Cooking at Home with Bridget & Julia

The latest cookbook from Lancaster and Davison, the hosts of the America’s Test Kitchen TV show, will be welcomed by fans of the show. The 150 recipes in the book are the authors’ favorites for entertaining family and friends and are accompanied by charming anecdotes that let readers get to know Lancaster and Davison better. A chapter on weekend breakfasts runs the gamut from a simple recipe for overnight steel-cut oatmeal to an elaborate eggs florentine to the charmingly named “cat head biscuits” (which are the size of a cat’s head). Dinners are homey and as good for a weeknight family supper as they are for a gathering of friends. There are a good variety of chicken dishes, including Alabama barbecue chicken, weeknight roast chicken, and chicken enchiladas with red chile sauce. Old-time favorites such as cornflake-breaded pork chops sit next to elegant preparations such as a fish meunière with browned butter and lemon. Simple yet impressive recipes abound, such as one for spaghetti with lemon, basil, and scallops, as well as a recipe for pomegranate-braised boneless beef short ribs. The casual-entertaining section offers recipes for every occasion. It includes recipes for paella on the grill and Korean fried chicken wings. Rounding out this expert, accessible cookbooks are desserts, which promise joy for the whole family and include a creamy Texas-style blueberry cobbler and an impressive banana pudding. (Sept.)