My Tried & True Cookbooks
My cookbook collection is getting slightly out of hand but I’ve made peace with it (and recently made her the star of my dining room). Some people collect shoes, some collect vinyl and I seem to collect cookbooks filled with recipes I fully intend to cook someday. I pour through them when I’m researching a recipe concept, they sit open on my counters while I cook, stacked on my nightstand when I’m winding down and occasionally they’re treated like travel guides when I’m craving a certain kind of meal or mood.
With my job, books come and go from the shelves often so this Love List is dedicated to the ones that have earned permanent shelf space. The books I return to often, cook from consistently and recommend without hesitation when someone asks where to start or what’s actually worth buying. A good cookbook should teach you something, feed you well and make you want to linger in the kitchen a little longer than you planned. Ideally, it should do all three.
Some of these helped me learn fundamental techniques when I was first figuring things out. Others pushed my palate, introduced new flavors or simply made weeknight cooking and hosting feel more exciting. A few are deeply personal, tied to heritage or memory or a specific season of life when I needed grounding and found it in the ritual of making dinner (my emotional support stack, which every kitchen should have). But they all have one thing in common: they are filled with recipes that are reliable and truly work.
If you’re looking to build a cookbook collection that actually gets used, this is a very good place to begin. These are my tried-and-true, cooked-from, sauce-splattered favorites. The ones I reach for without overthinking and the ones I know I’ll keep cooking from for years.
Big Night
by Katherine Lewin
This book feels like a chic little back-pocket guide to hosting dinner parties you actually want to throw. Katherine Lewin, founder of Big Night in NYC (a perfectly charming shop for dinner party essentials like pantry staples, serveware, and gifts), organizes the book by seasonal menus so you don’t have to overthink what to cook. Just pick a menu, text your favorite people, and get a delicious dinner on the table without stress.
By Heart
by Hailee Catalano
This cookbook is as warm and thoughtful as Hailee herself. It’s full of her take on Italian-American classics, seasonal recipes and restaurant-worthy dishes that still feel entirely doable at home and chapters that move easily from sauces and snacks to breads, pastas, mains and desserts. It’s cozy but polished, the kind of cookbook that you keep on the kitchen counter because you’re always reaching for it and repeating recipes.
Cook This Book
by Molly Baz
You’re not suppose to choose a favorite child, but there are always signs. This was the book that changed so much for me: new techniques, better seasonings, honed instincts. It taught me how to use salt properly, introduced me to new ingredients and flavor combinations and genuinely made me a more confident cook. Every recipe has hit and several are on permanent rotation in my kitchen. It’s a perfect place to start but you’ll keep coming back.
Gohan
by Emiko Davies
Emiko Davies as had my heart as a food writer for many years and while I adore her entire catalog of books, Gohan feels especially personal and special. Inspired by her Japanese heritage and the meals she grew up with, it’s filled with everyday home cooking that feels both grounding and beautiful. The writing is transportive, the design is gorgeous and it’s one of those books you cook from slowly and purposefully.
Pasta Everyday
by Meryl Feinstein
As the founder of Pasta Social Club (which fully carried me through the pandemic), Meryl created a book that makes handmade pasta feel approachable instead of intimidating. It walks you through shapes, fillings and sauces with clarity and zero fuss. Everything I’ve made has been simple to understand and deeply flavorful. She won a James Beard Award for this book in 2024 and after you cook from it, you’ll understand why!
Peináo
by Helena & Vikki Moursellas
Written by the sweetest twin sisters, Peinao is a celebration of Greek cooking designed for gathering. The recipes are rooted in tradition and shaped by their travels through Greece but with their modern perspective and a strong dinner-party energy throughout. This was one of the first cookbooks I intentionally cooked through while trying to better understand my own heritage, so it holds a very special spot on my bookshelf.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
by Samin Nosrat
Consider this essential reading it you’re teaching yourself how to cook. More textbook than traditional cookbook, it breaks everything down into four core elements (salt, fat, acid, and heat) and explains how and why behind what happens in the kitchen. It helps you cook with instinct instead of strict rules. But yes, the recipes absolutely hit and the buttermilk chicken alone has earned it’s own reputation.
Salt, Sugar, MSG
by Calvin Eng
From the chef behind Bonnie’s in Brooklyn, this cookbook feels like home, but if your trendiest cousins were in the kitchen remixing your parents classics. It’s nostalgic and playful, with big flavors and smart twists that make you want to cook straight through each chapter. the Pork and Shrimp Wontons in a Peanutty Chili Sauce and the BLT Fried Rice live in my head rent-free.
Something from Nothing
by Alison Roman
All of Alison’s books feel like modern classics but this one has a slightly different note from the others. It’s beautiful and soft in design and is built around a well-stocked pantry and the quiet confidence of making something great from what you already have in your kitchen. Perfect for weeknights, busy seasons and those “I don’t feel like going to the store” moments when you still want a great dinner.
Start Here
by Sohla El-Waylly
If culinary school isn’t in the cards, Start Here is a very strong substitute and a great place to begin when getting started in a kitchen. It is structured around technique, with over 200 recipes that build confidence and intuition as you go. Sohla blends practical advice, food science, and step-by-step visuals across both savory and sweet recipes. It’s equal parts teacher and kitchen companion.
The Bean Book
by Steve Sando
Rancho Gordo Bean Club has a cult following for a reason, and this book is the perfect companion to their beans. It covers cooking methods, techniques, flavor pairings and recipes that turn beans into soups, dips, salads and full meals. If you’ve ever joined the bean club or have a pantry filled with dried beans, start here and you’ll suddenly want beans on your menu all week.
The Cook You Want to Be
by Andy Baraghani
This cookbook invites you to explore new flavors and techniques with confidence, it’s what I reach for when I want to cook a meal that feels impressive but still grounded. Andy’s style is confident and approachable, with recipes built around fresh, seasonal ingredients and smart techniques that make flavors pop. It invites you to experiment, trust your palate and cook with more intention.
