Instagrammer Morrisey proves a chipper cheerleader for new cooks in her eclectic hodgepodge of a debut. The author, who oversaw prepared foods for the Whole Foods grocery store chain, writes in her inviting introduction that she learned to cook from watching the Food Network. Chapters are organized into standard groupings like dinner (options include macaroni and cheese with chicken breast and bacon, and classic meatloaf) and vegetables (bean and sweet potato enchiladas, carrots tossed with gochujang). Morrisey vacillates between gimmicky and classic: desserts include potato chips dipped in chocolate but also chocolate pots de crème and olive oil cake. While ready-made foods feature heavily (Christmas morning coffee cake incorporates cake mix and instant pudding, and chicken fajita pinwheels are encased in store-bought pizza dough), there are also useful recipes for building blocks like ranch dressing and galette dough. French toast in strips and chicken tenders in a corn flake crust recipes stem from the years the author spent feeding her six kids, while other offerings, like marinated flank steak with pineapple salsa, and salmon brushed with a glaze of mustard, ginger, and apricot preserves, appeal to more sophisticated palates and teach helpful techniques. In attempting to offer something for everyone, the collection ends up feeling a bit uneven. Still, there are treasures to be found here. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

Kemper debuts with a striking manual on how to embroider the flora and fauna of North America. She recommends embroidering on cotton, denim, or felt because they’re easier to penetrate with a needle than leather and other thicker fabrics. To accurately replicate designs, she suggests tracing each project onto translucent stabilizer fabric, placing it over a garment to guide one’s stitches, and then tearing the stabilizer away after completion. Kemper also illustrates how to make the backstitches, French knots, “fur stitches” (a mix of straight and seed stitches), lazy daisies, and straight stitches that comprise each design. The projects are organized according to ecosystem. A barred owl, black bear, and moose number among the forest inhabitants, while a saguaro cactus, Arizona bark scorpion, and greater roadrunner populate the desert section. Kemper also includes a healthy sampling of aquatic life, including beavers, gray whales, sockeye salmon, and tufted puffins. The designs are impressively realistic, and the introduction contains plenty of helpful tips. For instance, Kemper recommends tucking thread ends into the backs of other stitches instead of knotting them because the complexity of the designs would require enough knots to make the fabric bulky. This will make a wonderful addition to any seasoned embroiderer’s library. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

The editors of In Bed Journal, the blog of the eponymous textiles company, explore how individuals imprint their personality on their homes in this largely successful coffee-table book. Profiling homeowners across the globe, the authors describe how one woman’s decision to decorate her abode in Eltham, Australia, with secondhand furniture, including a coffee table custom built in the 1960s for the home’s architect, reflects her commitment to sustainability. The L.A. home of Neada Deters, founder of organic skin care products company Lesse, embraces the same “less is more” philosophy that she brings to her products, the authors contend, showing how the sparsely decorated rooms evoke the feel of an art gallery. Elsewhere, the authors discuss how a Toronto couple’s passion for Japanese design inspired them to style their house after a traditional Japanese inn with beige walls and shoji screens. Biographical background on the homeowners sheds light on how aesthetics reflect personal sensibilities, but frustratingly, some of the photos give little idea of the homes’ interiors. For instance, the images for one Vancouver residence consist largely of close-ups of the bed and dining table. Still, this brings welcome attention to the human side of design. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

This pleasant debut from Dein shows how to create bas-reliefs of plants. The basic process involves using a rolling pin to press flowers into clay, removing the plants, and then pouring plaster into a wooden frame placed on top of the clay, which is later peeled off to reveal the relief image. Breaking down each step, Dein offers pointers on arranging flowers, recommending that readers position stems at slight angles to make them look more naturalistic. When working with plaster, Dein advises plugging any leaks in the frame with clay and contends that leaving some of the clay on the finished cast can help accentuate finer details. The process for every seasonal project is virtually identical, differing only in which plants are recommended for the designated time of year. For instance, an early summer project involves positioning circular nasturtium leaves face up to create something resembling a polka dot pattern, and one autumn piece entails filling the lower half of a clay slab with an oak branch, fern leaf, and blackberry bramble. The comprehensive instructions provide all readers need to get started casting, and explanations on how to create reliefs from concrete or layer different colored plasters highlight the creative possibilities of the medium. Crafters will be inspired. (May)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

With this delightful collection of stories, photos, and traditional recipes, Quinn (Mad Hungry Family) shines a light on the often overlooked role of immigrant Italian women in the rise of Italian American cuisine. She traces how southern Italians who fled rural poverty for the tenements of American cities brought cherished culinary traditions with them. Quinn’s own family history provides a portrait of generations of gritty, frugal, and enterprising women who adapted American ingredients to “recreate the taste memories of their ancestral homes.” Grouped by cooking styles, these recipes are recognizable, unelaborated Italian American classics with easily sourced ingredients and uncomplicated preparation. “Simmered on the Stovetop” dishes include beef braciola bundles in red sauce and hearty Italian wedding soup. Multiple chicken piccata dishes found in the “Cooked in a Skillet” section feature deglazed sauces, while stuffed eggplant rollatini are “Layered and Baked” pasta al forno fare. Instructions for pasta dough and cheese and spinach ravioli are “Tossed Pasta” favorites. Festive family celebrations call for seven fishes stew, or versatile seafood-stuffed shells with lobster, crab, or shrimp, while original Italian American creations include turkey tetrazzini, Philly cheesesteak, and New Orleans’s muffuletta. Quinn’s accessible and nostalgic cookbook overflows with fond memories of true comfort food. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

