Cookbooks

In this extraordinarily intimate portrait of her mother--and herself--Fanny Singer, daughter of food icon and activist Alice Waters, chronicles a unique world of food, wine, and travel; a world filled with colorful characters, mouth-watering traditions, and sumptuous feasts. Across dozens of vignettes with accompanying recipes, she shares the story of her own culinary coming of age and reveals a side of her legendary mother that has never been seen before. A charming, smart translation of Alice Waters's ideals and attitudes about food for a new generation, Always Home is a loving, often funny, unsentimental, and exquisitely written look at a life defined in so many ways by food, as well as the bond between mother and daughter.

Sandy: This book is perfect for a foodie in your life - maybe you! Most lovers of food know of the Berkeley chef Alice Waters who almost literally created the restaurant farm-to-table movement with her unalterable insistence on fresh-grown and sourced ingredients.  Not only is her restaurant Chez Panisse famous, she’s created educational gardening programs for schools across the country and penned and cooked her way to over a dozen cookbooks. This is her story seen through the eyes of her only child, Fanny.  It is tender but true, and packed with recipes and art-worthy photographs. I loved it - and you and your foodie will too. The perfect WOW gift.

Swaddled in dish towels and set inside a huge salad bowl, newborn Singer (co-author, with Waters: My Pantry, 2015) was a regular visitor at Chez Panisse, her mother’s famed Berkeley restaurant, while Waters conferred with the manager or tasted dishes. “I don’t remember this, of course,” Singer writes, “but I feel like my disproportionate love of salad might have something to do with my early kitchen cribs.” Singer’s charming narrative, interwoven with Lacombe’s painterly black-and-white photographs, bursts with sensuous descriptions of tastes, fragrances, and textures as she recounts her “very rich and full and just a little bit unconventional” young life. Her remarkable school lunches featured greens with vinaigrette, kiwi in orange juice, and garlic toast that her classmates coveted. At home, even breakfast was transcendent: “a perfectly soft-boiled blue Araucana egg, with a marigold-hued liquid center into which I would delight in plunging buttered toast ‘soldiers.’” Instructions for making this dish, along with 59 other recipes—her mother’s garlicky noodle soup, her grandfather’s special pancakes, and, not surprisingly, several salads—add delectable details to the colorful narrative. Singer’s culinary adventures with her parents took her to the south of France as well as on a research trip of France’s great restaurants and wineries and because neither parent spoke French, Singer, who went to a bilingual French school, served as official interpreter at age 9. Waters, who has been the subject of much media attention and multiple books, including her own memoir, Coming to My Senses (2017), is lovingly portrayed throughout Singer’s book.

Cook up some fun with American Girl Cooking--the perfect cookbook for the emerging chef (and American Girl fan) in your family. Packed with great, easy-to-follow recipes fit for any occasion, this new title will inspire young cooks to get in the kitchen and create delicious, wholesome dishes and give a great sense of accomplishment.

Being able to cook good food is a skill you'll enjoy and benefit from your entire life. With this book as your very own cooking coach, learn how to make tasty and nutritious snacks, soups, salads, main dishes, and more to share with your friends and family.

Snacks: From caprese kebabs to lemony hummus to hot cheese dip, these recipes are perfect for sharing and satisfying between-meal cravings.

Soups & Salads: Featuring comforting favorites like chicken noodle soup and creamy tomato soup with cheese toasts and lighter fare like taco and BLT salads, there's something here for everyone.

Main Dishes: A wide range of impressive-yet-easy dinners, such as rosemary roast chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, and fish tacos with slaw, are both nourishing and delectable.

Side Dishes: Buttery peas with mint, creamiest mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, cheesy garlic bread, and more round out any meal.

American Girl Cooking goes with the exclusive line of cookware products from Williams-Sonoma and American Girl, but these delicious recipes can also be made with the utensils you already have in your home. This companion title to American Girl Baking will be a staple in the kitchen for your little chef.

During the holidays, there's no more cozy way to spend an afternoon than in the kitchen baking treats for your family and friends! And with more than 50 enticing recipes for sweet treats to mark the season, American Girl Holiday Baking is the perfect inspiration for young chefs everywhere.

From mouthwatering Thanksgiving pies to spectacular Christmas cookies, winter-themed cupcakes, chocolate candies, and nut brittles, there's a special treat to celebrate every occasion during the winter season. In these colorful pages, aspiring young chefs will find fantastic ideas for home-baked gifts that are perfect for sharing, plus decorating tips, packaging ideas, and super-fun ways to be creative--while filling the home with the wonderful aromas of holiday baking.

