9 Cookbook Ideas for the Foodie on Your List

Are you looking for some gift ideas for the foodie or cook on your gift list? These cookbooks are some of my favorites and are sure to please.

1. Bobby Flay’s Grill It!.

During the spring and summer, we grill A LOT. When my grilled chicken kept coming out too dry, I turned to Bobby. He also inspired me to grill fruit, for which I am eternally grateful.

2. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

My husband gave me Artisan Bread for Christmas one year with this message inside:

We haven’t gained 300 pounds, but this is an addicting book. You can read about my Artisan Bread experience and I continue to make and keep a ready-to-go batch in my refrigerator. I have mastered the main recipe and we love many of the variations offered in the book, such as Olive bread, calzones, flat breads, focaccias and pizzas. Okay, so maybe 300 pounds isn’t so far off for us, but it will be worth every baked fresh bite.

3. Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Speaking of 300 pounds, Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook is the most fun cookbook to look through and bake through. You’ll have a hard time figuring out what to bake first, second or third. Whether sweet or savory, there is so much to choose from: pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, bars, tarts, tortes, and so much more. Next on my list to bake is the Coconut Cream Pie or wait, maybe the Key Lime Tart. Oh, but the Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake looks amazing too.

4. The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

I fell in love with The Pioneer Woman a few years ago. She is a city girl who married a rancher and is now a homeschooling mom and owner of the mega-popular blog, Pioneer Woman. This cookbook will make your mouth water with dishes like BBQ Jalapeno Poppers, Maple Pecan Scones, Perfect Pot Roast, Patsy’s Blackberry Cobbler and Simple, Perfect Enchiladas. She is also a skilled photographer and shot all, but a few of the pictures in the book.

5. Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
6. Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again

I did not always love to cook. I loved to eat good food, but only if someone else was preparing it. I started really cooking six years ago when I became a mom. That is when I discovered Ina Garten, aka, Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network.

Ina inspired me to roast a chicken and to make my own chicken stock. I use a different method now, but her simple style gave me the confidence to try it. She is a real food cook who has the most fabulous home and kitchen in the Hamptons. Her dishes are sophisticated, but easy to prepare and made with everyday ingredients. The titles of these two books pretty much sum up her cooking style. Some of my favorite dishes are the Roasted Butternut Squash soup with Curry Condiments and Spring Green Risotto.

7. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.

I received this book as a birthday gift from my husband one year. This cookbook is so densely packed with information and recipes that my head sins, BUT it also changed how I look at food, our overall diet, and how I cook. This is not just a cookbook, but a book that will make you re-think your eating habits. This book kicks the Standard American Diet to the curb and looks back at how our ancestors ate. Real food, real fat, real ingredients.

8. Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

This Moosewood Restaurant cookbook was the first cookbook my husband ever bought me. We were at a church thrift sale and he found it on the $1 table. Aside from a few seafood recipes, the book is primarily vegetarian. I refer to it when I need inspiration for the produce we receive from our CSA.

9. A Magazine Subscription

A magazine subscription makes a wonderful gift for foodies, because the ideas change every month to reflect the seasons, holidays, and trends. Some of my favorite food magazines are:

Cooking Light Magazine

Taste of Home

Food Network Magazine

Hopefully you have found some gift ideas for the foodie on your list. You also get a glimpse at the cookbooks that inspire me in my kitchen.

Do you have a favorite cookbook to give someone as a gift? Let us know in the comments.

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