2024 Cookbooks and Food Books Perfect for Gifting This Holiday Season

Every holiday season, I find myself buying a copy of Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food for someone in my life. There’s just something special about her down-to-earth recipes. Now she’s back with another cookbook, What Goes With What. It’s full of new recipes, focusing on the different parts that make up a meal. She separates the cookbook into six sections that break down different kinds of meals, helping readers create the perfect pairings of their favorite foods. Plus, there are plenty of charts that help cooks of all experience levels create their best and most comforting dishes.

When I first read Taste: My Life Through Food, I found myself mesmerized by Tucci’s description of his life as he highlighted all of the incredible food that has made up his life. This year, he’s back with What I Ate in One Year: (and related thoughts). In it, he presents a journal of sorts where he describes the food he’s eaten, blending that with thoughts on life and all the goings on he’s been experiencing. What I Ate in One Year is a great gift for readers who love a book that gives you a little something to read every day. Plus, the physical edition has stunning endpapers, making it a beautiful object as well as an incredible read.

I ADORED World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments. I loved how Nezhukumatathil connected her love of creatures from around the world and her own life. In Bite by Bite, she writes essays that center around one of her favorite foods. They can be ingredients or finished dishes, but they all hold a special place in Nezhukumatathil’s heart. In one essay, she describes how she has so many wonderful memories around eating mangoes. In another, she shares how her mother taught her that it’s not a party without lumpia. The physical book is something to behold. The book includes stunning illustrations by Fumi Nakamura that make each essay pop. Just a stunning gift for any food lover.