In addition to recipes, this season’s crop of cookbooks from Institute of Culinary Education alumni offers mind-body alchemy, time management tips and wanderlust. Health and wellness are decidedly of-the-moment themes, as is the sort of multitasking that finds home cooks serving up large platters for entertaining or saving last night’s cauliflower stems for tomorrow’s tacos. Dessert is similarly smart and perfect for home cooks with globe-trotting palates.
Here are five alumni’s cookbooks that we’re excited to cook and learn from this spring.
“Piatti: Plates and Platters for Sharing, Inspired by Italy” by Stacy Adimando
Saveur executive editor and James Beard Award-winning author Stacy Adimando (Culinary, ’10) explores Italian-inspired spreads in this beautiful, thoughtful book with a partially exposed spine ⎯ a creative design feature that makes it easy to find on crowded shelves. Organized by seasons, recipes include small plates like grilled apricots with pine nut pesto in the summertime, as well as such crowd-pleasing, family-style mains as seared shrimp with braised savoy cabbage in autumn. There is also a helpful guide to building an antipasti-ready pantry, including rubrics for a basic pickle brine, garlic confit, and cherry tomatoes preserved in olive oil.
“La Grotta: Ice Creams and Sorbets” by Kitty Travers
While U.K.-born Kitty Travers (Culinary, ’03) was working an “unglamorous” waitressing gig in Cannes, France, she was blown away by the local ice cream. Thus began her life’s work in desserts, first as the pastry chef at Fergus Henderson’s St. John Bread and Wine restaurant in London and now at her company, La Grotta Ices, which sells wildly creative ice creams seasonally from the city’s Spa Terminus farmers market. features artful flavor combinations like white peach and basil, and papaya with green chili and lime. “You don’t have to use mysterious powders to make great ice cream,” Kitty writes, because “the foundations of a perfect scoop” lie in striking the right balance of simple ingredients: milk, sugar and fresh eggs.
“The Superfood Alchemy Cookbook: Transform Nature's Most Powerful Ingredients Into Nourishing Meals and Healing Remedies” by Jennifer Iserloh
A certified yoga instructor, nutritionist and health coach, Jennifer Iserloh (Culinary, ’03) abides by the mantra “feel better, heal better.” Her and lifestyle guide shares plant-based recipes geared toward specific pains and ailments, such as buttered and roasted Brazil nuts for thyroid health, and promotes mental-physical connections with carrot-apple soup with nutmeg, for “calming the mind.” Each chapter also includes non-edible recipes for products like mint-coconut oil toothpaste and facial cleansers made with essential oils.
“Every Day is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week” by Sarah Copeland
From the author of “Feast” and “The Newlywed Cookbook” comes this that doubles as a time management primer. Formerly the food director for Real Simple, Sarah Copeland (Culinary, ’02) shares recipes and tactics for busy, health-conscious home cooks to maximize every ingredient and free moment. A week’s worth of herbs can be cleaned, dried and portioned on Sunday, for example, and banana bread gets rebooted with coconut oil, oats and applesauce. While some recipes do require advance planning or preparation, Sarah’s strategies will provide endless inspiration for the #mealprep set.
“I Heart Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from My Kitchen” by Kim Kushner
“Less is more,” writes Kim Kushner (Culinary, ’04) in this beautifully photographed array of weeknight dinners and show-stopping vegetables. After graduating from 91߹, Kim worked as a private chef and recipe developer, appeared on the "Today" show and amassed 19,000 Instagram followers. Like many contemporary cookbooks, “” is equal parts accessible (recipes include marinated feta, wine-baked chicken with root vegetables) and aspirational (pristine kitchen, adorable family). All ingredients are kosher, of course; though Kim’s cooking style is suited to anyone who prioritizes seasonal, healthy, family-friendly fare.
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