How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day in Between

Rosenstrach, a meal-planning maven, popular blogger, and bestselling author (Dinner: A Love Story), expands her family mealtime focus by providing a “blueprint for starting rituals and optimizing celebrations.” She offers practical planning tips and more than 100 recipes for routinely creating celebrations where “food is at the heart” of family bonding and tradition. Organized around themes and events, Rosenstrach identifies four major ritual groupings: holidays we didn’t invent, family rituals, birthdays, and family dinners. Featured recipes are proven kid friendly and presented with humorous mommy angst and nostalgic commentary. A pre-trick-or-treat Halloween party showcases franks and baked beans from scratch and a chicken chorizo chili. In “Thanksgiving Traditions,” there’s a full menu, as well as her mother’s “Seven Things to Remember When Roasting a Bird.” Holiday recipes include potato latkes with seven toppings. There are sleep-over breakfasts featuring pancakes, fritters, and popovers, along with Sunday dinner favorites such as salmon and potatoes with yogurt sauce. A “Master Party Chart” provides a useful template for planning birthday themes, crafts, games, food, cake, and party favors. Recipes are far from over-the-top, but Rosenstrach inspires, reminding us that the real celebration is family itself. (Sept.)