Cooking Allergy-Free: Simple Inspired Meals for Everyone

Short's first book joins the seeming avalanche of new cookbooks for those with allergies. Like many of these, this work attempts to address eight of the most common food offenders, including wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, and soy, as well as providing vegan and vegetarian recipes. The well-designed and colorful presentation, combined with the author's icon system, makes it easy to tell at a glance which dishes are suitable for those with a particular sensitivity. While there are intriguing specialties here, such as Persian gondi dumplings and caramelized cauliflower soup, most of the recipes are straightforward basics: roast chicken and mashed potatoes, for example. The recipes are written clearly, and few call for unusual or hard-to-find ingredients. Short shares a good corn-free substitute for powdered sugar (who knew it was made with cornstarch?), as well as her gluten-free flour blend. But this book feels like it's trying to do too many things at once and there isn't anything in particular that causes it to stand out from the many other such offerings.