Fall Cookbooks 2012

It's cookbook season! Cookbooks are released in two batches, in the spring and in the fall. I have a slight preference for spring's releases - that's when all the grilling cookbooks come out, after all - but the fall batch usually has the heavy hitters for the year.

Here are the cookbooks I'm looking forward to this fall.

Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet
I lust after the full set of Modernist Cuisine, Nathan Myhrvold's painstakingly researched ode to the science of cooking. But, at $450, I haven't saved enough pennies to buy it yet. I love food science, but really, how much molecular gastronomy am I going to do in my suburban kitchen? That's why I can't wait for Modernist Cuisine at Home. It is billed as Modernist Cuisine translated for the home cook. What did they learn making Modernist Cuisine that can help me cook better meals for my family? At $140, it's still expensive...but I've already pre-ordered a copy of this one.

The Mexican Slow Cooker by Deborah Schneider
Fall is the start of slow cooker season. I love the way it makes long-simmering stews while I head off to work. This cookbook looks like it combines my love of slow cooked meals with my love of Mexican food.

Michael Symon's Carnivore: 120 recipes for meat lovers
I have a soft spot for Michael Symon. He's a Cleveland boy who hit it big, but didn't immediately desert us for Miami rush off to the big city. It doesn't hurt that he's an amazing chef. One of the best meals I've ever had was his braised short ribs. This cookbook is his love letter to meat. Need I say more?

Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop
Fuchsia Dunlop writes some of the most thorough cookbooks about regional Chinese cooking. (Her Sichuan and Hunan cookbooks are two of the best out there.) I'm looking forward to this book for the same reason I want Modernist Cuisine at Home. How does Fuchsia translate her knowledge of Chinese cooking to home cooking? I can't wait to find out.

Secrets of the World's Best Grilling by Steven Raichlen (Note: Apple iBook only!)
I'm a computer geek, and a self-published e-book author, so I was fascinated when Apple released their iBooks Author tool. Instead of making e-books that look like web pages, it makes e-books that look like gorgeous coffee table books. Steven Raichlen is using these tools to their fullest. He took a set of the key recipes from Planet Barbecue and added two-page spread photos and how-to videos. I know people love their printed cookbooks, but if this is an example of where cookbooks are going, things will turn out just fine.

Honorable mention:

Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman
Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan
Food Photography for Bloggers by Matt Armendariz
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

What do you think? What new cookbooks did I miss? Leave them in the comments section below.

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