The Summer 2017 Cookshelf

By Mary Kay Andrews

While Mary Kay Andrews is more widely known for her southern-tinged women’s fiction, for this beautifully photographed cookbook she delves deep into her childhood Florida beach house memories and pulls out simple, satisfying dishes, such as Edna’s Potato Salad and Marinated Cucumbers and Onions. The recipes run the gamut between old-fashioned favorites and more upscale offerings such as Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Fig-Onion Jam. Lovely memories accompany each recipe, and her homey storytelling makes you feel like you are sitting on the porch of her Tybee Island beach house sharing a tall cool glass of Sandbar Sangria with an old friend.

St. Martin’s Press, 978-1-250-13044-0, $29.99

Food Swings: 125 + Recipes to Enjoy Your Life of Virtue & Vice

By Jessica Seinfeld

Don’t discount Food Swings as just another vanity project of a celebrity wife. While she’s had no formal training, Jessica Seinfeld is a talented, creative home cook with recipes to satisfy the need to eat virtuously and also the want to give in to a few culinary vices. Virtuous offerings are still delicious; recipes like Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Hazelnuts and Parmesan are quick and healthy. If you are feeling a bit naughty, take a walk on the “vice” side, and indulge in Meringue Cake with Raspberry Sauce or One Pot Mocha Brownies.

Ballantine Books, 978-101-96714-0, $32.00

Eat Delicious: 125 Recipes for Your Daily Dose of Awesome

By Dennis The Prescott

Six years ago, Dennis The Prescott was a musician with no cooking skills who went into a Nashville public library, checked out three Jamie Oliver cookbooks and cooked his way through all of them. Thus began his passionate love affair with food and cooking. Chefs and photographers have spent lifetimes and not been able to create a cookbook as sumptuously photographed and so full of lovingly created recipes. Feast your eyes on his wildly popular Instagram feed (@dennistheprescott,) then feast your belly on Super-Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, Jerk Chicken Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and finish it off (if you dare) with Brown Sugar Bourbon and Candied Pecan Ice Cream.

Harper Collins, 970-0-06-245-603-8, $27.50

Good Veg: Ebullient Vegetables, Global Flavors- A Modern Vegetarian Cookbook

By Alice Hart

Good Veg is a great collection of tasty vegetarian offerings. Alice Hart believes the key to sustaining a healthy vegetarian diet is thoughtful eating, including a contrast in flavors and ingredients. This book is a celebration of fresh produce and whole grains, with an emphasis on healthy, delicious morning meals, including fresh juices and smoothies. With amazing main dishes like Winter Cabbage Rolls and Roasted Broccoli Tart with a Cauliflower Crust, dinner guests will never miss the meat.

The Experiment, 978-1-61519-286-1, $24.95

How to Eat a Lobster & Other Edible Enigmas Explained

By Ashley Blom
Illustrated by Lucy Engelman

How to Eat a Lobster is an adorable little gift book fit for any aspiring gourmet. With valuable insight on such varied topics as How to Eat Bugs (step 2: If the bug is alive, bite the head off firmly and quickly), How to Send Food Back (be polite and understanding), and How to Use the Correct Fork (which one is the dessert fork?). With charming black and white drawings throughout, this is a perfect take-along hostess gift or housewarming present.

Quirk Books, 978-1-59474-921-6, $12.99

Dinner: Changing the Game

By Melissa Clark

Clark’s innovative yet simple recipes are perfect for the summer season! Our meals need not consist of meat and two vegetables; Clark’s philosophy is to make dinner preparation fun by rewriting the rules of the plate. Steamed Clams with Spring Herbs and Lime, Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt make delightful main dishes, easily rounded out with a loaf of crusty bread and a salad, or get fancier with the addition of Watermelon Gazpacho or Burrata Caprese with Peaches, Tomato and Basil.

Potter, 978-0-553-44823-8, $35.00