The Art and Craft of Tea by Joseph Uhl

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons

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The author clearly is passionate about tea, and it really shows in this lovely book. Everything you need to know about tea from the history of tea, to selecting, brewing and serving tea is covered here. Beautiful photography fills the pages and draws you into the warmth of tea.

Whether you want to learn about your favorite kind of tea, or you just desire a thorough education on tea, you can find it here. Growing regions, cultivating, processing, the chemistry of tea and more are found in the pages of this jewel.

Do you crave a classic English 'cuppa', a rich cup of Russian tea, a Persian Rose tea, or an Indian spiced tea? All these and more are covered here. There are delightful recipes in the back of the book for such delicacies as Cinnamon Cream Tea, Basil Peach Tea, classic Iced/Sun Tea and more.

Though this could be considered a reference book more than a cookbook, it's really much more. I highly recommend this for tea lovers everywhere.

I received a copy of this book from Hachette Book Group for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Per La Famiglia by Emily Richards

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons

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Mamma Mia!! What a delightful book! "For the Family" encapsulates how and why I cook, and this book is filled with the delicious food I love to prepare for my family.

Every Italian cookbook has their own Homemade Tomato Sauce recipe and, for me, how that turns out says a lot about how I'll feel about the rest of the cookbook. The Homemade Tomato Sauce is easy and delicious. It just takes a few minutes to get the ingredients going on the stove where it simmers on its own while you do other things. It was a huge hit with my family as well as at the church potluck. I've made two batches so far and both turned out delicious. I will be making this often!

I have made multiple trips to Sicily, and one of the things I would bring back for my kids were Amaretti--little crunchy almond-flavored cookies. I was thrilled to see a recipe for them! They are not the same color or quite the same texture (the ones we brought back were crunchy all the way through while the inside of these are soft), but the flavor is the same. They are amazing!! Once again, these were a huge hit at the church potluck with multiple women asking for the recipe. They are so quick and easy to make as well! These are going on my Christmas cooking list this year!!

From a simple Spaghetti Carbonara to Prosciutto and Ricotta Chicken Roll Ups, Cassata Sicilian and a version of my beloved Arancini, this cookbook is filled with lovely photos and delightful recipes. It includes menus for family celebrations, special chapters on Christmas and Easter along with all the normal chapters such as Antipasti, Pizza e Pane, First Courses and Light Meals, Main Courses, Vegetables and Salads, Desserts, and Cookies.

I love this cookbook. It easily won its way to my favorites shelf and I know I will cook from it often. I highly recommend it to everyone!

I received a copy of this book from Whitecap Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Crossroads by Tal Ronnen

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons

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I am not a vegan, but this is a gorgeous cookbook!! I would feel very comfortable cooking for a vegan using these recipes, and many I would enjoy on my own. Bloomsdale Salad with Black Garlic Vinaigrette, beautiful breads, Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms with Shallots and Toasted Almonds (oh, my!), Summer Berry Galette...where do you begin?!

There are gorgeous pasta recipes which are great cooked according to the recipe, but can be made for meat lovers by switching out ingredients such as a regular sausage for the vegan sausage in the Bolognese sauce. Salads, flatbreads, desserts and more fill this delightful book.

The book itself is a work of art. It is beautifully bound with gorgeous photos abounding throughout calling out to you to get in the kitchen and start cooking. So, what are you waiting for?!

I received a copy of this book from Artisan for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook by Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons

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Oh, my! I am a complete bread addict, and I love to bake. This book is just perfection for me. The chapters move seamlessly from Primordial Bread: Unleavened Flatbreads to Slightly Elevated: Leavened Flatbreads, Masa y Mas: Tortillas and More, The Dark, Crusty Loaf: Lean Bread and Rolls, Challah and Beyond: Enriched Breads, Rolls and Buns, Filled Doughs From Around the World, Short and Sweet: Quick Breads and Holiday Breads and Waste Not: What to Do With Leftover Bread.

The cover of the book just grabbed me immediately with the gorgeous photo of Nan-e Barbari bread, and that's exactly what I made first. The scent of the bread wafting through the house nearly drove us nuts for the 18 minutes it was in the oven, and the flavor is absolutely amazing!! It is a leavened flatbread, and was so easy to make. I'm sure I'll be making it again.

I love that it's not JUST bread recipes, but things to do with the bread (and not just in the Waste Not chapter) such as Monkey Bread using leftover Challah dough, Roast Pork Belly Bahn Mi With "The Works" using the Bahn Mi Baguettes and more.

