This Season’s 10 Most Gorgeous Cookbooks

Anthony Bourdain, one of the biggest figures in the food world, is back with his first cookbook in more than 10 years—and damn, was it worth the wait. Mixed with recipes and photos from his childhood, from restaurants he used to work in and from his travels around the world, it’s more a culinary autobiography than a classic cookbook. We love the untraditional—as if anything he does is typical—cover art. This is definitely not your average cookbook.

So you think you can cook. If you’ve mastered your way around the kitchen, but want to up your game, this cookbook is for you. James Beard Award-winning Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy makes a stunning debut with this cookbook. Inside are basic building blocks (like how to shop for produce), tips from the pros, and 140 recipes for those looking for more of a challenge. Showstoppers include: milk-braised pork shoulder and butter-poached halibut.

It’s not every day that your favorite chef reveals the mystery behind his or her recipes. But when Jessica Koslow of cult LA eatery Sqirl released her first cookbook, our wish came true. The book includes 100 drool-worthy plates in a simple, but stunning format of spare white pages as well as stark food imagery and glossy full-page portraits. We love the burnt brioche with ricotta and jam, sorrel-pesto rice bowl and avo-toast, naturally.

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Want a behind-the-scenes look at one of New York City’s top Italian institutions? Flip through this cookbook by chef Mark Ladner, which highlights Batali and Bastianich’s award-winning Del Posto restaurant. Recipes like red wine risotto and veal braciole are almost too beautiful to eat, especially as the photographs are inspired by 16th-century still life paintings.

Part travelogue, part cookbook, Taste of Persia will give you wanderlust as much as it gives you food envy. The edition opens up with a map of the region as author Naomi Duguid takes us on a tour through the area’s diverse flavors—saffron, pomegranate and cardamom—and traditional dishes like rosewater and pistachio pudding, grilled kebabs, barbari breads, and pilafs. Expect 125 recipes framed with tales and photographs of her journey and the locals she encountered along the way.

Cuba’s been one of the hottest countries this year, as Americans can finally travel to see the Caribbean country. Along with the visitors were photographer Dan Goldberg, art director and prop stylists Andrea Kuhn and food writer Jody Eddy, the same trio that just published this new Cuban cookbook. In 75 recipes, they offer a taste of the country’s home-cooked cuisine from tostones stuffed with lobster and conch to mojito cake to squid-ink empanadas.

Sous vide is a trend that’s been around for a while, with a devout fan following. But there’s never really been a full cookbook on the technique, that is, until now. Each page is clean and simple, from the easy-to-follow recipes to the clean, minimalist food photography. The salmon with miso fennel salad and carne asada with chimichurri sauce are two must-trys.

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Chicago favorite Fat Rice is inspired by the diverse flavors of Macau, a port city in China that blends Portuguese, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese traditions. The coolest part about it: it’s a cookbook-comic book hybrid, with evocative food photos matched with colorful illustrations and comic strips that show step-by-step instructions for making dishes like minchi (Macanese meat hash), po kok gai (Portuguese chicken curry with chouriço and olives), and arroz gordo (fat rice, a mix of fried rice and paella).

We try not to pick favorites, but there’s no doubt that Ina Garten is the queen of cooking. In her much anticipated new cookbook, she gives fans a peek into her almost 50-year relationship with her beloved boo, Jeffrey. As a tribute to him, she shares his favorite dishes, such as herbed goat cheese, roast chicken with radishes, and peach cobbler, as well as some of their fond memories together.

From the editors of Lucky Peach magazine (one of our obsessions, we might add) comes this new green-based cookbook. They turn boring veggies into meals to be excited about, signaled by recipes written in caps with a plethora of exclamation marks. You can trust that they’ll deliver on their promise to bring “BIG-LEAGUE FLAVOR to your WEEKNIGHT COOKING.”