Glorious Table: Beautiful Food for a Delicious Life

“I believe that food is not just for survival, but also a special language that enriches life and captures emotions,” writes debut author Jang, creator of the Instagram account @glorioustable, in this visually striking but fussy collection of more than 100 recipes. A focus on aesthetics and presentation leads to stunning dishes that often require a long time in the kitchen (beet tortilla mushroom tacos, for example, boast a prep time of 50 minutes followed by an hour of cooking time), hard to source ingredients (squid ink, king oyster mushrooms), and specialty equipment, including a tortilla press, mortar and pestle, pizza oven, spice grinder, and blow torch. Instructions are often finicky and convoluted; without step-by-step illustrations, it’s hard to grasp Jang’s method for rolling zucchini strips into flowers for French tian, shaping pull-apart ham and cheese biscuits into a sunflower, or butterflying pork belly for crispy porchetta. Still, showstopping special occasion meals include a prime rib roast with cheese potato balls, maple sauce, and lemony green beans and a full roast turkey dinner. Breads, buns, and scones; three chapters-worth of mouthwatering dessert recipes (one on cakes, another on desserts, and the final on frozen desserts); and a final chapter on infusing liquors round things out. Only the most ambitious need apply. (Nov.)