Sarah Chamberlain

Melissa Clark is my spirit animal. Enthusiastic, smart, no-fuss cooking and writing, and every recipe I’ve made from her books and New York Times columns has been wildly delicious. Special props to the harissa chicken with potatoes and leeks in Dinner, which is my new favorite thing to make for guests and has the fantastic cook’s treat of crusty, spicy, schmaltzy potatoes to scrape off the roasting tray.

Meera is a friend, but even if I didn’t know her I could honestly say that this is the book I cook from the most, as my battered, broken copy will attest. If you’ve ever wondered about making Indian food at home but felt intimidated, Meera takes you by the hand and leads you through recipes with clarity and wit.

I think there should be an established clubhouse for Fans of Laurie Colwin, where nice people can drink coffee and chat about Sussex Pond Pudding, or what to cook for the fussiest eater, or just about what a goddamn genius she was and how unfair it is that she didn’t live to see food writing the way it is now.

Anyone who both quotes Henry James while talking about cooking and makes the best rhubarb crumble has my heart. I cook from Nigella’s books of course, but I also love to curl up in an armchair and read them when I’m feeling down. Her warmth and enthusiasm are impossible to resist.

Exciting, evocative recipes that also happen to WORK. I read Diana’s recipes and think “Huh, I wonder what that would taste like?” and the answer is always “DELICIOUSNESS.” I particularly love the coq au riesling in this book.

A confession: I am not one of nature’s great bakers. If you are like me, you need this book. Chang’s recipes are immensely detailed - she holds your hand for every tiny step. With her help, I made a three-layer sponge cake filled with homemade lemon curd and Swiss buttercream for my husband’s birthday, which seemed ambitious but worked beautifully. Of course this wouldn’t matter if the results weren’t delicious, but they absolutely are!

The American ur-cookbook, and the first place I look if I need to understand how to do something simple, like making gravy or cooking sugar. Highly unglamorous, but probably the most useful cookbook I own.

A simultaneously incredibly detailed and beautifully written book about making jam. It contains pretty much everything you need to know about the nuts and bolts of preserving, while also being a tribute to the joys of California's produce. The flavors are incredible too - I made a delicious St Clements marmalade in January that was the perfect rebuke to winter.

Everything I’ve made from this has been delicious, from the weeknight-friendly (chermoula aubergines with bulgur salad) to the dinner party showstoppers (lamb shawarma) to the sweet treats (the wonderful, wonderful spice cookies). If I were only allowed to have one Ottolenghi cookbook, it would be this one.

This Southern memoir with recipes first showed me the power of homemade delicious baked goods, and also of amazing storytelling combined with great recipes. In my experience, the chocolate sheet cake recipe is exceptionally useful for persuading older brothers to drive you to the bookstore...