For cook’s always trying to hone their skills, this cookbook is a must have! Christopher Kimball can seem like a know-it-all when you watch him on television or read the magazine, but I think he actually may know everything; at least it seems so as I look through this amazing book!

As you know, “Cook’s Illustrated” is the magazine put out by America’s Test Kitchen. It is very much like Consumer Reports for cooks; it is advertisement free and filled with tips on food preparation as well as kitchen tools. After 20 years, the editors of “Cook’s Illustrated” have collected 2,000 of their favorite recipes. Need I say more? But I will. The book’s index is 76 pages long! I love a good index. The Table of Contents at the beginning of the book lists each recipe as well as each variation. I often go to the Table of Contents for inspiration. And then there are the recipes themselves. First each recipe is preceded by a paragraph explaining why the recipe works and tips for expanding the concepts. In general, the ingredient lists are not scary and the instructions are straight forward.

A great gift for both new and experienced cooks!

~Patti

Food52.com is a foodie website featuring and celebrating the skill and creativity of home cooks. Although the site boasts more than 12,000 recipes, the cookbook is the result of a year’s worth of recipe contests on the website. It is divided into seasons (always a smart choice for cooks trying to buy local and therefore, seasonally) and includes not only the winning recipes, but also tips and techniques from Hesser and Stubbs, notes from the recipe’s contributor, and finally comments from the Food52 community. There are a wide variety of recipes -- everything from main dishes, salads, desserts to new-to-me cocktails. Another book that practically guarantees success in the kitchen.

~Patti

One of my go-to cookbooks is All About Braising by Stevens. Not only did I learn technique, but I have a collection of recipes I visit over and over again. So I was (and am) excited about Stevens’ latest book, All About Roasting. I feel like roasting has gone out of favor with many home cooks; probably because, as children, we were subjected to too many dry, gray roast beefs! But Stevens, who is a classically trained French chef, takes her experience and training and brings back the deliciousness and ease of roast meats and vegetables.

She begins with The Principles of Roasting where she discusses choosing oven temperature, the kind of pan to use, factors that affect roasting times and the importance of resting your roasts. Then there follows chapters on beef and lamb, pork, chicken and poultry, fish and, finally, vegetables and fruit. Not only is there a ‘basic’ roast recipe beginning each chapter, but there seems to be almost endless variations. Okay, maybe not endless, but plenty to get me started! And, in case you’re wondering, the index is terrific; nothing fancy, but easy to use.

~Patti

Anytime I see a cookbook that has “Easy” or “Simple” in the title, I pick it up and take a look; isn’t that pretty much how we all choose to cook most of the time?
The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, just keeps putting out better and better cookbooks for today’s cooks and her latest, How Easy Is That? proves my theory again (despite the title, which is a little cheesy). According to Garten, “this book is all about saving time and avoiding stress. These aren’t recipes with three ingredients that you can throw together in five minutes before dinner. These are tried-and-true Barefoot Contessa recipes that are easy enough to make but still have all that deep, delicious flavor that makes a meal so satisfying.” Almost every recipe on every page called out to me starting with the Watermelon Mojitos, to the Celery & Parmesan Salad, to the Roasted Shrimp with Feta (a favorite combination of mine) and finishing with Roasted Figs with Caramel Sauce. As usual, the book is full of mouthwatering photographs, the index is well thought out and I like the new trend where each chapter begins with a table of contents so you can quickly peruse and see if anything looks tempting. Terrific. ~Patti

The perfect introduction to Stowell’s cookbook is from the description found on the book’s endpaper: “Here food isn’t formal or fussy, just focused, with recipes that honor Italian tradition while celebrating the best ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer.” Flipping through this beautiful book are recipes that inspire me to cook. The table of contents has a heading: The Measure of a Cook: Soups. That is how I also measure a restaurant — by their soup. I love that each recipe is listed in the Table of Contents; it makes finding inspiration that much easier. My local produce market has fresh chanterelles at a really good price, so this weekend I plan to make the Seared Scallops with Chanterelles and Parsnip and Pear Puree. Seriously, what could be better than that? ~ Patti

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Bittman first came out two years ago and discussed in an intelligent and thoughtful manner, how what we choose to eat and cook ultimately impacts our planet and health. Now, Bittman has created a cookbook with over 500 recipes using that same philosophy. The recipes are easy to prepare, and are based on the premise that fruits, veggies and whole grains can be as satisfying and are better for you than a meat-centered diet. That doesn’t mean it is a vegetarian cookbook. There are plenty of recipes using meat, poultry and fish for their flavor and satisfying the carnivore in many of us; but the bulk of most recipes comes from veggies and/or grains. I recently made the Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Bread Crumbs. Delicious, satisfying and very easy. Another ‘essential’ cookbook from Mark Bittman! ~ Patti

