When asked who has influenced them most, chefs from New York to Little Washington to Charleston cite Ms. Lewis and her classic collection of recipes, In Pursuit of Flavor, first published in 1988. Edna Lewis learned to cook by watching her mother prepare food in their kitchen in a small farming community in Virginia. Because she was raised at a time when the vegetables came from the garden, fruit from the orchard, pickles, relishes, chutney, and jellies from quick canning, and meat from the smokehouse, Edna Lewis knows how food should taste. Every recipe included in her cookbook, both old friends and new discoveries, reflects her memory of and continuing search for good flavor.

    Mary Emma Showalter compiled favorite recipes from hundreds of Mennonite women across the United States and Canada noted for their excellent cooking into this book of more than 1,100 recipes. These tantalizing dishes came to this country directly from Dutch, German, Swiss, and Russian kitchens. Old-fashioned cooking and traditional Mennonite values are woven throughout. Original directions like “a dab of cinnamon” or “ten blubs of molasses” have been standardized to help you get the same wonderful individuality and flavor. Showalter introduces each chapter with her own nostalgic recollection of cookery in grandma’s day—the pie shelf in the springhouse, outdoor bake ovens, the summer kitchen.First published in 1950, Mennonite Community Cookbook has become a treasured part of many family kitchens. Parents who received the cookbook when they were first married make sure to purchase it for their own sons and daughters when they wed.This 65th anniversary edition adds all new color photography and a brief history while retaining all of the original recipes and traditional Fraktur drawings.Check out the cookbook blog at mennonitecommunitycookbook.com

    No one was more stunned by this unexpected turn of events than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future. As she struggled to process what had seemed unthinkable, Reichl turned to the one place that had always provided sanctuary. “I did what I always do when I’m confused, lonely, or frightened,” she writes. “I disappeared into the kitchen.”My Kitchen Year follows the change of seasons—and Reichl’s emotions—as she slowly heals through the simple pleasures of cooking. While working 24/7, Reichl would “throw quick meals together” for her family and friends. Now she has the time to rediscover what cooking meant to her. Imagine kale, leaves dark and inviting, sautéed with chiles and garlic; summer peaches baked into a simple cobbler; fresh oysters chilling in a box of snow; plump chickens and earthy mushrooms, fricasseed with cream. Over the course of this challenging year, each dish Reichl prepares becomes a kind of stepping stone to finding joy again in ordinary things. The 136 recipes collected here represent a life’s passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; a decadent grilled cheese sandwich that accompanies a rare sighting in the woods around her home; a rhubarb sundae that signals the arrival of spring. Here, too, is Reichl’s enlivening dialogue with her Twitter followers, who become her culinary supporters and lively confidants. Part cookbook, part memoir, part paean to the household gods, My Kitchen Year may be Ruth Reichl’s most stirring book yet—one that reveals a refreshingly vulnerable side of the world's most famous food editor as she shares treasured recipes to be returned to again and again and again.

    In Mouth Wide Open, his fifth collection, he has prepared a feast for the senses and intellect, charting a cook's journey from ingredient to dish in illuminating essays that delve into the intimate pleasures of pistachios, the Scottish burr of real marmalade, how the Greeks made a Greek salad, the (hidden) allure of salt anchovies, and exploring the uncharted territory of improvised breakfasts and resolutely idiosyncratic midnight snacks. Most of all, his inimitable warmth, humor, and generosity of spirit inspire us to begin our own journey of discovery in the kitchen and in the age-old comfort and delight of preparing food.

    Now, Marcela shares the fantastic recipes her fans have been clamoring for in a cookbook that ties into her popular show.  A single mom charged with getting dinner on the table nightly for her young son, Fausto, Marcela embraces dishes that are fun and fast—and made with fresh ingredients found in the average American supermarket. Pull together a fantastic weeknight dinner in a flash with recipes such as Baja-Style Braised Chicken Thighs, Mexican Meatloaf with Salsa Glaze, and Corn and Poblano Lasagna. Expand your salsa horizons with Fresh Tomatillo and Green Apple Salsa and Grilled Corn Pico de Gallo, which can transform a simply grilled chicken breast or fish fillet. For a weekend brunch, serve up Chipotle Chilaquiles or Cinnamon Pan Frances. Delicious drinks, such as Pineapple-Vanilla Agua Fresca and Cucumber Martinis, and decadent desserts, including Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding and Bananas Tequila Foster, round out the inspired collection. With 100 easy recipes and 80 sumptuous color photographs, Mexican Made Easy brings all of the energy and fresh flavors of Marcela’s show into your home.  Chipotle-Garbanzo Dip makes 3/4 cup 1 (15.5-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained2 garlic cloves, peeled1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from canned chipotle chiles) plus more for serving2 teaspoons sesame seed paste (tahini)1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for servingSalt and freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantroTortilla chips Put the garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, adobo sauce, and sesame paste in a food processor and puree until nearly smooth; the mixture will still be a little coarse. With the machine running, add the olive oil and process until well incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the dip to medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and a few drops of adobo sauce and top with the cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

    Encourage restoration of Joy in the kitchen with these easy recipes.