This Will Make It Taste Good: Recipes and Stories from My Kitchen

North Carolina chef, restaurateur, and PBS host Howard follows 2016’s Deep Run Roots with a personal and playful introduction to her fare. Chapter titles and recipe names are upbeat and engaging (Herbdacious, Can-Do Kraut), and explained in a pun-packed, chatty voice. Dishes are introduced with frank confessions, including her struggle to correctly spell “hors d’oeuvre” and various kitchen failures. Recurring sidebars called “No Brainers” offer simple ways to use condiments such as the Community Organizer—a sweet-sour paste of tomatoes, peppers, and onions—as meatloaf topping or a flavor base for soups. Her palate is wide-ranging and incorporates flavors from global cuisines, evident in the Japanese-inspired seasoning she adds to her Quirky Furki Party Rolls and her conversion of Italian classics like pizza into spicy “mozzarella toast.” Howard also shares a recipe for fried chicken, which she has only recently begun serving at her restaurants; in her version, she adds her signature pickling liquids and oils to punch up the batter. She also reveals details about her private life, including the strains of a two-chef marriage and going on book tours. Howard’s enthusiastic exploration of her life in and out of the kitchen shows her at her best and most delightful. (Oct.)