Good Food has a tradition every December of sitting down with Celia Sack, owner of Omnivore Books in San Francisco, to discuss the best culinary tomes of the year. Trends in 2021 include Italian comfort food and regional vegan cooking. Here are her picks for the food lovers on your gift list.
Italian comfort food
Pasta
The Pasta Man: The Art of Making Spectacular Pasta
Italian American
Istria: Recipes and Stories from the Hidden Heart of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia
Gennaro’s Limoni
Let’s Eat Italy!
Vegan
The Korean Vegan
The Cajun Vegan Cookbook
The Little Pine Cookbook: Modern Plant-Based Comfort
To Asia, With Love
Last winter, Celia Sack predicted that comfort food cookbooks would remain on trend but the focus became granular, including Italian recipes and vegan global cuisine such as Joanne Lee Molinaro’s “The Korean Vegan.” Photo courtesy of Avery.
Baking
Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple
Baking for the Holidays: 50+ Treats for a Festive Season
Middle Eastern Sweets
Food history and writing
My Place at the Table: A Recipe for a Delicious Life in Paris
Black Food
At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes
The Kitchen Whisperers: Cooking with the Wisdom of Our Friends
Taming Fruit: How Orchards Have Transformed the Land, Offered Sanctuary and Inspired Creativity
Preserving
Fermentation: River Cottage Handbook No. 18
Tsukemono Recipes Cookbook
Homecooks looking for a challenge
The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need to Know
Filipinx: Heritage Recipes From the Diaspora
Under Coconut Skies: Feasts & Stories from the Philippines