Cookbooks make wonderful gifts, and in this issue we've assembled a wide range to choose from. Nothing beats browsing in your local bookstore, feeling the pages and ogling the photographs, but we attempt here to give you a taste of some of our favorites. If there is a silver lining to the pandemic, it's that so many of us have rediscovered an appreciation for preparing food and sharing it with loved ones.
For me, that's meant tackling two of my greatest fears in the kitchen: baking bread and making risotto. I've added yeast, arborio rice and more to my pantry staples. But it never occurred to me to use miso in a dessert. That's what Nik Sharma does in the addictively readable The Flavor Equation (Chronicle, $35) with Chocolate Miso Bread Pudding. Sharma approaches cooking as a science ("Emotion + Sight + Sound + Aroma + Mouthfeel + Taste = Flavor") and divides the 100 recipes accordingly. (Cream cheese and crème fraîche give Crab Tikka Masala its "rich mouthfeel.") Because Sharma also worked as a food stylist and photographer, the visuals are showstoppers.
If Sharma pushes home cooks to the wild side, Sam Sifton returns them to their comfort zone with See You on Sunday (Random House, $35). Yes, his aim was to gather family and friends around a weekly hearty meal, but how about dropping off a dinner for friends hunkering down at home? Sifton starts with 17 ways to make chicken, from Southern U.S. to Italian to Chinese preparations; then pulled pork and duck. Nothing goes to waste: fat from the duck may be used in chicken prep or scrambled eggs; chicken bones yield rich broth. Rice and bean dishes may be main courses or fabulous side dishes, and roasted vegetables await. I am working myself up to conquer my last fear: pie dough from scratch. Sifton makes it look so easy. --Jennifer M. Brown, senior editor