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My Favorite Summer Cookbooks

July 30, 2014 by Joy the Baker 31 Comments

The Lemonade Cookbook Bread Cake Doughnut Pudding Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts
A Change of Appetite The Bar Book Ceviche
Plenty More The Grilling Book The Nourished Kitchen
A Mouthful of Stars Let's Do Brunch Sweet and Vicious

I collect two things, nail polish and cookbooks.  Ironically, I don’t always have my nails done and I certainly don’t cook every recipe from this massive collection.  I have more cookbooks that any reasonable home cook should have.  They’re wonderful inspiration.  I love experiencing food through different perspectives. These are the most lovely of the summer books that I’ve collected so far.  Judging by this list, I have a lot of recipes to get in the kitchen and bake!  I’m starting with doughnuts and french toast.  Yes!

•  I love the California stylings of The Lemonade Cookbook.  It’s perfect for summertime.  Filled with lovely salads like this Watermelon and Snap Pea number, and a mega amount of lemonade inspiration.  Well, wouldn’t you expect that from The Lemonade Cookbook?  I made this Blueberry Mint Lemonade and swooned for days.

•  I like to think that I have a fool-proof and super-supreme doughnut dough base, but I’d really love to experiment with different doughnut recipes.  I mean… someone’s got to try all of the doughnuts, might as well be me.  Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding is a gorgeous book and the doughnut recipe is on deck in my kitchen.

•  The new cookbook from Jeni’s is absolutely beautiful!  She has a way of combining wonderfully unusual ingredients into decadent and comforting desserts.  I’ve got my eye on the Extra-Strength Root Beer Ice Cream.  Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts!

•  I love the way Diana Henry writes about food.  Elegant and inviting.  This piece make me want to sit down at a table and share a plate of radishes.  Radishes!  A Change of Appetite is her latest and most vegetable-centered book.  It’s thoughtful and rooted in the seasons.  Blackberry and Apple Rye Galette?  Done.

•  The Bar Book is all about technique!  A good cocktail comes from good technique.  This book is all about juicing, measuring, shaking, stirring, and garnishing with some awesome classic cocktail recipes.

•  I’ll be honest, I bought the Ceviche: Peruvian Kitchen cookbook because I loved the font and lived on a diet of banana y leche smoothies and ceviche while in Costa Rica this year.  This is a lovely book with lots of texture and place.

•  Do you have the Plenty cookbook?  Beyond.  I’m looking forward to Plenty, More out this Fall!  Yotam Ottolenghi is a beast when it comes to perfect cookbooks.

•  I’m learning how to grill.  Coals, starters, temperatures, smoke, and char!  I’m learning.  There is so much nuance.  The Grilling Book is my grill bible this summer.  So far I’ve grilled a ton of chicken, I’m working on my steak, and hoping to nail a pizza sometime soon.  Along with grilling here in New Orleans I have lots of white wine and mosquito repellant.  It’s perfect.

•  The Nourished Kitchen is such a mindful way to approach food and cooking.  It’s inspiring for any season.  There’s a tutorial on how to make raw milk yogurt, real buttermilk, and a recipe for Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes that look just dreamy!

•  This book of food and travel feeds my wanderlust like no other.  A Mouthful of Stars.  I now want to go to Seoul with Kim Sunee and eat everything ever.

•  Let’s Do Brunch!  No seriously, let’s!  This book is loaded with all sorts of breakfast-y / lunch-y inspirations.  It’s a sweet and simple book with a recipe for Almond-Crusted French Toast that I suddenly can’t live without.

•  I think I need to ask Libbie Summers to be my best friend.  The cover for her book Sweet and Vicious is a sign.  Any woman with a frosting-laden knife and cute dress is a soul sister.  The book is beautifully photographed and full of deliciously irreverent recipes.  Coconut Fluff Cake please and thank you.

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  1. Drycha

    August 18, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    I LOVE cookbooks! I’m waiting for some goodies now :) and I was on Cookbook Event two or three weeks ago – lots of treasures to be found!
    I would love to get few of Your types from todays post! TFS!