More often than you might think, I am asked to recommend a cookbook for a new cook. My standard recommendation has been Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Magazine which is full of easy to prepare dishes and has a photo of each completed dish. Now I have a second book to recommend, Everyday Food: Fresh Flavors Fast, by Martha Stewart Magazine. In fact, I like this new cookbook even better. It contains 250 recipes (again, each accompanied by a photo) that use easy-to-find ingredients, has easy-to-follow steps and results in tasty dishes for every meal - breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Some of the recipes even have a clock symbol on the photo which indicates a particularly quick dish to prepare. This is a cookbook, not just for a new cook, but for the cook who has to go home after a long work day and try to come up with something tempting for dinner. And unlike the first book where I had to occasionally beef up the spices to accommodate my taste, the recipes in this new book are well seasoned and flavorful. ~Patti

Fresh. Flavorful. Unpretentious. Food this good doesn't need much of an introduction, and the inspired, down-home fare served at Foster's Market speaks for itself . . . and keeps the locals coming back day after day.
In Fresh Every Day, Sara Foster continues the tradition of soulful, seasonally inspired cooking, with more than two hundred of the New Southern recipes made famous at her eponymous markets. She adapts the skills and secrets of a successful professional kitchen for dishes and flavors that speak to the way we really cook at home, from slow-cooked stews and roasted chicken to burgers and salad meals born of leftovers. No elaborate techniques or esoteric ingredients here--just good home cooking elevated to company fare. Cornbread Panzanella with Avocado. Pan-Roasted Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes and Butternut Squash. Fall Off the Bone Baby Back Ribs. Molasses Sweet Potato Pie. "Take these recipes," Sara invites, "take everything you know and feel about food, and have fun cooking."
A cookbook for all seasons bursting with recipes easy enough for any day of the week, Fresh Every Day brings new meaning to comfort food.

This is an elegant, classic cookbook which has some surprising Puerto Rican recipes from the tsar of seafood, now in softcover.
~Patti

The greatest work by one of the world's most renowned chefs-returns in paperback. Spontaneous meals at home with friends form the foundation of this dazzling collection of recipes that are easy enough for novices yet so inspired they could be restaurant-worthy. The result of a rare sabbatical from this famed chef's 4-star kitchen, A Return to Cooking is "an unprecedented look at the creative process of one of the world's best chefs" (Anthony Bourdain) as Eric Ripert prepares simple meals for friends in different locations, using ingredients at hand. Expect to be enchanted by Eric's lack of pretense and his irrepressible joie-a chef who likes American mayonnaise and alphabet pasta, but can also lecture on subjects as diverse as the power of vinaigrette and the merits of Tabasco, shallots, and coconut milk. And every bit as fascinating is the bird's-eye view of the magic that occurs when decades of cooking experience coalesce with the forces of a chef's intuition.

This is one of three new cookbooks I have brought home and am looking forward to trying. I’ve been dreaming about the Turkey Cobb Burger!
~Patti

After a long day spent in one of his restaurants or taping a television show, what Bobby Flay craves more than anything else is ... a crusty-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside burger; a fistful of golden, crisp, salty fries; and a thick, icy milkshake. Given the grilling guru's affinity for bold flavors and signature twists on American favorites, it's no surprise that he has crafted the tastiest recipes ever for this ultimate food trio. Though he doesn't believe in messing with delicious certified Angus chuck (just salt and pepper on the patty-no "meatloaf" burgers here), Bobby loves adding flavorful relishes and condiments to elevate the classic burger. Once you've learned what goes into making that burger (from how to shape it so it cooks up perfectly to melting the cheese just so), go to town with Bobby's favorite combinations of additions. Try the Cheyenne Burger, which gets slathered with homemade barbecue sauce and then piled high with bacon and shoestring onion rings, or the Santa Fe Burger, topped with a blistered poblano, queso sauce, and crumbled blue corn tortilla chips. And although Bobby's personal preference is for beef, turkey can be substituted in any burger, and a handful of salmon and tuna burger recipes are included for those looking for leaner options. After you've mastered the burger, discover Bobby's secrets to cooking up the best French fries-whether they're fried, grilled, or oven roasted, or made from spuds, sweet potatoes, or even plantains-as well as homemade potato chips and onions rings. Wash it all down with a creamy shake, from Fresh Mint--Chocolate Speckled Milkshake to Blackberry Cheesecake Milkshake (or a spiked adult variation). With theopening of Bobby's Burger Palace in Lake Grove, New York, on Long Island-and with more locations to come-Bobby has achieved burger, fry, and shake bliss in the world. For outdoor summer bashes and casual weeknight meals that even the kids will get excited about, Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes will share that bliss and remind you just why the burger is such a beloved American original.