Sharon Kebschull Barrett

To open the pages of Golden is to be immediately confronted with a dilemma: Keep reading or race to the kitchen?

On first read, Nancy Silverton’s Mozza at Home feels appealing, reassuring, and aspirational.

“sweet Scandinavian dreaming . . .”

It’s hard to slam a book whose authors really, really want readers to like them.

“nothing too exotic, but with just enough of a twist to keep bakers and breakfast-eaters happy.”

Careful now: Open your copy of Southern Fried and listen—do you hear all those people talking back to James Villas?

“No, no, no, those fried green tomatoes need more flour!”

The Glorious Vegetables of Italy delivers what it promises . . . but do you need what it promises?

Some books can win a reader over by simply looking “right.” Cuisine Niçoise does just that: This lovely book design perfectly fits its theme of French Riviera cooking and the sweet, slight

“. . . will remind longtime cooks why learning about cooking satisfies their souls, and give every cook . . . many reasons to hit the kitchen.”

“. . . deserving of a place on a baker’s shelves—even if other pie books got there first.”

“Intimidating but hardly impossible, these recipes put an exclamation mark on Pie It Forward’s case for the demise of cupcakes.”

“Once you start, it may be hard to stop. Even a first skim through the book will likely lead to many pages marked for further testing . . .

“The book breaks down its recipes into comfortably useful chapters on antipasti, soup, sandwiches, salads, pasta, vegetables, seafood, meat, and desserts.

“With the idea of writing a book for the ultimate cookie swap—one with perfect, cheflike confections—Tracey Zabar began hitting up mostly New York chefs and bakers for their best recipes.

First things first: There are biscuits in this book. They are not the biscuits that made the Loveless Café famous. Sorry, Loveless lovers.

Following Phileas Fogg’s route, with detours thrown in for more tasty bites, food and travel writer Nan Lyons offers a tour of her favorite stops in Around the World in Eighty Meals.

Like the EatingWell magazine covers, The Simple Art of EatingWell proclaims its allegiances up front, with a cover shot of twine-bound asparagus spears.

At almost 4 ½ pounds, the heft of Sarabeth’s Bakery suggests serious satisfaction for the sweet tooth.

How would you define a cake? Do churros, sweet tamales, empanadas, baklava, or saffron buns come to mind?

In the competitive world that is kids’ birthday parties, Liv and Kaye Hansen can help any mom stand tall.

In many ways, The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook couldn’t be more perfectly timed.

Take a quick skim through Supper for a Song, and your first thought may be, “Wow, songs sure must cost more in Britain.” This book will pull readers in with its attractive layout and photo

We can only hope that the bacon craze, now a bit revolting in its ever-so-American excesses, has passed its peak.

It’s tough to throw around descriptions such as “legendary,” and “arguably the very best to be found on the planet,” and live up to them with something as simple as a brownie.

 For any cookbook author, figuring out your audience can be tricky.