‘Tis the season for giving your friends and family who are generally found in the  kitchen a fabulous new cookbook.  Isn’t it funny how you can never have too many books of any kind? We’ve broken them in to two categories — national, and local. (Click the book covers to buy them online, unless otherwise noted.)

National

Savory Bites – Meals You Can Make in Your Cupcake Pan

• Author: Hollis Wilder
• Publisher: Abrhams

Hollis Wilder — the first two-time champion of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars — re-purposes your cupcake pan with clever, mostly savory recipes with big flavors that keep us mindful about portion size. The presentations are fun and most of the recipes are easy to make ahead and/or freeze. There are especially fresh takes on brunch recipes (think fig and blue cheese tarts) and tips for getting children involved in the prep make this a fun and practical book with a unique point of view.

Smoke & Pickles – Recipes & Stories from a New Southern Kitchen

• Author: Edward Lee
• Publisher: Artisan

Chef Edward Lee is Korean-American, raised in Brooklyn, New York. Trained in classical French cooking, his cuisine at the acclaimed Louisville restaurant 610 Magnolia gained him a James Beard nomination for dishes like chicken-fried pork steak with ramen crust and buttermilk pepper gravy and the asian-inspired Miso-smothered chicken. Pickling, fermenting, frying, curing and smoking  are all techniques that reflect the multifaceted flavors and techniques employed by Lee that make for a fascinating and delicious array of 130 recipes. There are also anecdotes from the restaurant industry,  stories from the chef’s experiences in NYC and Kentucky, and details about his time competing on Top Chef. It’s a winner.

Ina Garten – Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

• Ina Garten, author
• Publisher: Random House

All of Ina Garten’s books are excellent cookbooks — some people religiously collect them. This one came out late last year, but I didn’t get it until a few months ago. It quickly became a go-to in my kitchen. It goes beyond reliable recipes and spotlights mistake-proof entertaining.  It’s more of a game plan with notes throughout detailing where things can go wrong, and works to help keep you on track.  Plus, Foolproof contains plenty of tips for making the recipes in advance and offers guidance on table settings. Included recipes span from simple yet impressive Spanish pea soup with crispy ham to endive, orange and roquefort salad. It also includes a variety of mains (in case you get stumped) and dependable recipes for classic, charming desserts. This makes an excellent gift for your friends who recently got married — or the relative who just bought their first home.
The American Craft Beer Cookbook

• John Holl, author
• Publisher: Storey Publishing

Not just a cookbook with beer as an ingredient, The American Craft Beer Cookbook also includes food and beer pairings, in an effort to better take advantage of the craft beer movement. Many of noted beer expert John Holl’s 155 recipes were contributed by craft brewers, brew pubs and beer lovers across the United States. Recipes are twists on classic pub fare, such as  far  pistachio-crusted salmon sandwiches (paired with a bright hefeweizen) and curried pumpkin chicken soup (paired with a pumpkin stout, of course) and American wheat beer  steamed clams. Big flavors are at the heart of this cool book for your favorite beer-loving cook — it might even inspire the beer-loving non-cook. Don’t miss the chocolate Jefferson Stout cupcakes.

Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand

• Author: Andy Ricker
• Publisher: Random House

Having been fortunate enough to dine at the widely lauded Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon and at the new Brooklyn outpost of the same name, I was already having a love affair with the cuisine and pre-ordered this book. It is an encompassing guide to bold, fresh, authentic Thai cooking and serves as a celebration of the rich history and vibrant culture of Thailand.

Seventy recipes (including many from Ricker’s famous restaurants)  of northern vs. southern Thai cuisine are featured in dishess like khao soi kai (Northern Thai curry noodle soup with chicken) to som tam Thai (Central Thai-style papaya salad). Pok Pok’s classic and instantly addictive fish-sauce wings recipe is also in the index. Fundamental Thai cooking techniques and skills and a thorough explanation of flavor profiles that are unique to Southeast Asian cuisine bring this detailed collection to life. It’s a beautiful to browse through, too.

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink

• Author: John Mariani
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

This fully illustrated, revised and expanded version of the classic (first published in 1983) shows how far we’ve come in terms of culinary evolution and innovation for everything from the rise of the Food Network to the “local” food movement and food truck culture. Without question, American food and drink  have changed radically in the fourteen years since the last update and it’s a story worth telling. Renowned food critic John Mariani now includes more than 100 biographies of legendary and current high-profile players in this culinary reference– think Fanny Farmer to Mario Batali — and there are recipes, too: five hundred classics. This is a literal foodie’s reference guide on steroids.

In The Charcuterie: The Fatted Calf’s Guide to Making Sausage, Salumi, Pates, Roasts, Confits, and Other Meaty Goods

• Authors: Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Co-owners and founders of the legendary Napa butcher shop The Fatted Calf present the meat-loving home cook with everything they need to know for making “brined, smoked, cured, skewered, braised, rolled, tied and stuffed” meats at home, plus a primer on whole animal butchery. Your nephew who recently discovered that sausage making is his favorite hobby? He needs this book.

Local

Backstreet Kitchen – Backstreet Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Our Neighborhood Café

• Authors: Tracy Vaught & Hugo Ortega
• Publisher: Inwood Publishing

This beautiful new cookbook commemorates the 30^th Anniversary of Backstreet Café, a Houston institution opened by Tracy Vaught. In addition to more than 100 recipes from Backstreet’s most loved menu items and seasonal dishes, the book also serves as a memoir for long time staff members, including the wonderful love story of Vaught meeting her future husband (and James Beard nominee) Hugo Ortega at the restaurant where he found a job as a dishwasher soon after his arrival from Mexico. It’s charming, it’s a part of Houston’s culinary history, and it’s delicious. A must-have. Order a signed copy from here.

Healthy Indian Vegetarian Cooking & Entice with Spice

• Author: Shubhra Ramineni
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Houston cooking instructor Shubhra Ramenini’s first book, Entice with Spice (2011) is what I consider a bible of traditional Indian recipes like tikka masala and samosas, adapted in method for busy cooks. Shubhra includes thorough explanations for spice mixtures and terminology, step-by-step instructions and plenty of time-saving tips and easy substitutions.

Her 2013 book, Healthy Indian Vegetarian Cooking is a dependable resource for taking meatless Monday to the next level, utilizing the big flavors of Indian cuisine to ramp up vegetarian fare including whole chapters on pickles and chutneys, appetizers and snacks, breads and rice, lentils and legumes, main dishes, tofu and cheese and drinks & desserts. Get personalized copies of both at www.enticewithspice.com.

Cordua: Foods of the Americas

• Authors: Michael Cordua, David Cordua & John DeMers
• Publisher: Bright Sky Press

Twenty-five years ago, Michael Cordua journeyed from Nicaragua to Houston to open his first restaurant — Churrascos — and became a pioneer of South American Cuisine. The Cordúa family has since become a Texas restaurant institution; their success story includes several locations of Churrascos, Artista, Amazon Grill, and Americas. This book shares not only the family’s iconic recipes (two words: angel wings) but also serves as a celebration of South American culture and the inspiring story of the family itself, including stunning on-location photography from family travels. On a cook’s shelf, it also serves as a delicious memento for Houstonians who realize how truly fortunate we are to have the Corduas right here with us in our diverse city.