About two months into my quarantine, I experienced something ofa newsensation: I couldn’t cook.
For yearsI’ve happily meal-prepped and experimented with different recipes. I’ve always lookeddown onorderingsomething from a restaurant that I can easily make myself. But suddenly, afterweeks of the same chicken and salad dinners,my limbs grew heavy when I chopped herbs or onions, and the thought of preparinganother pot of soup made me want to liquefy into a puddle on the floor.
Somehowthe collective anxiety of the pandemichad affected twoof my favorite things in the world: cooking and baking,especially doing sofor other people. (Of course, I’m aware this isa small complaint compared to thephysical and economic damage the virus has causedfor thousands of others.)After wallowing for a few days, I looked for inspiration to help combat my cooking fatigue. I poured through recently releasedcookbooks, hoping to rekindle my love through osmosis.
My curiosity piqued, Ibeganexperimenting with a new hummus recipe, which led to grilling hunks of meat and learning how to make soft caramels.As restrictionseased up a bit, Istarted sharingtreatswith friends and coworkersagain, dropping offpies and cookies on theirfront porches.
Whether you’re in a cooking rut, too, orjust looking to add new dishes to your weekday lineup,these cookbooks can help.
If You’re Looking to Cook Something New
Hot take: some of the best cookbooks are collaborative cookbooks, since chefswhocontribute recipes are often allowed a wide creative license. I also suspect they’re showing off for their peers, which is a win for the reader. , a compilation ofrecipes from 75 queer chefs across the country, is a great example. It’s filled with meals that are flavorful, comforting, and delicious. As a bonus, manyonly call for a short list of ingredients, making them perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. I particularly enjoyed the pasta puttanescaby , the tomato-based braised chicken legs by , and a malted dark-chocolate fudge pie by . Thatlast one is so rich and toothsomethat I’ve taken to motivatingmyselfwith small spoonfuls of it throughout the workday.
If You’re Sick of Your Go-To Roasted Sweet Potatoes
reads as though vegetarian author Lukas Volger is taking a tour of your kitchen, grabbing common items from the fridge and pantry—a couple of tortillas here, a head of cabbage there—and then creating recipes around those ingredients on the spot. The book is divided into 11 chapters that center on popular pantry items, such astofu, eggs, beans, and sweet potatoes. That makes it a perfect resource for easy, quarantine-friendly meals. Plus, each chapter starts with a base recipe, such as marinated greens, that you’re meant to prepare once and then use throughout the week for disheslike black bean tostadasor twice-baked potatoes. It’s a great cookbook for when you’re feeling mentally exhaustedbut still need quick and healthy dinners.
If You Panic-Bought Too Many Beans
Beans are having a —lots of us are discovering the diverse textures, flavors, and applicationsof the legumes that used to sit abandoned on dusty pantry shelves.A cookbook with 125 bean-centric recipes may seem extra, but Washington Post food columnist Joe Yonan’s unlocks the ingredient’s potential with vegetarian and vegan recipes from around the world. There’s a Georgian kidney bean stew;Mexican molletes, a kind of open-faced sandwich that Yonan pairs with shiitake bacon, feta, and arugula; and a smoky black bean and plantain chili.Recipes inspired by his peersinclude thesuper-simple Humma-Noush (a cross between hummus and baba ghanoush) from famed vegan chef , crunchy spiced roasted chickpeas from , and a coconut-cream bean pie from Chicago pastry chef . Additionally, there are plenty of culinary creationsthat call for canned beans, which is helpful during quarantine (or for those of us who always forget to soak dried beans ahead of time).
If You Want to Expand Your Baking Repertoire
So you’ve used yourtime inquarantineto finally makethat sourdough starter and—even more impressive—keep it alive for a few months. Now what? Enter , the first cookbook by blogger and recipe consultant Bryan Ford. Ford drawsinspirationfromhis Afro-Honduran heritageas well ashishometown of New Orleans for rusticbread recipes like pan de agua (water bread), plantain sourdough, and a tasty panrustico. The enrichedbreads (where eggs, sugar, milk, and/or butter areadded to the mix) are equally unique—I particularlyliked the bananas Fostersourdough, inspired by the classic dessert, which features a delicate interior swirl of caramelizedbananas. I’ll never go back to myold banana bread again.
If You’re on Your Last Tin of Anchovies
One of the best cookbooks for these times isJessica ElliottDennison’s , whichcontains elevated dishes from nine different canned foods, including coconut milk, anchovies, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Each recipe is easy to follow, requiresfewfussy ingredients, and yields dishes thatlook like something from your favorite farm-to-table restaurant. I especially love how thoughtful ElliottDennisonis with her instructions. She provides multiple ingredient substitutions for each recipeand isn’t finicky about the specifics—it’stotally fine if you use an old wine bottle to roll out the dough for the hazelnut frangipanecherry galette, orif you’re too tired to make a side to accompany her lime and coconut prawns.
If You Have Cabin Fever
There is one ridiculous aspect of , by Eric Werner with Nils Bernstein: it begins by telling the reader that the only satisfying way to cook outdoors is on a personalized, hand-welded custom grill. (Werner tells you how to make your own, if you’re itching for a summer project.)Despite its somewhat pretentious introduction, this is a great cookbook for dedicated carnivores.Outdoor Kitchenwill help you create perfectly flavored cuts ofmeat, dips, rubs, veggie dishes, and desserts, all on the grill (even a regular oldlike mine). I loved the coriander-ancho-rubbed skirt steak with gribiche on the sideand the smoky 211 margarita—just don’t repeat my mistake and make thewhole drinkrecipe forone. It serves four.