Every review, gift guide, and media mention means a lot to a cookbook author. Even with such a long schedule — most of the recipes in my book have only been tweaked in minor ways since last February — it’s impossible to forget how much work went into creating the book and then to see someone take the time to read it, cook from it, and write about it or talk to me about is a truly rewarding experience.
I have a full list of the equally-appreciated media mentions for The Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook over on beercookbook.ca, but I’d like to draw attention to one with this post. I was particularly honoured to be included in Chris Nuttall-Smith’s “Twenty cookbooks that will inspire greatness” both because I respect Chris as a critic and because so many of the other books on the list are by authors that I hold in very high esteem. I’m not just reading from a script when I say that it is a pleasure to be included in their company.
Print the list or clip it from the paper and head into your local bookstore. Chris is right that that is very much part of the whole cookbook experience.
I hope by now you have all seen me share links for finding The Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook online from Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, and Indiebound. Below I’ve compiled a list of a handful of the other books on the list that I’ve had a chance to cook from, flip through, or otherwise have something intelligent to say. Again, head over the Globe site for the full list.
- Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop – Amazon - Another book (more memoir with recipes than cookbook) by Ms. Dunlop, Sharks Fin and Sichuan Pepper is a well-thumbed favourite of mine, so I’ll want to add Every Grain of Rice to the collection.
- Pimentos and Piri Piri: Portuguese Comfort Cooking by Carla Azevedo - Amazon - This title is also published by Whitecap Books (my publisher) and after taking a fairly thorough flip-tour through it this week, I look forward to reading it in more depth.
- At Home with Lynn Crawford by Chef Lynn Crawford - Amazon - I had the chance to cook beside Chef Lynn at an event The Stop hosted earlier this year and her friendly, out-sized personality alone was enough to sell me on taking this one for a spin in the near future.
- Eat by Nigel Slater - Amazon - To my great shame I don’t own any of Nigel Slater’s cookbooks. Yet. This is now at the top of my list.
- Maximum Flavor by Aki Kamozawa and Alexander H. Talbot - Amazon - Their first book, Ideas in Food is one of my favourites and most-used cookbooks. I’ve made the shrimp and grits recipe from Maximum Flavor that uses a pressure cooker and it was delicious and eye-opening.
- Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird by Gabriel Rucker, Meredith Erickson, Lauren Fortgang and Andrew Fortgang - Amazon - Not the first positive mention for Le Pigeon that has crossed my radar and chapters devoted to foie and rabbit make me think that this cookbook will be right up my alley.
- In The Charcuterie by Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller - Amazon - I haven’t found a charcuterie book that can stand up to Ruhlman’s category-creating Charcuterie, but I’m happy to put this one to the challenge.
