Canadian Living Books
The best Canadian cookbooks of 2018
Canadian Living Books
The best Canadian cookbooks of 2018
Bring some local wisdom into your kitchen with our picks of the top Canadian cookbooks in 2018.
In a time when it's never been easier to search for a recipe or learn a new cooking technique online, the humble print cookbook still manages to thrive. Perhaps it's because traditional cookbooks offer something that the internet simply can't: the chance to stumble across something you hadn't been searching for at all, but, once discovered, might become a new favourite.
As a bonus, bookshelves these days are brimming with titles from Canadian authors! This past year, everyone—from Food Network personalities to restaurateurs to bloggers—launched tantalizing titles of their own. Here are some of our favourites (aside from our own, Canadian Living: Essential Meditteranean Flavours, of course):
Uncomplicated: Taking the Stress Out of Home Cooking
Tansey might have over 20 years of experience in the food world—as a restaurant cook, food critic, and the Chatelaine food director, just to name a couple gigs—but like all of us, she still wrestled with the question of what to make for dinner. To solve this, she created Uncomplicated, a cookbook that truly delivers on its title. It's a veritable celebration of approachable, unfussy home cooking, with over 125 recipes guaranteed to succeed. Need to make a vegetable side in under five minutes? Tansey's got you. Ditto for how to make a chocolate layer cake with nothing more than a spoon and a bowl. Uncomplicated is also packed full of shortcuts and kitchen tricks to help all cooks, regardless of their skill level, get some seriously tasty homemade meals on the table.
Uncomplicated: Taking the Stress Out of Home Cooking by Claire Tansey, $24.75, amazon.ca.
In the French Kitchen with Kids: Easy, Everyday Dishes for the Whole Family to Make and Enjoy
These days, the increasing popularity of shows like Top Chef Junior makes it seem as though there's nothing kids can't accomplish in the kitchen. But they don't have to be sous-videing, fresh-pasta-making maestros to enjoy getting involved. Enter In the French Kitchen with Kids, where Michels (the mastermind behind the culinary blog eat. live. travel. write.) brings simple, family-friendly French fare into reach. Learn how to get your children involved in cooking (and cleaning!) while making recipes the whole family will enjoy, like melty Croque-Monsieurs sandwiches, or light-as-air stuffed profiteroles. As a bonus, recipes have helpful timetables to help plan your baking projects and keep your crew—ahem, kids—organized.
In the French Kitchen with Kids: Easy, Everyday Dishes for the Whole Family to Make and Enjoy by Mardi Michels, $21.78, amazon.ca.
Set for the Holidays: Recipes to Bring Comfort and Joy
With multiple Food Network Canada shows and eight bestselling cookbooks under her belt, Anna Olson hardly needs an introduction. But Canada's unofficial queen of baking has outdone herself yet again with this collection of cozy holiday favourites. It's not always easy to know what to cook for a crowd, but Set for the Holidays covers every meal, from festive brunches to an elegant New Year's soiree (and everything in between). Though there are numerous, excellent suggestions for savoury meals, Anna doesn't skimp on what we're really after: baking. Over half the recipes are baking-focused, with so many swoon-worthy cookies, cakes, tarts, and slices that you're only major dilemma will be which one to make first.
Set for the Holidays: Recipes to Bring Comfort and Joy by Anna Olson, $20, amazon.ca.
Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse by Frederic Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson
Morin and McMillan, the duo behind some of Montreal's most famous (or infamous) restaurants, teamed up once more with Erickson to produce a strange and wonderful mishmash of food content that pushes the envelope in terms of what we consider a cookbook. The latest Joe Beef book has over 150 recipes (from the approachable artichokes bravas to the borderline-insane pickled deer neck). Yet, it's also brimming with eccentricities: personal notes and reflections from the authors, pantry-stocking cellar tips for the end of days, and hosting tips for bunker parties. Surviving the Apocalypse is purportedly a sort of wacky instruction manual for food enthusiasts, but its charm lies in the room it leaves for the readers to personalize the content, and to choose their own adventure.
Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse by Frederic Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson, $30, amazon.ca.
The Ultimate One-Pan Oven Cookbook: Complete Meals Using Just Your Sheet Pan, Dutch Oven, Roasting Pan and More by Julia Konovalova
All meals, even the great ones, comes with a major drawback: the dishes. And, typically, the more elaborate the meal, the more there is to wash. Not so for new cookbook author Konovalova, who managed to create inspiring meals without turning the kitchen upside-down in the process. With a little help from The Ultimate One-Pan Oven Cookbook, you could be whipping up Spicy Blackened Chicken Legs with Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli for dinner, or sleeping in before brunch thanks to the Make-Ahead Leek and Goat Cheese Strata. From the lightning-fast prep to recipes packed with flavour, this cookbook will help transform your weeknight meals.
The Ultimate One-Pan Oven Cookbook: Complete Meals Using Just Your Sheet Pan, Dutch Oven, Roasting Pan and More by Julia Konovalova, $28.76, amazon.ca.
Comments