With The Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook (John Wiley, $34.95), editor Barbara Fairchild has again compiled interesting and approachable recipes, complementing the instructions with fantastic photos. These recipes are designed for people who have little time for cooking but care about healthful, seasonal eating. From curry to tacos, if you can imagine eating it, there’s at least one quick, easy-to-follow recipe for the dish here. While even the most accomplished home chef would benefit from this compendium, it would make a particularly spectacular gift for the more timid cooks on your list. It will become their most reliable friend in the kitchen.
An orphan, a missing hand, a con man: With these ingredients Hannah Tinti cooks up a delicious treat of a novel. When Benjamin Nab spies Ren at St. Anthony's Orphanage, he sees a one-handed meal ticket with instant sympathetic appeal. When Ren walks out the gate with Benjamin, he sees a loving connection to a family he's never known. What follows shakes both of their assumptions. Ren quickly transcends sympathy and shows that he is eponymous "thief" in their little outfit. Meanwhile, Benjamin's true intentions become more and more mysterious as his schemes become more and more ambitious. Memorable characters, authoritative narration and seemingly inexhaustible intrigue make this a book you'll want to read all at once.
