Given, most people find our recipes on the Internet these days. But Savour Calgary readers aren’t most people. We’re the ones who bookmark our favourite, sauce-splattered pages in Grandma’s Best of Bridge and who spend more time than is sane at The Cookbook Co. Cooks perusing the cookbook aisle with hungry eyes. This holiday list is for you, book lovers.
We’ve compiled eleven cookbooks from Alberta authors perfect for gift giving this holiday season. Consider pairing the book with a lovely bottle of good olive oil, apron or oven mitts. Most of these cookbooks are available at local stores, retailers and vendors throughout Alberta. Many are sold online and can be shipped right to your door or even the person you are sending the gift to. Please shop local this year and support these authors and the businesses who carry these cookbooks.
A few places to shop local and pick up some great cookbooks include Shelf Life Books, The Silk Road Spice Merchant, The Cookbook Co. Cooks (linked above), Owl’s Nest Books, Fair’s Fair Books, and The Next Page. Several of these books are available online, see individual links below. As always due to limited hours and customers in store, we recommend you call ahead before dropping in.
2020 Together At Our Table
The ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen Calgary chefs are at it again and have created a delicious Holiday feast tailored to small gatherings. Whether it’s a week night meal or weekend dinner this cookbook showcases new ingredients, global recipes, is approachable and uncomplicated making it easy for anyone to cook from.
Find more information here: ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen.
A Spicy Touch Family Favourites
A Spicy Touch is the late Noorbanu Nimji’s celebration of her North Indian Ismaili Muslim ancestry and the East African cuisine from her homeland in Kenya. Written with Calgary food writer and Alberta Food Tours owner, Karen Anderson, this cookbook offers more than 200 time-tested family favourites and new recipes including main dishes, Indian breads soups and samosa – wrapping.
This book is available online at A Spicy Touch.
5-Ingredient Cooking by the Best of Bridge
Just in time for the holidays, Best of Bridge presents 125 fast and fantastic five-ingredient meal recipes by Emily Richards and Calgarian Sylvia Kong. Discover recipes using less ingredients developed in the Best of Bridge fashion, designed to inspire mealtime prep without the fuss.
Find this cookbook and others in the series here: Best of Bridge.
Calgary Eats: Signature Recipes from the City’s Best Restaurants and Bars
Calgary Eats celebrates eighty recipes by forty of the city’s leading chefs, mixologists, bakers, brewers and bartenders. Get to know the chefs in our community by reading and trying their recipes. It’s written by Gail Norton, and Savour Calgary contributor Karen Ralph with a foreword by Savour Calgary Recipe contributor Julie Van Rosendaal.
Find this book and several in this list at The Cookbook Co. Cooks.
Dirty Food: Sticky, Saucy, Gooey, Crumbly, Messy Shareable Food
Dirty Food by Savour Calgary contributor Julie Van Rosendaal is the perfect stocking stuffer for those who love to cook. This cookbook is a joyful pushback against this amorphous, abstract buzzword and its connection with ideas of purity and goodness. Recipes are cookable, unfussy and easily adapted to suit personal tastes and the seasons.
Learn more about Julie and her cookbooks here: Dinner with Julie.
Duchess at Home: Sweet & Savoury Recipes from My Home to Yours
Duchess at Home cookbook is a Taste Canada Awards Silver Winner by Giselle Courteau, founder of the Duchess Baker Shop in Edmonton. Recipes are delectable, comforting and French-inspired for home cooks looking to try some new recipes. French favourites and Quebecois cuisine include dishes for Christmas and special occasions.
Cookbook is available online at: Duchess Bake Shop
Food Artisans of Alberta: Your Trail Guide to the Best of our Locally Crafted Far
Karen Anderson and Matilde Sanchez-Turri share some of the best local food artisans Alberta has to offer. From the coulees of the badlands to the combines of the wheatlands, Food Artisans of Alberta captures the distinct tastes of our majestic province. Includes stories, inspiration, and friendly faces of the people who craft great food throughout Alberta.
Read more about this book here: Food Artisans of Alberta
Nonna Said
Nonna Said is a passion project created by sisters Nadia Carinelli and Sara Marghella to celebrate time spent in the kitchen with their Nonna. The project grew into much more for the sisters and evolved into endless memories plus a collection of recipes inspired by Nonna Rosaria Franco (nee Spinelli).
Find this cookbook at The Italian Centre and A Tavola.
tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine
tawâw by Shane M. Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King is a cookbook that traces Chartrand’s culinary journey from his childhood in Central Alberta to his current position of executive chef at SC Restaurant in the River Cree Resort & Casino. He explores the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine and what it means to cook, eat and share food in our homes and communities.
Find more information here: Shane M. Chartrand
The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids: Essential Skills and Recipes Every Young Chef Should Know
Written and illustrated by Calgary’s own Pierre Lamielle, The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids is a kitchen adventure wrapped up in a book. The Munchy Munchy Gang is a team of characters found throughout the book helping to educate kids on the art of cooking and the range of flavours they will encounter.
Learn more about this cookbook and order online here: Munchy Munchy
The 30-Minute Heart Healthy Cookbook: Delicious Recipes for Easy, Low-Sodium Meals
Cheryl Strachan is a Registered Dietitian specializing in cardiac nutrition. Her book The 30-Minute Heart Healthy Cookbook includes meal planning tips, a grocery shopping guide, and at-a-glance food charts for easy to prepare heart healthy nutritious meals.
Learn more about Cheryl and her cookbook here: Sweet Spot Nutrition
Awesome round-up Wanda! Thanks so much for including A Spicy Touch and Food Artisans of Alberta. I’m so happy to read about all the others and have now added them to my holiday wish list!
So many great books to gift this season!