Winter Reading List

Winter is here. The days are feeling darker, but the food is getting heartier. Yes, there’s something about cold weather that just makes us hungry. Summer, keep thy sushi! Winter begs for meltier, cozier dishes. So this season’s reading list features our latest food-themed favorites, best enjoyed with gingerbread and a hot toddy.

‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking,’ by Samin Nosrat

#Whether you’re a cooking novice or a total expert, the gorgeous and accessible “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking” will teach you something new. Part flavor philosophy (read: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) and part recipe collection (the Soy-Glazed Salmon changes everything), this book is a crash course in all things culinary – taught by a teacher who takes having fun in the kitchen as seriously as chopping technique. 

‘Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook,’ by Alice Waters

Berkeley in the ’60s, baguettes in France, hazy nights with boys in the backseat of cars…what more do you need for a good memoir? In “Coming to My Sense: The Making of a Counterculture Cook,” chef Alice Waters retraces the path that led her to open Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, at just 27 – a restaurant that then went on to become one of the most respected in America.

‘Sweetbitter: A Novel,’ by Stephanie Danler

When Stephanie Danler’s debut novel, “Sweetbitter: A novel,” came out last year, it made new writers jealous and food lovers hungry. The book follows Tess, a waitress at a fictionalized version of Union Square Café in New York (where Danler actually worked as a waitress), as she learns about food, wine, sex and hangover management.

‘Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking,’ Marissa A. Ross

If you love drinking wine but hate ordering it, “Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking,” is the book for you. Ross is like the cool, wine-swilling, older sister you never knew you always needed, teaching you the ins and outs of vino in a fun, accessible manner. And as the Bon Appétit wine columnist, she knows her stuff.

‘Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body,’ by Roxane Gay

Food is so often more than sustenance, and in her brave new memoir, “Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body,” Roxane Gay describes how it became a comfort – and even a shield – after she was sexually assaulted. Gay’s book will resonate with many American women who struggle with body image, and remind them of their right to take up space.

‘Heartburn,’ by Norah Ephron

Okay, fine – it’s not new or even newish. But Nora Ephron’s 1983, “Heartburn,” largely considered a fictionalization of her own divorce, feels as relevant today as it did then. Come for the razor-sharp wit, stay for the delicious food details. The heroine, Rachel, is a cookbook writer and her recipes pepper the pages. If you haven’t read it, you’re in for a treat – and we’re a little jealous!

Written by Stephanie Lysaght for Parachute. Visit the Parachute Blog for more stories that enhance your sleep and inspire your waking moments. Take me there >>