An unforgettable tale of family, food and love

When I lost my mother to a long and painful battle with cancer, four years ago, I was thousands of miles away, alone and thick with grief. At first, everything seemed distant and pale, and I went through my days like a robot, lead-footed and sandy-eyed, trying to make sense of each moment. It took a while, but I came to understand that the only way out was through. At some point, I submitted to the dagger of sorrow, as it carved out a hollow in my heart, turning me into some sort of an unself-conscious, sculpted form. I re-lived all the memories of my mother, and gleaned new lessons from them. Through the eighteen essays in this book, I recount how her food, music, and stories -- all the things that she birthed in her spacious, sun-dappled kitchen -- helped me cope with long-distance grief, and taught me to look at life with renewed hope. I also present some special recipes, straight from Amma’s kitchen, and a bunch of kitchen poems in her honour, finding her in such things as the sizzling of spices, the bubbling of flavourful broths, or a melodious Raga swirled into my cup of coffee. My wish is that this book will come to stand for all this and more: a celebration of life and a quiet acceptance of death. I hope that it will inspire and touch many, those who are going through rough times, or those who are simply living the ordinary life, for often we forget that there’s so much magic in it.

My Mother's Kitchen is an enchanting place filled with promise, change and good food. If the weathered walls of this magical room could talk they would tell the story of Meena and her childhood life. Each chapter is a slice in her young life and depicts her spunk and youthful spirit. A visit to the local Fruit and Flower Show becomes an adventure as told by Meena. Her distress at finding out about her aunt's dark secret or her joy of making a new friend are all told in her naïve, yet pure voice. Her mother is a central character in her life and it is no wonder that the kitchen is a special place of healing and rejuvenation, not only for Meena but for other characters like Kashi and Ayah. Look for the continuing store in Seeing Ceremony, now available!

“You will devour these beautifully written—and very important—tales of honesty, pain, and resilience” (Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls) from fifteen brilliant writers who explore how what we don’t talk about with our mothers affects us, for better or for worse. As an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took her more than a decade to realize that she was actually trying to write about how this affected her relationship with her mother. When it was finally published, the essay went viral, shared on social media by Anne Lamott, Rebecca Solnit, and many others. This gave Filgate an idea, and the resulting anthology offers a candid look at our relationships with our mothers. Leslie Jamison writes about trying to discover who her seemingly perfect mother was before ever becoming a mom. In Cathi Hanauer’s hilarious piece, she finally gets a chance to have a conversation with her mother that isn’t interrupted by her domineering (but lovable) father. André Aciman writes about what it was like to have a deaf mother. Melissa Febos uses mythology as a lens to look at her close-knit relationship with her psychotherapist mother. And Julianna Baggott talks about having a mom who tells her everything. As Filgate writes, “Our mothers are our first homes, and that’s why we’re always trying to return to them.” There’s relief in acknowledging how what we couldn’t say for so long is a way to heal our relationships with others and, perhaps most important, with ourselves. Contributions by Cathi Hanauer, Melissa Febos, Alexander Chee, Dylan Landis, Bernice L. McFadden, Julianna Baggott, Lynn Steger Strong, Kiese Laymon, Carmen Maria Machado, André Aciman, Sari Botton, Nayomi Munaweera, Brandon Taylor, and Leslie Jamison.

A gorgeous, full-color illustrated cookbook and personal cultural history, filled with 100 mouthwatering recipes from around the world, that celebrates the culinary traditions of strong, empowering immigrant women and the remarkable diversity that is American food. As a child of Italian immigrants, Anna Francese Gass grew up eating her mother’s Calabrian cooking. But when this professional cook realized she had no clue how to make her family’s beloved meatballs—a recipe that existed only in her mother’s memory—Anna embarked on a project to record and preserve her mother’s recipes for generations to come. In addition to her recipes, Anna’s mother shared stories from her time in Italy that her daughter had never heard before, intriguing tales that whetted Anna’s appetite to learn more. Reaching out to her friends whose mothers were also immigrants, Anna began cooking with dozens of women who were eager to share their unique memories and the foods of their homelands. In Heirloom Kitchen, Anna brings together the stories and dishes of forty-five strong, exceptional women, all immigrants to the United States, whose heirloom recipes have helped shape the landscape of American food. Organized by region, the 100 tantalizing recipes include: Magda’s Pork Adobo from the Phillippines Shari’s Fersenjoon, a walnut and pomegranate stew, from Iran Tina’s dumplings from Northern China Anna’s mother’s Calabrian Meatballs from Southern Italy In addition to the dishes, these women share their recollections of coming to America, stories of hardship and happiness that illuminate the power of food—how cooking became a comfort and a respite in a new land for these women, as well as a tether to their native cultural identities. Accented with 175 photographs, including food shots, old family photographs, and ephemera of the cooks’ first years in America—such as Soon Sun’s recipe book pristinely handwritten in Korean or Bea’s cherished silver pitcher, a final gift from her own mother before leaving Serbia—Heirloom Kitchen is a testament to empowerment and strength, perseverance and inclusivity, and a warm and inspiring reminder that the story of immigrant food is, at its core, a story of American food.

