1.  The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook:  Sweetness in Seattle by Tom Douglas & Shelley Lance 

2.  Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet

3.  The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

4.  Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

5.  Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

6.  Gluten-Free Baking for The Holidays by Jeanne Sauvage

7.  Dishing Up Washington by Jess Thomson

8.  Canal House Cooks Every Day by Melissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer

9.  America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution

10.  (tie)  Fried Chicken and Champagne by Lisa Dupar and Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten

1.  The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman (get a signed copy here.) 

 2.  The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook:  Sweetness in Seattle by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance (get a signed copy here.)

 3.  More From Macrina  by Leslie Mackey (get a signed copy here.)

 4.  Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

 5.  The Meat-Lover's Meatless Holiday Celebrations by Kim O'Donnel

 6.  The Everyday Wok Cookbook by Lorna Yee

 7.  The Hakka Cookbook by Linda Lau Anusasananan

 8.  Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

 9.  Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten

 10.  The Skillet Cookbook:  A Street Food Manifesto by Josh Henderson

Rachael welcomes the class.  3 students were from out of town, visiting the shop for the first time.

First Course:  Romaine Salad with Warm Lentils, Pears, and Hazelnuts

Second course was a Butternut Squash and Apple Soup with Sage Croutons.  The croutons were made from Columbia City Bakery Ciabatta Loaf.  They were GOOD...

Students left with a Macaroon from Claire Ptak's fantastic book "Leon: Baking and Desserts." Claire has a charming bakery in London called Violet--worth a visit if you are in the city.

5.  At The Kitchen Table by Greg Atkinson--Local chef and food writer Greg Atkinson's personal stories made us laugh, cry, and head to the kitchen to create our own memories.  We celebrated the book during our first week, and have headed to it for inspiration ever since.

4.  Shiro by Shiro Kashiba--Sushi legend Shiro's memoir of growing up in Japan, emigrating to Seattle, and introducing the city to the food of his homeland resonated with you, and the production value of the book made it an even greater pleasure to read. 

3.  The Seasonal Cocktail Companion by Maggie Savarino--cocktails are hot, and so is preserving all the lovely fruit and veg that the season has to offer.  Maggie perfectly captures both of these interests with her delicious, accessible recipes for cocktails and DIY spirits, syrups, sugars, and other delights to make your home bar the tastiest on the block.

2.  Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons--Did I mention that both cocktails and preserving are hot?  Brad's marvelously researched book is a fascinating read on the history of bitters, once considered a magical cure for all that ails you.  It appeals to those who want to make their own bitters, and to those who want to enjoy the new wave of craft bitters in the best way possible.  A thoughtful, beautifully photographed treatment of a timely topic.

1.  Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi--Hardly a day has gone by when a customer hasn't asked, "Do you have 'Plenty?'"  Yotam Ottolenghi's collection of his popular Guardian column offers a whole new take on vegetables.  With luscious photos and flavors it's incredibly worthy of the top spot on our list. 

And now we look to year #2.  Each month we'll post our bestsellers, so that you can see what our customers are cooking and reading.  Enjoy!

To answer that question, we've compiled the list of Book Larder's Top Ten Bestsellers, from the time we opened on October 12, 2011, to today.  Here are the first 6-10; I'll post the top 5 tomorrow.  Enjoy!

10.  Grow, Cook, Eat by Willi Galloway--It's no surprise that this book made the top 10.  With it's gorgeous photos by Jim Henkens, and Willi's marvelous, approachable recipes and gardening tips, it's the perfect book for Seattle's grow-your-own, farmer's market-loving cooks.

9.   Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi--Critics loved this book and so did we, from the Compost Cookies to the Crack Pie.  Moreish.

8.   Joy The Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson--There's a reason Joy has such a loyal following online--her recipes rock!  And her quirky personality is beautifully captured in this book of sweet and savory (but mostly sweet) creations.

7.   Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan--Quite possibly my favorite memoir with recipes of the past year.  Donia's loving tribute to her parents, and moving story of starting life in a new place.  I gave it to my mom, sister, and all my girlfriends last year--it's that kind of book.

6.   Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla--Our store manager Clodagh was an early champion, and the rest of our staff quickly followed suit.  You've raved about the simplicity of the recipes and fantastic flavors of this book.  What's better than coming home to a freshly cooked Indian meal?

So--which books will be in the Top 5?

We have some fabulous author events, cooking classes, and demonstrations planned for you this spring.  Recently, Maggie Savarino, Paula Wolfert, Molly Moon Neitzel, and Shiro Kashiba visited with us, and we have many, many more fun things planned.  Please be sure to check our calendar of events and join us -- we'd love to see you!

Here are a few photos to catch you up:

First, can we say how thrilled we all were to host the lovely and incomparable Gail Simmons for not one, but two, events?

On February 29th, Amy Pennington, host of the new KCTS dining show "Check, Please!," interviewed Gail at a Dessert Party at the Palace Ballroom.  The pastry chefs at Tom Douglas Restaurants made lovely desserts inspired by memories from their own childhoods, and Gail was especially touched by the banners hung throughout the ballroom that featured the title and artwork from each chapter of “Talking with My Mouth Full.”
 

The next morning Gail was in our kitchen to make a savory soufflé, share more about her unique career, and sign books.  Despite the early hour, she gamely chatted with guests while simultaneously whipping up the soufflés, which came out beautifully.  Some of our guests hadn’t seen the Top Chef Finale the night before, so we had to refer to the finalists as “Pat” and “Chris” in order to ensure gender neutrality and not spoil the surprise for anyone.  After visiting us, Gail grabbed a sandwich from Paseo and some goodies from Dot’s Delicatessen before jetting off to LA for more events.

We opened on October 12, 2011, and have been visited by so many wonderful authors, instructors, and of course, you, our customers! Here are a few photos to catch you up: