New Cookbook Roundup

A quick look at some of the most interesting cookbooks being released around now.

Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects

Karen Solomon’s book is good for beginners who want to dive into the DIY trend. Homemade toaster tarts? Hell, yeah.

Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet

Pollatarian and meat-light recipes that utilize less animal but don’t come off as hippie fare.

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everday Cooking

Michael Ruhlman, of kick-ass Charcuterie book fame, teaches you the basic ratios for common foods (e.g., pie dough = 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part water). Then he tells you how to riff on the basic preparations. (You can see him in action here.)

America’s Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants

The authors went around the country to their favorite barbecue joints, snapped great travelogue-type pictures, and recorded both recipes and histories. The Blue Cheese Bowl Appetizer from Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee, is haunting our dreams already.

Noodles Every Day: Delicious Asian Recipes from Ramen to Rice Sticks

Recipes for light meals with interesting flavor combinations using noodles familiar and exotic, like wheat noodles with five-spice cabbage sauce and crispy pork, or stir-fried sweet potato noodles with vegetables and beef. Includes mail-order sources.

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth

For when you fall off the master cleanse: Over-the-top recipes like Cinnamon-Donut Bread Pudding, White Trash Panini (croissant, peanut butter, Hershey’s kisses, and marshmallow fluff in a panini press), and Dark Chocolate Soup with Pound-Cake Croutons.

Check out Chowhound’s Cookbook of the Month and join the discussion.