Maggie Hoffman

Food & drink writer

https://www.maggiejhoffman.com

Biography

Maggie Hoffman is the author of The One-Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit. Hoffman writes about cocktails, spirits, food, beer, and wine. She founded the drinks section of Serious Eats in 2011, and served as the managing editor for the James Beard award-winning site. In addition to Serious Eats, her work has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset, Wine Enthusiast, San Francisco Magazine, In the Mix Magazine, and the websites of Saveur, Food & Wine, and others. She lives in San Francisco.

Dinner: Changing the Game

Melissa Clark

Of recently published books, this is a favorite, because it offers easy-prep dinners that don't shy away from bold flavors. Let's get everyone using harissa and fish sauce and tamarind! Your sheet-pan chicken will never be the same.

Good to the Grain

Kim Boyce

This beloved book features tender, wonderful baked goods made with flavorful grains beyond your average flours. Everything I've made has been terrific.

Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California

Travis Lett

Inspiring vegetable dishes are my favorite parts of this book from the famed LA restaurant. If you liked Plenty, you need to own this.

The Zuni Café Cookbook

Judy Rodgers

It's not flashy, but this is a classic for a reason. You, too, can make the best chicken of your life, even if you don't have a wood-burning oven. There's a must-eat Caesar salad, too.

State Bird Provisions

Stuart Brioza , Nicole Krasinski and JJ Goode

Ok, I'm not making these fancy, involved dishes on the regular, but it's such a treat to see what goes into the bold-flavored delights of this San Francisco star. Make the beef tartare, complete with caesar aioli.

The Food Lab

J. Kenji López-Alt

This tome from my colleague at Serious Eats is a TON to read, but it works wonderfully as a reference, especially if you're curious about common kitchen myths and rules. For science nerds and anyone who has doubted common cooking wisdom.

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts

Stella Parks

Even if you don't go in for elaborate baking, this book is a fantastic collection of histories of America's favorite sweets, from chocolate chip cookies to Oreos to red velvet cake. Stella Parks is the queen of baking nerds, and her writing is delightful.

Zahav

Michael Solomonov

The best hummus ever. That makes this book worth the price of admission. But there's a lot more inspiration here, too.

Made in India

Meera Sodha

Wonderful recipes for fragrant, delicious home cooking from Meera Sodha.

Every Grain of Rice

Fuchsia Dunlop

I love every one of Fuchsia Dunlop's books on Chinese cooking, but this one has the advantage of accessibility; these are dishes you can actually make at home.