McSweeney's Launches Cookbook Imprint

The David Chang journal and app that was announced last week is just the first of a new imprint literary publisher McSweeney’s Books is launching later this spring. Inspired by the very encouraging response to the food section in a one-off newspaper prototype McSweeney’s published in December 2009, McSweeney’s co-publisher Chris Ying has created an imprint for cookbooks.

Cooking the Books with Gabrielle Hamilton

In Blood, Bones, and Butter (Random, March), chef Gabrielle Hamilton recounts her meandering life and gives foodies a dose of tough love. Here, we share an expanded version of the Q&A that appeared in the February 7, 2011, issue of PW.

Recipe Report: Snickerdoodles

I admit that I lowered my expectations a little for these snickerdoodles from BabyCakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna (Clarkson Potter, Apr.), thinking they might be good for gluten-free vegan cookies, but that they wouldn't compare to "regular" cookies. I was surprised by how wrong I was.

Short Order: January 24, 2011

Survey Suggests E-Cookbooks Have a Ways to Go; Lee Stern Out at B&N; Mendelsohn Signs 'Good Stuff' in N.J.; An App for ‘What to Drink with What You Eat’

Cooking the Books with Anna Boiardi

Anna Boiardi's family founded Chef Boyardee more than 70 years ago, spelling their name phonetically to help Americans pronounce it. Now, Boiardi teaches cooking classes and has written Delicious Memories, which Stewart, Tabori & Chang will publish in May.

Review: 'Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian'

Hardly a newcomer to the vegetable-centric category, British author Elliot has been dishing up meatless recipes for decades. There's nothing fancy or extraordinary in her latest book, but it's a helpful reference that will serve most vegetarians well.

Hesser, Garten, and Greenspan Lead Holiday Cookbook Sales

Independent booksellers and chains alike reported strong holiday gains last week. While cookbooks generally did not make headlines—the bestsellers for the big six publishers were mostly hardcover fiction and memoir—cookbooks did well for many retailers this holiday season.

Short Order: January 10, 2011

A round-up of cookbook news from around the Web: Univ. of Texas Launches Blog for Recipes from Cookbook Collection; Hesser and Batali to Dish in NYC; Stewart, Tabori & Chang Gets More Good Eats; What to Make for the Apocalypse; Laurie David: Your New Year's Resolution?

Cooking the Books with Jessica Harper

Jessica Harper may not totally hate cooking, but there are many nights where she is just not feeling it--especially since her hungry family consists of some pretty picky eaters. She realized she wasn't alone in her crabbiness, and promises that her new book, The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes Plus Survival Tips (Workman, Feb.), will help crabby cooks everywhere come up with something to make for dinner tonight that won't take long and will please most anyone.

Outlook: What's Ahead for Cookbooks in 2011

As always, this January brings a flood of books on cozy foods like soup and stews, along with guides to eating healthier. But once you get past the first month of the year, 2011 promises some stellar cookbooks, including chefs' memoirs, arty takes on recipe writing, and smart guides to cooking seasonally.

Recipe Report: Carnival Cookies

If, like me, you've had your fill of butter cookies, cheesecake, and other decadent holiday desserts, these cookies from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day (Ten Speed, Apr.) are a welcome respite. It helps if you think of them more as granola bars in cookie form, since their ingredients are not exactly your typical cookie ingredients.

Authors on the Air: Melissa Clark, Rosetta Costantino, Molly O'Neill

On The Martha Stewart Show today, Melissa Clark, author of In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite (Hyperion, ISBN 978-1401323769), gives tips on making fruitcake; and Rosetta Costantino, author of My Calabria (Norton, ISBN 978-0393065169), makes whimsical Italian cakes filled with pastry cream.

Recipe Report: Spiced and Creamed Carrots

I served this side dish from Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch by Nigel Slater (Ten Speed, April) to some dinner guests, and it got rave reviews. It was like nothing any of us had tasted before, and at first glance might be mistaken for one of those cold, raw, ascetic carrot salads. It was anything but.

Review: Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers

Scones for two? A batch of eight cookies? Three brownies hot out of the oven? These tiny yields are the norm for recipes in Debby Maugans's second Small-Batch Baking title. "Scaled back to manageable proportions," recipes produce handfuls of baked goods, ideal for the single person, those counting calories, or must-eat-fresh-out-of-the-oven die-hard bakers.

Our Favorite Cookbook Stories of 2010

For a recap of 2010 in publishing, you can read literary agent Richard Curtis's annual end-of-the-year poem, which ran in PW last week. But if it's cookbooks you're interested in, check out this hit list of some of our favorite cookbook-related stories from 2010, along with follow-up addendums giving an update to what's happened since we covered the story.

Cooking the Books with Grant Achatz

Life, On the Line is a memoir by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, founders of the Chicago restaurant Alinea, which in 2006 was named the best restaurant in America by Gourmet. The book covers Achatz's rise to fame, from culinary school to working under Thomas Keller at The French Laundry to opening Alinea. It also discusses his ordeal with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma--tongue cancer.

Recipe: Schnapp, Crackle, & Pop

Recipe: Yale College Punch

Recipe: Kir Imperiale

Recipe: Chandon Brut Mojito