Fall is always a big season for cookbooks. This one, though, is rife with an abundance of long-anticipated baking books, alongside debut cookbooks from celebrated chefs.
‘Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life’
Melissa Martin, the owner of the beloved restaurant Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans, is Cajun. Her native turf is in Chauvin, Louisiana way on the Gulf Coast edge of the southeastern part of the Bayou State. Her aptly named second book, “Bayou,” walks readers through lime and the passing of time on her home turf. Fresh shrimp is tossed with cool watermelon; biscuits are laced with 7Up for a peppy lift; crab rolls are glorified as a more decadent alternative to lobster rolls. This is a book with an inexorable sense of place — that also has recipes that work wherever you live. (out now)
‘Belly Full: Exploring Caribbean Cuisine through 11 Fundamental Ingredients and over 100 Recipes’
There is a VIP room in heaven for cookbooks that are organized around a cuisine’s essentials. Lesley Enston, with “Belly Full,” demystifies Caribbean cooking by revealing how dishes are similar across the region’s islands. She does so by latching onto 11 core ingredients: beans, calabaza, cassava, chayote, coconut, cornmeal, okra, plantains, rice, salted cod and scotch bonnet peppers. It is such a simple, thoughtful way to understand a multifaceted cuisine. (out now)
‘Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table’
It is not quite only a counter at the Hungarian-inspired Agi’s Counter in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Still, the term is apt because the vibe is intimate, and the cooking is personal. Chef-owner Jeremy Salamon’s debut cookbook, “Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table,” is an homage to his family’s cooking and to his present as a queer Jew. His Caesar salad is peppered with caraway seeds; babka is upended into a take on spanakopita; dill is everywhere. These are recipes where modernity jangles with the delicious rhythms of the past. (out now)
‘Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store’
Terroir, that term for a sense of place in wine and food, is often bandied about in rarefied, Eurocentric terms. The hills of Mosel, Germany, for riesling; the specific Burgundian funk and richness of gooey Époisses. The truth is that “place” is anywhere and everywhere, and baker and cofounder of Bakers Against Racism Paola Velez proves that with her giddy, invigorating homage to the flavors of the Bronx bodegas of her childhood in “Bodega Bakes.” Tasty Orange Donas, a perfect replication of Orange Hostess cupcakes, are a sublime example of Velez’s way with flavor and nostalgia. (publishes Oct. 1)
‘Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts’
Author Hetal Vasavada takes the vivid colors and flavors of India and merges them with the classic recipes of Western baking. Snickerdoodles are plied with coriander and lemon. Checkerboard cookies sparkle with the pink and saffron hues of a Madras print. “Desi Bakes” is loaded with inspired takes on what you only think you know about your favorite desserts. (publishes Oct. 15)
‘Crumbs’
The cookie is loved nearly all the world over. A keen developer of baked goods recipes, author Ben Mims proves that thesis with 300 recipes from 100 countries. Part history tome, part encyclopedic cookbook, “Crumbs” is equally suited to scholars and home bakers. There are recipes for swirled “pig’s ears” cookies from Vietnam, Welsh griddled currant cookies and, yes, a pitch-perfect American-style chocolate chip cookie. (publishes Oct. 17)
‘The Four Horsemen: Food and Wine for Good Times from the Brooklyn Restaurant’
A good wine bar feels both welcoming and effortless, where the food is always precisely what you want to eat and the wine list is full of gentle surprises. The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn is that kind of wine bar. Now, you can create the spirit of such a place thanks to this book with recipes, like mussels with onion vinegreta and braised leek toast with whipped ricotta, from chef Nick Curtola and thoughts on how to drink wine at home from wine director James Chearno, who just passed recently. (publishes Oct. 22)
‘The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread’
King Arthur Baking Company produces some of the best flours and baking ingredients in the country. Imagine then what its new “The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread” will do for the ovens of the United States! Fougasse; milk bread; cacio e pepe rolls; sheng jian bao: This is a baking book that touches on endless techniques across manifold cuisines, all with bold photos and detailed, precise instructions. (publishes Oct. 22)