Key Highlights
- On my long list are “Third Culture Cooking,” by the Bon Appétit and Times contributor Zaynab Issa, who brilliantly and breezily upends the arbitrary boundaries that exist between global categories of cuisine; “Sesame,” by Rachel Simons, the co-founder of the brand Seed + Mill, which makes superlative tahini and halva; and “Something from Nothing,” Alison Roman’s paean to the pantry.
- I’m grateful that Hailee Catalano, one half of my favorite Instagram and TikTok cooking duo, has catalogued her subtly playful, vibrant, Italian-leaning recipes, in “By Heart”; that Enrique Olvera, the Mexican master chef known primarily for his relatively formal restaurants, has given us a wealth of more casual inspiration, in “Sunny Days Taco Nights”; and that Ada Boni’s “The Talisman of Happiness,” the Italian equivalent of “The Joy of Cooking,” originally published in the nineteen-twenties, has been translated into English for the first time this year.2025 in ReviewNew Yorker writers reflect on the year’s highs and lows. The selection below encapsulates my absolute favorites, the ones I found I could not stop thinking about and cooking from, the ones that struck me as most unique and satisfying.
- Some are more edifying than practical; a few deliver on pleasure and technique in equal measure.“Hot Date!,” by Rawaan AlkhatibA single-ingredient cookbook can be a tough sell—there are few ingredients that are both versatile and special enough to sustain a whole collection of recipes.
- In this book, Alkhatib, a cook, a writer, and an artist, who is of Palestinian and Indian descent, shows that the miraculous date—as in, the fruit of the date-palm tree, dried so that its sugars concentrate into a vessel for an intense and complex caramel flavor—deserves its due. The beautiful book—rich with photos, Alkhatib’s own water-color illustrations, and her handwritten notes—investigates the history, cultural significance, and many varieties of the date, along with the unusually wide spectrum of contexts into which the savory-sweet fruit fits.
- Dates can be a simple snack, wrapped in bacon, or layered with kashkaval cheese for a grilled sandwich.
