’AfriCali,’ ’Dac Biet,’ and More Cookbooks We Loved in September

As Epicurious editors, we have a bounty of cookbooks stacked in our kitchens—and usually our living rooms and bedrooms too—new and old ones that we keep coming back to. We turn to them to get dinner on the table, to bake a sweet treat, to learn something new. Here are the ones we’re especially excited about this month. Maybe you’ll order one for yourself, or gift a couple to your food-obsessed friend—either way, stock up.

I have been cooking my way through Dac Biet—a beautifully textured cookbook from chef Nini Nguyen. The recipes are Vietnamese often with a New Orleans spin, like Southeast Asian Jambalaya, Curry-Blackened Fish, and Vietnamese-Style Beignets. I started with the Sticky Fried Shrimp Bánh Mì, a brilliant crossover between po’boys and bánh mì. Cornmeal-fried shrimp are topped with fish-sauce caramel. I stuffed (okay, overstuffed) my spicy mayo-smeared baguette with pickled carrots and daikon, planks of cucumber, cilantro, and the lacquered shrimp. My only regret is not having napkins at the ready. —Nina Moskowitz, editorial assistant

It was hard to pick which recipe to make first from recipe developer and video producer Kiano Moju’s debut cookbook, AfriCali. Inspired by her Kenyan and Nigerian roots, and her California upbringing, it’s a striking and inviting collection. I usually don’t cook meat at home, so I zoomed in on the vegetable-forward dishes. There are a lot of these. Bite-size lentil nuggets with mango-chili sauce. Crisp peri-peri mushrooms. Herbaceous feta samosas. I wanted them all. But it was the chickpeas swimming in a generously spiced coconut sauce that I couldn’t resist. The beans were so plump and savory, you’d have no idea they came from a can mere moments before. Because it was a weeknight, I defrosted some pita and happily used that instead of a spoon. But the next time I make the chickpeas—and there will be a next time—I’m going to try Moju’s garlic chapati or pumpkin chapati from the flatbread chapter (a delightful concept in and of itself). —Emma Laperruque, associate director of cooking

Chickpeas in Coconut Sauce

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My daughter said she wanted tacos for her third birthday party and, because I like to live my life on the edge, I decided to try something I’d never done before on the day I had 30 people coming over. I pulled chef Wes Avila’s carnitas recipe from his excellent Guerilla Tacos and it made, hands down, the best carnitas I’ve ever cooked. Avila has a different take from the braise-shred-fry method I’m used to. Instead it’s more of a confit, wrapping the whole pork shoulder and letting it cook slowly (for seven hours!) in its own fat. The recipe calls for two layers of plastic wrap and two layers of foil—I couldn’t bring myself to put plastic wrap in the oven, but parchment paper worked just as well. The fall-apart meat was the hit of the taco bar, for both the three-year-olds and the 40-year-olds. —Noah Kaufman, senior commerce editor

When I see a cookbook from baking extraordinaire Zoë François, I trust it’s going to be exceptional. (The marble pound cake from her 2021 book, Zoë Bakes Cakes, is my go-to weekend project.) Her newest one is all about cookies—classics, shareable bars, holiday repeats, and welcomed twists to steadfast favorites. I jumped to make the Rye White-Chocolate Macadamia Cookies. The dough was easy to mix and required no special tools (not even a stand mixer) and the cookies had a wonderful nutty flavor. A great cookbook for both novice and pro bakers. —Kelly Janke, director of culinary production

I have been cooking food columnist Illyana Maisonet’s Diasporican since it dropped. The beautiful food interwoven with her dynamic storytelling brings you home, even if you’re not Boricua. I often go to her chapter, Frituras, for exceptional fritters like Empanadillas—Pastelillos or Alcapurrias de Jueyes. But I love her Papa Rellenas, potato dumplings stuffed to the brim with picadillo. Maisonet leans on instant potatoes—her mother’s trick to speed up the prep before they head to the fryer. This recipe is such a crowd pleaser that I almost always scale up so I have more than enough. —Inés Anguiano, associate test kitchen manager

Learning to cook Persian food has recently become a necessity for me. I am a firm believer that food is a connector of people and, through learning to cook Persian food, I see an opportunity to connect with my girlfriend’s family and culture. When I heard about the release of Persian Feasts by gallerist Leila Heller, I knew I had to cook through it. I asked my girlfriend’s family what their favorite dishes were, and they led me to ghormeh sabzi, an herb stew loaded with greens and dried lime. When I served it, they said it tasted of their childhood. A win! So I know I will lean on this book to impress my family for years to come. —Mallary Santucci, culinary producer

Chef and author Erin French’s first cookbook The Lost Kitchen first came out in 2017, but it has had marvelous staying power in my kitchen in the years since. As soon as a chill settles into the air, I’ll reach for this book for one recipe in particular: Apple Cider–Glazed Duck. Warming spices I’d normally use for apple pie beautifully complement the bird, a cozy harbinger for autumn. It manages to simultaneously be easy-to-make and impressive-looking. And in the spirit of cuffing season, it’s the perfect recipe for a romantic date night. —Wilder Davies, commerce writer