Sarah Chamberlain

Sarah Chamberlain

Food writer

https://www.sarahichamberlain.com
Sarah is a food writer and social historian based in Oakland, California. Originally from Cupertino, California (where your iPhone is from), she lived and worked in London for six years and co-founded At the Table, a creative platform that explores and celebrates British food culture. You can find her writing in The Guardian, Extra Crispy, and At the Table. (Author’s note: I have named particular books because that’s what this format demands, but please consider this list encouragement to go out and find every single one of these authors’ books.)

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Sarah's favorite cookbooks

Dinner: Changing the Game

Dinner: Changing the Game

Melissa Clark

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.

Made in India

Made in India

Meera Sodha

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.

Home Cooking

Home Cooking

Laurie Colwin

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.

How To Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food

How To Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food

Nigella Lawson

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.

A Bird in the Hand

A Bird in the Hand

Diana Henry

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.

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Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery & Cafe

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery & Cafe

Joanne Chang

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!

Blue Chair Jam Cookbook

Blue Chair Jam Cookbook

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.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi

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.

Consuming Passions

Consuming Passions

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...