There’s a little bit of everything in Afri-Cali. You’ll find dishes like a Nigerian-style kale stew thickened with egusi (ground melon seeds), braised pork tacos flavored with Ethiopian berbere spice mix, a version of French classic pommes Anna kicked up with cheese and chile peppers, and a sticky toffee pudding inspired by South African favorite malva pudding.

It’s a tribute to the global influences of author Kiano Moju, who grew up in Oakland, California, with a Kenyan mother and Nigerian father, then went to college in London. My favorite recipe so far is the spatchcocked roast chicken with poisson sauce, a spiced-and-spicy mix of butter, garlic, ginger, chile powder, and lemon. Hold onto the extra sauce to pour it over veggies! 

— Jason Horn, Senior Update Commerce Editor 

Tyler Florence’s new cookbook makes the case for grilling just about anything. There’s spinach artichoke dip, pineapple pizza, and even tres leches cake. It’s all guided by the idea that your “grill is an oven,” as Florence writes in the introduction. While nearly all of the book’s 150 recipes include a stint over flames, Florence also enlists cast iron, cooling racks, and cake pans to make the most of your charcoal or gas grill.

Grilling purists needn’t fear: There are plenty of meaty mains like the Grilled Tomahawk Rib-Eye from Florence’s San Francisco steakhouse Miller & Lux, and a homemade “double-double” to rival In-N-Out’s. You can also expect pro tips from the veteran chef and Food Network host, like using the grill’s direct heat to reverse-sear bone-in chicken.

— Audrey Morgan, Associate Food Editor

As the daughter of an immigrant – my dad came to the U.S. from Japan as a teen in the 1950s – I’ve always had a blended pantry. The soy sauce was as indispensable as the butter and olive oil, and both ketchup and furikake were on the table for squirting or sprinkling on white rice or scrambled eggs. So it was with a sense of joyful recognition that I welcomed Khushbu Shah’s Amrikan to my kitchen bookshelf.

Shah’s exuberant cookbook embraces all of the staples of the Indian American pantry — peanut butter is pals with ghee, Bisquick shares self space with dal — and delivers to readers delicious, crowd-pleasing recipes that run the gamut from a saag paneer lasagna to a jiggly, juicy mango pie. Each one, in Shah’s words, is “neither fully Indian nor fully American in their origins but delicious culinary innovations entirely unique to this diaspora.” It’s a deeply satisfying and imaginative cookbook — and one I’m looking forward to cooking from for years to come. 

— Karen Shimizu, Executive Editor

These days many bartenders think like chefs — and like the best chefs, the best bartenders care about quality ingredients. That’s the idea behind this new release from New York City bar veteran Jim Meehan, with help from designer Bart Sasso and journalist Emma Janzen. The book is divided into non-alcoholic ingredient “families” that include sugar; spices; dairy; nuts and grains; veggies, flowers, and herbs; fruit; coffee; tea; soda; and ferments. Each chapter includes tips on ethical sourcing, storage, and preparation, plus plenty of recipes.

These include ingredients for your own pantry like Lior Lev Sercarz’s Bloody Mary spice blend and chef Wylie Dufresne’s “corn water,” as well as cocktails. While Meehan contributed drinks like a Masala Chai Milk Punch, he also turned to legendary peers like Don Lee, Lynette Marrero, and Masahiro “Masa” Urushido for the wide-ranging collection.

— AM

I wasn’t quite sure how a book might capture the playful yet approachable essence of Big Night, an entertaining-focused brand with two highly Instagrammable shops in New York City. But every page of Katherine Lewin’s debut is full of recipes for dishes I’d actually make, for guests as well as myself. Inside, you’ll find dishes like Tahini Hot Fudge Sundaes; Crunchy, Creamy Buttermilk Slaw; and Green Onion Dip.

But the real draw is the way Lewin’s voice shines through in her friendly reassurance that you can set an un-stuffy table, finally figure out which amaro you actually like, and even host Thanksgiving. In a world where seemingly everyone has thoughts on how to host, Big Night’s actually feels achievable. 

— Oset Babur-Winter, Senior Drinks Editor

I’ll be the first to admit I tend to skim cookbook introductions. However, Camille Beccera’s immediately grabbed my attention. She ends the intro to her debut cookbook with her four tenets of cooking: “Cooking is sensorial, eating is intuitive, be responsible in your sourcing, and adventure is essential.” Every recipe not only meets these tenets, but her recipes, informed by over 20 years in the restaurant industry, are not overshadowed by her commitment to approachability and being a champion for home cooks.

