Christmas Gifts That Feed That Appetitie

I know you have that one person on your gift giving list that needs nothing. Â You may have several. Â The trick, is to give them something they didn’t know they needed! And the answer, typically, has to do with the one thing that is almost insatiable — our appetite.

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest and greatest cookbooks to hit the bookstores.

Patisserie
You might want to give this Christmas present a little early. These are the beautifully created deserts that you want to appear on your Christmas sweets table. You’ll soon see that that William & Suzue Curley as just as much artist as they are pastry chefs. From the publisher:

Patisserie aims to reflect award-winning chocolatier, William Curley’s passion for taking classic recipes and modernizing them with his own innovations. Creating top-quality patisserie is often seen as something only a trained professional can do, however with patisserie equipment now easily accessible to all, William hopes to unscramble the mystique of haute patisserie creation and get everyone creating masterpieces in their home kitchen. The process of patisserie is broken down into a step-by-step guide complete with expert knowledge from a master pÃ¢tissier to produce flawless creations every time. A series of basic recipes will provide a solid foundation in patisserie techniques as well as inspiration for aspiring creative pastry chefs.

5-Minute Mug Cakes: Nearly 100 Yummy Microwave Cakes
Actually, this makes a great gift for the after-school experimenter, and the hungry kid at college, who is stuck with “awful dorm food.” From the publisher:

5-Minute Mug Cakes is the perfect gift for anyone with a mug, a microwave, and a dream. With nearly 100 delectable recipes for cakes, brownies, cookies, and more, every single recipe can be made in an ordinary, microwave-safe mug in just a few minutes. Author Jennifer Lee, creator of Kirbie’s Cravings, guides you through simple recipe favorites like:

2-Ingredient Flourless NutellaÂ® Cake-Salted-Caramel Chocolate Cake

Funfetti Cake

S’mores Cake

Strawberries & Cream Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Red Velvet Cake

Lemon Dream Cake and dozens more!

30-Minute Paleo Meals: Over 100 Quick-Fix, Gluten-Free Recipes
The perfect Christmas gift — meals that date back to the caveman time, when meals were cooked over an open fire. From the publisher:

As most of us know, getting a meal together can oftentimes be difficult – and making sure that it’s healthy can be next to impossible. However, with the help of Melissa Petitto, personal chef to the stars, healthier and happier mealtimes are a breeze! 30 Minute Paleo Meals is filled with over 100 quick and easy recipes that won’t jeopardize your time or your health. Not to mention, they’re also kind to your waistline. Petitto uses all-natural, gluten-and-GMO-free ingredients in her recipes and makes a point of crafting meals which include only the foods that were available in paleolithic times; all unprocessed, unmodified, and unbelievably good for you. Whether you are new to the Paleo lifestyle or you’re already a modern caveman, this cookbook is likely to become one of your most trusted allies.

Orwashers Artisan Bread: 100 Years of Techniques and Recipes
Who does winter without bread? And this is an artistic book — one that will leave the receiver savoring the pages, long after the Christmas lights have faded.

A Curious Harvest: The Practical Art of Cooking Everything
Who wants one less trip to the grocery store? This book is about making do with what you already have available, and experimenting. From the publisher:

Long before supermarkets taught us what we should buy to eat, we simply looked around and ate what looked good. A Curious Harvest marks a return to this kind of thinking. Focusing on ingredients, from the common to the curious, rather than finished dishes Maximus Thaler of The Gleaner’s Kitchen offers a choose-your-own primer for preparing tasty, nutritious meals without dogma or shopping lists. Inside each ingredient is beautifully and reverently illustrated by Dayna Safferstein. On each page is information about storing and preparing, when to roast and when to juice, and what goes well with what. What you won’t find are complicated recipes requiring expensive trips to the supermarket. The result is nothing short of radical.

Making Soda at Home: Mastering the Craft of Carbonation: Healthy Recipes You Can Make With or Without a Soda Machine
You know I LOVE this book! And I can’t recommend starting your own process of soda making at home — for yourself, or someone you love. Try this recipe, and see what I’m talking about! After chatting with Jeremy last summer, I learned so much. Check out Jeremy Butler’s blog to learn more.

Paleo Lunches and Breakfasts On the Go: The Solution to Gluten-Free Eating All Day Long with Delicious, Easy and Portable Primal Meals
The sweet potato pancakes and mini quiches were a fabulous hit here at our house. I love the bone-muscle building power of paleo for everyone in the family. From the publisher:

Diana Rodgers, a nutritional therapist and Paleo community activist, solves the problem with Paleo Lunches and Breakfasts On the Go, containing 100 easy and delicious packable meals without bread. From lettuce-wrap sandwiches to egg muffins to creative uses for toothpicks and packaging, she takes the confusion out of how to make hand-friendly and fast Paleo meals. Recipes include her Chicken Salad with Fennel and Cranberries perfectly cradled by a leaf of romaine lettuce, the to-die for Cherry Tarragon Breakfast Sausages and even a Paleo-friendly Bubble and Squeak. These mouth-watering creations are perfect portable meals that are as healthy and easy to make as they are gourmet.

Comfort Food Cookbook: 230 Recipes for Bringing Classic Good Food to the Table (Grit Magazine)
If Grandma is no longer around to teach you that the secret to making flaky biscuits is not to overmix the dough — you need this cookbook. For those of us who seek to offer comfort through good, nutritious food, but lack the age-old tradition know-how — this book is a wealth of knowledge.