Sample recipes include:
Snowy Gingerbread Trees
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Peppermint Swirl Macarons
Pumpkin-Spice Snickerdoodles
Cinnamon-Swirl Apple Pie
Chocolate-Raspberry Tartlets
Holiday Star Tart
Snowflake Cupcakes
Sticky Toffee Puddings
Sugar-and-Spice Popovers
Candy Cane Bark
Chocolate Walnut Toffee

In addition to essential baking tips and safety knowhow, discover fun skills like piping and flooding icing, transforming sugar cookies into ornaments, frosting cakes, and rolling dough like a pro. The recipes can be made with everyday cookware and kitchen utensils.

Whether you want to make spectacular cookies for a cookie exchange party, seasonal cakes and tarts for a special dessert, or homemade candies and confections for gifts, this beautifully photographed collection of recipes will become a new holiday treasure and tradition.

Start with delicious Dukes Cosmopolitans made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus Jalapeño Cheddar Crackers that everyone will devour. Lunches include Hot Smoked Salmon, Lobster & Potato Salad, and Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, all featuring old-fashioned flavors with the volume turned up. Elegant Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise and show-stopping Seared Scallops & Potato Celery Root Purée are just two of the many fabulous dinner recipes. And your guests will always remember the desserts, from Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze to Salted Caramel Brownies.

For Ina, "foolproof" means more than just making one dish successfully; it's also about planning a menu, including coordinating everything so it all gets to the table at the same time. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, Ina shows you how to make a game plan so everything is served hot while you keep your cool. There are notes throughout detailing where a recipe can go wrong to keep you on track, plus tips for making recipes in advance. It's as though Ina is there in the kitchen with you guiding you every step of the way.

With 150 gorgeous color photographs and Ina's invaluable tips, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof is a stunning yet infinitely practical cookbook that home cooks will turn to again and again.

I love Ina’s books as gifts because the recipient WILL succeed with her recipes. No chance a new cook will fret “I’m no good at cooking or entertaining, I won’t do this again any time soon!” Ina is FOOLPROOF and these recipes are perfect for anyone not wanting to experiment -- but to make great food for sure, whether for a gathering or a Wednesday night. - Sandy

In Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? Ina proves once again that it doesn't take complicated techniques, special equipment, or stops at more than one grocery store to make wonderful dishes for your family and friends. Her newest must-have cookbook is all about saving time and avoiding stress while having fun in the kitchen.

These are not recipes with three ingredients thrown together in five minutes; instead home cooks will find fantastic Barefoot Contessa recipes that are easy to make but still have all that deep, delicious flavor Ina is known for--and that makes a meal so satisfying. Think Pink Grapefruit Margaritas served with Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs--two classics with a twist. For lunch, Ina makes everyone's favorite Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwich and Snap Peas with Pancetta. For dinner, try Jeffrey's Roast Chicken (tried and true!); Steakhouse Steaks, which come out perfectly every time and--with Ina's easy tip--couldn't be simpler; or an Easy Parmesan "Risotto" that you throw in the oven instead of stirring endlessly on the stovetop. Finally, Ina's desserts never disappoint--from Red Velvet Cupcakes to Chocolate Pudding Cream Tart.

To top it all off, Ina also shares her best tips for making cooking really easy. She leaves bowls of lemons and limes on the counter not only because they look great but because they also remind her that a squeeze of lemon in a dish brightens the flavors. She shows us the equipment that makes a difference to her--like sharp knives, the right zester, an extra bowl for her electric mixer--and that can help you in your kitchen, too.

Filled with 225 gorgeous full-color photographs, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? is the perfect kitchen companion for busy home cooks who still want fabulous flavor.

Sandy: This cookbook is perfect for right now, whether you're having a few over for gathering as we're allowed during this coronovirus era, or just making great food - easily! I mean, if you're making a sandwich - why not make her tuna & hummus version? All you need is tuna (in olive oil please), celery, onion, a lemon, mayo and dijon. Pickles or cornichon if you have it, and salt and pepper - duh.  She uses store-bought hummus (all praise INA) but gives a recipe for it in case you have chickpeas and tahini on hand. Our Ina does value yummy breads, but use what you have ya know?  For our Cooking Demonstration on this cookbook we served to y'all Ina's Chunky Blue Cheese & Yogurt Dip, Roasted Rosemary Nuts, Jeffrey's Roast Chicken, Ultimate Grilled Cheese and Old Fashioned Banana Cake.  I promise - you'll dog-ear every page.