ArtScroll Kosher Cookbooks Guide: Shabbos, Yom Tov, Gifts & Everyday Meals

A cookbook should solve the cook's actual problem. Running out of weeknight dinner ideas is different from wanting better side dishes or enjoying the presentation of a Yom Tov meal. Choose by that need before choosing the cover.

Here are four ArtScroll cookbooks with different strengths described in their catalog listings. These are buying comparisons, not claims that we have cooked and tested every recipe.

Dinner Done 2: for more weeknight dinner options

Dinner Done 2, from the Between Carpools team, includes more than 140 recipes with an emphasis on approachable dinners, shortcuts and additional 9 × 13-pan meals.

Consider it for a household that wants help deciding what to make on an ordinary evening. The practical question is whether the recipe style matches your kitchen: look at sample ingredients, preparation steps and the equipment required. A book promising easier dinners still needs to fit the way your family eats.

Simply: for a broad collection with supper planning

Rivky Kleiman's Simply includes more than 140 recipes, photographs for the dishes, and a “Simple Suppers” section with pairings and preparation suggestions.

It is worth considering when the cook wants help assembling a meal as well as choosing an individual recipe. Compare the sample menu ideas with the meals you actually make: a broad book is useful when its everyday pages get opened, not only its special-occasion photographs.

Starters & Sides Made Easy: for refreshing the supporting dishes

Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek's Starters & Sides Made Easy focuses on 60 recipes for appetizers and sides. The book includes photographs, serving suggestions, preparation tips and a spice guide.

This is a more focused gift for someone who already has favorite mains and wants variety around them. It may be a better match for that cook than another large general collection. Check the balance of recipes against the kinds of meals they host.

Variations: for a cook who likes adapting an idea

Daniella Silver's Variations presents more than 120 recipes with variations in preparation or presentation. It includes photographs and identifies many gluten-free recipes.

Consider it for someone who enjoys seeing more than one way to use an idea. A gluten-free marker on some recipes does not make the entire book suitable for every dietary need. Check each recipe and ingredient against the requirements of the people you are feeding.

Choose a gift by what the recipient already owns

Ask for the name of a cookbook they use often and what they wish it had more of. If they already own the first Dinner Done, confirm whether they have the second. If their shelf is full of general cookbooks, a focused sides book may add more variety.

A simple note makes the choice personal: “You said finding new sides was the hardest part of planning, so I thought you might enjoy this.” A serving piece is optional; the cookbook does not need an elaborate bundle to be a thoughtful gift.

What changes for Pesach?

Choose a Pesach-specific title when that is the actual need. Then inspect the recipes for the household's ingredient practices; “kosher for Pesach” does not establish that every recipe fits every family's minhagim or dietary requirements.

For organizing equipment and questions before the season, use our Pesach kitchen planning checklist. For a year-round table gift, see the wedding gift guide or Rosh Hashanah hostess-gift guide.

Make a quick shortlist

Write one sentence describing the need: “weeknight mains,” “new sides,” “complete supper ideas” or “creative variations.” Compare two sample layouts, check the exact edition and see whether the book is already on the recipient's shelf.

Browse ArtScroll kosher cookbooks from there. The best choice is the book that makes the next meal easier or more enjoyable to plan.