My Go-To Cookbooks

  This book was a James Beard Foundation Book of the Year. Author Diana Kennedy is considered the quintessential authority in food from the region of Oaxaca. One of my favorite recipes from this book is Guisado de pollo o caldo quisado (Tehuantepec Chicken Stew).  From the book jacket: No one has done more to

  The majority of this narration is from the cookbook’s jacket. Chef Chris Shepherd, a citizen of Houston, has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious James Beard Award and Best Chef: Southwest. He has also been recognized as one of the “10 Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine and has multiple nominations

  Marcela is no longer on the Food Network, but when she was, I would not miss one of her shows. I have a few of her cookbooks, but I thought I would feature this one for those just getting started cooking Mexican cuisine and, really, even those who are already into it. I had

  If you grew up in Tampa and, especially if you were of Spanish, Italian or Cuban decent, you knew who Clarita was and almost every Latino home had a copy of her book. While my recipes differ from hers in some ways, I got many of my inspirations from her book; dishes such as

  My sister gave me this book many years ago and I have learned a lot from reading Ms. Casas’ stories and recipes. Some of her recipes I have followed exactly, but most of the time I change a few things and maybe add new ingredients. If you are interested in cooking Spanish foods, this

Bouchon is a cookbook by Thomas Keller, one of the most renowned chefs in America if not the world. I own three of his books and I have learned a lot of techniques and a lot of knowledge about bistro cooking. I am not much of a baker, but my all time favorite dessert to

Recently we were at my son’s house for dinner where he and his boyfriend cooked us an exceptional, authentic Korean dinner. It made me want to go back to one of my favorite cookbooks authored by a first generation Korean-American.  Edward Lee’s book, Smoke & Pickles combines his Korean heritage with his current culture in

This is one of my favorite cookbooks, by award winning author Samin Nosrat (www.saltfatacidheat.com),  that probably has the least amount of recipes from most of my other cookbooks, but one of the most interesting reads of any cookbook that I have read. The four words in the title is how the author takes you through

I have a huge collection of cookbooks and my wife often asks why so many and why don’t I cook more recipes from the cookbooks I own. I consider it a bonus if I find at least one recipe in a cookbook that I will repeat over and over again because it is not only

I love this book not only for some of some great Spanish and Cuban dishes but also for it’s history. It’s also a part of my growing up in my hometown of Tampa, Florida. “Out of secrets and dreams and romance, Adela Hernandez Gonsmart and Ferdie Pacheco re-create their passion for the Columbia in this