SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
For many of us, winter means avoiding the great outdoors, the cold, icy roads, keeping ourselves inside, safe, warm, all tucked in. Well, indoors is also a good place to be cuddled up with a good book, maybe even a great cookbook. Books We Love - NPR's list of best reads has a list of recommendations that our colleagues say are utterly worth your time, whether or not you actually cook.
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DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Hi, it's NPR national correspondent Debbie Elliott. My book pick is "When Southern Women Cook." It's edited by Toni Tipton-Martin and Morgan Bolling. Admittedly, I'm a cookbook geek and a longtime Southern cook and eater, so this bible of Southern cuisine is just a real treat. It weaves recipes along with the stories of remarkable women from the diverse cultures that make up the American South.
Think chefs, farmers, seed savers, shrimpers, pit masters, canning pioneers and even a little story about the queen of bootleggers. I have just loved reading about the roots of Southern classics like hoecakes, shrimp and grits, beef yakamein and tamale pie. I've already tried the pickled shrimp recipe. It was a huge hit on my game day table. Next up, lemon chess pie, and sweet potato cornbread with ginger honey butter.
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MILTON GUEVARA, BYLINE: My name is Milton Guevara. I'm a producer with Morning Edition and Up First. A book I loved this year is "The SalviSoul Cookbook" by Karla Tatiana Vasquez. And can I be honest here? I don't actually have a physical copy on my shelf right now because every time I get one, I end up giving it away to someone I love. I'm excited by this book because it's the first Salvadoran cookbook from a major U.S. publisher.
It's got recipes for all my favorite Salvi classics like pupusas, tamales and Salvadoran-style porchetta, which, if you haven't tried it, you really should. The author, Karla Tatiana Vasquez, was born in El Salvador, but her family fled to Los Angeles because of war. Food became a way for her to stay connected to her culture, so she began documenting recipes and stories of the women who preserve them. "The SalviSoul Cookbook" is her tribute to El Salvador and its diaspora.
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MELISSA KUYPERS, BYLINE: The book I'm recommending today is "Sandwiches Of History: The Cookbook." My name is Melissa Kuypers, and I am the audio engineering and operations manager at NPR West. It's written by Barry Enderwick, whose social media handle is @sandwichesofhistory, where he tries all sorts of unexpected sandwiches from the past. This cookbook reads like a friend is nerding out to you about their favorite niche topic and also telling you how to put together a sandwich you probably wouldn't have come up with on your own.
There's a really big variety of recipes, and he keeps them all very accessible. Like, you can find these ingredients. You probably already have the right kitchen gear. You can make these sandwiches, no problem. For each recipe, he offers some light history, as well as his signature plus ups, which are ways to elevate or modernize the sandwich. It's a really fun cookbook, and to borrow a phrase from Barry himself, I hope you give it a go.
NICOLETTE KHAN, BYLINE: I'm Nicolette Khan, and I work with NPR's research, archives and data strategy team. And I have still not returned my sister's copy of "Amrikan" by Khushbu Shah. Shah's cooking is a celebration of Indian American culture and works to dispel the myth that Indian food is super complicated to make or requires hard-to-source ingredients. You'll find recipes that represent American influences on Indian food, Indian influences on American food, and some untouched Indian classics. I cooked a few dishes one night to share with friends, and they were all a hit.
This book was my introduction to rajma, a truly transformative approach to kidney beans that you probably shouldn't be living without. I served it alongside Shah's perfectly simple cabbage nu shaak with some rice and yogurt for a low-effort, high-reward meal. Her recipes are easy to follow, and everything is suited for mixing and matching, making this an inviting collection, whether you are cooking a lazy meal for one or a dinner party for 10.
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SIMON: Those cookbook recommendations again - "Amrikan," "Sandwiches Of History: The Cookbook," "The SalviSoul Cookbook" and "When Southern Women Cook." And for the full list of books we loved in 2024, you can head to npr.org/bestbooks.
(SOUNDBITE OF KOLOTO'S "FOX TALES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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