Irish cooking - it's incredibly delicious. This month and next, we've got several recipes to share from The New Irish Table: Recipes from Ireland’s Top Chefs. Be sure to read our interview with editor Leslie Conron Carola - and then check back for more great recipes!

 Recipes from Ireland’s Top Chefs

Irish cooking - it's incredibly delicious. This month and next, we've got several recipes to share from The New Irish Table: Recipes from Ireland’s Top Chefs. Be sure to read our interview with editor Leslie Conron Carola - and then check back for more great recipes!

Have you ever longed to go to Bali? Of course! It's an enticing place - interesting, beautiful, and culturally rich. And the food... 

Why aren't there Balinese restaurants everywhere? The cuisine is delicious, innovative, and full of local fruits and vegetables. And while I haven't been to Bali yet, I've found a cookbook that can take our tastebuds there. 

I grew up near Paw Paw, Michigan, and yet never thought of it as a place for the so-named fruit. All that has changed now, with Sara Bir's genius new guide, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook. Bir knows her stuff - she's a food writer and researcher extraordinaire, and she brings those talents to this recipe zine.

Food - it's a passion of mine. I love to cook, garden, visit farmer's markets, get new recipes from food artisans when I travel, talk with chefs, eat out, peruse cookbooks (I have thousands), dream about food, plan the next meal. It's not too crazy to say that when I find similarly-minded foodies, I embrace them and talk food. 

Snowflakes and jack-o’-lanterns. Growing up in Colorado, the two went hand in hand. The first snowfall of the season usually rolled over the mountains to coat my neighborhood just in time for October 31st. Deciding on a costume was a matter of what looked good over a poofy jacket and paired with my purple and white striped moon boots.

When it comes to setting the picture of the perfect Christmas we mostly likely have Clement Clarke Moore to thank. The professor at Columbia College (now University) penned the poem for his children in 1822. He titled it “A Visit from St. Nicolas,” which then became more commonly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”