. . But I know that for a lot of people, putting together a meal, especially for guests, is the opposite of relaxing . . . I'm here to tell you: It doesn't have to be that way."--from the IntroductionAussie Curtis Stone, host of TLC's Take Home Chef, is best known for his laid-back approach to cooking. Though he's worked as head chef in several Michelin-starred London restaurants, some of his most memorable meals are the ones he's shared with friends at home. Now, Curtis shows you how to have as much fun in the kitchen as your guests are sure to have over a comfortable, unforgettable meal.In Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone, you'll find everything from "First Thing in the Morning" bites and "Brunches to Blow Their Minds" to "Weekend Lunches" and "Something to Eat on the Sofa." With the home cook in mind, Curtis avoids off-putting culinary lingo and hard-to-find ingredients. Instead, he picks what's in season and just around the corner. This down-to-earth approach results in wonderfully interesting and flavorful taste combinations that are perfect for parties or just hanging out with a close friend or loved ones.Recipes include:- Caramelized Nectarines with Yogurt and Honey- Crispy Tortilla with Ham, Chile, Spinach, and Fried Eggs- Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad with Pepper-Crusted New York Steak- Pan-Fried Calamari with Roasted Asparagus Salad- Homemade Salted Caramel Popcorn- Baby Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives- Sticky Chicken Drumsticks- Red Curry with Lobster and Pineapple- Veal Cutlet Coated in an Aged Jack Cheese Crust- Slowly Cooked Brisket with a BBQ Bourbon Sauce- Creamy Mascarpone and Parsley Polenta- Brownie CupcakesThese delicious recipes and Curtis's infectiously easygoing attitude are all it takes to end your entertaining stress and get you and your guests into a relaxing mood.

    The path to a healthy body and happy belly is paved with real food fresh, wholesome, sustainable....

    You'll love cooking, hosting and eating from this treasure of good food.

    Now, at last, there is a book that teaches absolutely everything there is to know about using an electric food dyhydrator to dry foods at home -- and gives more than 100 foolproof recipes for scrumptious snacks and meals made from dried foods.With this extraordinary book, you can learn how to cross junk food and expensive store-bought snacks off your family's shopping list -- and add to your cupboard homemade, preservative-free fruit leathers, candied apricots, beef (and fish) jerkies, "sun" dried tomotoes, corn chips, banana chips, and so much more!Mary Bell gives specific techniques and instructions for preparing every kind of fruit (from apples to watermelon) and vegetable (from asparagus to zucchini). She also provides important shopping tips for buying an electric food dehydrator. The recipes for cooked meals (including mushroom soup, sloppy joes, pesto, and moist banana bread) will make this book a kitchen classic. And recipes for lightweight, filling trail snacks mean that the book will travel, too.Additional chapters explain to how make herb seasonings, granolas, celery powder, cosmetics, dried fruit sugars, potpourri -- and even pet treats!Food drying is an excellent way for gardeners to preserve their produce. It is a great way to make healthful snacks for the kids. It's perfect for the new wave of thrifty consumers who can't bear to spend dollars at health food stores for treats they cold make for pennies themselves. And food drying doesn't use chemicals or preservatives—so it's great for you and for the planet, too!

    Lorraine reinvents traditional favourites (her amazing brownies) but shows us neat shortcuts to cut the fat or the sugar-without losing any of the flavour. They are goodies with goodness. Each recipe has a comparison with a standard version so you can see just how much better for you Lorraine's way is. A perfect Christmas gift for every baker in your life - or buy it for yourself to have an indulgent but healthy Christmas.

