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Back to School with the Latest Cookbooks by ICE Alumni

Five food books for gelato lovers, moms and everyday cooks to read this fall.

courtesy of Dan Gold, Unsplash

It’s been a big year in publishing for ICE alumni – five graduates of the Culinary Arts program have released cookbooks since January. Kitty Travers (Culinary, ’03) shares recipes from her long-celebrated London ice cream company, La Grotta Ices; Suzy Scherr (Culinary, ’10) gives us more than 100 uses for a common household product; Jennifer Clair (Culinary, ’98) writes a home cook’s manual with tricks from professional kitchens; and Aurora Satler (Culinary, ’10) and Jenna Helwig (Culinary, ’07) both bring nutritional advice and simple recipes for busy parents feeding young children and families.

La Grotta Ices book by Kitty Travers “La Grotta Ices” by Kitty Travers

Kitty Travers’ acclaimed London ice cream company, La Grotta Ices, makes its in-home debut with this book of more than 75 recipes for ice cream, sorbet and granita. Her ice creams are famously inventive and fruit-forward, often relying on obscure ingredients like peach leaves, fig leaves, even capers, and enticing combinations like white grapefruit and pale ale. The book is wildly colorful and inviting; it not only teaches us to make ice cream at home, but inspires us to be bold and creative with flavor. Travers teaches ice cream making at The School of Artisan Food in the U.K.

“The Baking Soda Companion” by Suzy Scherr

Suzy Scherr’s new book is a sequel to “The Apple Cider Vinegar Companion” and follows suit with a myriad of recipes, remedies and tricks for using baking soda, from teeth whitening to household cleaning to culinary applications like softening chickpeas (for the creamiest hummus) and making fluffy scrambled eggs. Scherr is a personal chef, culinary instructor and writer based in New York City.

“Six Basic Cooking Techniques: Culinary Essentials For The Home Cook” by Jennifer Clair

Jennifer Clair, who runs Home Cooking NY, gives us a succinct and detailed companion for the home cook in her new book. First, she outlines the book’s namesake – six essential cooking techniques – followed by simple recipes that utilize each technique. The book provides an excellent overview of restaurant-chef tricks like how to quickly remove kale stalks and properly blanch green vegetables. There’s also a great list of recommended kitchen tools that will make your home kitchen feel professional.

A preview of Jennifer Clair's "Six Basic Cooking Techniques" book.
A sneak peek inside "Six Basic Cooking Techniques."

“The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook” by Aurora Satler

This is an excellent manual for new moms looking to feed their babies (and themselves) with whole foods and proper nutrition from pregnancy through toddlerhood. Glean nutritional advice and corresponding recipes along the way – with everything from pregnancy mocktails to homemade baby food to simple meals for the entire family like minestrone, cornbread and a quick coconut curry. Satler is a mother and photographer with experience food styling and catering.

“Baby-Led Feeding” by Jenna Helwig

Jenna Helwig partners with registered dietician Natalia Stasenko in this step-by-step guide to introducing good nutrition to young babies and teaching them to be strong, independent eaters. The book has a number of helpful charts that detail nutritional guidelines and how to meet those numbers with common foods, along with easy-to-prepare, freezable recipes that can be made in advance and reheated. Helwig’s easy-to-follow guidelines and approachable recipes offer confidence to new parents for giving babies what they need for proper growth and development. Helwig is the food director of Parents and Health magazines.

More alumni cookbook news

  • Gail Simmons’ (Culinary, '99) released, “Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating,” in October 2017. It was nominated for a general cookbook award from The International Association of Culinary Professionals in February.
  • Stacy Adimando (Culinary, '10) co-authored “Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen,” which won a 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award in the International category in April.

Develop your writing and photography skills at the Institute of Culinary Education's food media classes and read more about cookbooks on DICED.

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