Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her off hours, you can find her writing on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.
Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her off hours, you can find her writing on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.
Every year, hundreds of cookbooks and food writing books hit shelves, and 2025 especially has been a banner year for food books. There’s been a new cookbook from Samin Nosrat, the author of Salt, Fat Acid, Heat. Healthy comfort food queen, Julia Turshen, has a new cookbook perfect for home cooks who need help setting up their pantry. Plus, there’s new writing from the late Anthony Bourdain.
Here’s a sampling of titles you won’t want to miss out on.
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love: A Cookbook by Samin Nosrat
Somin Nosrat swore she’d never write a traditional cookbook. Her first book, Salt, Fat, Acid Heat, was a sort of manifesto on learning how to cook without recipes. But over time, she’s realized that recipes can be a way to share a dish you love with others.
In her introduction to Good Things, she describes this book as a treasure chest. Good Things doesn’t try to replicate the runaway success of Salt, Fat, Acid Heat. Instead, it’s something wholly new and unique from the mind of someone who deeply cares about the food she makes and shares with others. If you’re looking for a cookbook to gift this holiday season, Good Things is it.
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Six Seasons of Pasta: A New Way with Everyone’s Favorite Food by Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg
Joshua McFadden is known for his style of seasonal cooking. After a cookbook on veggies and one of grains, he’s now turned his sights on pasta.
Six Seasons of Pasta features dozens and dozens of delicious pasta recipes organized by the seasonal produce used in each dish. McFadden made the somewhat controversial decision to base all recipes on dried pasta, which is more accessible to home cooks. The book is beautiful, the recipes are delicious, and the seasonal style of cooking gives this cookbook a unique take on this beloved food.
The Anthony Bourdain Reader: New, Classic, and Rediscovered Writing by Anthony Bourdain, edited by Kimberly Witherspoon
It’s been several years since the passing of Anthony Bourdain. Even though he’s no longer with us, he’s left behind a career’s worth of writing. This one-of-a-kind anthology features nonfiction and fiction writing from Anthony Bourdain.
While Bourdain became well-known for his award-winning food shows, he made his name with his memoir, Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain loved writing in several different modes and genres, which is highlighted by editor Kimberly Witherspoon’s selections for this collection.
Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands by Maryam Jillani
Pakistani food is as varied as the cultures that make up its people. With over 100 recipes, Pakistan features incredible curries, chutneys, sauces, and spiced vegetables. The book itself is gorgeous, with stunning photography and the perfect cover.
Jillani, who grew up in Islamabad, introduces each section with short essays about her personal connection to the recipes she presents. Her writing is full of stories of her family and how the food she makes reminds her of home.
What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 10 Charts, Endless Possibilities by Julies Turshen
I ADORE Julie Turshen’s Simply Julia. It’s a cookbook that saw me through part of the pandemic and encouraged me to think of the food I eat in new ways. What Goes With What is Turshen’s newest cookbook that helps home cooks figure out what ingredients to pair together to create delicious dishes.
With her trusty ingredient charts in hand, Turshen walks readers through ideas around how and why people pair oils with greens or pair proteins for salads with liquids for braises. In between her many recipe ideas, she writes mini essays about her relationship with food, farming, and sourcing ingredients. My stars! I can’t get enough!
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
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