One Big Table

Part cookbook, part ethnography, part cultural history, this volume contains all that it advertises in its subtitle. O'Neill (Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball), former food columnist for the New York Times Magazine and host of the PBS series Great Food, features hundreds of examples of hometown cooking from sea to shining sea, each accompanied by a folksy story and most with carefully noted provenance, whether Bill McIntyre's Marinated Feta (Corydon, IN) or Nina Chanpreet Singh's Chicken Tikka (Bronx, NY). Starters, soups, entrées, and desserts are represented, together with vegetarian options, seafood, and more. Clear instructions should allow all cooks to find success, and, although a wide range of ethnic and regional cuisines are represented, readers will find most ingredients to be readily accessible in grocery stores.