The holidays are a time for good food, even if you can’t get together with your extended family. I mean, even those of us who don’t celebrate Christmas can appreciate the higher-than-average amount of sweets coming out of our friends’ kitchens, and those only-available-once-a-year goodies like Sugar Cookie M&Ms and Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares (you know, for example). There are also latkes, delicious alone or as a vehicle for all sorts of sweet and savory toppings, and sufganiyot, so get those frying skills ready.

The holidays are also a good time to hint at what you’d like people to make for you next year. I mean, give the gift of new recipes to the people in your life who enjoy spending time in the kitchen. Yeah, that second one is definitely more important. Sure.

Anyway! Cookbooks!

Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes and Stories from L.A. by Danny Trejo with Hugh Garvey

I did not know that Danny Trejo, star of such amazingness as Machete and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (shut up, I fucking love that movie) had opened a taco place. I did not know it had won awards.

I was missing out, yo.

At this point, I have made almost all of the proteins in Trejo’s Tacos, and they are all ridiculously good. The rice is amazing. I would murder someone if they were withholding the black beans or the breakfast burrito. There are fusion recipes like falafel burritos and Mexican risotto. There are multiple vegan options. There are donuts.

If you don’t live in L.A., get thee this cookbook. Or move to L.A. Which I would consider doing to be able to walk into one of these taquerias and be able to get the real thing instead of what is my own tasty-but-for-sure-pale imitation.

Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook by Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Michael Witwer

Okay, I’m going to be honest: I thought this was going to be gimmicky and silly and probably require a lot of specialized tools for mediocre results.

I was extremely wrong.

Heroes’ Feast is a fantastic cookbook. Sure, the names of the dishes fulfill the brief, but everything I’ve made thus far (Rothé Ribs, Tavern “Steak,” Moonshae Seafood Rice) has been a huge hit, and when I ask the kids to help me menu plan for the week, this is the first book they go to. The recipes are also really easy to adapt to your family’s needs. I made the ribs in the slow cooker, for example, and doubled the shrimp in the seafood rice since I’m allergic to scallops, which is a huge bonus in a group of 4 that has a picky eater, a lactose intolerant human, another human with weird-ass food allergies, and a fourth whose likes and dislikes vacillate on the daily.

And yes, we are planning to play a campaign while we chow down on snacks from the book at some point.

Editor’s note: I also wholly endorse this book, especially the Dwarven Cuisine chapter. I’ve made the bangers and smash, miner’s pie, and dwarven mulled wine. All were amazing, and all will be made again. (Jamie)

The Adobo Road Cookbook: A Filipino Food Journey – From Food Blog, to Food Truck, and Beyond by Marvin Gapultos

The Adobo Road may very well have been the find of the century where dinner is concerned in the Sondheimer household. I took it out of the library on a whim pre-pandemic, kept it out as long as I could, took out the e-book version, kept that as long as I could, and ultimately ended up buying it because every recipe I tried was met with universal acclaim. One kid eats the pan seared steak; they usually turn down meat that isn’t in burger form these days. The other kid eats all the things with shrimp and now declares he loves it, which is not what he was saying six months ago. Hubs and I love the flavor that results from the combination of ingredients, such as fish sauce and rice vinegar with cumin, paprika, and lime.

The Adobo Road is also a fantastic cookbook for folx who want to experiment with a new cuisine but find themselves on a budget. Most of the recipes have fewer than 10 ingredients (including sauces and spices, which, after an initial investment, last a while), and rarely are any of them is expensive.

Marvel Eat the Universe: The Official Cookbook by Justin Warner 

Marvel Eat the Universe is an absolutely gorgeous book. The photography is fantastic, and the more complex recipes have both clearly written instructions and visual step-by-step guides. I love the way Warner matched each recipe with a character from the Marvel Universe that has a thematic link to the dish, even pulling out some less-well-known personalities to utilize some more exotic ingredients. (Batroc’s Frog Legs, anyone?)

There’s a good range of recipes in Marvel Eat the Universe as well, from easy (Uncanned X-Men Loco Moco) to complex (Green Goblin’s Pumpkin Bombes), though none of them is out of reach of a determined home cook. I would make sure you take stock of your pantry and tools before you get started on a project, however; some of them require specialized implements and/or ingredients you might not keep stocked on the regular, and there’s nothing worse than realizing halfway through tempering chocolate that you don’t have the right kind of butter.

Disney Eats: More than 150 Recipes for Everyday Cooking and Inspired Fun by Joy Howard

I’m not usually a fan of themed cookbooks that require a ton of unnecessary design work and creativity just for the sake of “theming.” When I cook, I want to feel like I’m cooking, not crafting. Besides, it all ends up looking the same inside your stomach anyway.

There is some of that in Disney Eats – some over-the-top design work to make hummus look like Simba (yes, really) or to make marshmallows look like Baymax floating in your hot chocolate (though, to be fair, that one is adorable). But they’re the exception. Most of the recipes in this book are relatively simple, fun, and delicious – and they’re all strong contenders for “family togetherness” time in the kitchen.

Many of the recipes are straightforward basics (i.e., kid-friendly for picky palettes). So whether you have kids who are eager to help prepare dinner or just have some “spare” time on the weekend to get adventurous together and make some snacks or a special dessert, I guarantee you’ll find something perfect in this book. (Jamie)

The British Baking Book: The History of British Baking, Savory and Sweet by Regula Ysewijn

Best and easiest scone recipe ever right here. I’ve never made the cream variety and had them come out as perfectly as the version from The British Baking Book did, even when I added dried fruit to the mix. Also chocolate chips (shhhh).

I very much appreciate the new perspective on baking Ysewijn’s book has brought to my repertoire, as well. It’s not as though I’ve never done savory before, but it’s certainly not the first thing I think of under the baking umbrella, and I think that’s probably true of most Americans (bread being the exception, but we don’t truly appreciate bread’s potential either; for most of us, it’s just a platform for spread). I certainly didn’t consider it a common method of making a meal, aside from the occasional quiche. A good half of the recipes in The British Baking Book, however, are savory snacks or full meal. Mind. Blown.

The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook by Regula Ysewijn 

There is nothing in The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook that’s hard to make. That said, many of the recipes require time, patience, attention, multitasking, and a lot of ingredients, so you’ll want to make certain you allow enough time, enough energy, and have everything you need set up ahead of time. If you’re actually using this one to plan a holiday dinner, you may even want to write out a schedule of when you need to do what to which dish just to be certain you don’t miss, undertook, or burn anything.

That said, even the simplest dishes from The Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook smell, look, and taste absolutely exquisite. I made the Coq au Vin for dinner one night for the hell of it and everyone actually managed to use a knife and fork to eat it. It was that elevated.

I know right?

The Golden Girls Cookbook: More than 90 Delectable Recipes from Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia by Christopher Styler

This one might be the most “niche” title on this list, but if you have a fan of The Golden Girls on your list… or someone longing for a taste of “old white lady” cooking (perhaps for nostalgic purposes), then look no further.

The book is divided into four sections – one for each character – with recipes covering breakfast, soups, sides, pastas, mains, desserts, and drinks. So, it’s fairly straightforward in its organization, but the recipes themselves were chosen to be as if they were something the characters would’ve actually made. So you’ve got Italian dishes (for Sophia), a taste of the South (for Blanche), recipes that recall life in St. Olaf (for Rose), and… easy, no-nonsense dishes without all the fuss (for Dorothy).

As an added bonus, the book is filled with photography from the show and character quotes, so it makes a fun flip through as you’re deciding what to make. (Jamie)

Your friends and family have a whole year to practice. Give them a reminder now.