The Cajun Vegan Cookbook

By Krimsey Lilleth

Petroleum engineer-turned-writer-and-chef Krimsey Lilleth calls southern California home these days, but she actually hails from right here in Baton Rouge, and she returns to her roots—with a twist—in these pages. “Cajun food is the spices. It’s the technique,” she insists. “When you marry these two cuisines … you kick open the door to new culinary possibilities.” Lilleth’s recipes back up these claims, including a veggie-loaded étouffée, a black-eyed pea chili, and her former restaurant’s most popular menu item, a New Orleans po’boy with heart-of-palm nuggets. Salted caramel pralines and “black magic” brownie beignets top the dessert list.

Taste of Tremé

By Todd-Michael St. Pierre

Self-proclaimed “Cajun and Creole foodie” Todd-Michael St. Pierre takes a delicious dive into his hometown of New Orleans in this title devoted to the dishes of the Tremé neighborhood, the area he loves most. “In Tremé, music is always in the air and something wonderful is always simmering on the stove,” he writes. The recipes start with south Louisiana essentials: spice blends, variations on roux, and coffee drinks. Then it’s on to the stuff of sweet and savory dreams, from pain perdu (“lost bread,” or French toast) to gumbo z’herbes to crawfish bread. Each recipe comes with a story as colorful as the neighborhood itself.

Southern Grit

By Kelsey Barnard Clark

When Top Chef came to Kentucky in 2018, it was only just that a Southern chef would take home the coveted title. That innovator was Kelsey Barnard Clark, an Alabaman born and bred who managed to wow the worldly judges by elevating humble foods like boiled peanuts and fruit cobbler. Clark’s new book promises to do the same for readers, with recipes for those favorites and more, as well as tips on canning, hosting and even keeping a house clean with toddlers. “I am a proud Southern woman,” she writes, “and aim to make things better than the way I found them.”

Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking

By Cheryl Day

Savannah’s Back in the Day Bakery is beloved for its cookies and pies, but that’s only the latest chapter in cofounder Cheryl Day’s story. Day’s first solo cookbook draws on her family heritage of culinary creativity, beginning with her great-great-grandmother, a former slave who became a caterer in Alabama. “I come from a long line of women who cooked and dared to follow their dreams,” she writes, before presenting an array of updated recipes inspired by centuries-old Southern delicacies—think sweet potato cake and bourbon-peach hand pies. “Southern baking recipes are steeped in passed-down tradition.”

Y’all Come Over

By Rebecca Lang

After a long season of solitude, people are throwing open their doors for parties with friends again, and Rebecca Lang couldn’t be happier. The Athens, Georgia-based cookbook author and entertaining pro turns her attention to at-home gatherings in her latest title, which shares hosting advice in the style of a wise confidante. Lang guides readers through seemingly small details, from wording invitations and toasts and prepping the powder room and parking to folding napkins and starting conversations. The recipe section offers ideas for tailgates, barbecues, porch parties and showers. “Making room to welcome others,” she writes, “is a blessing that spills onto everyone invited.”