In an age when recipes are just a click or scroll away, printed cookbooks continue to hold a special place in home kitchens. Each year, hundreds of new titles are published, offering trusted guidance, inspiration, and the joy of cooking from the page.
The following titles were selected as the best cookbooks of the year by the editors of NYTimes Cooking and the New York Times Food Desk, who read and tested dozens of standout contenders. Spanning a wide range of global cuisines, these acclaimed cookbooks are all available at the Livingston Public Library. Borrow one to explore a new culinary tradition, discover fresh flavors, or sharpen your cooking skills in the year ahead.
Boustany : A Celebration of Vegetables From My Palestine by Sami Tamimi
This is a vibrant celebration of Palestinian and Middle Eastern vegetable-forward cooking. Drawing on the traditions of his homeland, Tamimi shares more than 100 recipes that highlight fresh produce, bold spices, and generous flavors, from hearty mezze and salads to comforting mains and breads. The book emphasizes seasonality, simplicity, and the joy of sharing food, offering both traditional dishes and modern interpretations that showcase how vegetables take center stage in Middle Eastern cuisine.
By Heart : Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano
Inspired by her professional training and love of seasonal cooking, Hailee includes details on how to keep a calm kitchen, navigate a farmers market, make your own broths and the perfect sourdough loaf, and plan out a Friday Night Dinner menu.
Chop Chop : Cooking the Food of Nigeria by Ozoz Sukoh
Author, culinary anthropologist, and Nigerian native Sokoh celebrates classic and traditional Nigerian cuisine, through the lens of the home cooks with explanations to underscore the ingredients, flavors, and textures that make it not only beloved but delicious. With headnotes that give cultural and historical context, illuminating sidebars, ingredient profiles, and stunning photographs, this book will bring Nigeria’s food-loving spirit to home kitchens everywhere.
Curry: Recipes From Indian Home Kitchens (On order) by Maunika Gowardhan
Full of insights into the origins and the variety that make these curries truly special, this book is a definitive guide to eating your way across India’s incredible flavours. Thanks to their own crops, culture and traditions, each Indian state has distinct differences in the curries they create. From the aromas of the Himalayan region in the North to the fiery tastes of the South, the recipes in Curry bring the essence of each region into your kitchen.
Dobre Dobre : Baking from Poland and Beyond by Laurel Kratochvila
This masterful exploration of Polish baking combines vivid storytelling with over 120 recipes that range from sweet to savory, classic to contemporary, and from deep within the Polish heartland to the outer reaches of the diaspora. Discover breads, bialys, cheesecakes, donuts, Danishes, meringues and more that win the coveted praise: Dobre, dobre, nie za słodkie.
Family Thai : Bringing the Flavors of Thailand Home by Arnold Myint
Arnold demystifies Thai cooking with an approachable, step-by-step guide for home cooks. Starting with pantry basics and essential techniques, he moves on to vibrant Thai street food, classic noodle dishes, personal creations inspired by Nashville and global travels, and beloved family recipes—bringing the bold flavors of Thailand within easy reach.
Fat + Flour : The Art of a Simple Bake by Nicole Rucker
Fat + Flour is a celebration of the delights that abound when these two simple ingredients come together. Famed for her rustic desserts, homespun pies, and unique flavor combinations, Nicole Rucker is revered as one of America’s best bakers, and in this baking bible she shares the accessible, unfussy recipes that made her name.
Fusão : Untraditional Recipes Inspired by Brasil by Ixta Belfrage
Fusão—Portuguese for “fusion”—reflects bestselling author Ixta Belfrage’s Brazilian-English heritage and the rich mix that defines Brazilian cuisine. Blending indigenous, Portuguese, West African, and immigrant influences, the book captures Brazil’s vibrant food culture through imaginative recipes, personal stories, and stunning travel photography, offering a flavorful glimpse of a vast and unforgettable country.
Gursha : Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, From Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem, and Beyond by Beejhy Barhany
This is a hybrid cookbook and memoir that intertwines personal history with more than 100 recipes drawn from the author’s life and cultural heritage. The title comes from the Amharic word gursha, meaning a “mouthful” and the Ethiopian tradition of feeding loved ones by hand—a theme of hospitality and community that runs throughout the book. Alongside essays about family, culture, rituals, and the Ethiopian Jewish experience, the book presents accessible modern recipes rooted in Ethiopian, Israeli, and diasporic traditions—ranging from classics like doro wot and shakshuka to inventive dishes like injera fish tacos and Sudanese legamat.
The King Cookbook by Clare De Boer
A stunning collection of simple and elegant seasonal recipes from the beloved New York restaurant, King. Focused on seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking, the book blends European traditions—especially French and Italian—with a distinctly modern, minimalist sensibility. Rather than restaurant replicas, the recipes are designed for home cooks, emphasizing simplicity, balance, and technique over complexity.
Recipes from the American South by Michael W. Twitty
This book journeys from the Louisiana Bayou to the Chesapeake Bay, showcasing more than 260 of the region’s most beloved dishes. Across more than 400 pages, Twitty explores the broad culinary sweep that Southern history and its many cultures represent. Recipes for breads and biscuits, mains and sides, stews, sauces, and sweets feature insightful headnotes and clear, step-by-step instructions. Home cooks will discover both iconic dishes and lesser-known specialties.
Salt Sugar MSG : Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home by Calvin Eng
From the chef behind the groundbreaking Brooklyn restaurant Bonnie’s comes 100 recipes that showcase his unique style of Chinese home cooking, a mashup of Americana and Cantonese classics, inspired by the flavors of his childhood. Though he was often embarrassed by aspects of his heritage growing up, Calvin eventually embraced his upbringing-and his mom-as a primary source of inspiration, and even named his restaurant after her. This cookbook offers an introduction to Cantonese cooking through an American lens, drawing a thread from his mother’s cooking to what he cooks for his own family today.
Six Seasons of Pasta : A New Way with Everyone’s Favorite Food by Joshua McFadden
McFadden teaches home cooks how to use store bought dried pasta to create seasonal, restaurant-quality dishes at home. Organized from early spring through late winter, the book pairs fresh, vegetable-forward ingredients with inventive pasta dishes that highlight peak flavors year-round. Blending Italian tradition with modern technique, McFadden emphasizes simplicity, balance, and produce-driven creativity, offering a fresh, flexible approach to one of the world’s most beloved foods.
Turtle Island : Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman
Three-time James Beard Award–winning Oglala Lakota chef Sherman—offers a vibrant exploration of Indigenous foodways across North America. Featuring 150+ ancestral and contemporary recipes organized by region, the book celebrates seasonal, plant-forward cooking, nose-to-tail traditions, and the deep cultural connections between food, land, and community. Blending recipes with powerful stories of Indigenous chefs and leaders, the book shows how Native food traditions nourish both body and spirit while offering lessons in sustainability, resilience, and respect for the natural world.
—Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian