Cookbooks: Two Cups of Joy and a Pinch of Comfort

NPR | By Linda Kulman

Published November 27, 2006 at 8:04 AM PST

Few would contest the notion that mashed potatoes topped with a pat of butter represent the essence of comfort in a dish. But solace and good cheer come in many forms of food, be it the perfect chewy brownie, a simple picnic with friends or a tomato plucked from the vine at the peak of its ripeness.

However you feed your soul, this season's crop of cookbooks, crafted by big-name chefs, food personalities and just plain good cooks, is sure to please those on your holiday list who take pleasure in preparing good things to eat. (You can print these titles, along with all our other year-end picks, using this master list.)

Food

Linda Kulman

Linda Kulman, the editor of NPR.orgs weekly feature Book Tour, is an avid reader, veteran journalist and writer living in Washington, D.C. She worked as a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report for a decade, where she reported for every section of the magazine. Most recently, she covered religion and consumer culture. Kulmans book reviews have appeared in The Washington Post and on NPR.org. She has collaborated on four non-fiction books, working with a variety of notable figures. Early on in her career, she worked for several years as a fact checker at The New Yorker. Kulman also earned a degree from Columbias Graduate School of Journalism.