The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel SlaterGotham Books, 2006 (Originally Fourth Estate, 2005)

I picked this up at the library because it was so pleasingly thick, with wonderful color photos inside (something about the saturation of the color in these pictures really appeals). It’s a delight: Slater writes about food in a way that resonates with me. I like his focus on the daily ritual of cooking and eating, and on the sensual pleasures of food at its peak and food that fits the mood and season, whether that’s a roasted acorn squash with olive oil, butter, and thyme on a cold autumn evening or gooseberries in high summer. The recipes aren’t too fussy: they’re about flavor, not presentation, which I also appreciate. So far I’ve made the aforementioned squash, plus red cabbage orange with juniper berries, and I’m feeling like I might want to have a copy of this book of my own: double ginger cake! frosted marmalade cake! chicken with vermouth, tarragon, and cream!