I only see one problem with this book, and that's deciding which recipe to use next! Well, the only other issue is how many pounds am I going to put on because of this book! Seriously, this is an amazing book that I cannot recommend highly enough. It has definitely found its way to my favorites shelf!

I received a copy of this book from Clarkson Potter Publishers through the Blogging for Books Program for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Slow Cooker Desserts by Roxanne Wyss

My rating: 3 of 5 spoons

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As a stay-at-home, homeschool mom I absolute love my slow cooker!! I use it often, and I was really excited to get this book. I have to be honest. I was a little disappointed, though. It starts promisingly with cheesecakes and cakes. Ah, but there's a catch! These all use a 7-inch springform pan in a 5 qt or larger slow cooker. I know you can make cakes straight in the slow cooker--I have done it before. It was just a disappointment that NONE of the cake recipes are made outside of a springform pan.

Pushing down my disappointment, I made the Warm Brownie Pudding. A self-saucing, fudgy brownie...what's not to love?! It was okay. It wasn't bad, but it didn't wow me.

Apple Butter is great made in a slow cooker, but be aware if you don't like yours super sweet, you might want to cut down on the sugar. They call for a combination of Granny Smith and Jonathan, and you definitely need some sugar with Granny Smith apples, but 1 1/3 c brown sugar is a bit much. I, personally, like to use a sweeter apple and not even add sugar, or just add a bit of fruit juice.

The fruit crisps are sure winners. Luscious, dripping with fruity goodness, they are sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Chocolate Cashew Clusters are a no brainer. Who wouldn't love these?! Yum!! I need to try the Crispy Peanut Butter Candy for my kids. I'm sure they'd love it as well.

There are some great hits and a few misses in this book. If you're a die-hard slow cooker fan, this book is definitely for you. If you want cakes, though, you'll have to find a 7-inch springform pan, or re-work some of the recipes to go straight in the cooker. Happy Cooking!

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through the Lisa Ekus Group for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Blue Ribbon Baking by Linda Amend

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons

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I love to bake, and now I'm trying to pass that on to my kids. What's not to love about blue ribbon baking recipes?

I started with the Cheese Bread. I wanted something quick for supper, and we all love cheese, so it seemed perfect. There was only one problem. I probably should have made two loaves!! It was excellent. The crumb texture was so nice as it is in quick breads, and when your butter melted into the warm slices it just became a little bit of heaven!

The cookies are a nice selection of classics. The Fudgy Mocha Cookies are a delight! There are brownies and bars galore, cakes for any taste, frostings and fillings (including my all-time favorite, lemon curd!), pies of all kinds, quick breads, muffins, yeast breads and pastries. The only problem is so many choices, so little time!

This is a great cookbook, especially for beginning bakers that need clear instructions and tried-and-true recipes. The instructions are easy to read and understand. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am happy to recommend it.

I received an F&G ("folded and gathered", unbound pre-print) from Pelican Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Celebrating the Foods of New Mexico by Susan D. Curtis

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons

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Classic Southwest cuisine at its best. This book made me want to visit New Mexico as soon as possible!! My daughters and I could just sit and make a meal of the homemade flour tortillas...they're that good! I need to get a tortilla press as I really want to try the corn tortillas, as well.

I grew up on the Southern version of chicken enchiladas--cream of chicken and cream of celery soup formed the base of the sauce. Now, I knew this wasn't authentic, but it's what I'd had and what I had been taught to make. It wasn't something we had very often and there were so very many new things to try that I hadn't gotten around to getting a good, southwest recipe. Well, look no further! The Green Chile and Chicken Enchiladas in this lovely book are amazing!! I made the homemade green chile sauce from the recipe in the book, though I used store bought corn tortillas (see above). I was a little concerned when putting it together as there didn't seem to be a lot of sauce for the amount of tortillas and chicken. No worries. It was perfection! My youngest can't handle spice of any kind, so I made her something else (this is NOT a hot dish, but green chiles of any kind get to her), but everyone else in the family absolutely loved it. This recipe alone puts this book on my favorites shelf!! Don't limit yourself, though. There are so many more lovely recipes to cook! I really want to try the Goat Cheese Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce, Lamb-Stuffed Green Chiles with Fresh Tomato Puree, Glazed Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers....I could go on and on.

From your basic tortillas to salsas & sauces, salads, tamales, desserts and more, there is definitely something for about everyone here. Not every recipe has a photo by any means, but the photos that are included are very nice. There's a great little section in the beginning on the history of the Santa Fe Cooking School as well. Give it a try. It's a great cookbook that I'm delighted to recommend!

I received a copy of this book from Gibbs Smith Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.