So what’s for dinner tonight?!

I must admit that I’m a bit of a foodie – I love food, enjoy cooking, trying out new and exciting recipes and putting my own signature spin to some classic dishes. And I love watching reality TV cooking competition shows like Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen and Iron Chef: America. I’ve always thought that I’d be a professional chef somewhere in the world if I wasn’t a librarian.

I know a lot of us have to deal with this difficult question each and every night: “so what’s for dinner tonight?!” It can be extremely stressful and frustrating especially when each person in your family might want something different to eat. I’m sure everyone has a recipe or two up their sleeves but every once and a while it’s fun to try out something new you haven’t eaten or cooked before.

For great classic recipes, check out America’s Test Kitchen Season Ten on DVD. Christopher Kimball and his team of test cooks over at America’s Test Kitchen develop and refine classic recipes and test them over and over again until they’ve arrived at the best version of the recipe. This cooking show is great for showing you the best methods of preparing authentic home cooked meals.

In his new cookbook, Gordon Ramsay’s Family Fare, Chef Ramsay aims to promote family meals taking a more casual approach to fine dining. Each chapter is divided into individual meals, complete with a theme and three courses. From Italian, Indian, Spanish, Malaysian and Moroccan influenced dishes, this book provides easy fine dining recipes you can try at home.

Do you love Southern food as much as I do? Need to prepare something quick for dinner? Try Simply Suppers: Comfort Food You Can Get on the Table in No Time Flat by Jennifer Chandler. This is your go-to book for quick and easy recipes and is great for all occasions.

Want to share your passion of cooking with your children? In Teen Cuisine, Matthew Locricchio invites teens to develop their culinary skills and broaden their palettes. With recipes having an emphasis for fresh and healthy ingredients, teens will have a fun time creating a variety of exciting and flavorful dishes.

Have an insatiable sweet tooth? Have an affinity for chocolate? Then Intensely Chocolate by Carole Bloom will have you gushing with the 100 different chocolate recipes to try out.  From molten lava cakes to brownies, chocolate aficionados will have to look no further.

~Daniel N., Northeast Branch