• Eat Your Books

  2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

• DKennedy on February 12, 2011

  A great read! Have already bought it for three of my friends. Tried the white bolognese sauce and the salad dressing that is used in about 100 dishes. Both are personal favorites.

• nomadchowwoman on January 05, 2010

  I love books that tell a story--in this case, of a courtship--through food. Good recipes, too.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken roasted with sour cream, lemon juice and mango chutney

  • hirsheys on January 18, 2019

    This recipe is solid and unbelievably easy, but not something I'll make again. It's basically a less good (though much easier) version of Sultan's Delight - a family favorite similar to chicken divan. One major benefit - it's a pantry dish if you have chicken breasts in the freezer.

  • PatFB on January 14, 2022

    My family loved this, so I'll be making it again, though cutting the mayo and sour cream by at least a third, for a lighter dish.

• Almond cake

  • AKPatterson on August 29, 2017

    One of my staples. Improves with age. Great year round - embellish with seasonal fruit. Spring - macerated strawberries. Fall - Pears with light caramel.

• Rigatoni with white Bolognese

  • hirsheys on October 24, 2021

    Made this for Sunday supper with the cousins and it was well received. Made it exactly as written, except that I served only half the recipe - freezing the sauce (pre-cream) to make the second batch later. It's not too time consuming and comes out quite tasty, though I'm not sure I like it more than tomato-y versions. All in all, a solid recipe.

• Kadjemoula (North African lamb and beef stew)

  • breakthroughc on January 30, 2024

    This was absolutely delicious. I used parsnips instead of turnips and 2/3 of the meat called for. I added a 1/4 teaspoon of cardamon along with the cinnamon and ginger. The spices are in the background and not overpowering at all. I cooked the first hour covered and the second hour uncovered as I wanted it to thicken. You do need to stir it fairly often as the fruit wants to stick to the bottom of the pan. Served over bulgar as we aren’t cous cous fans.

• Vanilla bean loaves

  • Kfaber on March 19, 2016

    Really rich and moist vanilla pound cake- my kids gobbled it up!

• Linguine with Meyer lemon zest, crème fraiche and Parmesan cheese

  • amelia_kxb0j5 on May 25, 2026

    Delicious!

• Frosting minus the cupcakes

  • NicolePK on July 30, 2021

    It's good. Tastes like frosting. I only used 11 oz powdered sugar for a more buttery flavor, plus an extra 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Turned out great.

• Amateur Gourmet

  What I admired most about this book was Hesser’s fearlessness in portraying herself truthfully. By that I mean she doesn’t always come across as–well–likeable.

  Full review

• Amateur Gourmet

  This was the first time I’d experienced recipes in the context of story and that notion, that recipes taste better when they have a context, is something I believe in very firmly today.

  Full review