Chef Adjepong (Sankofa), who is a first-generation Ghanaian American, presents an enticing mix of traditional and modernized West African recipes in this heartfelt volume. Groundnut soup with guinea fowl, jollof rice, banana fritters, and other family recipes Adjepong grew up enjoying are presented alongside his own creations, including eggs Benedict with scallops and piri piri Hollandaise, mango tart with rum marshmallow, and pan-seared grouper with fried peanut salsa. Acknowledging West Africa’s global impact on culinary history, Adjepong also showcases food of the African diaspora: the American Southern classic of baked red peas, he notes, “has strong ties to West Africa, where cowpeas are from,” and the origins of the Caribbean staple salted cod fritters can be traced back to West African practices of curing seafood. Though sourcing some of the ingredients may be challenging, Adjepong’s instructions are clear and he offers some handy substitution suggestions (cassava can be used instead of puna yam for the puna yam chips). Charming autobiographical anecdotes chronicle Adjepong’s exciting culinary journey, from his first trip to Ghana as a toddler when he fell in love with bofrot (fried doughnuts) to his time competing on Top Chef. Anyone looking to incorporate West African flavors into their repertoire will be inspired. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rucker (Dappled) serves up a droolworthy “celebration of the unadorned joy that mixing these two simple ingredients together can bring.” Her innovative, fuss-free approach to baking relies on the cold butter method, a vintage “reverse creaming method” wherein butter is mixed directly into the dry ingredients before other liquids. Pulling favorite recipes from her Fat + Flour bakery in L.A., she serves up five versions of chocolate chip cookies (chunky, soft, crispy, chewy, and vegan), confetti cake–inspired vanilla sprinkle crinkle cookies, and versatile holiday shortbread. In the chapter on dessert bars, masala chai and hot sauce add heat to “Abuelita Brownies” while more savory notes shine in lemon browned butter and rosemary bars. Rucker offers five variations on banana bread, including one made with browned butter and another with spicy streusel, while rich bundt cake flavors include vanilla coconut, blueberry and brown sugar, and sour cream pecan. Pies, made with Rucker’s blue ribbon crust, feature similarly inventive flavor combinations, including apple, fig, and vanilla; blueberry and lavender; and ginger sweet potato. Vegan options also abound. Delivering on the promise of “low-effort but high-reward,” this scrumptious collection belongs on every baker’s shelf. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

Roderick (Improv Quilting) presents an insightful primer on how to utilize visual design elements when quilting. She defines value as “the lightness or darkness of a color in relation to other colors” and analyzes how one quilt uses concentric squares of increasingly dark hues to create a sense of depth. Emphasis refers to how viewers’ attention is directed within a piece, Roderick explains, noting that some quilts create focal points through a prominent central design while more conventional block pattern pieces distribute emphasis over the quilt’s entirety. Detailing a variety of advanced techniques, Roderick describes, for instance, how to do English paper piecing, which involves wrapping fabric over cardboard shapes that are removed after the textiles are sewn together. Though there are no instructions detailing how to complete a quilt from beginning to end, Roderick includes some fun exercises that will flex readers’ creative muscles. For example, she suggests cutting out eight black squares of varying sizes and trying out compositions in which the black squares take up more visual space than the white background, and vice versa. The impressive quilts made by Roderick and her students more closely resemble modern art than traditional block designs, showcasing the craft’s avant-garde potential. Intermediate and advanced quilters will be inspired to up their game. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/28/2025 | Details & Permalink

Cocktail critic Pardilla debuts with an impassioned ode to the margarita in every shape and size. A true scholar of mixology, she shares a well of bartending lore while conjuring an impressively vast array of riffs on the drink, from classic to botanical, as in a Georgia O’Keeffe–inspired iteration garnished with an edible pansy. Another version calls for fresh green juice, while the “al pastor” margarita is made with a bespoke “taco mix syrup.” Some recipes bring the heat, such as a guava habanero twist out of Singapore’s celebrated 28 HongKong Street, while others bring the ice, like a slushy blended margarita made with sherry hailing from Washington, D.C.’s Columbia Room. The approachable prose and appealing photography help the cocktails jump off the page while in-depth sidebars break down types of tequila, blending methods, and the pleasures of Oaxaca worm salt. Frequent shout-outs to storied bars and mixologists who each put their own—sometimes quite subtle—spin on the margarita make this playful collection a celebration of bartending innovation. It’s an ideal gift for tequila enthusiasts. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/28/2025 | Details & Permalink

Torrico (Natural Cakes) proffers simplified techniques and ingredients in this breezy recipe collection. Among the many pastas made with only five ingredients are cacio e pepe and orecchiette with broccoli, while the slightly more complex asparagus carbonara and sweet pea gnocchi still promise to be ready in under 20 minutes. One-pot dishes include greens and seafood minestra and a broken pasta soup with chickpeas. For more adventurous fare, there’s rigatoni cake made by standing the pasta upright in a springform pan, as well as high-heat “burnt spaghetti.” Most recipes serve two and are quick enough for weeknight dinner, though Torrico sometimes cheats with her stated times. A traditional lasagna, for example, touts 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking but incorporates béchamel and Bolognese sauces, the recipes for which are found elsewhere in the book and considerably extend the cooking time. She also winnows down her ingredients lists by skimping on the seasonings, with few recipes incorporating any herbs or spices. Still, the wide selection and accessible pantry ingredients appeal. Busy and beginner home cooks will find plenty here that inspires. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/28/2025 | Details & Permalink