Best Books Of 2012

Recipe Rebellion: A Year Of Contrarian Cookbooks

The rebels, rule breakers and renegades who rule this year's Top 10 list aren't looking for a Ph.D. in Traditional Cooking. They're pleasure seekers whose books are filled with quirky facts, gorgeous pictures and ingredients deployed in unexpected places.

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Food

The Long View: Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Kitchen

Beloved chef Madhur Jaffrey prepared for a life on stage and screen as an actress — but her longing for the food of her childhood led her to her other career. She looks back on her days in film and in the kitchen with NPR's Renee Montagne.

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Food

Take a Fresh Look at a Clever Little Vegetable

Cross an artichoke with celery, and you come close to getting a cardoon. For our food moment this week, food writer Peggy Knickerbocker talks about cardoons — a wonderfully weird vegetable with mediterranean "roots." Knickerbocker is the co-author of The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook.

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Dive into a Sea of Good Summer Food

Summer is the time to eat. There's no better opportunity to make the most of what the season — and your local farmer's stand — have to offer. Cookbooks can help. Food writer Bonny Wolf rounds up 10 to take you through the season.

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Recipes: 'Mexican Everyday'

"There's much here for the summer cook," says food writer Bonny Wolf of Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday. This compendium of Mexican recipes earns a place in Wolf's in her roundup of summer cookbooks.

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Kitchen Window

Time for Tortillas

Paella and gazpacho may be the most familiar Spanish foods for most Americans, but it is the humble tortilla that can be found in every home and bar in Spain. Food writer Bryan Miller provides a how-to for this traditional tapa.

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Recipes: Simple Soirees

Food writer Holly Swanson recommends this title in her roundup of cookbooks to give and receive, praising this menu-based title.

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Cookbooks to Give and Get

Whether it's a gift your looking for, a recipe for a holiday gathering, or a delicious title to read by the fire, this list has something for you. Food blogger and cookbook author Heidi Swanson has pulled together her favorite titles this year, and her favorite recipes from those books.

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Food

Fine Southern Food from a Native Son

In a colorful new cookbook, Alabama chef Frank Stitt shares moutwatering recipes from his award-winning restaurant Highlands Bar and Grill. He talks with NPR's Debbie Elliot about the tradition of food in the South.

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Food

'Lidia's Family Table': Italian Food at its Best

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates cooks pasta with Italian chef Lidia Bastianich — best known for her PBS television series, and touted as the next Julia Child — and talk about her new cookbook highlighting her traditional family style methods of home cooking.

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