What are the two main ingredients of Irish cooking? Heat and water, the old saying goes. But skeptics about Irish fare are in for a treat with Colman Andrews 's The Country Cooking of Ireland : awarded Cookbook of the Year at last night's James Beard Awards , it's a big, beautiful romp through the culinary treasures native to the Emerald Isle. Winners in 11 categories were awarded at the…  Read More →

Congratulations to Rose Levy Beranbaum , winner of the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award for her lavish and luscious baking book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes (also one of our top 10 favorites of last year). Winners in 19 categories were announced last night at the 2010 IACP Awards Gala (held this year in Portland, OR), now celebrating its 25th year of honoring cooks, authors, and culinary artists. Ruth Reichl –a winner this year for Gourmet... 

Buying a new cookbook is always a little daunting for me. Pictures can make any dish look delicious, but I'm hesitant to invest in a cookbook if I don't know how challenging (or tasty) the recipes are going to be. That's why I love the idea of getting a taste of a cookbook before buying it. We've made this easy by posting sample recipes culled from some of our cookbook gems. Here are just a few that …  Read More →

This just in: the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) has released the 2010 finalists for its annual cookbook award. They've taken a different approach to the announcement this year, launching the list initially via their website's Amazon store , with no category distinctions yet, so stay tuned for further updates. In the meantime, we're very glad to see that some of  Read More →

With today's look back at the Books of the Decade I naturally gravitated to the subject I'm most passionate about: food. Last night I scanned the shelves at home and then did some research on Amazon this morning to make sure I didn't miss any favorites. Of all of the books listed below there is one that I turn to regularly–at least weekly–and that's Matt Lee and Ted Lee's The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook . I became... 

Today I was going to crush about Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter , by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. And then, as if by fate (or maybe it was because I asked for an early copy), James Villas' glorious Pig: King of the Southern Table landed on my desk this morning (thank you, Marcy!). I'm sure you'll see these two titles paired up together in magazine roundups, but I think they each deserve their own time in the porcine... 

This weekend, in anticipation of turning my kitchen into a cookie factory for holiday baking, I spent some time flipping through my cookbook collection seeking inspiration. I don't want to reveal the actual recipes I decided upon (just in case you're a reader who's on my cookie list) but the books that made this year's cut were Baking: From My Home to Yours , Dolce Italiano: Sweets from the Babbo Kitchen , The Craft of Baking... 

Best Books of the Month: December : Just when you thought you've read enough culinary memoirs and single-subject studies on every esoteric food topic imaginable comes Knives at Dawn , Andrew Friedman 's sharp, insider account of America's quest to win the Bocuse d'Or–the epicurean equivalent of the World Cup, held biannually in Lyon, France. For over two decades, international teams have entered the arena, cooking for five-and-a-half... 

Those with a curiosity for all-things culinary should set a place at the table for 100 Words for Foodies , the latest installment in the popular paperback series, 100 Words… , from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. True food fans might take pause at the title. Over the past couple of years the phrase “foodie” has made many, including food lovers, cringe. Personally, I prefer food geek, but I'm holding out... 

Sometimes it takes the strength of only one recipe for a cookbook to win you over. Some even rarer times, it's a recipe you love immediately without even having made it yet (“yet” being the operative word, because any recipe that can't convince you it's worth making is probably not). Of all the recipes in Amanda Hesser's The Cook and the Gardener that could have easily persuaded me (Spiced Brussels Sprouts with Apples…...