Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

“Freestyle cooking is about simply being a little prepared and relaxing around the kitchen.” We don’t have to be highly trained gourmet chefs to make the picture-perfect, delicious, healthy meal. Mind you, picture-perfect isn’t necessarily always delicious and healthy and, vice versa, delicious and healthy isn’t always picture-perfect. The important thing is to enjoy your food, enjoy your food preparations and remember that food is a social activity, a great way to spend quality family time. What you make may not always turn out the way you think it should; it may be even better than the original intent. But remember some words of wisdom, like “there is no way to fail as long as you keep trying.” This reminds me of my great-grandmother’s words of wisdom (which would accompany anything that appeared to be less than perfect): “If there’s good stuff in it, then it must be good.”

Sean Barker’s cookbook, The Easy Eating Diet Cookbook: 150 Fit Food Recipes for Real Life, to Get Leaner, Lighter and Healthier, is as much a guidebook as it is a cookbook. It’s actually his recommendation that readers consider his book as a guidebook, to add or take away as they will, to mix and match ingredients. Each recipe, well organized and presented, is meant as a starting place to broaden the culinary experience and enjoy a wide range of possibilities. His introduction is full of sage advice, not just on cooking and eating healthily, but also on the best foods to choose: the best fats, the best herbs, and some tips to make life easier in the kitchen, like prepping prospective ingredients as soon as they’re brought home from the grocery store and freezing them in containers, ready to add to a given dish at any given time. This eases the stress and the fuss of the actual meal preparations when the time comes. The Easy Eating Diet Cookbook adds more fun and experimentation possibilities to the food preparation routine, making the foods we eat healthier and more interesting.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

The only thing better than a great dessert is a spectacular cookbook that features many great dessert options, complete with gorgeous illustrations and thorough instructions. Imagine the signature piece and cover illustration of this fantastic cookbook, 70% Cacao Chocolate Cheesecake! And then there’s Eggnog Éclairs, Toasted Pistachio & Dark Chocolate Butter Crunch (just the title makes you want to bite right into it) and so many others. I have to admit, the chocolate recipes always capture my attention first, especially with such mouth-watering illustrations. My tastebuds water just perusing the selection.

Craig and Johanna Harlen’s Another Taste of Gorgeous is a cookbook collector’s dream book – a must-have for the complete cookbook connoisseur collection. The book follows Craig’s career as a pastry chef extraordinaire. Beginning with this introduction, the book also documents the goal of this book, which follows an earlier publication, A Taste of Gorgeous. There is a wide selection of mouth-watering recipes in this book, each one clearly detailed with ingredients listed in order of use and very thorough instructions. Each recipe is also accompanied by a spectacular photograph of the final product, both simple and elegant, presented as one would expect it to be delivered to your table at a classy restaurant. Interspersed between recipes are some useful cooking guides, including lists of appropriate, good quality kitchen utensils which are a must in any finely tuned food preparation. The book is definitely a cookbook, but it is also a treasure to savor and enjoy, a classic coffee table picture book. Beautifully and artfully presented.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Sophisticated Palate: A Taste of Northern California is a nonfiction cooking/food book written by Johanna Harlen. Harlen’s love affair with the culinary arts and writing about food began when she submitted a recipe to the Service Inspired Restaurants Corporation of Ontario’s contest. Even better news awaited her, however, when she learned that she had won the contest. Her prize was a course at the Culinary Institute of America’s Northern California campus. The course, The Sophisticated Palate: A Taste of Northern California, was presented by Chef John Ash. Ten years later, Harlen decided that the coursework from that 2010 program could be the basis for an amazing cookbook. Chef John Ash agreed and offered to help her in any way he could. Sophisticated Palate immerses the reader in the intensive and inspiring Culinary Institute of America course that is still taught by Chef John Ash. Harlen’s eloquent and inspiring introduction sets the stage for her experience, and her presentation of the coursework covered by Ash offers the reader far more than a simple collection of recipes. Each recipe is updated for 2020 and offers detailed information on alternative ingredients and techniques. As I read through this book, I felt as though I was indeed in a Culinary Institute class, and I loved learning about the courses -- and how I could adapt and make them my own.

There’s something for everyone in this work; I even discovered, to my delight and surprise, a recipe for Avocado Fries. Another plus is that the chef’s notes at the bottom of each recipe are those of Chef Ash, unless otherwise noted, furthering the feeling one gets of being a privileged student as well as a reader. Harlen also includes an article by Chef Ash on souffles that offered me the necessary confidence and boosted my enthusiasm for trying my hand at what I had always considered a formidable task. I especially liked Harlen’s suggestion for a Citrus Souffle. Harlen was the photographer for all but the dessert recipes, which were photographed by her son. Her pictures are eye-popping and mouth-watering. Textures, colors, and ingredients all work together very well to make each dish a visual masterpiece. Sophisticated Palate: A Taste of Northern California is more than a cookbook -- it provides the reader with a learning experience that will have them considering coursework at the Culinary Institute themselves. It’s most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

A mother and son tandem with a mutual gustatory delight set out to explore a profound travelogue of recipes spun from the thread of wanderlust and close family ties. Johanna and Craig Harlen offer a take on an international food adventure with Have Food Will Travel. Johanna Harlen focuses on a biographical approach that traces the roots of her wanderlust and culinary skills through a chosen selection of recipes. However, these recipes function like succulent visual chapters in the life of Johanna, as they originate from countries where she left her footprints. Her son and co-author, Craig, a photographer and pastry chef in his own right, provides the hunger-inducing photographs. From South Africa to North America, every food in this artistic cookbook reflects the diversity and the episodes of a mother and son traveling together.

