Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South

William Stark Dissen. Countr yman, $35 (288p) ISBN 978-1-68268-808-3

Dissen, the chef behind Asheville, N.C.’s the Market Place restaurant, takes a farm-to-table approach to Southern-style cooking in his exciting debut. He celebrates locally grown ingredients at the peak of their ripeness by dividing the recipes by season. Highlights include slow roasted pork shoulder with asparagus cream and green strawberry relish for spring, cornmeal fried catfish with butter bean and boiled peanut stew with green tomato chowchow for summer, candy roaster squash soup with blue cheese and pumpkin seeds for fall, and heirloom corn grits with mushroom ragout and poached egg for winter. Dissen also shares his passion for foraging ingredients, which inspired him to create dishes including wild ramp and new potato bisque, and pea and ricotta-stuffed morel mushrooms. A few offerings—including cioppino with tomato fennel broth and sourdough toast with saffron aioli, and charred romaine with miso tahini dressing, fried croutons, and mint—feel off-theme, but Dissen’s creative flavor combinations are sure to intrigue adventurous home cooks. He admits that the recipes are

“not designed to be convenient and quick,” but his clearly written instructions are easy to follow. This is a trove of inspiration for weekend and holiday meals. Agent: Ellen Scordato, Stonesong. (Apr.) and flor de izote (yuca flowers) with eggs. Variations abound: El Salvador’s “national dish,” pupusas, can be stuffed with three different fillings, and the fruity beverage ensalada is endlessly adaptable. Per the book’s title, these are soulful dishes linked to home and family; for example, the recipe for fried cheese-stuffed chayote is from the author’s mother. Main courses include rooster simmered in chicha, a fermented drink made with pineapple peels, and crabs in a pumpkin seed sauce. Desserts run along the simple lines of charred whole plantains and eggless bread pudding. The project originated online, and occasionally the writing has the inelegant feel of a social media post, but the recipes are clear—impressively so, considering they hail from a variety of sources—and the context is heartfelt and fascinating. The result is a valuable work of cultural preservation. (Apr.)

by mixing cookie crumbs with milk and espresso, then rolling them in chocolate and nuts). This creative and encouraging handbook is sure to get home bakers fired up. (Apr.) around drugs in the 1970s and ’80s halted promising research on medical applications of MDMA and LSD. This will open readers’ minds to the health benefits of psychedelics. Agent: Bridget Wagner Matzie, Aevitas Creative Management. (June)

Bordelon and Slocum recommend getting three to five quotes from architects and contractors and creating a “lookbook” (“Organize your inspiration for each space first by floor and then by room using something like Pinterest”). Detailing what to consider when working on each room, they suggest that “the stove, sink, and fridge should make a triangle” in the kitchen and outline the pros and cons of various kinds of stone countertops. For bedrooms, they encourage readers to buy throw pillows in a contrasting color to the walls or drapes, and for bathrooms, they describe how to save money by refashioning a credenza into a vanity. The guidance is chock-full of useful rules of thumb

(“The minimum clearance that you need to maneuver around in any space is 36 inches”), and the authors place a welcome emphasis on trusting one’s gut (“Think about how you want the space to feel, not just how you want it to look”). The result is a comprehensive overview on revamping one’s abode. (June)

want some familiarity with a sewing machine before making their own table napkins and curtains), but it still feels like an oversight that many omit photos illustrating the steps involved. Nonetheless, renters will find this a font of inspiration. (May) this ranks among the best guides available for parents of trans children and teens. Agent: Todd Shuster, Aevitas Creative Management. (June)