a new book dropped out its manila envelope and I caught the title: Stacie Bakes, it declared. I was suddenly…
Is half a loaf better than one?
By and large, I think food photography has only gotten better and better in the decades since its aspicky, orange 1960's lowpoint. Digital cameras mean mistakes are cheap and easily fixed, and the food blogging…