It’s that time again - I’ve waited, I’ve read, I’ve started cooking. So what were these books really like?
The first lot of these reviews for 2026 have ended up having a bit of a ‘solving the dinner dilemma’ theme overall. Not something I intended, but very useful nonetheless.
My thoughts on each of the cookbooks I thought would be ‘worth waiting for’ in the first half of 2026 are below.
*Thanks to Murdoch Books for gifting me a copy of Easy Italian Dinners - which is officially released on May 5th, not long now!
Home Food by Elizabeth Hewson (Murdoch Books) - This cookbook is absolutely stunning, on all fronts. Not only is the design and photography fantastic, but Lizzie’s writing is so relatable and honest as is the book as a whole. The whole premise of this book is kind of that food needs to be accessible in our busy lives but also comforting and enjoyable, and Lizzie shows us how to manage and achieve both, with lots of flavour poured into every recipe. The chapters are sectioned out into how you might be needing to cook, for example, Throw-together Meals or Pottering (for when you have a little more time to spend on a recipe). There is also a little section at the beginning of the book that categorises the recipes even further based on what you might be needing from a recipe today, intended to ease the mental load of deciding what to make. Some of the categories are things like ‘I’m home at 6 and dinner needs to be on the table at 6:30’, ‘I only want to use one pot, and I mean only one pot’ or ‘I want to eat dinner in my trackies on the couch’. There’s a lot of relatability in Home Food, in the sense that Lizzie doesn’t expect your life to be perfect and that you always have the time and motivation to spend lots of time thinking about what’s for dinner, doing food shopping then having lots of time to actually cook the meal. These recipes are for people who like good tasty food, but don’t always have the time or energy to make something long and involved. But when you do have the time and the energy, Lizzie also has recipes for those moments in Home Food too.
In terms of the recipes themselves, it’s rare there are so many recipes in one book I want to make, and actually do. But in the month or so I’ve had the book I’ve already made a few things, mostly from the Midweek Pasta and One and Done chapters, and I’ve loved all of them - notably the Roast Tomato Pasta with a Spicy Italian Crumb (p.86) which I think I’ll make double of next time I enjoyed it so much. My Mum has also tried a few other recipes and highly recommended the Creamy Sausage and Broccoli Pasta (p.91) and said the Cumin and Honey Lamb Shoulder with Sticky Lemon Potatoes (p.182-3) was the “best lamb ever”. I’m planning on making the Creamy Cheesy Baked Gnocchi (p.112) very soon, with quite a few other recipes on my ‘to cook’ list for the next few weeks.
Easy Italian Dinners by Melanie Lionello (Murdoch Books*) - I said in my initial post about these books, that I thought Easy Italian Dinners and Home Food (above) would give me ample dinner inspiration for the year, and so far this has been very true! Easy Italian Dinners From My Little Kitchen really lives up to its name. Every recipe in the book is fairly easy, with only a few recipes taking a decent amount of time (there is a recipe for an Overnight Focaccia (p.187) which I’d say would be well worth the wait!). The recipes are very much cucina povera style Italian dishes, where a great meal is made from pantry staples and budget friendly ingredients. Mel has thought about the recipes from a nutrition point of view as well from a budget standpoint, so each recipe will say whether it is budget friendly (under $20AUD per recipe), high in fibre or protein and whether it is vegan or vegetarian friendly. I found the introductory section of the book really helpful, especially the ‘My Kitchen Staples’ section which had great information about freezing things like garlic and herbs.
The book is divided into chapters, that you could look at based on how much time you have/what ingredients you have and decide from there. Chapters include ‘One-Pan Wonders’, ‘Pantry-Staple Dinners’ and ‘30-Minute Meals’. This book is really well thought out, and designed to be a helpful addition to your life, in an easy and unfussy way. So far I have made one recipe, Risi e Bisi (p.22) and I absolutely loved it. If you like risotto but don’t always have time to make it, this is the recipe for you. A Venetian dish meaning ‘rice and peas’, it looks really simple but I found it incredibly flavoursome and so much quicker and easier to make than risotto. I’m already planning on making it again soon, then I’ll move on the numerous other recipes I have flagged to make as well! I can see myself cooking out of Easy Italian Dinners time and time again, there are just so many achievable yet delicious options for dinner to try.
Med-esque by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury) - Georgina always creates beautiful books. I’ve enjoyed every one of the cookbooks Georgina has released (notably Taverna and Nistisima), and Med-seque is no different. Georgina has a way with flavour, and a way of making dishes easier, simpler and less time consuming. The recipes in Med-esque will help you on busy weeknights and when you might have more time to cook on a weekend. There’s breakfast fare, dinners and desserts, plus some menu suggestions at the end of the book too. All the recipes are inspired by somewhere along the varied coastline of the Mediterranean which means this book is full of flavour, but also has quite a variety of recipes and flavours too.
The photography is sun kissed, making it feel like the book is transporting me to some lovely coastal village or beach somewhere on the Mediterranean - a bit of kitchen/armchair travel for those of us who won’t actually be travelling there any time soon (unfortunately). As seems to be a theme for these reviews so far, Med-esque will help solve your dinner dilemmas, and bring something different to your table (even if you already have the above two books reviewed as well). Recipes I am keen to try include Tomato Herb and Gruyère Cake Salé (p.35), Pissaladière Pasta (p.112) and Prawn Saganaki Risotto (p.135).
Bittersweet by Thalia Ho (Harvest) - To me the title of this cookbook, Bittersweet, is fitting. There is bitter or something a little dark and hard to understand in the writing and the perspective Thalia takes in this book, the styling and design also. But sweet because, this is a baking book and in the end there is sugar and sweetness to be found amongst the dark. Bittersweet certainly brings something different to the table compared to other baking books, and if you are looking for a baking or dessert focused book that isn’t like the rest, Bittersweet would be worth your while looking at. While I’m not sure the feel and energy of this book is really for me, I don’t doubt I will find more to discover each time I look at it in the future. Bittersweet is possibly a cookbook that needs more time to be unraveled by reader/baker to get a proper idea of what Bittersweet really holds.
I really appreciate however, that Bittersweet with all its often harsh differences to the rather more ‘same same’ feeling books the baking section can bring us, has actually been published. In a time where so many cookbooks, especially baking books, seem to be more of the same, it is so encouraging to see a vision like Thalia’s be supported to become what it is - a cookbook accessible to all who’d like it. It gives me hope that there are more chances for publishers to see the value in authors visions that aren’t varieties of the same trendy or fad things in food right now. In terms of recipes, Bittersweet is chocolate heavy, so if that’s your things there will be many recipes you will want to try. As for me, I am keen to try the Pecan Financiers (p.23) and the Honey Cake (pp.72-5).