    Reply
  2. Jeff @ Cheese-burger.net

    July 31, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    My favorite cookbook this summer is The Grilling Book.

    Reply
  3. Lynn @ The Actor's Diet

    July 31, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    Plenty is such a Bible! Also, I have to shoutout my cousin Kristine Kidd who writes a gluten-free cookbook for Williams Sonoma. It’s pretty incredible for people who are going gluten-free but don’t wanna go bananas.

    Reply
  4. Sophia

    July 31, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    I have the same addiction as well! I love reading cookbooks in beds and making notes beside the recipes that I like. I’m currently focused on collecting cookbooks from different countries and regions – trying to collect the go-to-recipe book from each country,

    Reply
  5. Maggie

    July 31, 2014 at 11:13 am

    This is gold! Thank you! There is just so much out there, that it’s super helpful to have the “go ahead” from a trusted voice!

    Reply
  6. Cecile

    July 31, 2014 at 8:57 am

    I, too, have sooo many cookbooks – yet I still buy new ones & accept any that my friends don’t care to keep anymore!! (You and I will just have to live to ‘ripe old ages’ to even make a dent in our cookbook collection !!)

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 31, 2014 at 3:10 pm

      i look forward to ripe old age!

      Reply
  7. Lily @ Life, Love, and Cupcakes

    July 31, 2014 at 7:39 am

    I’m obsessed with cookbooks! Not only are they fun to read/flip through, but they look so pretty on a shelf too! I have such a long list of recipes to try out of all the cookbooks I have right now, but I’ve added a couple of these to my wishlist, especialy Jeni’s Ice Cream book!

    Reply
  8. ladygourmetCatherine

    July 30, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Wonderful gathering of summer cookbooks.

    Reply
  9. Melissa King

    July 30, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    I collect cookbooks too! I actually just did an interview with another blogger and told her your cookbook was my “off the top of your head” favorite! Love it. Can’t wait for your next one.
    I can’t wait to get some of these too! Plenty More is on the top of my list!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 31, 2014 at 3:11 pm

      that’s pretty amazing!

      Reply
  10. Briel K.

    July 30, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    I LOVE Lemonade and always spend WAY too much money when I go there. Maybe I should get the cookbook and make the things I love myself. :)

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 31, 2014 at 3:12 pm

      you totally should! it’s a great book!

      Reply
  11. Deanne Katz (@impromptuCook)

    July 30, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    Love this, especially that it covers everything from grilling to dessert to cocktails. My to-read list is so much longer now.

    Reply
  12. Sherri

    July 30, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    I love the Lemonade cookbook. If you haven’t made the blondies, I highly recommend them, they’re delicious!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 31, 2014 at 3:12 pm

      they’re on my list! thank you!

      Reply
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🥯🥯 for the weekend, babes! Save this no-yeas 🥯🥯 for the weekend, babes! Save this no-yeast bagel magic for your Sunday morning. ⁣
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Two Easy No-Yeast Bagels⁣⁣
1/2 cup self-rising flour⁣⁣
4 tablespoons greek yogurt (plus a teaspoon or two more if needed)⁣
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash⁣⁣
1/3 - 1/2 cup grated gouda or gruyere⁣⁣
Everything bagel seasoning⁣⁣
3 tablespoons baking soda with 2 cups of boiling water. ⁣⁣
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Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with nonstick spray. ⁣⁣
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In a small bowl, use a firm spatula to work together the flour and yogurt. Add a few teaspoons of yogurt if it feels dry and knead into a cohesive ball for 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle with a bit more flour if it gets overly sticky. Cover with a damp paper towel and gather your toppings. ⁣⁣
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Divide dough in two and roll each piece into a roughly 8-inch rope. Bring the ends around and pinch into a circle. ⁣⁣
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Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared pan with grated cheese in two spots.  Pour boiling water over the baking soda and float each bagel in the water for 20 or so seconds.  Use a slotted spot or spatula to transfer the bagels on top of the cheese.  Brush lightly with egg. Sprinkle with more cheese and everything bagel seasoning. ⁣⁣
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Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and smearing with cream cheese.
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