The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Starred review from September 6, 2010
Hesser, a food columnist for the New York Times, offers a superb compilation of the most noteworthy recipes published by the paper since it started covering food in the 1850s. What she has produced is no less a chronicle of American culinary history—an evolutionary progression that marks the notable and sometimes regrettable changes in our approach to food—than a cookbook. Recipe originators are a hodgepodge of talent, including noted chefs and the kitchens of famed restaurants such as Le Bernardin as well as Times writers, most notably Craig Claiborne, whose culinary mastery is evidenced throughout. Every category of food is covered, and each recipe is accompanied by serving suggestions for complementary dishes within the book. From 1877's tomato soup and 1907's roast quail with sage dressing to Eisenhower's steak in the fire and 1968's sour cream coffee cake, Hesser showcases the best of the best. Each recipe is dated, and many include cooking notes. Hesser, whose witty bent permeates every page, does a more than admirable job with this stellar collection of more than 1,400 recipes, which should grace the shelves of every food-lover.

Starred review from August 1, 2020

Country music star and lifestyle guru Decker, who opened up her home and her life in the New York Times best-selling Just Jessie, opens up her kitchen in Just Feed Me (150,000-copy first printing). Hesser's James Beard Award-winning The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which has sold more than 100,000 copies since its 2011 publication, gets an update aimed at today's home cooks (four-city author tour). The James Beard Award-winning Kluger offers 190 recipes-plus-techniques in his debut, Chasing Flavor (60,000-copy first printing). Chef/owner of the Casa Oaxaca restaurants, Ruiz is a vocal promoter of Oaxacan gastronomy, as proven by The Food of Oaxaca (Jicama Tacos, anyone?). Once a Morgan Stanley analyst and now owner of Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a purveyor of world-class dim sum in New York's Chinatown, Tang tells the story of the Chinese community there while explaining how to create great dim sum at home in The Nom Wah Cookbook (75,000-copy first printing).

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