Fall is upon us and that means prime cooking season. There’s still plenty of bounty from late summer harvests, it’s just chilly enough to spend time huddled over the stove with a fresh breeze blowing through the kitchen window, and you’ve quit that silly fake healthy summer diet so you can really indulge. Best of all, it’s cookbook season, and this autumn a slew of celebrity chefs, renowned cooks, bloggers and authors are bringing us great new recipes to try.

Here are the top titles we’re looking forward to:

For recipes and cooking guidance from the midwestern mom you wish you had (at least during mealtimes), Rodale CEO Maria Rodale’s first cookbook and sixth book is here for you. Raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, Rodale has always been a big proponent of organic and healthy cooking, but this book brings it back to basics, with tantalizingly simple recipes calling for fresh, seasonal ingredients, ranging from salad dressings to sauces to full dinners. Millennials who are just jumping on the meal-prep and planning bandwagon can certainly benefit from (or at least be inspired by) Rodale’s wide range of dishes.

Release Date: October 1

Must-try fall recipe: Crispy Roast Chicken with Gravy (the cover star of this cookbook, the crackling skin dripping in pan juices is ideal for a crisp day)

Food blogger Molly Yeh (My Name is Yeh) is finally coming to print with a beautifully photographed (by Yeh herself) and whimsically illustrated (by Lisel Ashlock) cookbook that’s far better than any website. These 304 pages are ready to be splattered with residual batters and sauces and doughs from Yeh’s creative, Jewish-Asian-American fusion, easy-to-follow recipes. The book also doubles as a memoir, filled with anecdotes from Yeh’s childhood in the suburbs of Chicago to her time in Brooklyn to her current life on a farm in North Dakota.

Release Date: October 4

Must-try recipe: Seduction Challah (move aside “Engagement Chicken”)



The third in a series of very enjoyable cookbooks by quarterly food journal Lucky Peach, this collection of recipes and cooking wisdom plays on our national obsession with now loving vegetables as much as possible and fooling ourselves they’re not as good as meat. The humorous and diverse roster of recipes from top chefs including Ivan Orkin, David Chang and Jessica Koslow is made far less intimidating by witty commentary, quick Q & A’s and detailed instructions that feel as if your very talented, very cool chef friend is teaching you some cherished industry secrets. You know you’ve always wanted to elevator your meal prep game to “Corporate Juice Bar Kale Salad,” here’s how. The vegetable-centric cookbook is pasta-free (by choice) but that’s not to say you can’t mix pasta into any of the recipes, because you can, and you probably will.

Release Date: October 18

Must-try recipe: Asparagus Like a Steak (because why not)

Our national obsession with Bourdain continues with his newest project. In “Appetites”, the culinary celebrity shares recipes for every food-related situation, from breakfast to food fights to Thanksgiving. Recipes reflect the incredible diversity of Bourdain’s worldwide edible adventures, tossed in with comforting classics like scrambled eggs if you want to breakfast like Bourdain (you do) and cream of tomato soup with just a touch of profanity to keep this oh so Bourdain. Fake ass peanut sauce? You got it. Expect plenty of sage cooking (and eating) advice such as “God does not want you to put chicken in your Caesar [salad].” Bourdain will also be embarking on a 12 city tour to promote the book. Get your tickets now.

Release Date: October 25

Must-try fall recipe: The Stunt Turkey. The Thanksgiving section is sure to be a hit (on Instagram, if not at your Friendsgiving) come November.

The first adult coloring book and cookbook of its kind, this illustrated collection of recipes by “A Cozy Kitchen” blogger Adrianna Adarme is packed with sweet and savory dishes for all occasions, including that “cozy ass brunch” you know you’re eager to host in your fleece fall PJs. Intricate coloring designs inspired by cooking, eating and ingredients will require fine-tipped markers if you can resist painting the illustrations with food first. Plenty of simple yet satisfying recipes in this 90-page book offer plenty of downtown, so you can get creative with artwork as your cakes bake in the oven.

Release Date: November 15

Must-try fall recipe: Black and Matcha cookies

Named in honor of Julia Child’s renowned “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” Iron Chef Morimoto is encouraging home cooks to delve into classic Japanese recipes, like his grandma made, without all the pretentiousness. Cooking your way through the entire book and blogging about it may not earn you a book deal and Meryl Streep probably won’t star in the movie version of your kitchen memoir, but, hey, it’s worth a try. Skip trying to recreate dishes from Morimoto’s powerhouse NYC restaurants, leave that to the pros, but basic recipes for flawless sushi rice, chicken teriyaki and tomagoyaki, a Japanese omelet, will have you cooking like Morimoto’s matriarchs. Written along with very excellent JJ Goode, Morimoto’s guide for home chefs is full of fun tidbits about Japanese cuisine (don’t mix your soy sauce with your wasabi, unless you really want to, he’s cool with it even though it’s not his thing) and helpful advice. My favorite: Keep simple, boldly seasoned dishes in the fridge and make one new dish each night, just like Morimoto’s grandma did, you’ll then have a wide variety of items, like in a traditional Japanese meal, and many dishes taste better leftover after the seasoning soaks in.

Release Date: November 8

Must-try fall recipe: Nikujaga, Japanese-style beef stew

And a few more …

Big Bad Breakfast: The Most Important Book of the Day by John Currence

Release Date: September 13

Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking by Jessica Koslow

Release Date: October 4

The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World; by Padma Lakshmi

Release Date: October 4

Food52 A New Way to Dinner: A Playbook of Recipes and Strategies for the Week Ahead by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs

Release Date: October 18

Eataly: Contemporary Italian Cooking by Eataly

Release Date: October 24

“The Adventures of Fat Rice: Recipes from the Chicago Restaurant Inspired by Macau” by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo and Hugh Amano

Release Date: October 25