Our Sweet Basil Kitchen: Fresh Twists on Family Favorites with Recipe Mashups and Unique Flavor Combinations

The Cheneys bring their popular Oh, Sweet Basil food blog to life in this collection of over 100 recipes that’s just a little too focused on the classics. The book’s title promises “fresh twists” and mash-ups, but readers will find that the majority of the fare featured here is unremarkable. Recipes include pedestrian fare such as baked potato soup, seven-layer dip, broccoli with cheese sauce, beef stew, and brown sugar grilled pineapple. These are fine for what they are but offer nothing new, and many are widely available online and featured over and over again in mainstream media. Though there are a few bright spots (a summery mango chicken salad, crunchy deep-fried strawberry shortcakes, and a rich roasted tomato basil soup with grilled cheese croutons), it’s not enough to save this rote assemblage of classic recipes that have already been done to death. (Mar.)