Ooh, la, la! Let's Eat Paris!: The Essential Guide to the World's Most Famous Food City by François Régis-Gaudry

I devoured this extraordinary guide to everything food-related (and more) in Paris. It is an incredibly enjoyable volume filled with everything you could ever possibly want to know about the city's food culture, restaurants (all levels and types), markets, the city's classic dishes, cheese, fruits and vegetables, bread and pastry, wine, and so much more.

It covers where to see and do all the things that would appeal to anyone who wants to experience Paris in all its culinary and cultural glory. There are maps, lists, timelines, insider information and how-to's. And yes, there are a number of signature recipes included.

This is not a guide to take with you as it is a big, heavy book and there is no Kindle or other digital version available as of this writing – read it before a trip, and take pictures of the most essential pages. Or if you are an armchair traveler, just read it for the fun of it and then go and eat, or cook, your favorite French dish, and follow it with a Paris-based movie or two. Suggestions from a very long list: Paris Blues (Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, and Diahann Carroll), Forget Paris (Billy Crystal, Debra Winger), Midnight in Paris (Owen Wilson), La Vie en Rose (Marion Cotillard), Before Sunset (Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke), Paris When It Sizzles (Audrey Hepburn, William Holden)...

Easy as Pie – Pie Squared, a slab pie cookbook by Cathy Barrow

My grandfather used to say, "Patient waiting brings pie." No one in our family was much of a pie baker, but we enjoyed many pies from the legendary Horn & Hardart's and Hanscom's, both originally Philadelphia firms. Horn & Hardart's was widely known for their Automat restaurants in New York, which featured those great fruit pies, as well as individual chicken pot pies.

The overall premise of this cookbook is generally to demystify pie-baking, and to use a rectangular shallow form the author calls a "slab pie." The idea is a larger, easier to cut pie with more servings that takes the same or less effort than the traditional round pie or tart.

Piecrust, in particular, can be daunting for some home cooks, and except for graham and chocolate wafer crusts, and because I can be impatient in the kitchen, I usually buy mine, along with commercial phyllo dough and puff pastry. This cookbook makes crusts easier to manage, and includes some interesting options.

There is an overall Southern cooking style influence to a lot of the recipes, and a few recipes the inclusion of I'd question, but there are enough interesting options for fillings for savory main-course items. Just about every ethnicity's cooking style and spices have made it into this book. It's a good overview for those who are just getting into international cuisine.

Quite frankly, it's not a cookbook I'd add to my collection, but I'd recommend it for novice cooks and bakers.