by: Rocco Dispirito “I’ve dedicated my life to proving that healthy and delicious are not mutually exclusive concepts. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to sacrifice flavor to eat well. You can be healthy, lose weight, and still enjoy amazing food all day long,” Rocco Dispirito.  I have always been a big fan of Rocco Dispirito. One of my favorite dishes to make is a chicken cordon bleu from his cookbook Now Eat This!. I have always found his healthier recipes to be really easy to follow and delicious. Rocco’s Healthy & Delicious: More than 200 (Mostly) Plant-Based Recipes for Everyday Life delivers more of those mouth watering healthy recipes.  I picked…

by: America’s Test Kitchen “With the constant schedule juggling that we all do, meal planning and meal prep are invaluable skills to master if you want to avoid eating takeout every night,” America’s Test Kitchen.  When I first saw The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook I was really intrigued by it’s promise of “one grocery list, one week of meals and no waste.” We all want to make our grocery shopping and meal planning easier so we know what’s for dinner.  I have been meal planning for a really long time and find when I don’t that my eating tends to be a little strange. Some nights if I am on my own I…

by: Danielle Davis “You don’t have to give up the foods you love when trying to eat better. All it takes is a few simple swaps,” Danielle Davis.  It’s no secret that I love to eat. I try not to be restrictive with what I eat, however, I always find myself searching for healthier versions of the recipes I love. The Healthy Swaps Cookbook offers so many scrumptious recipes that it’s hard not to make all of them at once. Throughout the book the photograph is beautiful and makes you crave something new for dinner with each page you turn.  I loved both of the recipes I made and can’t wait to try…

by: Hank Shaw “Think of this book as a codex, a master class on fish and seafood cookery. It will enable you to develop your own recipes that suit your time, your place, your season, and your taste,” Hank Shaw.  My parents both grew up near the water, my Dad in New Orleans and my Mom in both Maine and Florida. Growing up we spent a lot of time near the water. I learned to fish as a kid but don’t do it very often anymore. Hook, Line, and Super drew my attention earlier this year and I was so excited to finally try these seafood recipes.  The cookbook offers so much information…

by: Michelle Lopez “My hope is that when you flip through this book, you’ll find these time-saving qualities in classic, accessible recipes to match your cravings-like chocolate chip cookies, fudge brownies, and banana bread. Because it’s usually the simple stuff I crave most on a weeknight, and I suspect that’s the case for you, too,” Michelle Lopez. I have wanted to try out this cookbook for a while, I love to bake but sometimes I don’t have time to make a complicated recipe. The recipes in Weeknight Baking: Recipes to Fit Your Schedule offer simple tips and tricks to make delicious recipes any day of the week. In the cookbook you will find…

by: David Lebovitz “When asked to name a French drink, people think of wine or pastis, but cocktails don’t instinctively come to mind. but in truth, many of the most sought-after cocktail ingredients are French, including cognac, Armagnac, Chartreuse, Lillet, eau-de-vie, and calvados, as well as champagne, Suze, Gran Marnier, elderflower liqueur, dry vermouth, Salers, and Cointreau, not to mention pastis, crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and crème de cassis, among many, many others,” David Lebovitz. Wow, I had never thought about how many cocktail ingredients are French. I love a good cocktail, if I am out at a bar I rarely order anything other than a cocktail.    Drinking French provides…

by: Editors of Cooking Light Magazine “These Test Kitchen approved recipes are tailor-made for hectic lifestyles and health-conscious families,” Editors of Cooking Light Magazine. We are all searching for those meals that are quick and healthy and most of all that our family will love.  I have owned Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals: Over 280 Incredible Supper Solutions for years and have loved every recipe that I have made from it. Even though it is an older cookbook the recipes still hold up today. I love the variety in the recipes with the great shortcuts that help me save time when I need a quick meal. Before the fire I had marked…

by: Rodney Scott & Lolis Eric Elie “I like spreading the joy and sharing the love, and barbecue is my means of doing it,” Rodney Scott.  When I saw that Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ cookbook was being released I immediately knew I wanted it. I live in an apartment and only have a communal gas grill so I ordered it in time to have it for my vacation to my parents house in Florida. They have a charcoal grill that is actually older than me! Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ doesn’t just teach you how to BBQ it also tells all about his life. I started reading it one night and I…

by: Stanley Tucci & Felicity Blunt “The dinner table is the anvil upon which we forge our relationships. Be they ties of family, of friendship, of new love or of old, it is a place where we share the events of our day, our feelings, our stories, our memories, and our hopes and promises for the future,” Stanley Tucci.  One of my favorite movies is Julie & Julia, in which Stanley Tucci plays Julia Child’s husband, Paul. Having been a big fan of Stanley Tucci I decided to try out his second cookbook.  The Tucci Table written by Stanley Tucci and his wife Felicity Blunt, offers a great variety of family inspired recipes.…

by: Jeff Mauro “I definitely can help with the tried-and-true recipes that have satisfied my family for generations, as well as modern and whimsical twists on some of my favorites that I’ve developed over my career,” Jeff Mauro. When I started reading through Come On Over, I felt like I was hanging out with a friend who had a great sense of humor and even better recipes. It made me want to cook and invite people over immediately.  Come On Over offers delicious, easy to follow recipes for any day of the week, whether you are hosting a large group or just your family. I believe this cookbook will be a go-to for…