A beautifully written tribute to the people who teach us to cook and guide our hands in the kitchen, by a founding editor of Saveur. The cooking lessons that stick with us are rarely the ones we read in books or learn through blog posts or YouTube videos (depending on your generation); they’re the ones we pick up as we spend time with good cooks in the kitchen. Dorothy Kalins, founding editor of Savuer magazine, calls the people who pass on their cooking wisdom her Kitchen Whisperers. Consciously or not, they help make us the cooks we are—and help show the way to the kind of cooks we have the potential to become. Dorothy’s prolific career in food media means many of her Kitchen Whisperers are some of the best chefs around (though the lessons she’s learned from fellow home cooks are just as important). For Dorothy, a lifetime of exposure to incredible cooks and chefs means that she can’t enter her kitchen without hearing the voices of mentors and friends with whom she cooked over the years as they reveal their favorite techniques. Marcella Hazan warns her against valuing look over flavor. Christopher Hirsheimer advises that sometimes water is the best liquid to add to a dish rather than stock or wine. Her onetime Southern mother-in-law wisely knows that not everyone who asks for a biscuit is food hungry. Woven through the text are dozens of narrative recipes, from her mother’s meat loaf to David Tanis’s Swiss Chard Gratin. The Kitchen Whisperers will prompt older readers to identify and cherish the food mentors in their own lives, just as it will inspire younger readers to seek them out. Stories and recipes from Dorothy’s notable connections will inspire the creative food journeys of all.

New York Times Bestseller Enter Audrey Hepburn’s private world in this unique New York Times bestselling biography compiled by her son that combines recollections, anecdotes, excerpts from her personal correspondence, drawings, and recipes for her favorite dishes written in her own hand, and more than 250 previously unpublished personal family photographs. Audrey at Home offers fans an unprecedented look at the legendary star, bringing together the varied aspects of her life through the food she loved—from her childhood in Holland during World War II, to her time in Hollywood as an actress and in Rome as a wife and mother, to her final years as a philanthropist traveling the world for UNICEF. Here are fifty recipes that reflect Audrey’s life, set in the context of a specific time, including Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream—a celebration of liberation in Holland at the end of the war; Penne alla Vodka—a favorite home-away-from-home dish in Hollywood; Turkish-style Sea Bass—her romance with and subsequent marriage to Andrea Dotti; Boeuf à la Cuillère—Givenchy’s favorite dish, which she’d prepare when he’d visit her in Switzerland; and Mousse au Chocolat—dinner at the White House. Audrey also loved the basics: Spaghetti al Pomodoro was an all-time favorite, particularly when returning home from her travels, as was a dish of good vanilla ice cream. Each recipe is accompanied by step-by-step instructions, including variations and preparation tips, anecdotes about Audrey and her life, and a poignant collection of photographs and memorabilia. Audrey at Home is a personal scrapbook of Audrey’s world and the things she loved best—her children, her friends, her pets. It is a life that unfolds through food, photographs, and intimate vignettes in a sophisticated and lovely book that is a must for Audrey Hepburn fans and food lovers.

Recipes from the celebrated Dok Suni restaurant in New York City include seafood pancakes, beef barbeque with sesame-salt dipping sauce, Korean dumplings, spicy stewed crab, and ginger treats.

Romania is a true cultural melting pot, rooted in Greek and Turkish traditions in the south, Hungarian and Saxon in the north and Slavic in the east and west. Carapathia, the first book from food stylist and cooking enthusiast Irina Georgescu, aims to introduce readers to Romania's bold, inventive and delicious cuisine. Bringing the country to life with stunning photography and recipes, it will take the reader on a culinary journey to the very heart of the Balkans, exploring it's history and landscape through it's traditions and food. From fragrant pilafs, sour borsch and hearty stews, to intricate and moreish desserts, this book celebrates the dishes from a culture living at the crossroads of eastern and western traditions.

Michael W. Smith is a legend in the music business. But growing up, he was just "Smitty" who loved his mom's cooking. Now some of her best recipes have been gathered in this collector's cookbook. A professional caterer for 15 years, Mrs. Smith offers up a huge helping of family memories, community celebrations, and fabulous dishes. This celebration of love from the kitchen includes more than 40 pictures and 300 recipes, with an easy-to-use lay-flat design. Whether you're catering for five or 50, you'll discover down-home recipes that will have everyone asking for more.