There are elements of playfulness, like her “Hippie Sandwich,” a foundational recipe for a veggie sandwich. There are also unexpected combinations like the Lavender-Salt Cured Salmon and Avocado Toast recipe, which spoke to my California girl soul and piqued my culinary curiosity. If you’re in a cookbook fog, this book is just what you need to brighten your collection.

— Andee Gosnell, Assistant Food Editor

Put plainly, Nini Nguyen (who you may know from several seasons of Bravo’sTop Chef) makes cooking really, really fun. With her much-anticipated debut cookbook, Nguyen celebrates and perfectly marries her Vietnamese and New Orleans roots by pushing flavors from both sides to the absolute maximum. First on my list for this summer? Crispy Fish Sauce–Caramel Chicken Wings. I’ll let you know when I’ve finally stepped up my pho game, too. 

— OBW

I’m the first to admit that I’m a better cook than a baker. Still, having devoured many a sandwich on impeccably baked focaccia at Ciao, Gloria, a charming Italian-American café in Brooklyn, I knew Dolci, the first cookbook from owner Renato Poliafito, was one to get my hands on. Aside from the tantalizing recipes for tortas, cannoli, and butter cookies, I’m especially excited by this book’s surprising, tidy little drinks section, which features dessert-friendly recipes like a Caffé Nocino Shakerato and Amaro Root Beer Float. The hidden gem? Bomba Calabrese Mayonnaise, which takes minutes to make, and is about to take your fries, sandwiches, and frittatas to the next level.

— OBW

When I learned about the release of Grillo’s new cookbook, an audible “Eeep!” sound escaped from my mouth. I’m a pickle snob, so my list of go-to pickle brands has dwindled to a select few; Grillo’s is one of them. This book is a love letter to pickles in the form of 100 recipes. Raphael Jacob Khutorsky (Chef Raph) shows us their potential beyond a crisp side or burger topping. The book’s many pickle projects include best practices for making homemade pickles and restaurant-worthy dishes like a tangy pickle aguachile. Also, who wouldn’t want to clink glasses with a signature Grillo’s Martini? Fellow pickle lovers, it’s our time to shine. 

— AG

For those who aren’t lucky enough to visit Edy’s Grocer in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, proprietor Edy Massih has channeled the vibrant, inviting atmosphere into a colorful new cookbook. Massih was born and raised in Anfeh, Lebanon, but as he warns in the introduction, “I’m not your Lebanese grandmother (I’m Edy!), so don’t be surprised when you see fresh spins on Middle Eastern classics.”

These include all the mezze — think dukkah-topped hummus and marinated feta — and inspired lunch and dinner party ideas like a Tahini Caesar Salad and a twist on his grandmother’s Riz a Dedj, a fragrant Lebanese chicken-and-rice dish. There’s also a rosewater-heavy dessert section, and plenty of drinks to wash everything down, from four takes on lemonade (inspired by Edy’s summer lemonade stand) to a Spicy Sumac Margarita. Basically, your summer cookout spread is sorted.

— AM

I didn’t grow up eating many salads, or really any raw vegetables, but when I worked at EatingWell, I learned the beauty of a really well-made salad. From the texture of the greens to the crunchy toppings and complex dressing, the anatomy of a good salad is an art. When I first picked up The Salad Lab from Darlene Schriver, I thought, “It’s just another salad book from an influencer.” But this is a great book for those that are ready to go beyond basic salads (though there are recipes for those, too) and get into all the salads. Potato salads, citrus salads, chicken salads…you can satisfy anyone with one of these recipes. 

— Breana Killeen, Senior Food Editor

When you hear that Steve Hoffman is a middle-aged tax preparer who lives in Minnesota and considers himself something of a Francophilic oenophile, you could be forgiven for rolling your eyes juuuuuust a tad that such a fella has written a memoir. But then you’d be depriving yourself of the reality of the man and his literary gifts, which garnered him the M.F.K. Fisher Award Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2019.

Hoffman himself had decades of preconceived, romantic notions about what it meant to live in France — until he convinced his wife and two children to upend their lives and move to the small, southern village of Autignac where nothing was as he’d imagined. This is a lyrical, luscious, unexpected chronicle of what happens when a person decides to rewrite their own narrative, free themselves from expectation and ego, and find community and pleasure in a place so different than they’d dreamed.

— Kat Kinsman, Executive Features Editor