    Author Cassy Joy Garcia will walk you through this tried-and-true method and show you how batch-cooking a few basic components can give you an entire week's worth of dinners with minimal time and effort. Have you ever tried a meal prep plan before and gotten so excited about having your cooking for the week done ahead of time, only to find yourself totally exhausted after a full day in the kitchen, shocked by your grocery bill, and tired of the same leftovers by Tuesday? Cassy Joy Garcia had been there, too. As a mom, business owner, and Nutrition Consultant, she needed to get a healthy, affordable, and tasty dinner on the table fast every night, and she knew there had to be a better way to do it.She finally cracked the code when she discovered that by batch-cooking a protein, starch, and vegetable each week she could easily assemble three fresh, diverse meals in minimal time. After years of her readers asking her for better meal prep strategies and easy recipes, she released 4 weeks of recipes on her blog, Fed and Fit. Since then, tens of thousands of people have made and raved about the series and begged for more!In this book you'll find 26 weeks of affordable, healthy, delicious meals that your family will love eating, and a chapter full of bonus 20-minute meals. Optional Instant Pot and slow cooker instructions are included to get you even more time back in your week. With a Real Food foundation, the weeks in this book aim to support dietary approaches that range from: gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, low carb, egg-free, kid-friendly and more.Three simple ingredients like shredded pork, potatoes, and cabbage are turned into these three easy to assemble meals: Honey Mustard Pork Sheet Pan Dinner Enchiladas Verde Casserole Sloppy Joe Stuffed Potatoes This book is a must-have for anyone looking for a REAL solution to help them eat healthfully while also saving time and money and loving what they are eating.

    The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes it easier than ever to get your fill of the Mediterranean diet and all of its health benefits with quick, satisfying recipes for health and longevity.Table-ready in 30 minutes or less, these classic Mediterranean diet meals combine easy-to-find ingredients with quick prep and cook times, so that you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your food. From Breakfast Bruschetta to Baked Chicken Caprese to Chilled Dark Chocolate Fruit, The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes the Mediterranean diet a staple for everyday schedules.The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook allows you to slow down and savor classic Mediterranean flavors with: An introduction to the Mediterranean diet that explains health benefits, and offers essential guidance on foods to stock up on and foods to avoid. 30 minute meals that use easy-to-find ingredients and simple prep for fresh and wholesome meals. 101 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and sides, so that you can eat the Mediterranean way all day, every day. The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook allows you to spend the time you save in the kitchen with friends and family, enjoying every minute of every meal, and living the Mediterranean lifestyle to the fullest.

    Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

    It's the Bible of baking, considered by many as the most thorough baking book on the market. The highly readable, easy-to-follow text explains the whys and hows of baking and makes it easy for even the beginner to achieve delicious results in the kitchen. Line drawings throughout.

    Cool. Fashion-forward. These aren’t adjectives you’d ordinarily think of applying to baked goods.  Think again. Not every baker wants to re-create Grandma’s pound cake or cherry pie. Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito certainly didn’t, when they left their advertising careers behind, pooled their life savings, and opened their dream bakery, Baked, in Brooklyn, New York, a few years back. The visions that danced in their heads were of other, brand-new kinds of confections . . .  Things like a Malt Ball Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting, which captures the flavor of their favorite Whoppers candies (and ups the ante with a malted milk ball garnish). Things like spicy Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits that really wake up your taste buds at breakfast time. Things like a Sweet and Salty Cake created expressly for adults who are as salt-craving ?as they are sweet-toothed. Which is not to say that Lewis and Poliafito sidestep tradition absolutely. Their Chocolate Pie (whose filling uses Ovaltine) pays loving homage to the classic roadside-diner dessert. Their Baked Brownies will wow even the most discriminating brownie connoisseur. And their Chocolate Chip Cookies? Words cannot describe. Whether trendsetting or tried-and-true, every idea in this book is freshly Baked.

    For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country. In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all suited for the home baker. Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven, and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere. Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker, Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time, or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish. If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level, follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water, and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread. Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet. Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education, with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart. Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages, advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs, tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life, and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process, Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread.

    Go beyond the pale of iceberg lettuce with recipes for indulgent salads of plant-based proteins, vibrant veggies, and zesty dressings.

    The host provides two or three pots of soup, and the guests bring their own dishes and silverware, and perhaps a salad or some bread. Neighbors get to know each other by name, people of all ages connect and socialize, and the neighborhood becomes friendlier and safer. In Soup Night, Maggie Stuckey offers a practical guide to starting your own soup night group, along with 99 delicious soup recipes and 40 recipes for accompaniments.