Throughout this book, Johanna Harlen’s writing is up-close and personal, as if she is talking to her reader over a cup of coffee. This is effective in conveying an atmosphere for a book that appeals to our gastronomic senses. She delivers her personal story with meticulous attention to detail, but saying only what she feels is necessary. The recipes, along with their arresting photographs, tell a considerable portion about her globetrotting. The selection of food in Have Food Will Travel is appealing not only in taste but also in preparation. Whether you aspire to be a chef or a home-based cook, there is something to appreciate in this selection of international recipes. Every dish is a travel adventure without leaving home. Your taste buds will transport you to foreign locales.

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

Cooking for Cancer: A Book with Purpose by Johanna Harlen is a ground-breaking book that provides readers with the right tools to fight cancer without running any risks. Written by a Holistic Nutrition Practitioner who has experienced cancer in her own family, this book provides information that cancer patients and those taking care of them need to know and how what they eat can determine the quality of their health. In this book, readers not only find great recipes for a healthy life but tips on how to get empowered, with advice on taking charge of their wellness journey, being focused, thinking their decisions through, giving informed consent when it comes to treatment, adapting the right nutritional strategy, and a lot more.

This is a gem, a book that everyone with cancer or anyone taking care of a cancer patient should read. The author shows readers how they can use their brains and healthy habits to beat cancer. Johanna Harlen provides recipes for thirty days and explains how each element in nutrition can contribute to a healthy life. The writing is sprinkled with real-life examples from the author’s own life, medical information that readers need to know, and the motivation they need to keep fighting on. It is written in a strong and commanding voice, and the confidence in the writing comes out in the simplicity in style and clarity in expression. Cooking for Cancer: A Book with Purpose is one of those books to have at home, especially for readers who enjoy cooking and a healthy lifestyle.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Making and serving good, wholesome food is an art form. You can use the least expensive ingredients possible. You can substitute one ingredient for another. You can decide to ignore the instructions carefully written out in the method of preparation. But you might not be satisfied with the end result. If you really want to create that work of art, that delicious recipe you remember enjoying at a friend’s house, or something special Mom used to make, you need to use precisely the same ingredients and follow the directions. However, as in many family recipe collections, we might find that instructions are sparse to non-existent, so, if it’s a family recipe you’re following, write down the directions as you recall and make a note of the precise ingredients you remember being used back in the day. Food availability and cooking technology have changed, but the bottom line is to use fresh and real ingredients. If at all possible, don’t substitute. It’s not worth it to save some money on the expense. If you want quality, then use quality – not necessarily the most expensive ingredient, but the best quality ingredient.

I love the title of Kenneth M. Horwitz’s cookbook, Deep Flavors: A Celebration of Recipes for Foodies in a Kosher Style. Deep flavors certainly suggest a thorough presentation of food, recipes, and the art of creating exemplary food art – to be enjoyed and savored. The author has done just that. His concise book includes fully organized recipes, each one with detailed instructions and background on the recipe: its source, its ingredients, and the reasons behind how to prepare it. As he writes in his opening chapter, which outlines his philosophy on food and food preparation, “Cooking is worth some effort and attention to detail. The positive reactions from family or guests, as well as your own enjoyment, will make it worthwhile. Of course, producing delectable food is more than just process – high-quality (and this does not necessarily mean rare or expensive) and fresh ingredients are essential.” I was particularly interested in his chapter on breads and sourdough breads as I begin my own experiments with a sourdough starter, all of which I found informative and useful. This is an essential addition to any cookbook fanatic's collection and to anyone who believes in spending the time and effort to make the ‘food’ experience a real work of art, one with many deep flavors.

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

The Mediterranean Functional Lifestyle: Creative Recipes for Healthy Diets by Nikos Ligidakis is a gift for anyone who wants to eat and stay healthy. This book brilliantly showcases the old adage that “we are what we eat.” The author shares more than 250 original recipes for healthy dieting, designed for people who are focused on elimination diets, gluten-free diets, vegetarian, vegan, and many more. The author shares information about and provides a cooking philosophy and diet mostly shaped by what the earth provides. It was not about one particular food with unique benefits but rather eating mostly plant-based, nutrient-dense foods and limited amounts of meats. Insights into the Early Hippocratic doctors establish a strong connection between their eating habits, their diet, and the Mediterranean diet. In the preface, Helene, the wife of the author, starts by telling readers their experience with the elimination diet and how they eliminated sugar, alcohol, dairy, eggs, corn, and gluten for three weeks. By the end of the third week, they lost weight and had much more energy. This book contains their secrets.

