27 Oct What’s Cooking at Fluent Research: Cookbooks our Team Loves

Celebrating National Cookbook Month with the cookbooks we love and the stories behind them

A cookbook can help us get dinner on the table quickly or inspire us to prepare a dazzling dinner party. Cookbooks also hold the recipes we associate with holidays, family, or a particular place.

Since October is National Cookbook Month, we asked our colleagues at Fluent to share their favorite cookbooks and what they love about them. Eleven people responded, and no two named the same book. Several shared more than one.

Their picks range from practical guides for busy evenings to books that have been part of their kitchens for decades. Here are the cookbooks our team recommends, along with the stories behind their choices.

Cookbooks for Busy Days

Amanda Marziliano

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast by Caroline Chambers

Amanda looks for quick, delicious meals that work for busy families. She regularly cooks from Caroline Chambers’ books and appreciates recipes that come together without much fuss. For Amanda, the appeal is an author who understands what it actually takes to get dinner on the table on a weeknight.

Kelly Sheehan

Dining In by Alison Roman

Kelly’s husband does most of the cooking at home, but Dining In has delicious, relatively easy recipes that she loves. She also appreciates the book’s beautiful design. As Kelly points out, it makes a nice coffee table book, too.

Allison Caplovitz

Easy Weeknight Dinners by Emily Weinstein and New York Times Cooking & The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook by Nisha Vora

Allison likes having options and her two picks include easy meals as well as recipes that take a little more time, with enough variety in flavors and cuisines to keep dinner interesting. She appreciates being able to choose something that suits different tastes without falling into the same routine.

Cookbooks with a Taste of Place and Tradition

Mona El-Hout

Souk to Table by Amina Al-Saigh

For Mona, Souk to Table brings back the flavors of childhood through Middle Eastern recipes that are simplified and, she says, just as delicious as her mother’s cooking.

The written instructions are particularly welcome. Recreating her mother’s dishes over video calls can mean working with directions like “whatever spices you want” or “I don’t know, maybe a cup or two.” This cookbook gives Mona the familiar food she loves with the specifics she needs to make it herself.

Lia Abrams

The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker, with recipes by Michele Scicolone

Lia can picture this cookbook on the kitchen counter during the holidays. Her mother, who grew up in a big Italian family on Staten Island, has used it for as long as Lia can remember.

Among its recipes is one of Lia’s favorite meals: pasta aglio e olio for Christmas Eve. Her recommendation comes with the memory of a book that has long been part of her family’s celebrations.

Sofia Polo

Peru: The Cookbook by Gastón Acurio

Sofia recommends this book for its broad coverage of Peruvian cooking, with recipes from across the country’s regions. She appreciates a collection that covers the basics and brings that variety together in one volume. Its distinctive, recognizable cover is another reason she considers it a great gift.

Nellie Gregorian

Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten & Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Ina Garten’s books are Nellie’s go-to, and she has about a dozen of them at home. Barefoot Contessa at Home is one favorite, and Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking also makes her list.

Nellie appreciates uncomplicated recipes with short ingredient lists, and helpful pictures are a plus. Her tastes span French and Italian food as well as Armenian and Russian home cooking. The most important book in her collection, however, holds her grandmother’s and mother’s recipes.

Cookbooks that Build Confidence in the Kitchen

Charlotte Beatty

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

Charlotte appreciates a cookbook that explains the science behind cooking. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat focuses on four fundamental elements and how they work together. What appeals to Charlotte is learning principles she can apply across dishes and cuisines, giving her a foundation for cooking that extends beyond any one recipe.

Dana Markow

Dana shared four favorites that cover a wide range of cooking and baking:

Once Upon a Tart… by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau, with Carolynn Carreño. Soups, salads, and desserts from the New York City bakeshop and café.

Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. Dana’s pick for a reference that covers just about everything.

The Complete Vegetarian Cuisine by Rose Elliot. A collection devoted to vegetarian cooking.

How to Bake by Nick Malgieri. Breads, pizzas, pies, cakes, and cookies.

What connects these choices is the quality of the guidance. Dana values excellent instructions and helpful diagrams for baked goods. Many of the books also have photographs she describes as “beautiful, mouth-watering and inspiring.”

Cookbooks that Stand the Test of Time

Farrah Brensinger

Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Farrah has had Isa Does It for more than a decade, and it is still a staple in her kitchen. She loves the vegan recipes, the book’s beautiful interior design, and Isa’s lively commentary on each dish.

“It’s an incredible book all-around,” she says. Her recommendation for a speedy weeknight meal is the Korean mushroom burgers.

Stefanie Cousins

Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

Stefanie has been using the Moosewood Cookbook for decades. She loves the simplicity of its vegetarian recipes, particularly the Brazilian black bean, lentil, and split pea soups.

“They are delicious, easy, and nutritious: the perfect comfort food.”

Whether you’re looking for help with a busy weeknight dinner or a cookbook to explore at your own pace, we hope our team’s favorites give you something new to try. Maybe we’ve even inspired you to pull a well-loved, sauce-splattered cookbook from your shelf and rediscover a few favorite recipes.

By Stefanie Cousins, Vice President, Marketing and Communications