Crackling Pancake with Caramel-Clustered Blueberries | The Art of Escapism Cooking

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm happy to be hosting today's TLC Book Tours stop for the recently released cookbook by Mandy Lee (of Lady and Pups blog) called The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors. I'll start by saying that this book is not for the weak. It's thick and meaty; it dares you to spend time getting to know yourself, your kitchen, and some ingredients and methods that you may not be familiar with.

Mini Meatloaf | Recipes from Raine’s Roost aka Jillian’s Kitchen | Interview + Giveaway!

You’re in for a treat today. I’m excited to host another blog stop for author, L.G. O’Connor. I’ve featured several of her books over the years both from her paranormal angel romance series, The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles, and her romantic women’s fiction series, Caught Up in Love. Even though her books aren’t ordinarily “foodie reads,” her heroes seem to know their way around a kitchen and you can tell she appreciates a good meal. So imagine my surprise when she told me her latest release was a recipe compilation from Raine MacDonald, the sexy hero in Caught Up in RAINE! (To see my review of the book and the Chicken Marsala recipe inspired by CUIR from last April, click HERE.)

Foundational Fried SPAM | The Walking Dead (cookbook review + giveaway)

It's premiere week! Are you as excited as I am? I wasn't to create seven new Walking Dead inspired recipes to lead up to Sunday like I did last year, but I do have something just as fun to share—a review of the just-released The Walking Dead: Official Cookbook and Survival Guide! If you're a regular reader, you know how much I love TWD, so I jumped at the chance to receive not only a review copy, but also a copy to give away to one of my readers! So, let's get to it.

Roasted Radishes | Signs and Seasons (cookbook review)

I'm pretty darn excited to be hosting a TLC Book Tours stop for the cookbook Signs & Seasons: Feed Your Sign the Food it Craves today! Between them, he wife and husband duo of artist Amy Zerner and astrologer Monte Farber have created so many amazing contributions to the spiritual and metaphysical world.

Pineapple Cranberry Chutney + Eat Like a Gilmore Cookbook Review

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to this week's edition of the Gilmore Girls coffee klatch! In anticipation of Netflix's Black Friday release date of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Chef Sarah Elizabeth and I have been binging and the discussing the original seven seasons and sharing recipes inspired by the show for almost 2 months now.

Since I binged like a champion, I've been done for a couple of weeks now. So, while I may have shared my thoughts on the series finale last week, my Wednesdays are reserved indefinitely for hanging with the girls. I'll pull ideas from random (and often seasonally appropriate) episodes and share other random Gilmore Girls inspired fun.

Green Beans with Sesame Dressing (Ingen no goma-ae) | #JapaneseHomeCooking

I used to believe that Japanese was somewhat of an elusive entity to me; it existed, but just beyond my realm of understanding. I've made a few Japanese recipes over the years, almost always something very basic. But here's the thing I've started to realize—Japanese cooking isn't as out of reach as it sometimes seems.

Like anything, a solid knowledge and skill base builds a foundation and unclouds vision. That's what (Iron) Chef Masaharu Morimoto offers up in his new cookbook, Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking. While admitting that this book does not, and could not, contain "every dish in the Japanese grandmother's repertoire", it does feature ones that he whip up in your kitchen if he could...his favorites.

Sopa de Lima | #SoupSwapParty

As a self-proclaimed soup addict, I think the concept of Kathy Gunst's new cookbook Soup Swap is pure genius. Since you often wind up with leftovers when you make soup, you can tire of having the same kind of soup day after day, so why not make a party out of it? Gather a group of friends, family, or colleagues and have each person/couple bring a pot of homemade soup. The host will provide a loaf of crusty bread, a side/salad, and a dessert.

At the party, serve up tasting portions of each kind of soup and then everybody goes home with different soups to enjoy for the rest of the week! You could make it a monthly ritual. You could have themes. You could ask everybody to bring a drink that compliments their soup. You could set it up however you want.

Italian Rice Pilaf + The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook Review

I've always said that everybody should learn to cook a handful of dishes really, really well and keep them in their back pocket. Then they call pull them out when family or friends come over and everybody will be impressed by their cooking prowess. But what about all of the other days, when you still have to have dinner on the table, but your family is threatening to walk out if you make your famous cheesy baked pasta one more time?

That's when it pays to have a solid cookbook arsenal at  your fingertips, like the one that I'm sharing with you today, The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook. Written by fellow blogger Mary Younkin of Barefeet in the Kitchen, this book is packed from cover to cover with no-frills recipes that are simple to make and delicious to eat—any day of the week (because your family deserves that cooking prowess every day).

Create a Family Cookbook: Recipes, History and Tradition

A couple of months ago, I mentioned my partnership with Land O’Lakes, whose tagline is ADD A LITTLE GOOD™, which started me thinking about ways that I could bring good to others as an individual. There are all sorts of ways to bring good to others, from something as large-scale as volunteering in the community to something as simple as holding an elevator door for someone.

I decided that moving forward on a project that I've been planning in the back of my mind for years was a great place to start. I've been wanting to create a family cookbook. But when I say cookbook, I mean more than just a recipe collection. I mean a book that holds memories, photographs, history, tradition...and maybe even a few secrets. But also, recipes.