I have read many cookbooks and have consulted them when I badly needed to cook, but The Mediterranean Functional Lifestyle is a treasure trove that doesn’t just teach readers how to cook, but also how to create healthy meals. Readers will understand the nutritional value of fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices and herbs that are presented in this book. Nikos Ligidakis shares his creative ways of cooking and presents recipes that are clearly described and with easy steps to prepare them. These recipes include healthy foods like arugula, artichokes, beets, broccoli, cabbage, capers, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, and many others. This book will not only keep those who use it healthy, but it will increase their strength levels and overall wellness. I enjoyed the creativity when it comes to the recipes, the fluidity in expression, and the strength of the writing. I also loved that while the recipes are easy to prepare, the author has done a great job of researching the biological and health properties of the spices and the foods. A gem of a book that is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Quarantine Cookbook is a nonfiction cooking/food guide written by Beth Carter. The author’s comic muse has been hiding from her lately and making writing her typical literary fare, humorous women’s fiction, and romantic comedy rather more difficult to pen. And since she’s been actively cooking and posting her recipes and pictures online, Carter decided that the best thing she could do to help others get through the pandemic was to share her favorite recipes, many of which were handed down to her from family members. Most of them are perfect for those evenings when the pantry is somewhat barer than it could be, in fact, a number of them need only 5 ingredients or less -- and the ingredients are often staples most can find lurking in the pantry or freezer. Carter offers recipes for everything: appetizers, breads (that are easy to make!), salads, sides, soups, entrees, desserts, and even snacks. In her appendix, she includes Non-Stir Crazy Activities, Six-Word Memoirs on Quarantine Life, and an assortment of entertaining quotes on food.

I am always intrigued when a new cookbook comes my way and was particularly eager to read Beth Carter’s The Quarantine Cookbook. As she promises, her recipes are delightfully free of long lists of arcane and hard-to-get ingredients, and most of them are not involved and arduous undertakings. Her savory recipes are brimful of bright, healthy vegetables, and her desserts likewise feature generous helpings of fruit. Lest this scare away some readers, don’t let the thought of peppers, bananas, and berries cause you undue concern; this collection features generations’ worth of comfort food. Her Sausage Balls sound incredible and are incredibly easy to make. Beth’s Famous Baked Beans artfully creates a masterpiece one might expect to have taken hours on a hot stove, and Taco Lasagna is not only intriguing but again simple to prepare. While many have their own favorites and handed-down recipes for comfort food, Beth Carter has something for everyone in her cookbook. The ingredients are clearly and simply specified and the instructions are easy to follow and delightfully brief. The Quarantine Cookbook is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs by Beth Ricanati, MD is a memoir that captures one woman's journey into her spiritual center, the place where self-love and self-care happen, and the very place where one heals oneself from the ache of anxiety and depression that punctuate the day-to-day life of a woman. In this fascinating book and in a voice that is confident and bold, the author shares secrets about staying in the present and how to allow simple activities such as baking to inspire the heart. In a sense, this book teaches readers the magic ritual and how it allows them to enjoy the daily chores of life, create meaning, and accomplish work that matters without feeling the strain of it.

If you were to offer a meaningful gift to a significant woman in your life, it should be this book. In reading Beth Ricanati’s Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs, one feels as if one is drinking from a spiritual fountain that allows a new wave of life to surge within them. This book offers both a recipe and a path to personal growth and healing. Packed with insight and wisdom, it is one of those rare books that every woman should read. The author shares her experiences and does so in a style that engages the reader in a heart-to-heart conversation. The popular, conversational style of writing coupled with the author's gift for intelligent and unique phraseology drive home the message in a powerful manner. A must-read for the contemporary woman.

Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite

James Laughren's 50 Ways To Love Wine More is a fun, light and entertaining book all about wine. James Laughren offers an introduction to the finer details of wine drinking and exploration. The book is divided into 50 short chapters where each one addresses a different facet of how to enjoy wine, explores the various types of wines, and also touches on a few aspects of the industry of wine making itself. Some of the chapters include the recommendation of using a sommelier to enhance the experience, finding your favorites, introducing a beer drinker to wine, exploring sweet wines and dessert wines, young versus old vintage wines, chocolate and wine, travel, rose and orange wines, entertaining and making friends over wine, taking wine tasting classes, philosophy, and more.

For anyone who is a wine drinker or simply just wants to learn more about wine in general, this is a great little book that forms an ideal introduction to wine for both the beginner and the expert. The short chapters make this an easy read. The writing style is equally light and engaging and the author's passion and knowledge of wines comes through. There are a number of photographs spread throughout the book and I especially liked the historical photographs related to wine making and the wine industry of the past. Overall, I found 50 Ways To Love Wine More by James Laughren to be both informative and entertaining, and I would recommend it to others for reading or even as a gift for someone who enjoys wine.