Knowing how to cook a perfectly-seared steak with skill and confidence is an essential part of any omnivore’s repertoire. For date night, entertaining friends, or just a treat for yourself, this recipe for peppered steak filets with grainy mustard cream sauce from the cookbook Simply Suppers is a good one to have on hand. More

This morning we gave you our review of the new book from the Baked boys: Baked Explorations, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Well, we couldn't resist sharing a recipe too from this lovely, enticing book. And what better for fall than these moist, luscious maple cupcakes? More

Earlier today we showed you the latest book from Williams-Sonoma, an all-star guidebook to preserving and making jams, pickles, and sauces. Here are a couple of choice recipes (and step-by-step canning instructions too!) from this lavishly illustrated book. We love how the basic recipes are often paired with larger recipes that incorporate the preserves in some inspiring way. This is a great example: Pickled beets, with an arugula salad. Yum! More

Sometimes I want a cooling drink that's not too sweet, so I was intrigued to discover a recipe for Barley Water in the new summer issue of Canal House Cooking (Vol 4). I'll admit that it sounds a little odd. I mean, who would think that sipping on water that was used to boil barley would be a good thing, even with the addition of lemon and orange and a touch of sugar? But I cannot recommend this simple drink highly enough. It is indeed far greater than the sum of its parts. Read on for the recipe and a quick peek into the new issue of Canal House Cooking. More

I just talked about Emeril Lagasse's new book and how much I like its fresh comfort food style. This recipe is a great example of one of the dishes in the book; it's vegan and whole grain, with wild rice, amaranth, quinoa, and more. And it also looks so bright, juicy, and delicious, with fennel, orange juice, and radish. What a perfect salad for summer picnics! More

This rich, moist cake from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce was one of the very first recipes to catch our eye. It calls for a flour we've never worked with before - amaranth flour - and combines it with dark muscovado sugar (our new love) and thick apple butter (an old love). This combination just sounds too good to pass up! More

In November I reviewed — raved about! — The Canal House Cooking cookbook project by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton. Read on for a review of one of my favorite (and seasonally appropriate) recipes from their latest volume: Fall and Holiday. More

In our book notes on the Gastrokid cookbook, we said that the recipes weren't so much recipes as sketches of inspiration and ideas. That's not a bad thing though, not at all. The book is full of quick and inspirational ideas like this one: High-heat roasted vegetables. More

We love the looks of just about every recipe in Pasta Sfoglia (see our review here). But we decided to reprint one of the simplest, most elemental recipes in the book: Fusilli al Telefono. More

Here's a great cookie to pair with your next peppermint mocha! This is from Cookie Craft Christmas, which we reviewed earlier today. We really like this easy recipe for gingerbread houses; it's a lot more accessible (and eat-able) than all those more constructed and fancy gingerbread houses. More