      Raised on his mother’s fried chicken and hoecakes, Bobby Deen ultimately found himself, as a young man, twenty-five pounds overweight. Unwilling to sacrifice any of his favorite foods, Bobby started tweaking the recipes he grew up on, replacing sour cream with nonfat yogurt, using lower-calorie versions of mayonnaise, cream cheese, and other high-calorie items. Even Paula herself sometimes couldn’t tell the difference between the lo-cal versions and her originals—since the flavor remained top-notch.   Here you’ll find a soup-to-nuts collection of many of the great dishes and flavors you’ve come to enjoy and expect from the Deens, but with a lot fewer calories. Every recipe has been reviewed and approved by a certified nutritionist. Yes, you can have your Gooey Less Butter Cake and eat it too . . . along with such selections as  It’s a Party Guacamole • Easy Ginger-Glazed Spare Ribs • Yes You Can Mac and Cheese • Cheeseburger Casserole • Old-Fashioned Meatloaf • Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken • Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples • Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes • Bittersweet Chocolate Cheesecake • Strawberry Streusel Cake   In addition to all these mouthwatering recipes and 65 full-color photos, you will find before/after fat and calorie counts (so you know just how many calories you’re saving)—plus a week’s worth of 1,500 calorie/day menus, celebration menus, healthy prep tips, weight-loss shortcuts, ideas for stocking a healthy pantry/fridge, and a section on easy high-fat/low-fat ingredient swaps.Praise for From Mama’s Table to Mine   “Deen wants folks to enjoy healthy favorites without sacrificing flavors or family memories, and this cookbook is sure to make a mamma proud.”—Publishers Weekly  “It’s so great that Bobby has refashioned some all-time-favorite Southern dishes in a healthier style. He continues to work hard to keep America healthy and happy.”—Curtis Stone, chef, television host, and author   “Bobby Deen has been our ‘brother from another mother,’ and when you taste his dishes, you immediately recognize Paula’s influence. His tasty food stresses eating healthier without sacrificing the delicious Southern flavors and traditions he grew up with! Way to go Bobby!”—Pat and Gina Neely, hosts of Down Home with the Neelys  “Even Paula, who’s been eating healthier herself these days, can’t tell the difference. ‘Are you sure you remembered to take out the fat?’ she asked when she first tasted the food. He did—we swear.”—Food Network Magazine  “Bobby Deen nails it with these favorite Southern recipes. What they’ve lost in calories, they’ve gained in flavor. Perfect for everything from a quick weeknight meal to an elaborate Saturday night celebration.”—Rocco DiSpirito, chef and author   “For the health-conscious eater who craves comfort food . . . Bobby’s recipes strike a balance between familiar flavors and a newer, healthier approach to cooking.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

    Louis, Robbie Montgomery, the oldest of nine children, was often responsible for putting meals on the family table. Working side by side with her mother in their St. Louis kitchen, Robbie learned to prepare dozens of classic soul food dishes.Now, at seventy-two, Miss Robbie passes down those traditions for generations of fans to enjoy in Sweetie Pie's Cookbook. Robbie takes you into the kitchen to prepare her most favored meals—smothered pork chops, salmon croquettes, baked chicken—and tells you heartfelt and humorous stories, including amazing tales from her life at the restaurant and on the road as a back-up singer. Miss Robbie began her culinary career on the road—in the segregated America of the1960s, finding welcoming restaurants in small cities and towns was often challenging for African-Americans. When a collapsed lung prematurely ended her singing career, Miss Robbie returned to St. Louis, using her formidable cooking talent to open a soul food restaurant that would make her legend.Through her show and this special cookbook, Miss Robbie hopes to maintain the place of soul food cooking—its recipes, history, and legacy—in American culture for decades to come.Sweetie Pie's Cookbook includes 75-100 gorgeous color photos and an Index.