Cookbooks, Children's Books And A Feel-Good TV Show
The best things I read and watched in 2024
Welcome to this week’s CulinaryWoman Newsletter! Hello to new subscribers and thank you to returning readers.
This week, I’m continuing a three-part series with my favorites of the year. The links in this article take you to Bookshop.org, which distributes sales across a range of independent bookstores. You can find my own curated bookshop here. Also, consider ordering from your favorite local store. Even if you don’t want to brave the shopping crowds, many of them can ship your purchases.
Diaspora titles
This year, we saw a number of writers tackle the food of their ancestors.
Amrikan: 125 Recipes From the Indian-American Diaspora by Khushbu Shah started with the roots of Indian cooking, but then offered delicious takes on dishes like lasagne and snacks.
Second Generation: Hungarian And Jewish Classics Reimagined For The Modern Table by Jeremy Salamon. The Brooklyn restaurant owner updates some of his grandmothers’ cooking for today’s kitchens.
Vegetarian cuisine
Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking by Joe Yonan puts meatless dishes at the center of the table, rather than relegating them to sides. You’ll be inspired by the beautiful photography and get some great ideas.
New riffs on Italian food
Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes For Saucy People by Dan Pashman. The host of the popular Sporkful podcastIt offers innovative ways to use a basic ingredient, including pizza.
Italian Snacking: Savory and Sweet Recipes For Every Hour of the Day, by Anna Francese Gass looks at all kind of small treats, from morning coffee, to an afternoon break to desserts.
Easy Instruction
What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilites from Julia Tershen began during the pandemic. Julia, who’s a visual learner, found that her way of mixing up recipes via charts appealed to a wide audience.
For the little ones
The Parisian ABCs, by Emily Gaudichon, is an absolutely charming book that takes familiar aspects of Paris that little ones and grown-ups alike will love. (Available in the U.S. from The French Wink.) Keep an eye out for Emily on next week’s list, too.
The Life-Changing Magic of Baking: A Beginners Guide from Joy Wilson is a lovely guidebook to teach kids the basics of baking. (It’s useful for adults as well.)
And the memoir of the year
Be Ready When The Luck Happens, by Ina Garten. The beloved Barefoot Contessa and doyen of East Hampton made headlines with her memoir, an instant best-seller. People gasped to read that she and Jeffrey hit the marital rocks, albeit briefly, and wondered about her alleged feud with Martha Stewart. There’s plenty of good business advice, too.
Much Needed Visual Escapes
For many people, cooking shows are an instructional tool. For others, they’re comfort TV.
Be My Guest with Ina Garten (Food Network). In her memoir, Ina explained that she wanted to switch up the format of her television program. This version, now in its fifth season, features Ina with a well-known guest, for whom she cooks, who cooks with her, and then joins her for a chat. This season’s highlights included Eric Ripert and Wendell Pierce.
The Great Canadian Baking Show (CBC and YouTube). Paid subscribers got my weekly reviews of CBC Baking and the Great British Bake Off on Mondays in Red Beans & Advice. This year, once again, the CBC show proved to be much more inventive than the British original. You can find many episodes on YouTube from this season (although the finale has still not popped up).
Martha (Netflix). Martha Stewart wasn’t happy with the finished version of the documentary that traced her career, which is the perfect reason to watch it. Martha, the documentary, brought back lots of memories of the years when she dominated the television, magaazine, cookbook and home decor scenes. She cooperated with this one, but it apparently cut a little too close for comfort.
Next week, I’ll wrap up my favorites for 2024 with podcasts and newsletters.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I’m having a busy end to the year!
I wrote for Time Magazine about steps that cities are taking to protect water systems against severe storms. One of the leaders in this effort is Toronto, which has been shielding its water supplies since Hurricane Hazel struck the area in the 1950s.
I was a guest on the Baking Scraps podcast talking about my career, my adventures in the food world and CBC Baking. It was so much fun!
Lions, Towers & Shields posted its holiday episode. Each panelist reviewed two films. Mine were The Shop Around The Corner and You’ve Got Mail.
I’m happy to hear from you and have you follow me on social media. Here’s where to find me.
Website: www.michelinemaynard.com
Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com
LinkedIn: MichelineMaynard
Threads and Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard
TikTok: CulinaryWoman
Tomorrow, I will return for paid subscribers with Red Beans & Advice with some gift ideas. I’ll see everyone else next week, when I’ll look at podcasts and newsletters that I enjoyed in 2024. Stay well!