It’s hard to do justice to all the great cookbooks published this year, but here are some of the Dining staff’s favorites:

ANCIENT GRAINS FOR MODERN MEALS by Maria Speck (Ten Speed Press, $29.99). Yes, part of the appeal is the title: “Ancient” sounds so much more interesting than “whole.” But Ms. Speck’s skill as a researcher, and her dual heritage in Greece and Germany, enrich the text — and not just in flavorful recipes like bulgur with butter-roasted almonds and cinnamon, and brown rice cakes with pecorino cheese, olives and sage. Refreshingly, she covers — and then dismisses — the subject of eating whole grains for health in the first half-dozen pages. She’s interested in flavor first, texture second and history along with both. JULIA MOSKIN

COOKING IN THE MOMENT by Andrea Reusing (Clarkson Potter, $35). Most chefs aren’t writers, but Ms. Reusing, of Lantern restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a compelling exception. She built her reputation in the kitchen with ingenious combinations of Asian and Southern ingredients. Here she offers a vision of modern domestic life that includes chickens and small children, local bok choy and carnitas — and it’s written so nicely that you don’t hate the visionary. JULIA MOSKIN