Tales from the Trenches: Recipes & Stories from Family and Friends

My friend Katie and I are on the same page. We both love to feed our families and we both agree that delicious food doesn’t have to be complicated. This is why I am loving her new book so much, Dinner Solved!: 100 Ingenious Recipes that Make the Whole Family Happy, Including You! In it she shares 100 scrumptious recipes that aren’t overly complicated and are completely family-friendly. Many of the recipes also offer slight variations so you can make something a few different ways when you are in the mood for a change. Today I am thrilled to share a little chat we had recently and give away a copy of the book to one lucky reader!

I’ve been a long time fan of Food52 and have so enjoyed watching it become the powerhouse cooking site that it is today. Of all of the columns Genius Recipes is one of my favorites. Kristen’s writing is simultaneously powerful and amusing. She does an amazing job of unearthing truly fantastic recipes that stand head and shoulders above the rest. I am thrilled that she recently took time out of her busy schedule to chat with me about her new book, Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook, and answer a few questions!

My friend April Peveteaux of Gluten is My Bitch fame is one hard-working woman. Two years ago I featured her hilarious book chronicling her journey into a gluten-free life and today I am here to talk about her new book, The Gluten-Free Cheat Sheet. As a fellow author I am in awe of her ability to write two books back-to-back, and they are both insanely awesome and helpful. Her latest tome features delicious recipes, personal anecdotes, and all sorts of tips regarding living a wholly satisfying gluten-free life. Earlier this month I had a fun chat with April and she shared some great stories with me:

I don’t post a lot of smoothie recipes in this space because mostly they confound me. What the proper ratio of vegetables to liquid? How much sugar is too much? How do I properly “superfood” my beverage without overdoing it? Lucky for me, my friend Jenna Helwig has finally written a Smoothie-licious: Power-Packed Smoothies and Juices the Whole Family Will Love, a cookbook I can identify with. The recipes are amazing and accessible! That means, smoothie novices like me don’t find them intimidating in the least. In fact, they look downright delicious. Today Jenna stopped by to talk all things Smoothies and share a copy of her book to give away!

Today is publication day! I know it is has been a long time coming and I am SO excited it is finally here. As of today you can officially find The Family Calendar Cookbook: From Birthday to Bake Sales, Good Food To Carry You Through the Year on store shelves and online. There is an ample acknowledgements section but right now I am want to thank all of YOU! My readers, supporters, and friends. I am so immensely grateful for your support! As book reviews come in I’ll be sure to share them with you. In the mean time, here is a little bit about the book and some events I’m planning for 2015!

I’ve been wanting to feature my friend Cathy’s book, Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry: Recipes and Techniques for Year Round Preserving for some time now, but I had to wait until spring. Why? Because I am finally using up my remaining frozen strawberries and rhubarb from last fall and want to feature her amazing Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. Also, Cathy’s book WON the 2015 IACP Single Subject Cookbook Award so now I can officially brag about that for her. (There is even a new beauty mark on the cover!) Congratulations, Cathy!

I’ve am longtime fan of Gesine Bullock-Prado. I own every single one of her books and often dream of someday (someday!) being able to bake at her level. She possesses a rare talent for inventing dreamy cakes and succulent sweets, and even elevating things like everyday cookies to a whole new gourmet level. Luckily for […]

I’ve written about my friend Aimeé before as she is the editor of Simple Bites, one of my favorite food blogs. Her recipes and tips are timeless and she is one of my most constant sources of inspiration. I should also mention that her incredibly organized refrigerator makes me weep with envy! Today I am writing about Aimeé for the best reason – she wrote her first cookbook! Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from The Kitchen of Simple Bites is a triumph of family food, gardening tips, and a warmth of Aimeé’s hearth. I can’t say enough about it. Here is my little interview with Aimeé and your chance to win your very own copy!

The Pollan Family Table: The Best Recipes and Wisdom for Delicious, Healthy Family Meals is perfectly named. It is not one of those books that offers a mere page or two of advice before diving into unusual recipes. Oh, no. It is more like a cookbook with a lot of wisdom and practical, delicious recipes […]

The Yellow Table Cover

Earlier this fall I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Watson Carl at a potluck celebrating Dana Cowin’s new book. Anna and I hit is off immediately and I’ll admit I was secretly thrilled to finally meet the master behind the gorgeous blog The Yellow Table. I’ve been a longtime fan! When I met Anna she was in the process of wrapping up her first ever cookbook named after her blog. She chose to go the self-publishing route which I deeply admire. I love being a part of the Running Press family and can’t imagine doing all the work she did on my own. It is truly a labor of love and the result is gorgeous! Her recipes are indeed simple and seasonal, and the gorgeous photographs by Signe Birck echo Anna’s commitment to easy, warm gatherings. Every scene looked so cozy and welcoming I wanted to jump right into the pages and join the party. To I am thrilled to share a little chat I had with Anna recently about her book and offer a chance to win a copy!:

I have been a longtime fan of The Kitchn and editors Sara-Kate Gillingham and Faith Durand. Their website is insanely useful and now they’ve gone an written an amazingly useful cookbook, too. The Kitchn Cookbook: Recipes, Kitchens & Tips to Inspire Your Cooking is not just useful in the it-has-great-recipes kind of way. It is covers the entire kitchen from renovations and maintenance, to cooking and entertaining. It teaches you how to stretch your kitchen to limit and make it a room you love to live and cook in.

When I think baking, I think Dorie Greenspan. Over the years she has been a guru, mentor, and friend, and for that I am so grateful. Lucky for us, Dorie continue to write amazing baking books. I’ll admit, I didn’t think there would ever be a book quite as awesome as Baking: From My Home To Yours, but now there is. Baking Chez Moi is Dorie’s latest book and it is such a treasure. In it she features family-friendly French baking recipes that are neither finicky nor complicated. In fact, they are downright homey!